We've received a number of comments and questions about two live albums which appeared in 1997, these being "Live in London" (Rialto Records Archive Series, RMCD 220) and "The Stranglers & Friends Live in Concert" (Hallmark, 302902). For those interested, the "Live Albums" page has been revised, accordingly.

Our UK readers may have noticed that Dave Greenfield recently appeared in a half page article in the Daily Telegraph featuring his pet rats. Apparently, a researcher for a UK TV programme called "Absolutely Pets" persuaded Dave to be filmed in late Jan 98 for part of one of the shows called "Animal Passions". He will be on camera for approximately 2/4 minutes, talking exclusively about his rats. "Absolutely Pets" is currently slated to air sometime between May and August this year.

On Saturday January 10th, 3Sat rebroadcast a Stranglers tv-concert from Feb '97.

The tracklist for the concert was:

golden boy / straighten out / short interview piece (s.i.) / in heaven she walks / always the sun / money / (s.i.) / golden brown / sinister / (s.i.) / silver into blue / hanging around / (s.i.) / no more heroes / summer in the city / valley of the birds.

The seemingly unending stream of compilations continues. Sony Music have come up with "The Best of the Epic Years" (Catalogue 487997 2).

The track listing is as follows:

European Female (album version); Midnight Summer Dream (7" Edit); Paradise (album version); Skin Deep (7" edit); No Mercy (7" edit); Hot Club (instrumental); Let Me Down Easy (7" edit); Nice In Nice (7" edit); Always The Sun (original 7" edit); Big In America (7" edit); Shakin' Like A Leaf (7" edit); All Day And All Of The Night (album version); Was It You? (7" version); 96 Tears (7" edit); Sweet Smell Of Success (7" edit); No Mercy (Cement Mix); Always The Sun (Long Hot Sunny Side Up Mix)(12" version); Sweet Smell Of Success (Strangled House Mix)(12" version).

During the band's recent visit to the Falkland Islands, Paul was swept away to sea while swimming with a group of dolphins. A military search was mounted and Paul was rescued by helicopter. Apparently, things did not look too good for a while, but Paul was revived and obviously made a full recovery for the subsequent UK tour.

A new official UK fan club is set to be launched in early 1998. The UK price will be £15, which includes an exclusive CD and three magazines.

When operational, the contact details will be:

The Stranglers Fan Club
Freepost GU409 (within the UK)
PO Box 50
Houghton-le-Spring
Tyne and Wear DH5 5YP
UK

Phone: (UK) 0500 829262, (USA) 1800 5679185, (FAX) (+44) 0191 5121104.

This information was distributed at the recent UK gigs.

"No Mercy", the official Stranglers biography by David Buckley is now on the shelves in the UK.

This book promises to be a fairly complete biography, written with the full co-operation of all band members, past and present and featuring over fifty black-and-white photographs (many previously unpublished). The price of the hardback is £17.99, with the paperback scheduled to follow in May 1998.

Unfortunately, there will be no book store appearances by the band to accompany this release.

A review of this book now appears in our Reference Articles section.

The set list for the recent UK tour was (with thanks to Neal Miller):

Valley of the Birds; Golden Boy; 5 Minutes; Strange Little Girl; Money; Skin Deep; Always the Sun; Golden Brown; Sinister; All Day and All of the Night; Straighten Out; I Feel Like a Wog; Silver into Blue; Thrown Away; Duchess; (1st Encore) Nice and Sleazy; 96 Tears; (2nd Encore) Bring on the Nubiles or Summer in the City; Hanging Around; No More Heroes.

Due to the success of this tour and the enthusiasm of the venues, dates are already being scheduled for another (much bigger) UK tour in October 1998. We'll have full details as they become available.

September 22nd saw the release of "Friday the Thirteenth" on Eagle Records (EAGCD 006). This album is a recording of the June 13th concert in the Royal Albert Hall, which featured a string section (see below). A video of this event was released in the UK on the same day.

As an aside, the band left Castle Communications in June and subsequently joined Eagle Records; releases will be distributed through BMG.

An official Hugh Cornwell page, "The Torture Garden" has just come on-line, thanks to the efforts of Tony Kinson. This site features News, a Discography and a Hugh Cornwell Mailing List.