The Stranglers 1978 concert dates
The band's first North American tour (March–April), European festival dates, and the "Battersea Park" era, alongside the release of *Black and White* and several singles. Non-gig milestones (releases, TV appearances) are included in the table below and marked accordingly in Notes.
🎙️ = a recording of this show exists
- 27 Jan 1978—Single release: "5 Minutes" (makes no. 11 in charts)
- 03 Feb 1978Penny FarthingUlverston
- 06 Feb 1978PenthouseScarborough
- 07 Feb 1978CloudsEdinburghDate uncertain in source ("07.2.78??"). Skids support — JJ is so impressed that he gets the booking agency to arrange a London tour for them
- 08 Feb 1978Clouds DiscoEdinburgh
- 09 Feb 1978Martiqui HallFalkirk
- 13 Feb 1978Central HotelPortsmouth
- 14 Feb 1978Duke Of LancasterNew BarnetBilled as "Johnny Sox". Laura Logic joins the band onstage
- 15 Feb 1978—Photo session at 5pm with Chris Gabrin
- 22 Feb 1978TW StudiosRehearsal/recording, running through to the 27th
- 02 Mar 1978Old WaldorfSan Francisco, CA, USADate uncertain in source ("02.3.78?")
- 16 Mar 1978Act One ClubPhiladelphia, PA, USADate uncertain in source ("16.3.78?")
- 20 Mar 1978Act One ClubPhiladelphia, PA, USA239 Chestnut Street
- 21 Mar 1978 🎙️Act One ClubPhiladelphia, PA, USA239 Chestnut Street
- 23 Mar 1978The RathskellerBoston, MA, USASupport from City Thrills (featuring G.G Allin's brother on bass) and The Nervous Eaters
- 24 Mar 1978 🎙️The RathskellerBoston, MA, USAJJ interviewed for WBCN Boston Radio
- 28 Mar 1978PrivatesNew York, NY, USABlack and White was being mixed in New York and LA around this time
- 03 Apr 1978 🎙️Agora BallroomCleveland, OH, USA
- 04 Apr 1978Beginners ClubSchaumburg, IL, USA
- 05 Apr 1978Phoenix ClubChicago, IL, USA
- 06 Apr 1978(venue unspecified)Milwaukee, WI, USA
- 07 Apr 1978Jay's Longhorn BarMinneapolis, MN, USA
- 08 Apr 1978Longhorn BarMinneapolis, MN, USAThe Tuff Darts and Falmingo support
- 09 Apr 1978Stone Hearth, N. ParkMadison, WI, USATuff Darts support
- 10 Apr 1978 🎙️Dooley's TavernEast Lansing, MI, USAHugh and JJ are greeted by local women's lib movement handing out ant-Stranglers placards. Hugh reads out a carefully worded statement which ends: "The Stranglers have always loved women and will continue to do so…" The gig goes ahead
- 11 Apr 1978Dooley'sEast Lansing, MI, USA
- 12 Apr 1978(venue unspecified)Ann Arbor, MI, USA
- 14 Apr 1978 🎙️Horseshoe TavernToronto, CanadaMartin Rushent presents the band with the final Black and White album mix
- 15 Apr 1978High School of CommerceOttawa, CanadaSupport from locals The Action
- 16 Apr 1978El CasinoMontreal, Canada
- 27–29 Apr 1978—San Francisco, CA, USAHugh attends Captain Beefheart gigs with Blondie and is introduced to Robert Williams: "I was in San Francisco and went to a Captain Beefheart show with Blondie, because I was friends with Debbie (Harry) and Chris (Stein). We were all Beefheart fans. And Beefheart was playing for three nights in a row, so we trouped down to see him all three nights, and I met Robert there. I think it was the first tour that he'd played (drums) with Beefheart, and we immediately became very firm friends"
- 01 May 1978(venue unspecified)Iceland
- 02 May 1978(venue unspecified)Iceland
- 03 May 1978Reykjavik Exhibition HallReykjavik, Iceland
- 05 May 1978 🎙️Club 4Oslo, Norway
- 06 May 1978—Single release: "Nice 'N' Sleazy" (makes no. 18 in charts)
- 07 May 1978 🎙️(venue unspecified)Örebro, Sweden
- 12 May 1978—Album release: *Black and White*
- 18 May 1978Top of the PopsBBC TV, LondonPerformed "Nice 'n' Sleazy"
- 19 May 1978 🎙️(venue unspecified)Madrid, Spain
- 20 May 1978Brighton CentreBrighton
- 26 May 1978ApolloGlasgowThe Skids support
- 27 May 1978(venue unspecified)Edinburgh
- 28 May 1978 🎙️(venue unspecified)Glasgow
- 30 May 1978 🎙️Bingley HallStaffordAn inspired Peter Hook was in the audience
- 07 Jun 1978Leeds UniversityLeedsIn aid of Prisoners Rights Association
- 12 Jun 1978 🎙️Le StadiumParis, FranceVenue uncertain in source ("Le Stadium?"); recording archive labels this 12 May 1978
- 13 Jun 1978L'Ancienne BelgiqueBrussels, Belgium
- 19 Jun 1978(venue unspecified)Hannover, Germany
- 20 Jun 1978(venue unspecified)Cologne, GermanyJJ meets Roger-Marc of Polyphonic Size
- 22 Jun 1978(venue unspecified)Erlangen, GermanyAccording to Finchley Boy Al Hillier: "Hugh was found on the floor pissed as a proverbial newt, was eventually sobered up and still managed to play the gig (Class). I asked how pissed was 'pissed' and he replied "when we found him in his hotel room and he was completely unconscious with his strides around his ankles and could not be woken".."
- 23 Jun 1978(venue unspecified)Munich, Germany"The Stranglers in 1978 on the Rattus tour in Hamburg, Germany. They were brilliant. It may still be the loudest gig I have ever seen, including the utterly deafening Motorhead the following year." — Mick Barnard (U2 tribute band)
- 24 Jun 1978 🎙️KongresshausVienna, Austria
- 29 Jun 1978(venue unspecified)Zagreb, YugoslaviaUncertain
- 30 Jun 1978Hala TivoliLjubljana, YugoslaviaSupport from 999
- 06 Jul 1978VolkshausZurich, SwitzerlandSupport from 999
- 10 Jul 1978Municipal Palace of SportsBarcelona, Spain
- 12 Jul 1978El Teatro Alcalá PalaceMadrid, Spain
- 13 Jul 1978—Lisbon, PortugalBand travel to Lisbon and stay overnight at the Hotel Atlantis Sintra Estoril
- 14 Jul 1978Cascais Sports StadiumPortugalCancelled — the cancellation caused a riot. Paul Gray (The Damned, Hot Rods): "Last time I played Portugal was sometime around '77 with the Hotrods - we were supporting The Stranglers in some town hall type gaff in Lisbon. It was only a coupla years since the military had overthrown the fascist dictatorship, and being politically unstable there was a still an uncomfortable amount of military presence everywhere. Naturally, something billed as a punk rock gig was gonna attract attention, and it did...in spades. There was a riot halfway thru the night, the cops were clearly expecting trouble and started enthusiastically tear-gassing everyone...things got pretty lively. The whole thing ended in complete chaos, we somehow got back to our hotel in one piece and all ended up in Jet Black's room. Dave Greenfield was already clearly in a blissfully advanced mind-altered state, bless him, and pooling our resources we proceeded to get hideously and happily out of it. I recall tv's and telephones going for flying lessons out of the window... the usual stuff, but perhaps a little unwise under the circumstances. It was when the manager came banging on the door threatening to call the feds that paranoia set in, and we somehow escaped to the airport before the they had a chance to slam the anchors on us. It's all rather vague now but I do recall retiring to the gents and standing on a bog seat for a good few hours, just in case they turned up at the airport to look for us...they'd never find me there! Anyway, 46 years later we're doing this, our last European date of the year, in Coimbra 'twixt Porto and Lisbon. It's an interesting and varied lineup...and hopefully will be slightly less eventful than my last live experience there!"
- 15 Jul 1978—Band leave Lisbon airport at 4pm, arriving back into Heathrow at 6.25pm
- 16 Jul 1978(venue unspecified)Canary Islands
- 20 Jul 1978Old WaldorfSan Francisco, CA, USAPart of a "showcase" mini-tour with gigs through July at the Whiskey a Go Go in LA, the Sunset Marquee on Sunset Strip, and other gigs in San Francisco. Prior to the US trip there were a few other gigs in Estoril, Portugal and Ljubljana, Yugoslavia which are not mentioned; subject of the "San Francisco 1978 DVD" forum threads (per James)
- 22 Jul 1978The StarwoodWest Hollywood, CA, USA
- 22 Jul 1978 🎙️RevolverBBC TVBand appear on Revolver TV programme (presented by Peter Cook) performing "Tank" and "Curfew" — this is the transmission date
- 27 Jul 1978 🎙️Entermedia TheaterNew York, NY, USAVenue now known as Village East Cinema
- Jul/Aug 1978 (undated)The AutomattSan Francisco, CA, USAHugh meets Robert Williams at the studio where Captain Beefheart are recording *Shiny Beast*; they have an impromptu jam session one evening with the instruments in the studio
- 10 Aug 1978—Jet is interviewed for Strangled magazine issue 7
- 12 Aug 1978—Single release: "Walk On By" (makes no. 21 in charts)
- 17 Aug 1978Top of the PopsBBC TV, LondonPerformed "Walk On By" (presented by Noel Edmonds)
- Aug 1978 (undated)CloudsEdinburghEdinburgh Festival
- 02 Sep 1978Red CowHammersmith, LondonBilled as "The Shakespearos" — likely one of the shows referred to by a "1978 secret London pub gigs" forum thread title
- 03 Sep 1978 🎙️The NashvilleLondonBilled as "The Old Codgers" — likely one of the shows referred to by a "1978 secret London pub gigs" forum thread title
- 04 Sep 1978—Band rehearse ahead of the Ireland gigs
- 05 Sep 1978The RitzFurther rehearsals
- 07 Sep 1978 🎙️Ulster HallBelfast, Northern IrelandCine film exists for this gig
- 08 Sep 1978Arcadia BallroomPortrush, Northern IrelandThe Undertones support
- 09 Sep 1978Top HatDublin, Ireland"U2 support The Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom, playing to 2,500 people." "In Dublin, a young U2 supported The Stranglers at the Top Hat Ballroom. The Stranglers and their entourage took up two dressing rooms, which left Bono and company to dress behind the speakers." "Stranglers fans throw lighted cigarettes at U2." "Brocklebank was shooting for the Irish music magazine Hot Press in 1978 when he attended several of U2's first Dublin gigs and became their occasional roadie. His first photo on Sept. 9, 1978, is of a muscle-shirted Bono, mike in hand, performing as the opening act for English punk rockers The Stranglers in front of a foul crowd of hard-core punks. U2 was paid 50 Irish pounds (about $80) for the gig. The Stranglers' pre-set equipment took up most of the stage, leaving U2 only one claustrophobic corner. Brocklebank recalled that fans, reflecting the punk crudities of the day, spat and tossed lit cigarettes at them throughout their set. Afterward, he said, Bono confronted The Stranglers in their dressing room about the shoddy treatment."
- 11 Sep 1978Lancaster UniversityLancaster
- 12 Sep 1978KinemaDunfermlineCancelled — both this and the Aberdeen date were cancelled due to problems with Dave's keyboards
- 13 Sep 1978RufflesAberdeenCancelled — both this and the Dunfermline date were cancelled due to problems with Dave's keyboards
- 16 Sep 1978 🎙️Battersea ParkLondon
- 17 Sep 1978Top RankCardiff
- 18 Sep 1978Wirrina StadiumPeterborough
- 19 Sep 1978Drill HallLincoln"JJ sitting in the Drill hall while the Finchley boys kick a ball about, the crowd starts gathering at about 4, there is no repeat of the punk bashin of 77 when the Damned played! The pub over the road is packed with the new punks and the soul boys seem to know that this is the real deal, the drill hall is stuffed by 8 and restless when the Skids come on, each song is announced by Jobson thus "this songs about a girl walkin down a street in Glasgow who gets raped" into Charles! Then next up "this songs about a girl walkin down a street in Glasgow who got raped and raped" straight into Of One Skin. The Skids the best ever Scotish band but then there were the STRANGLERS! On they came the crowd went wild spit flying, sweat pourin, more than a 1000 packed into the drill, all denim and leather and what did they hear and what did they want! Hugh into Grip screaming "OH, OH ,OH Did'nt Have the money round to buy a!...." then the spit flew and the crowd went wild. For the first ten minutes it was a shower of spit as the band sliced into Bitchin, JJ stamped on my fingers on the stage as he snarled in rage about the Windsor C. Death and night and Blood thumped out along with Burning up time and all to soon the apex of Toiler on the Sea rang out and whisked the band away, i remember my sister and me passed around a bottle of Bells so we could all get pissed. The gig next night was the top rank Sheffield, that was a real fucker." — Carl Greenwold
- 20 Sep 1978Top RankSheffield
- 21 Sep 1978TiffanysGreat Yarmouth
- 22 Sep 1978Winter GardensMalvernSkids support
- 24 Sep 1978LocarnoPortsmouthSkids support. "The bass sound was enormous. Jean Jaques Burnel did his standing-on-one-leg dance and between songs picked at a scab where his bass kept rubbing on his arm. Hugh threw Dolly Mixtures out while singing, "would you like a sweetie?" I kept some for years. Strobe lights!"
- 25 Sep 1978RoutesExeterSkids and The Pop Group support
- 26 Sep 1978Village BowlBournemouth
- 27 Sep 1978PavilionBath
- 28 Sep 1978 🎙️ApolloManchester
- 29 Sep 1978Spa PavilionBridlington
- 30 Sep 1978 🎙️ApolloGlasgowCuban Heels and The Valves support
- 02 Oct 1978RufflesAberdeen
- 03 Oct 1978KinemaDunfermline
- 06 Oct 1978 🎙️BataclanParis, France
- 19 Oct 1978 🎙️Guildford UniversityGuildford"Rock Goes to College" — referred to in the source thread as "an incident!"
- Nov 1978 (date unknown)Old WaldorfSan Francisco, CA, USAPer a "fascinating live review from 1978" forum thread (per James, who read the thread) — a third San Francisco Old Waldorf date this year, distinct from the 2 Mar and 20 Jul shows; exact day not given
- 01 Dec 1978(studio unspecified)Social Secs first listed in a session on 1 Dec '78, with Rushent producing and Winstanley engineering; studio not given. Also in this session they recorded first versions of Fools Rush Out & YCUF6. On being presented with a demo for Meninblack, Rushent decided he'd heard enough and parted ways with the band
- 31 Dec 1978—Los Angeles, CA, USAHugh and Robert Williams commence recording of *Nosferatu* over Christmas, possibly at Brian Wilson's studio over three days: "I bathed in sun and walked in rain / It taught me how to laugh again"
Source: themeninblack forums thread