The John Ellis page has been updated with further news of John's solo projects (News items will be posted towards the bottom of the John Ellis page).

For fans down under, John has mentioned that the Stranglers have been booked to play a festival in New Zealand and that they would like to take the opportunity to do some shows in Australia. More information will be posted as we get it.

We have been informed of two upcoming gigs in Belgium:

July 24th, Ghent Festival -- the band go on stage at about 1am.

July 25th, Kheistival, Heist -- the band go on at about 9:30pm.

There is to be one further gig in Belgium on August 9th, but the location is apparently to be confirmed.

Voiceprint, who are handling the new fan club, inform us that the first Stranglers newsletter should arrive in subscribers' letter-boxes the first week in August. This issue will be accompanied by a limited edition CD.

It should be noted that SIS is not affiliated with the new fan club. Therefore, please address all enquires regarding the fan club and it's services directly to voiceprint.

While in Toronto on the "Pat Dinizio Trio" "Truckstops of America" tour, JJ and Tony Smith kindly dropped into CIUT-FM for an interview with Margaret English. A transcript of this interview is now available via our DiNizio Solo Project page.

The Stranglers played at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark on Saturday 27th June 1998. They were called in to the festival on short notice, due to the late cancellation of Echo and the Bunnymen.

The gig on 12th July in Bascharage (Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg), with Simple Minds has been cancelled for reasons "far beyond the control of the band and their management".

Apparently, there were major differences between the band's Luxembourg promotor and those of Phil Collins (who was to be playing the same night). The Stranglers' promotor "fought a valiant fight to save the gig and in the end was only defeated by local goverment who revoked the relevant license needed to stage the show".

"Un Jour Parfait" by JJ Burnel is scheduled to be re-released on Eastworld Recordings (catalogue number EWO004CD) on 7th September 1998. This issue will include an unreleased track, new artwork and will be totally re-mastered.

All enquiries/orders should be addressed to Plastic Head Distribution, P.O. Box 159, Wallingford, Oxon, OX10 9YL, UK. Tel: +44 1491-825029, FAX: +44 1491-826320.

Like the other solo re-releases (Euroman Cometh and Nosferatu -- see archives below) this CD will cost £15.00 (UK and Europe) or £17.00 (World-Wide).

The band were scheduled to go into the studio today, as they work towards the new album (currently slated for a September release). John Ellis tells us that he's written 12 songs for consideration for this album. He says he's very pleased with the demos done with Paul's vocals. JJ has also been busy writing material and says he's been told that he will probably be singing six of his songs for the new album.

John has just finished re-mixing five albums of background music he composed for various art gallery exhibitions (in the same vein as 1997's "Acrylic"). Hopefully, these albums should start appearing around September.

John's guitar work on "Curly's Airships" is now finished (as, incidentally, are Paul's vocals). We'll probably see this album some time next year.

Just a reminder that we do have a regularly updated John Ellis Page in our Reference Articles section.

"In the Night", the 1992 release that first introduced John Ellis and Paul Roberts as band-members has been re-released in the United States by Magnetic Air Records (Catalogue number MCD 4018).

Magnetic Air tell us that this is the same as the 1993 US version: Black-on-white cover-art (as opposed to the original UK black-on-dark grey artwork), red jewel case, and three additional tracks ("Coffee Shop", "Vicious Circles" and "So Uncool"), previously only available as B-sides.

To order a copy, or for further information, please contact Magnetic Air directly at: info@magneticair.com.

To answer the flood of emails we've received about this album, it would appear that the "new" album "Access all Areas" (on the "Voiceprint" label) is indeed the same as the earlier SIS release by the same name. This album features live tracks from the band's December 1995 tour (to promote "About Time").

Track-listing is:

Genetix; Grip; Golden Boy; Straighten Out; 5 Minutes; Paradise Row; Money; Nice and Sleazy; Princess of the Streets; European Female; Still Life; Goodbye Toulouse; Sinister; Let Me Introduce You to the Family; All Day and All of the Night; Duchess; Nuclear Device; English Towns; No More Heroes.

Voiceprint also have available "Strangled from Birth and Beyond", the SIS compilation of 7" singles/flexi discs and unissued tracks, between 1976-92. If the emails we have received regarding this particular album are anything to go by, this re-release must surely answer the prayers of many.

Track-listing is:

Tomorrow was the Hereafter; Bring on the Nubiles (Cocktail Version); My Young Dreams (A Marriage of Convenience); Goebbels, Mosley, God & Ingrams (JJ Burnel); Waiting for the Trees to Grow (JJ Burnel); Gone are Those Days (JJ Burnel); The Beast; New Day Today; Mr. Big; I'll be seeing you.

These CDs can be ordered direct from the mail-order division of Voiceprint, who (we are told) accept amex/visa/mastercard credit cards as well as sterling cheques & p.o.s.

Contact information for Voiceprint:

Web address: http://www.rockrelics.co.uk

Credit Card Hotline: (0)191 512 1109 (24 hrs - automated answering machine between 3:30pm and 9am GMT)

Freephone Answerphone UK: 0500 829262

Freephone USA: 1 800 567 9185

Freephone Germany: 0130 818502

Fax Hotline: +44 (0)191 512 1104

USA ADDRESS: Resurgence, 61 East 8th Street, 189 Greenwich Village, NY 10003, USA

UK ADDRESS: P O Box 50, Houghton-le-Spring, Tyne & Wear DH4 5YP

Eagle Records have released "The Masters" (catalogue number EAB CD 111), a budget-priced compilation of tracks from "About Time" and "Written in Red", plus three live tracks (marked "*" below) from "Friday the Thirteenth".

The track-listing is:

Summer in the City; Valley of the Birds; Golden Boy; Face; Daddy's Riding the Range; Paradise Row; In Heaven She Walks; Still Life; Money; Lies and Deception; Joy de Viva; *Skin Deep; *Golden Brown; *No More Heroes.