The Stranglers 1981 concert dates

A UK tour in February–March followed by an extensive North American tour (March–June), a quieter mid-year spent writing *La Folie*, and the La Folie UK/Ireland tour in November–December. Release milestones ("Thrown Away", "Golden Brown") are included in the table and marked as non-gig entries.

🎙️ = a recording of this show exists

19 Jan 1981
—
Single release: "Thrown Away"
29 Jan 1981
Top of the Pops
BBC TV, London
Performed "Thrown Away" (presented by Tommy Vance; single peaked #42)
YouTube →
30 Jan 1981 🎙️
BBC Radio 1
London
Tommy Vance interviews Hugh Cornwell and Jet Black; recording archive source
31 Jan 1981
—
Promo photoshoot
08 Feb 1981
Top Rank
Cardiff
Cancelled
09 Feb 1981 🎙️
Locarno
Bristol
The Gospel According to the Meninblack album was released the same day
10 Feb 1981
Polytechnic
Plymouth
Replaced a previously planned Exeter University date
11 Feb 1981
Gaumont
Southampton
12 Feb 1981
Odeon
Canterbury
Support from "The Wall"
Punk77 forum thread →
13 Feb 1981
Top Rank
Brighton
15 Feb 1981 🎙️
Hammersmith Odeon
London
16 Feb 1981
Odeon
Birmingham
17 Feb 1981
Victoria Hall
Hanley, Stoke
18 Feb 1981
Polytechnic
Sheffield
19 Feb 1981
Rock City
Nottingham
20 Feb 1981
Liverpool University
Liverpool
21 Feb 1981
Apollo
Manchester
23 Feb 1981 🎙️
Durham University
Durham
24 Feb 1981 🎙️
Playhouse
Edinburgh
Forum thread →
25 Feb 1981
Apollo
Glasgow
26 Feb 1981
Mayfair
Newcastle
27 Feb 1981
Lancaster University
Lancaster
28 Feb 1981
Leeds University
Leeds
02 Mar 1981
Winter Gardens
Cleethorpes
Cancelled — support was to be Modern Eon; venue's stage was too small
03 Mar 1981
De Montfort Hall
Leicester
04 Mar 1981
New Theatre
Coventry
05 Mar 1981
University of East Anglia
Norwich
06 Mar 1981
Corn Exchange
Cambridge
07 Mar 1981 🎙️
Rainbow
London
26 Mar 1981
Privates / Lexington Arts Center
New York, NY, USA
Opening night of the US tour; band arrived in New York and checked into the Abbey Victoria Hotel (51st and 7th Avenue), with rehearsals at SIR (Studio Instrumental Rentals) on the West Side of Manhattan. Band on stage 00:30. Support: Wall of Voodoo / Bee Girls
Blackhearts on the Upper East Side →PS Audio: Stranglers come Stateside →PS Audio: Pond-hopping with the Stranglers →Phil Coxon tour diary →
27 Mar 1981
Privates / Lexington Arts Center
New York, NY, USA
Support: Wall of Voodoo / Bee Girls
28 Mar 1981
Privates / Lexington Arts Center
New York, NY, USA
Support: Wall of Voodoo / Bee Girls
30 Mar 1981
Nicos
Allentown, PA, USA
This was the day of the assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan
31 Mar 1981
Center Stage
Providence, RI, USA
Rock club with a capacity of 800
01 Apr 1981
The Channel
Boston, MA, USA
02 Apr 1981
The Shaboo Inn
Willimantic, CT, USA
Low stage
03 Apr 1981
Left Bank
Mount Vernon, NY, USA
Band onstage at 01:30am; support Single Bullet Theory
04 Apr 1981 🎙️
Irving Plaza
New York, NY, USA
Band and crew stayed at the Abbey Victoria Hotel; gig finished after 2am
05 Apr 1981
—
Day off
06 Apr 1981
Toad's Place
New Haven, CT, USA
Band onstage at 11pm
07 Apr 1981 🎙️
West Orange Creations Club
New Jersey, USA
08 Apr 1981
Mosque Ballroom / Cellar Door
Georgetown / Virginia Beach / Richmond, VA, USA
Support: Single Bullet Theory; "All proceeds to benefit 1708 main art Gallery"
09 Apr 1981
(venue unspecified)
Virginia Beach / Richmond, VA, USA
10 Apr 1981
Ontario Theatre
Washington, DC, USA
Support from Fleshtones and Insect Surfers
11 Apr 1981 🎙️
Emerald City
Cherry Hill, NJ, USA
Forum thread →
12 Apr 1981
—
Day off (Sunday — band drove back up to NYC)
13 Apr 1981
(venue unspecified)
Pittsburgh, PA, USA
14 Apr 1981
Bogart's
Cincinnati, OH, USA
On the way to the gig, Ken Sander was pulled over for speeding with Hugh and JJ in the car
15 Apr 1981
Tyrone's
Athens, GA, USA
Band onstage at 10pm
17 Apr 1981
688 Club
Atlanta, GA, USA
18 Apr 1981
688 Club
Atlanta, GA, USA
19 Apr 1981
—
Day off (Sunday — band travelled 500 miles to New Orleans)
20 Apr 1981 🎙️
Ole Man Rivers
New Orleans, LA, USA
Band drove all night, 365 miles, to Houston after the show
21 Apr 1981
Agora Ballroom
Houston, TX, USA
Band onstage 10.30pm
23 Apr 1981
Club Foot
Austin, TX, USA
24 Apr 1981
Club Bijou
Dallas, TX, USA
25 Apr 1981
Opry House
Lawrence, KS, USA
Support: New Era
28 Apr 1981
Blu Note
Boulder, CO, USA
29 Apr 1981
Blu Note
Boulder, CO, USA
30 Apr 1981
The Stardust
Las Vegas, NV, USA
Overnight stay
01 May 1981
Perkins Palace
Pasadena, CA, USA
02 May 1981
Reseda Country Club
Reseda, CA, USA
03 May 1981
Bacchanal
San Diego, CA, USA
04 May 1981
Flipper's
Hollywood, CA, USA
Billed with special guest Robert Williams; cancelled/rescheduled
Hypebeast — Flipper's history →
04 May 1981
The Country Club
Reseda, CA, USA
Rescheduled show
05 May 1981 🎙️
KROQ 106.7 FM
Los Angeles, CA, USA
Jet Black and Hugh Cornwell interview; recording archive source
08 May 1981 🎙️
Keystone
Palo Alto, CA, USA
09 May 1981 🎙️
The Stone
San Francisco, CA, USA
13 May 1981
The Showbox
Seattle, WA, USA
Support from Idiot Culture
14 May 1981
Commodore Ballroom
Vancouver, BC, Canada
16 May 1981
SUB Theatre
Edmonton, AB, Canada
20 May 1981 🎙️
Uncle Sam's
Minneapolis, MN, USA
22 May 1981
Thumpers North
Coon Rapids, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Venue address: 2020 Northdale Blvd
23 May 1981
Thumpers North
Coon Rapids, Minneapolis, MN, USA
Venue address: 2020 Northdale Blvd
24 May 1981 🎙️
The Palms
Milwaukee, WI, USA
26 May 1981
Kent State University
Kent, OH, USA
Radio appearance — Hugh and Jet appeared on Kent State University Radio
27 May 1981
Dooley's
East Lansing, MI, USA
28 May 1981
Clutch Cargo's
Detroit, MI, USA
On Elizabeth Street (per source, marked with "??" as uncertain)
29 May 1981
Fryfogle's
London, ON, Canada
30 May 1981 🎙️
Concert Hall
Toronto, Canada
Matinee and evening shows — the matinee was added "last minute"; support Men Without Hats, bottles thrown during their set
1981 (date uncertain)
Playhouse Theatre
Winnipeg, Canada
Peaches were handed out to the audience
1981 (date uncertain)
(venue unclear)
Duluth, USA
Source lists this alongside a possible unspecified Vancouver (Commodore Ballroom) date around the same time; not firmly dated
01 Jun 1981
Civic Centre
Ottawa, Canada
Support from Men Without Hats. "My personal introduction to live, underground music actually occurred underground… thanks to England's the Stranglers at the salons of the civic centre in Lansdowne Park. It was the spring of 1981 and the band was on their 'Men in Black' tour. In the audience I saw for the first time real, live punk rockers complete with leather, studs, mohawks and Doc Marten boots. The opening act was Montreal's 'Men without Hats' whose synth/dance pop left me cold. But the Stranglers – although not exactly young lions even then – grabbed me right away. No cameras were allowed in, and I was awestruck when lead singer Hugh Cornell dove headfirst into the crowd and fought his way toward someone taking illicit photos. He got a hold of the camera, ripped out the film, and was back on stage before the band missed a note. I left very impressed."
Ottawa Explosion blog →
02 Jun 1981
Le Club
Montreal, Canada
03 Jun 1981
Le Club
Montreal, Canada
10 Jun 1981
The Starlite Ballroom
Philadelphia, PA, USA
Support from Circle Jerks and The Excuses
11 Jun 1981
The Showplace
Dover, NJ, USA
12 Jun 1981
Bond International Casino
New York, NY, USA
Matinee; support from The Units and Jo Marshall
13 Jun 1981
Bond International Casino
New York, NY, USA
Matinee — billed as "Saturday Kiddie Matinee, No Booze"; support from The Units and The Rattlers; billed as "Last US show"
19 Jun 1981
Bond International Casino
New York, NY, USA
Matinee; support from Velveteen
20 Jun 1981 🎙️
Bond International Casino
New York, NY, USA
Matinee (1pm) and evening (10pm) shows; support from Velveteen
27 Jun 1981 🎙️
(venue unspecified)
Hamilton/Toronto, ON, Canada
CFNY FM broadcast
Aural Sculptors — 999 CFNY FM Broadcast →
Jul 1981
—
Album writing (*La Folie*) — no gigs. Hugh Cornwell recalled in 2024: "I walked in one morning at about 10.30am and Dave was playing the Golden Brown melody again and I said 'Dave we've been looking at this the wrong way it's a song in it's own right'"
Aug 1981 (date unspecified)
—
Recording of *La Folie* commences
11 Aug 1981
Jet Black's house
Rehearsal, for Strangled magazine feature
27 Aug 1981
—
Rough mixes of *La Folie* dated here; album probably wrapped up by this point
09 Sep 1981
(venue unspecified)
Paris, France
JJ Burnel performing with Taxi Girl
28 Sep 1981
(venue unspecified)
Leeds
Special one-off gig (marked with a "?" in the source, suggesting some uncertainty)
09 Nov 1981
—
Single release: *La Folie* (album) — the source thread also separately lists the album as released on 21 Nov 1981; both dates are given, so the exact release date is uncertain
11 Nov 1981 🎙️
The Granary
Bristol
La Folie tour; support Vice Squad
Forum thread →
14 Nov 1981
—
Single release: "Let Me Introduce You To The Family" (peaked #42)
14 Nov 1981 🎙️
University
Norwich
La Folie tour
15 Nov 1981 🎙️
Odeon
Birmingham
La Folie tour
16 Nov 1981 🎙️
Sophia Gardens
Cardiff
La Folie tour
17 Nov 1981 🎙️
Hammersmith Palais
London
La Folie tour — gig reportedly filmed (source marks this with a "?")
themeninblack forums thread →
19 Nov 1981 🎙️
Gaumont
Southampton
La Folie tour
20 Nov 1981 🎙️
Rock City
Nottingham
La Folie tour
21 Nov 1981
—
La Folie album release date as also given in the source (see 09 Nov 1981 entry for the discrepancy)
22 Nov 1981 🎙️
Playhouse
Edinburgh
La Folie tour
23 Nov 1981 🎙️
Apollo
Glasgow
La Folie tour; support from The Pretenders
Forum thread →Forum thread →
24 Nov 1981 🎙️
City Hall
Newcastle
La Folie tour
25 Nov 1981
Apollo
Manchester
La Folie tour
26 Nov 1981 🎙️
Royal Court
Liverpool
La Folie tour
27 Nov 1981 🎙️
St. Georges Hall
Bradford
La Folie tour
28 Nov 1981
Lyceum
Sheffield
La Folie tour
30 Nov 1981 🎙️
Ulster Hall
Belfast, Northern Ireland
La Folie tour
02 Dec 1981
Loughborough University
Loughborough
La Folie tour
03 Dec 1981 🎙️
Pavilion
Bath
La Folie tour
04 Dec 1981 🎙️
Rainbow Theatre
London
La Folie tour
Forum thread →
Dec 1981 (date uncertain)
Pavilion
West Runton, Norfolk
La Folie tour. "The Stranglers arrived in Norfolk at the peak of their fame in 1981, having just released Golden Brown, and they received a raucous reaction, as Stuart Harvey who was there that night recalls. He said: 'When punk first started there was a lot of spitting and throwing beer about going on, but that had faded out in most places by this time, but I can remember Hugh Cornwell [the Stranglers' lead singer] had a towel constantly hanging from his guitar because people just kept spitting at him and JJ Burnel on the bass and in the end he had to tell them "stop spitting it's not 1977 anymore".' 'Most people stopped but one person kept having a go at JJ Burnel and in the end he snapped and threw his bass down and jumped into the crowd after him and the bloke legged it out of the venue and down the road - and that was very funny.' 'When he came back Hugh Cornwell said the bloke was "just swimming across to Norway", it was really funny.' Mr Harvey saw the band three times on their 1981 tour and paid just £2 to get in that night. 'Amazing times they really were, I'm so glad I was there to witness that,' he added."
EDP24 — Norfolk music history →
16 Dec 1981
—
Single release: "Golden Brown"

Source: themeninblack forums thread