THE STRANGLERS // BEACH BALLROOM, ABERDEEN
The Stranglers are back with a UK & Ireland tour "Back on the Tracks" with special guest Dr Feelgood
THE STRANGLERS PERFORMING ABERDEEN’S BEACH BALLROOM - 08.03.2019
PICTURE BY: COREY MCKAY PHOTOGRAPHY
★★★★☆
The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged through the punk rock scene. Scoring some UK top 40 singles and UK top 40 albums to date in a career lasting four decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene.
Formed as the Guildford Stranglers on 11 September 1974 in Guildford, Surrey they built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their attitude identified them as one of the instigators of the UK punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock through the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. They had major success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "No More Heroes", "Peaches", "Always the Sun" and "Skin Deep" and the 2003 Top 40 hit "Big Thing Coming".
The Stranglers have continued to record and release new music that has gone down well with older fans and new fans. . That sold out crowd was delighted to be watching The Stranglers after all these years. It takes a lot more than a few good songs to reach the status of an “iconic” band. I am sure a lot of fans did not know what to expect during the night since it had probably been a long time since some fans had seen them perform live.
The support Dr. Feelgood are a British pub rock band formed in 1971. From Canvey Island, Essex, the group are best known for singles such as "She Does It Right", "Roxette", "Back in the Night" and "Milk and Alcohol". They start the night with strong performing many songs Dr. Feelgood released in the peak of their careers. Although their most eventful years were the early to mid-1970s, and in spite of Brilleaux's death in 1994 of lymphoma, a version of the band (featuring none of the original members) continues to tour and record. They had a great set for Aberdeen and definitely got the crowd excited to hear more songs that would take them back a few years. The main singer was feeling under the weather so needed help from the crowd and the guitarist to complete the set list but he definitely put in all his effort to perform for Aberdeen. The crowd showed a lot of respect towards him and still have a great time.
Being the second night of the tour the Beach Ballroom was full to capacity, to see The Stranglers, a band whose musical career has been going for what seems like forever. There is a range of faces in the crowd, lots of generational family tiers going on in the crowd showing that The Stranglers music is loved by all. The band structure has had a bit of a change over the years, with drummer Jet Black being replaced by drum technician Jim Macauley.
The Stranglers will always miss the original brand however this one still shows great passion and talent, providing a great night for all fans. Performing their hit songs the crowd still had a great amount of respect and love for The Stranglers in their progression they still show strong energy and passion for performing. They made great use of the stage and let out some crazy dance moves throughout the night. YOu could tell they loved being back in stage and probably love it just as much as they did back in the 80’s. They put in so much effort and passion into the show so the past few year have definitely not changed their love for music and performing.