Retro: The Stranglers

Introduction
It has often been said that the Stranglers are probably the most enduring band of the UK punk/new wave era, while at the same time being the least celebrated. Line-up consisted of Hugh Cornwell on guitar/vocals, Jean-Jacques Burnel on bass/vocals, Dave Greenfield on keyboards and Jet Black on drums. This London-based band had at least one hit every year between 1977 and 1992. The hit single Golden Brown won them, one of the best selling singles of the year, and became hugely recognised for their long influential music career.

A number of current bands cite the Stranglers as an influence; concerts are packed; and the loyalty of their fans is legendary -- following the band from gig to gig (both domestically and around the world) and amassing huge collections of recordings and memorabilia are common-place. Yet, at times, bad (or non-existent) press have made the Stranglers seem the unwelcome "Lepers of Rock". The original Stranglers line-up jelled during 1974/75 and brought together four individuals with very different backgrounds and interests. This diversity was probably a main factor in keeping them together during the band's first phase (up until 1990).

The beginning of something new...
Hugh Cornwell was a Biochemistry graduate from Bristol University who had gone to Gothenburg University in Sweden to pursue research. Here, he formed a band called "Johnny Sox" with two American draft-dodgers and a Swede. Disillusioned with the politics of research (and with a desire to make the band succeed) he persuaded the other members that London was the place to be; they arrived in London (minus the drummer) in early 1974.

In the early seventies, Jet Black was a successful businessman, who owned a fleet of ice-cream vans and ran an Off-License (Liquor/Beer Store) in Guildford, South-West of London, UK. Losing interest in the routine of the business world, Jet looked to music as an escape. In his teens, he had been a semi-professional drummer; after buying a new drum kit and getting in a few weeks practice, he set out to find a suitable band. A "drummer wanted" ad in "Melody Maker", led to a meeting with Johnny Sox; upon joining, Jet persuaded the other band members to move to his Off-License, which had ample space for both rehearsal and accommodation.

Jean-Jacques (JJ) Burnel was introduced to the band through a chance hitchhiking incident. Although an accomplished classical guitarist, he had never seriously considered a music career -- his main passion was Karate, and his ambition was to travel to Japan, in order to further his development in this martial art. JJ has since fulfilled this ambition and currently teaches at his own Dojo near Cambridge, UK. His other passion (which he has also maintained throughout his career) was fast motorcycles. Soon after this initial meeting, Johnny Sox disintegrated, as two of the original members left, leaving Hugh and Jet to pick up the pieces. Shortly thereafter, JJ was taken on as the bass-player (having bought an instrument from Hugh and getting quickly up to speed with it).

What's in a name...
The foursome was (temporarily) completed, late in 1974 by guitarist Hans Warmling, a friend of Hugh's from Sweden. In this guise, the band started gigging around the Guildford area, under a variety of names; at about this time, an American serial killer known as the "Boston Strangler" was grabbing headlines around the world, which, given the menacing atmosphere projected by the band, eventually led to the name "The Stranglers". The number of gigs increased, and demo tapes were recorded; however, a record deal was not forthcoming. Eventually, Hans tired of the slow progress the band was making, despite their efforts, and quit the band to return to Sweden.

In July 1975, an advertisement in Melody Maker produced one Dave Greenfield, keyboard player. Dave had already played in a large number of bands and it was immediately obvious to the others that he was a natural addition to the Stranglers. The unusual inclusion of swirling keyboards at the time was to give the band a very distinctive sound, setting them apart from their contemporaries.

The dedication of a working band
The end result was a very dedicated and hard working band, who were almost constantly on the road. This determination first led to a deal with Albion, a London agency that gave them access to some of the City's most influential pub venues. In December 1976, the band signed a recording contract with United Artists. To the Stranglers and those that knew them, this was the culmination of all their persistence over a two-year period; ironically, their signing angered a number of established bands who thought that these "punk upstarts" had come from nowhere!

So began the ever-changing recording career of the Stranglers. The punk and new wave scene was taking off in Britain and the band's style at the time fitted into the genre; however, as this scene gradually died out, the Stranglers true colours started to show. The band's diversity had been clear from an early stage (and may have contributed to the difficulty in finding a record deal, as they could not be easily pigeon-holed); this flexibility and their experimental creativity were evident on an increasingly wide range of songs, with many stylistic twists and turns being showcased. New technology and techniques were happily embraced (as is clearly evident on such albums as "The Gospel According to the Meninblack") and new horizons were explored with the inclusion of a brass section (from "Aural Sculpture" to "10") and steel guitar (on "Dreamtime").

The Meninblack Through all this diversity, one image stuck to the band -- black. In the early eighties, the band's fascination with the Meninblack (mysterious visitors to UFO witnesses, possibly not of human origin, who tried to silence their victims) led to "The Gospel According to the Meninblack", which gave an alternative view to biblical happenings, from the perspective of alien intervention. Soon the band themselves were being dubbed "The Meninblack", further strengthened by the all-black dress adopted on stage. Even today, this name is applied to the band by their fans, which are often to be seen in all-black clothing and frequently go by "[name]inblack".

A slight change of pace
By 1990, and the completion of the tenth studio album "10", Hugh Cornwell (as stated later) thought that the band could, artistically, go no further. August 11th saw the last performance of the Stranglers with Hugh, at the Alexandra Palace in London (seen at left). At this point, the others members had seen no hint of Hugh's pending departure, and only found out later. Hugh has since gone on to produce an album under the guise of "Cornwell, Cook and West" and solo efforts "Wired" and "Guilty".

In the aftermath, JJ, Jet and Dave concluded that they disagreed with Hugh's assessment of the band's fortunes and decided to continue, albeit in a new format. The first new recruit was John Ellis, an ex-member of the Vibrators and a long-standing friend of the band. John had been a member of JJ's Euroband for the "Euroman Cometh" (solo album) tour in 1979 and had played guitar for the gigs at the Rainbow (London, UK), which featured a number of artists filling in for an incarcerated Hugh Cornwell (jailed for drugs possession).
More recently he had been a member of the Purple Helmets, a cover-band featuring both JJ and Dave and had joined the band's live set as an additional guitarist during the "10" tour. As an established member of the Stranglers extended family, John was the perfect choice as the new guitarist and he fitted neatly into the band.

The Second Phase: Re-invention
Although some demo tracks were recorded with the band in this format, and JJ on vocals, the band decided to look for a singer. A number of familiar names became associated with the search, most notably Dave Vanian (the Damned) and Ian McNabb (the Icicle Works). During auditions, the band was faced with one Paul Roberts, who proclaimed, "I'm your new lead singer"; upon hearing his wide vocal range and quality, the band agreed and the Stranglers Mark II were born. The new line-up now presented a completely different (and more dynamic) image, with Paul crashing and writhing about the stage. At the same time, the horn section was removed, giving a more straightforward presentation.

This reincarnation of the Stranglers produced four albums: "Stranglers in the Night", "About Time", "Written in Red" and "Coup de Grace". As always, these albums showed a great musical diversity, blending in the talents of Paul and John.

In March 2000, after nearly ten years with the band, John Ellis left to pursue other interests. He was replaced by "Small Town Heroes" guitarist Baz Warne. Baz will be familiar to Stranglers fans who attended the UK "About Time" tour in 1995, as Small Town Heroes provided the support. He was almost immediately thrown into the spotlight for live performances in Bosnia and several festivals around Europe.

The Stranglers may be over twenty-five years old, and have seen many changes in their career, but we can certainly look forward to plenty more exciting years in black.

The Stranglers Discography

Singles
19 February 1977 (Get A) Grip (on yourself) - Chart Position No.44, 4 weeks on chart
21 May 1977 Peaches / Go Buddy Go - Chart Position No.8, 14 weeks on chart*
30 July 1977 Something Better Change / Straighten Out - Chart Position No.9, 8 weeks on chart*
24 September 1977 No More Heroes - Chart Position No.8, 9 weeks on chart*
04 February 1978 5 Minutes - Chart Position No.11, 9 weeks on chart
06 May 1978 Nice 'N' Sleazy - Chart Position No.18, 8 weeks on chart
12 August 1978 Walk On By - Chart Position No.21, 8 weeks on chart
18 August 1979 Duchess - Chart Position No.14, 9 weeks on chart
20 October 1979 Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus) - Chart Position No.36, 4 weeks on chart
01 December 1979 Don't Bring Harry (EP) - Chart Position No.41, 3 weeks on chart
22 March 1980 Bear Cage - Chart Position No.36, 5 weeks on chart
07 June 1980 Who Wants the World - Chart Position No.39, 4 weeks on chart
31 January 1981 Thrown Away - Chart Position No.42, 4 weeks on chart
14 November 1981 Let Me Introduce You To The Family - Chart Position No.42, 3 weeks on chart
09 January 1982 Golden Brown - Chart Position No.2, 12 weeks on chart*
24 April 1982 La Folie - Chart Position No.47, 3 weeks on chart
24 July 1982 Strange Little Girl - Chart Position No.7, 9 weeks on chart*
08 January 1983 European Female - Chart Position No.9, 6 weeks on chart*
26 February 1983 Midnight Summer Dream - Chart Position No.35, 4 weeks on chart
06 August 1983 Paradise - Chart Position No.48, 3 weeks on chart
06 October 1984 Skin Deep - Chart Position No.15, 7 weeks on chart
01 December 1984 No Mercy - Chart Position No.37, 7 weeks on chart
16 February 1985 Let Me Down Easy - Chart Position No.48, 4 weeks on chart
23 August 1986 Nice In Nice - Chart Position No.30, 5 weeks on chart
18 October 1986 Always The Sun - Chart Position No.30, 5 weeks on chart
13 December 1986 Big In America - Chart Position No.48, 6 weeks on chart
07 March 1987 Shakin' Like A Leaf - Chart Position No.58, 4 weeks on chart
09 January 1988 All Day and All Of The Night - Chart Position No.7, 7 weeks on chart*
28 January 1989 Grip 89 (Get A) Grip (On Yourself) - Chart Position No.33, 3 weeks on chart
17 February 1990 96 Tears - Chart Position No.17, 6 weeks on chart
21 April 1990 Sweet Smell Of Success - Chart Position No.65, 2 weeks on chart
05 January 1991 Always The Sun (remix) - Chart Position No.29, 5 weeks on chart
30 March 1991 Golden Brown (remix) - Chart Position No.68, 2 weeks on chart
22 August 1992 Heaven Or Hell - Chart Position No.46, 2 weeks on chart

Go Buddy Go credited with Peaches from 11 June 1977
Straighten Out credited with Something Better Change from 13 August 1977
Tracks on Don't Bring Harry (EP) are Don't Bring Harry; Wired; Crabs (live); In The Shadows (live)
(*) Top 10 single

Albums
1977 Rattus Norvegicus
1977 No More Heroes
1978 Black and White
1978 Live X-Cert
1979 The Raven
1981 The Gospel According to the MenInBlack
1981 La Folie
1983 Feline
1984 Aural Sculpture
1986 Dreamtime
1988 All Live and All Of The Night
1990 10
1992 Stranglers in the Night
1995 About Time
1997 Written in Red
1998 Coup De Grace
2002 Lies and Deception
2002 Laid Black
2002 Stranglers & Friends - Live in concert
2003 From Birth and Beyond

Albums: compilations & box sets
1979 All Twelve Inches
1980 Stranglers IV
1982 The Collection 1977-1982
1983 Great Lost
1983 Great Lost Continued
1986 Off The Beaten Track
1988 Rarities
1989 The Evening Show Sessions [Live]
1989 Singles (The UA Years)
1990 Greatest Hits 1977-1990
1992 The Old Testament
1992 Live at the Hope & Anchor
1993 Death & Night & Blood [Live]
1994 The Early Years 74-75-76
1995 Live In Concert
1995 Radio One [Live]
1995 The Sessions [Live]
1996 Saturday Night Saturday Morning [Live]
1997 The Hit Men 1977 - 1991
1997 Live in London
1997 The Collection [EMI]
1997 Best of The Epic Years
1997 Friday The Thirteenth: Live at the Royal Albert Hall
1997 Access All Areas [Live]
1998 BBC Sessions: Live at Hammersmith Odeon 81
1999 Hits Collection
1999 Hits & Heroes
2001 The UA Singles '77-'79
2001 Epic Years
2001 The Very Best Stranglers Album Ever
2002 Stranglers and Friends
2003 Trojan Years
2002 Clubbed to Death: Greatest Hits Remixed
2002 Peaches: The Very Best of the Stranglers
2003 The UA Singles '79-'82