|
Tous Sur Le Pont Festival, France
|
May 2nd 2007
|
|
Lorca Festival, Spain
|
April 11th 2007
|
|
Marktrock Festival, Belgium
|
April 9th 2007
REVISED
|
April 9th: Web link added.
More information as we get it.
|
A Message from Jet Black
|
March 8th 2007
|
When I awoke one morning in 1972 and made a historic decision to create a band, there were a few things that were not immediately on my mind.
One - for a start - was how to go about it. Another was how the resulting combo might survive for the following 12 months, completely unknown
as they then would probably be. Even more obscure, the notion that the said outfit might actually survive for some decades. But surely the most
unlikely of all, would have been, had I thought about it, that following a surprise illness in 2007 - some 35 years later - I would be deluged
with messages of love and affection - emotions not normally associated with Jet Black! - by droves of people from all over the world, many of
whom I have never knowingly met.
It is with some humility then, that I feel moved to express my sincerest thanks to all the legions of people who have wished me both good luck
and a speedy recovery from my present ill health.
Your messages have been both informative and amusing, whilst at times downright bizarre. One writer advising that I may have been ‘spooked’
by aliens!
With such apparent interest, I am taking the unusual step of giving you all the facts as far as they are relevant, which at the very least
is intended to inform those wishing to know. I see no reason why it should become a closely guarded secret.
It is now fairly well known that the technical term for my condition is, ‘Atrial Fibrillation’. Some of you have correctly identified
that this is a heart condition where the upper chambers, which is the Atrial bit, become flooded, and Fibrillation simply means quivering or
vibrating. Untreated, this can cause fatigue at best, and a stroke at much worse.
There are apparently many reasons why this condition occurs, but in my case, it started out very much as a “mystery” illness.
I sat down one morning in January to watch the morning news, and after only 25-30 minutes I was beginning to feel ‘affected’. At first I was
aware of a rising temperature, then I started shaking, as if it were the onset of something like Malaria.
Although concerned, I tended to the idea that I was perhaps coming under the influence of the seasonal flu bug. As the day wore on, it
slowly dawned that this was more than mere flu. By tea-time I was on the way to the nearest hospital for an ‘opinion’.
After the initial inspection, the doctors ordered that I be rushed off to the nearest cardiac unit with a suspected heart attack. I am at
least happy to announce that although my heart was indeed under attack, it was not actually, a “heart attack”.
That first night, which was to be the first of 10 in hospital, was pretty damn awful and I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.
Tests went on through the night and by the morning the doctors announced that I had a “suspected” viral infection which had triggered
‘Atrial Fibrillation’. Known simply as ‘AF’ in the medical profession.
I now know, but didn’t then, that in this condition, the heart gets flooded and is unable to function properly. I guess a fair analogy would be
something like the oil system in an engine. If the oil pump packs up, you can be sure the whole engine will soon be in grave danger.
The upshot of this was that every part of the body, and I mean every part, was in pain. I couldn’t lift a finger, let alone take a step.
They have a word for this, I believe it’s myralgia (or myalgia), i.e. pain everywhere! Initially, this was the biggest problem as I was completely
immobilised by it. Those first 8 days in hospital were spent propped up in a chair as it was simply too painful to even attempt to get into bed.
Well, to cut to the chase here, it wasn’t until day 7 that it was revealed in an x-ray, that the bug was in my lungs and I’m pleased to say that
that was then quickly zapped by the ever wonderful anti-biotic group of medicines.
I have been at home for awhile now and some days I feel absolutely fine although any attempt to do too much induces fatigue & exhaustion.
My heartbeat is still irregular but it has all improved immensely over the weeks. It is hoped that the current medication will assist the
heartbeat to regularise in due course and reinstate a ‘normal’ feeling of well-being.
Whilst I’m at it, it is surely appropriate that I also say a big thank you to some very special people. Firstly Ian Barnard, my very capable
drum tech who stepped into my shoes for the Iceland gig and for sure, at least a few more. I’ve no doubt that he enjoyed the experience but
he did it with such ease and confidence so as to make the show as easy as possible for the rest of the band. Then to them also, the band, who rose
to the occasion so as to ensure the gig went ahead.
Then our long suffering crew, who in a crises, and there are plenty of those, always bend over backwards to make the occasion a success,
and Sil Willcox and Alan Hale for their astute appraisal of the situation.
But the final accolade must surely be for you, Mr & Mrs Joe Public whoever you are, without your patronage and understanding for over
30 years, there simply wouldn’t be a.........The Stranglers. Thank you.
Jet Black.......2007
|
Band Statement
|
March 7th 2007
REVISED
|
Jet is recovering from a condition known as Atrial Fibrillation from which he was taken ill with last month. He is making good progress on the road to full recovery
from the condition and as soon as he has the all clear from his doctor he is looking forward to returning and continuing with the band's live engagements. We all wish him a speedy recovery.
JJ, Dave, Baz and Sil.
The upcoming shows will be going ahead as scheduled, with Ian Barnard (the Band's tech) covering drumming duties, pending Jet's return.
Please do not email us for more information, as this is all we have at this time. As we receive further information, we will post here.
|
Isle of Man
|
February 21st 2007
|
|
Charity Gig
|
February 21st 2007
|
JJ and Baz will be playing the Great Ormond Street Hospital Benefit Evening at Jongleurs Comedy Club, Battersea, London on
February 25th. Please note that this is JJ and Baz only, not the complete band, as incorrectly indicated on the
booking page.
|
Suite XVI France
|
February 19th 2007
REVISED
|
The Stranglers will be playing the following French dates, with suppport band BP ZOOM:
February 19th: Lille venue changed to: Le Splendid
Tickets can be found at:
www.fnac.com and
www.digitick.com.
More information as we get it.
|
Belgium Festival
|
February 12th 2007
REVISED
|
With Jimmy Summerville, John Watts, Paul Young and more.
Under the working title, "Twentieth Century Classics", the concept of this gig is for a number of international acts who have had hits
in the last few decades of the 20th Century to perform their best known songs. The Stranglers will play a twenty minute set, featuring
a selection of hits.
|
Poland Festival
|
January 25th 2007
|
|
Ask the Artist Promotion
|
January 24th 2007
|
To tie in with the recent release of Suite XVI in North America, EMI/Capitol are running an
"Ask the Artist" promotion on the Artist Direct site. The page for entering your questions for the band
can be found here.
|
Japanese Release of Suite XVI
|
January 27th 2007
REVISED
|
 Suite XVI will be released in Japan on 7th March. This release will be
on Side Out Records (VSO-0029) and will contain two bonus tracks:
"Instead of This" and "Death and Night and Blood", both recorded live at the Shepherd's Bush Empire in December 2005. The
CD will come packaged in the silver, red and black paper sleeve shown here.
There are no plans for singles to be released from the album in Japan.
In support of this release, interviews will be published in the following magazines:
18th Feb: Crossbeat
25th Feb: Follow UP (Free paper from the Disk Union record shop)
1st March: Rockin' On
1st March: Beatleg
1st March: DOLL
1st March: Rooftop (Free paper from the Loft group of venues)
For information in Japanese, go to the SIS Japan site: www.stranglers.jp
|
Suite XVI Italy
|
January 20th 2007
REVISED
|
January 20th: Websites added for all venues.
|
US/Canada Release of Suite XVI
|
January 16th 2007
REVISED
|
|
Suite XVI was released in the US and Canada on January 16th. This release is on the EMI/Capitol label (Cat. number
0946 371386 2 5) and
contains the same track-listing and sleeve notes as the UK version.
|
|
Suite XVI Germany
|
January 13th 2007
|
More information as we get it.
|
JJ NOT on MySpace
|
January 11th 2007
REVISED
|
We have been asked to post the following
quote from JJ regarding the social networking site, MySpace:
"I categorically do not have or intend to have a My Space site.
All such sites claiming to represent me are phoney."
It should be noted also that there is no official Stranglers MySpace site either. So, any views
expressed on any MySpace sites that claim to belong to the band are not necessarily those of the Stranglers.
|
Baz on TV
|
January 2nd 2007
|
Baz Warne has an interesting TV appearance later on this month:
On Sunday January 21st, at 5.45pm, Baz will be appearing briefly in the Channel 4 (UK)
archaeology program "Time Team". Peaches will be featured over the top of footage of Baz
scraping away with the show's archeological diggers.
|
New Merchandise
|
December 17th 2006
|
  The official
merchandise site is now featuring a new line of products, including new t-shirts and a CD gold disc.
Of particular note, a limited number of copies of the DVD "On Stage, On Screen" are now available. This PAL, region 2,
disc contains both the Shepherd's Bush Empire gig (acoustic and electric sets) of 2nd December, 2005, and the movie "Norfolk Coast" featuring
JJ and the band, which was also shown that evening.
More information can be found at: www.stranglers.co.uk.
|
Suite XVI Iceland
|
November 29th 2006
|
We have just received confirmation of the following Icelandic gig:
Date
|
City
|
Venue/Event
|
|
6th March
|
Reykjavik
|
Nasa
|
|
Paul Roberts: "Black in Town"
|
November 21st 2006
|
As a special thank you to the all the fans for 16 years of support, former Stranglers front man Paul Roberts will be performing some of his favourite
tracks from his time with the band at the 100 club in London on Thursday, 8th March 2007. (Doors: 7.30pm). Joining Paul on stage will be another former
Strangler, in the shape of John Ellis on guitar, as well as Brad Waissman (a regular in Paul’s band,
Soulsec) on Bass. Completing the line-up will be Mickey Sparrow on Drums and Tom Phelan on keyboard duties.
More information can be found at: http://www.soulsec.com/news/blackintown.htm.
| 
