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The Stranglers
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| The Stranglers | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Origin | Guildford, Surrey, England |
| Genre(s) | Rock and roll, Punk rock, Post-punk, New Wave |
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Label(s) | EMI |
| Members | |
| Jean-Jacques Burnel Baz Warne Jet Black Dave Greenfield |
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| Former members | |
| Hugh Cornwell Hans Warmling John Ellis Paul Roberts |
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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 out of a Guildford off licence called the 'Jackpot' which was run by their drummer. Original personnel were drummer Jet Black (real name Brian Duffy), bass player/vocalist Jean Jacques Burnel, guitarist/vocalist Hugh Cornwell and keyboardist/guitarist Hans Warmling. Hans was replaced by keyboardist Dave Greenfield within a year. None of the band actually came from Guildford - Black is from Ilford, Burnel from Notting Hill, Cornwell from Kentish Town and Greenfield from Brighton. Hans Warmling came from Sweden, and returned there after leaving the band.
They began as a pub rock group, but later 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 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".[citation needed] In another interview he goes further saying, "I would like to think we (The Stranglers) were more punk plus and then some".[1]
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Hugh 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. Their early influences included pre-punk psychedelic rock bands, especially The Doors, and The Music Machine.
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"
On a nationwide UK tour in May 1977 they were supported by the four-piece band London.
During their 1978 appearance from the University of Surrey on the TV programme Rock Goes To College, the group walked off stage after verbally abusing the audience. The band attracted criticism from feminists who protested against their music. At one protest, the band grabbed one of the feminist protesters, and proceeded to manhandle her until she managed to escape. Later the band stated that it was unfortunate she escaped because she was probably enjoying it. [2]
Their early albums were initially received with mixed reaction because of their apparent sexist and racist innuendo. Dave Thompson wrote that "the Stranglers themselves revelled in an almost Monty Python-esque grasp of absurdity (and, in particular, the absurdities of modern 'men's talk')."[3] These early albums (Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black and White) built a strong fan-following.
The Raven, their 1979 album, was 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 contemporary political events in Iran and Australia.
The following album, The Gospel According to The Meninblack was a concept album exploring religion and the supposed connection between religious phenomena and extra-terrestrial visitors. It peaked on the UK Albums Chart at #8,their lowest chart placing and was widely considered an artistic and commercial failure in 1980.
The Stranglers recovered their commercial and critical status, after a slow start, with La Folie (1981) which was another concept album, this time exploring the subject of love. At first La Folie charted lower than any other Stranglers studio albums, and their first single "Let Me Introduce You to the Family" only charted at #41. The Stranglers then released "Golden Brown", their biggest hit, charting at #2 in the UK Singles Chart, and also EMI's biggest selling single for years. La Folie then recharted at #11 in the UK albums chart. "Tramp" was thought to be the ideal follow up single to "Golden Brown", however "La Folie" was chosen after Jean Jacques Burnel convinced band mates of its potential. It charted at #47. Shortly afterwards the Stranglers left EMI. As part of their severance deal, The Stranglers were forced to release a greatest hits collection The Collection 1977-1982. This included the new single "Strange Little Girl", which was recorded on a demo and given to EMI before being signed. It became a hit, charting at #7.
In 1983 the Stranglers released their first album on Epic Records Feline, which included the hit "European Female" charting at #9. This album gained much critical success but fell way short of La Folie in terms of sales. Yet, Feline was a success in Britain and the rest of Europe. It was on this album that Jet Black began to use elctronic drum kits.
1984 saw the release of Aural Sculpture with the UK Top 20 hit "Skin Deep" (Top 30 hit in the Netherlands). This was their first album to feature the inclusion of a 3-piece horn-section which featured in all their albums and live performances until Hugh Cornwell's departure in 1990.
Their 1986 album, Dreamtime, concerned itself with environmental issues, and contained "Always the Sun" (a hit in France, #15, and a moderate success in the UK, #30, and in the Netherlands, #35). Dreamtime was the only Stranglers album to chart in the U.S..
1990 saw the release of The Stranglers final album with Hugh Cornwell, 10. This was recorded with the intention of building on their "cult" status in America. After the success of The Kinks cover, "All Day And All Of The Night" (reaching #7 in the UK Singles Chart), The Stranglers decided to release "96 Tears" as their first single from 10. It proved to be a hit reaching #17. Despite this success their follow-up single "Sweet Smell Of Success" only reached #65. "Man of the Earth", which the band had high hopes for, was due to be the third single from the album, however Epic Records decided against it when The Stranglers failed to get a tour in America. Since 10 was recorded with the intention of breaking America, this was a major blow, and Cornwell finally decided to leave.
After Depeche Mode, by 1990, the Stranglers had had more UK chart hits (28) than any other artist never to reach the number one spot.
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 John Ellis, who had opened for the band in the 1970s as a member of The Vibrators, filled in for Cornwell during his time in prison in 1980, worked with Burnel and Greenfield in their side project Purple Helmets, and was added as a touring guitarist a short time before Cornwell's departure. Burnel and Ellis then took over vocal duties before deciding to enlist singer Paul Roberts.
In 2000 John Ellis left the band and a new guitarist, Baz Warne, was recruited.
In May 2006, Paul Roberts left the band. The lead vocals are currently being handled by guitarist Baz Warne, and Burnel, who has begun to sing more of the songs live that he originally recorded the vocals to [Stranglers Mk IV].
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 released in September 2006 (the title is a pun on "Sweet 16" and also a reference to the fact that it is the band's sixteenth studio album).
On November 4, 2007, the band played at the Roundhouse in Camden, North London, marking the 30th Anniversary of their headline run at the same venue in 1977. The set list was the same as the 1977 concert with the addition of a couple of recent songs. The event is recorded on the DVD Rattus at The Roadhouse.[4]
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 director Guy Ritchie, and extensively in the Australian film He Died With A Felafel In His Hand.
"No More Heroes" was covered by Violent Femmes and used for the film Mystery Men.
"Peaches", appears in Sexy Beast by director Jonathan Glazer.
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.
Stranglers - Walk On By excerpt
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- Jet Black (real name Brian Duffy): drums (1974 - present)
- Hugh Cornwell: guitars, vocals (1974 - 1990)
- Jean-Jacques Burnel: bass guitar, vocals (1974 - present)
- Dave Greenfield: keyboards, vocals (1975 - present)
- Hans Warmling: guitar, keyboards, vocals (1974 - 1975)
- John Ellis: guitar, backing vocals (1990 - 2000)
- Paul Roberts: lead vocals (1990 - 2006)
- Baz Warne: guitar, lead vocals (2000 - present)
In the late 1980s, the Stranglers regularly featured a 3-piece brass section in their live line-up.
- Rattus Norvegicus (1977)
- No More Heroes (1977)
- Black and White (1978)
- The Raven (1979)
- The Gospel According to The Meninblack (1981)
- La Folie (1981)
- Feline (1982)
- Aural Sculpture (1984)
- Dreamtime (1986)
- 10 (1990)
- Stranglers In the Night (1992)
- About Time (1995)
- Written in Red (1997)
- Coup de Grace (1998)
- Norfolk Coast (2004)
- Suite XVI (2006)
- ^ JJ Burnel Stranglers Interview (2005). Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
- ^ The Stranglers : Rock Goes To College. Retrieved on 2006-04-21.
- ^ Thompson, Dave. The Stranglers' biography at allmusic.com. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.
- ^ SIS news section. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- Rice, Tim; Rice, Jo; Gambaccini, Paul; Rice, Jonathan (1988). British Hit Singles (7th Edition). Guinness World Records ltd.
- Rice, Tim; Gambaccini, Paul; Rice, Jonathan (7 June 1996). British Hit Albums (7th Edition). Guinness World Records ltd. ISBN 0-85112-619-7.
- Strong, Martin C. (9 April 2001). The Great Rock Discography (5th Edition). Canongate Books. ISBN 1-84195-017-3.
- Roberts, David. Guinness Rockopedia. Guinness Publishing. ISBN 0-85112-072-5.