The Stranglers

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The Stranglers

Country England Guildford,Surrey, England
Years active 1974–present
Genres New Wave, Alternative rock Punk Rock
Labels EMI
Members Jean Jacques Burnel
Baz Warne
Jet Black
Dave Greenfield

The Stranglers are an English rock music group, formed on September 11, 1974 in Guildford, Surrey. They were originally called The Guildford Stranglers and operated from an off-licence in the town. They also based themselves in the nearby village of Chiddingfold for a while. Original personnel were singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell (from Kentish Town, London), keyboardist/guitarist Hans Warmling (from Sweden, replaced within two years by Brighton-born keyboardist Dave Greenfield), London-born bass guitarist Jean-Jacques Burnel and drummer Jet Black (a.k.a. Brian Duffy), a native of Ilford, Essex.

They began as a sinister sounding, hard-edged pub rock group, but eventually branched out to explore other styles of music. The Stranglers were, beginning in 1976, tangentially associated with punk rock, due in part to their opening for The Ramones' first British tour. The Stranglers were also associated with new wave music as well as gothic rock, but their idiosyncratic approach never fitted completely within any musical genre. JJ Burnel has however said in an interview, "I certainly considered myself to be a punk-rocker". In another interview he goes further saying, "I would like to think we (The Stranglers) were more punk plus and then some".

Contents

[edit] History

The group's members came from some very different backgrounds: Cornwell had been a blues musician prior to forming the band, bassist Jean Jacques Burnel had been a classical guitarist who had performed with symphony orchestras, Jet Black was a former jazz drummer, and Dave Greenfield had played at military bases in Germany. One of their early touchstones was a considerable influence from pre-punk psychedelic rock bands, especially The Doors, and The Music Machine.

However, despite their association with punk rock, the Stranglers were generally not regarded as punks by their musical peers. They wrote a string of top ten hits, including "No More Heroes" and "Peaches", which placed the band at the forefront of the New Wave movement - a branch one step removed from the more confrontational punks - not to mention that The Stranglers' material was fiercely intellectual. The band has been quoted as saying that they did not consider themselves to be a "punk" band. It was their frequent run-ins with the law and their strong following amongst British street gangs like the Finchley Boys that gave them a menacing persona. A nationwide UK tour in May 1977 where they were supported by the four-piece band London did nothing but strengthen their credibility and fanbase.

Their early albums are critically acclaimed. Although initially received with mixed reaction because of their supposedly sexist and racist innuendo, the Stranglers employed a sort of dog-humour in their lyrics that won over many music critics. Indeed, Dave Thompson wrote that "the Stranglers themselves reveled in an almost Monty Python-esque grasp of absurdity (and, in particular, the absurdities of modern 'men's talk')."[1] These early albums (Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black and White) built a strong fan-following.

The picture cover of the March 1980 Bear Cage single - a double-A side with Shah Shah A Go Go
Enlarge
The picture cover of the March 1980 Bear Cage single - a double-A side with Shah Shah A Go Go

The Raven, their 1979 album, clearly illustrates the band's separation from 'traditional' punk and a transition towards a more melodic, less aggressive sound. The songs are multi-layered and musically complicated, and deal with such subjects as a Viking's lonely voyage, heroin addiction, genetic engineering, and more contemporary political events in Iran and Australia.

The following album, The Gospel According to The Meninblack, a concept album exploring religion and the supposed connection between religious phenomena and extra-terrestrial visitors, was widely considered an artistic and commercial failure in 1980.

The Stranglers recovered their commercial and critical status with La Folie (1981) (including the hit "Golden Brown") and "Strange Little Girl" (1982). La Folie was another concept album, this time exploring the subject of love. By 1990 The Stranglers had had more British chart hits (28) than any other artist never to reach the number one spot. "Golden Brown" demonstrated the extent to which the group had changed; it features a lilting harpsichord and organ riff throughout.

Their 1986 album, Dreamtime, concerned itself with environmental issues, and contained the memorable "Always the Sun". Dreamtime was also the only Stranglers album to chart in the U.S..

[edit] New line-up

In August 1990, founding member Cornwell left the band to pursue a solo career. In his autobiography, Cornwell states that he felt the band was a spent force creatively, and cited various examples of his increasingly acrimonious relationship with his fellow band-members, particularly Burnel. The remaining members recruited two replacements, including John Ellis, who had opened for the band in the 1970s as a member of The Vibrators, and singer Paul Roberts.

Interest in The Stranglers resurfaced when, in 2001, singer Tori Amos covered their song "Strange Little Girl" and titled the album it was featured on Strange Little Girls. "Golden Brown" was also used in the hit film Snatch by film director Guy Ritchie and extensively in the Australian film He Died With A Felafel In His Hand. Their hit "No More Heroes" was covered by Violent Femmes and used for the film Mystery Men. "Peaches", finally, also appears prominently in another British movie, Sexy Beast by director Jonathan Glazer.

The Stranglers had a critical and popular renaissance in 2004 (together with their first top 40 hit for 14 years - "Big Thing Coming") with the acclaimed Norfolk Coast album and a subsequent sell-out tour. The follow-up album, Suite XVI, was releasd in September 2006 (the title is a pun on "Sweet 16" and also a reference to the fact that it is the band's 16th studio album).

Celebrity Stranglers fans include the chef Keith Floyd, who used "Peaches", "Waltzinblack" and other tracks as title and background music for his TV cookery programmes.

A version of The Stranglers piece "Midnight Summer Dream" was also used in the BBC Micro computer game, Spellbinder.

As of May 2006 Paul Roberts has left the band. The lead vocals are currently being handled by the guitarist Baz Warne, and also Burnel, who has begun to sing more of the songs live that he originally recorded the vocals to.

[edit] Personnel

In the latter half of the 1980s, the Stranglers regularly featured a 3-piece brass section in their live line-up.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Studio albums

[edit] Live albums

The Stranglers have always toured regularly. The official albums listed below chronicle the changing face of these performances over the years.

[edit] Compilations

[edit] Special projects

[edit] Singles

  • "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" (1977) UK #44[2]
  • "Peaches"/"Go Buddy Go" (1977) UK #8
  • "Something Better Change"/"Straighten Out" (1977) UK #9
  • "No More Heroes" (1977) UK #8
  • "Five Minutes" (1978) UK #11
  • "Nice 'N' Sleazy" (1978) UK #18
  • "Walk On By" (1978) UK #21
  • "Duchess" (1979) UK #14
  • "Nuclear Device (The Wizard Of Aus)" (1979) UK #36
  • "Don't Bring Harry"/"Wired"/"Crabs (Live)"/"In The Shadows (Live)" EP (1979) UK #41
  • "Bear Cage" (1980) UK #36
  • "Who Wants The World" (1980) UK #39
  • "Thrown Away" (1981) UK #42
  • "Let Me Introduce You To The Family" (1981) UK #42
  • "Golden Brown" (1982) UK #2
  • "La Folie" (1982) UK #47
  • "Strange Little Girl" (1982) UK #7
  • "European Female" (1983) UK #9
  • "Midnight Summer Dream" (1983) UK #35
  • "Paradise" (1983) UK #48
  • "Skin Deep" (1984) UK #15
  • "No Mercy" (1984) UK #37
  • "Let Me Down Easy" (1985) UK #48
  • "Nice In Nice" (1986) UK #30
  • "Always The Sun" (1986) UK #30
  • "Big In America" (1986) UK #48
  • "Shakin' Like A Leaf" (1987) UK #58
  • "All Day And All Of The Night" (1988) UK #7
  • "96 Tears" (1990) UK #17
  • "Sweet Smell Of Success" (1990) UK #65
  • "Heaven Or Hell" (1992) UK #46
  • "Sugar Bullets" (1992) UK #??
  • "Lies and Deception" (1995) UK #111
  • "In Heaven She Walks" (1997) UK #86
  • "Big Thing Coming" (2004) UK #31
  • "Long Black Veil" (2004) UK #51
  • "Spectre Of Love" (2006) UK #57

[edit] Solo discographies

[edit] J.J. Burnel

(with Dave Greenfield)

(with Fools Dance)

  • "They'll Never Know" (7"/12") (1987)

[edit] Hugh Cornwell

  • Nosferatu - (with Robert Williams) (1979)
  • Wolf (1988)
  • CCW (1992)
  • Wired (1993)
  • Guilty (1997)
  • Solo (1999)
  • Mayday (1999)
  • Black Hair Black Eyes Black Suit (1999)
  • Hi Fi (2000)
  • 2002 Mayday (2002)
  • Footprints in the Desert (2002)
  • Sons of Shiva (2002)
  • In the Dock (2003)
  • Beyond Elysian Fields (2004)
  • Dirty Dozen (2006)
  • People; Places; Pieces (2006)

[edit] The Purple Helmets

(Featuring JJ Burnel, Dave Greenfield & John Ellis)

[edit] Paul Roberts / Faith Band / Soulsec

  • Faith? (1999)
  • Self Discovery (2001)
  • The Pressure Sensitive (2003)

[edit] Trivia

In October 2006, a number of The Stranglers songs were voted, ranked and featured on the Triple M Essential 2006 Countdown including:

  • "Skin Deep" was ranked and voted 253 out of 2006 songs
  • "Golden Brown" was ranked and voted 1328 out of 2006 songs

The song "Skin Deep" is known as one the songs released that the lyrics are often misheard and misquoted in regards to the lyrics "Better watch out for the Skin Deep" & "(Brother, watch out) Watch out for the Skin Deep".[3]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Thompson, Dave. The Stranglers' biography at allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.
  2. ^ The Stranglers' biography at abcglasgow.com. Retrieved on 2006-10-04.
  3. ^ http://www.amiright.com/misheard/song/skindeep.shtml

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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