The Stranglers
 A
science teacher, a karate black belt, an ex-ice-cream seller
pushing 40, and a keyboard player who thought he was Ray Manzarek
- you really couldn't have made The Stranglers up . . .
Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel and Brian Duffy (aka Jet
Black) formed The Guildford Stranglers in 1974 to play gigs in
Surrey, England.
Two years later, the full line-up emerged, comprising Cornwell
(vocals, guitar), Burnel (bass), Jet Black (drums) and Dave
Greenfield (keyboards).
Following a tour supporting Patti Smith during 1976 and some
favourable press reports (the first to bring comparisons to The
Doors), the band were signed by United Artists Records.
Courting controversy from the outset, they caused a sensation
and saw their date at London's Roundhouse cut short when Cornwell
wore an allegedly obscene T-shirt.
In February 1977 The Stranglers' debut single, Get A Grip
(On Yourself), reached number 44 in the UK charts and
inexplicably dropped out after only one week.
According to the chart compilers, the sales were inadvertently
assigned to another record, but it was too late to rectify the
damage.
Grip saw them at their early best - bathed in swirling
organ and backed by a throbbing beat, the single displayed
Cornwell's gruff vocal to strong effect. The b-side, London
Lady, was taken at a faster pace and revealed the first signs
of an overbearing misogynist stance that would later see them fall
foul of critics. The track was reportedly partly inspired by an
"unsatisfactory" sexual liaison with Melody Maker's
Caroline Coon.
Initially bracketed with punk, The Stranglers owed as much to
their pub-rock background and it soon emerged that they were older
and more knowing than their teenage contemporaries.
Nevertheless, their first album, Rattus Norvegicus, was greeted
with enthusiasm by the rock press and sold extremely well. The
blasphemous lyrics of Hanging Around and the gruesome
imagery of Down In The Sewer seemingly proved less
acceptable than the women-baiting subject matter of their next
single, Peaches.
Banned by BBC radio, the song still charted thanks to airplay
for the b-side, Go Buddy Go. Rather than bowing to the
feminist criticisms levelled against them, the band subsequently
compounded the felony by introducing strippers at a Battersea Park
concert in London (though male strippers were also present).
Journalists were treated in an even more cavalier fashion, and
the band members were renowned for their violent antics against
those who opposed them (karate black belt Burnel would attack
writer Jon Savage after one unhelpful review).
Having initially alienated the press, their work was almost
universally derided thereafter. The public kept faith, however,
and ensured that The Stranglers enjoyed a formidable run of hits
over the next few years. The lugubrious protest Something
Better Change, and the faster-paced No More Heroes both
reached the UK Top 10, while 5 Minutes and Nice 'N'
Sleazy each entered the Top 20.
In the background there were the usual slices of bad publicity.
Burnel and Black were arrested for being drunk and disorderly
before charges were dropped. Cornwell was not so fortunate and
found himself sentenced to three months imprisonment on drugs
charges in January 1980.
Within two months of his release, the band found themselves
under arrest in Nice, France, after allegedly inciting a riot.
Later that year they received a heavy fine in a French court.
The band's uncompromising outlaw image tended to distract from
subtle changes that had been occurring in their musical
repertoire. Their brave cover version of the Burt Bacharach/Hal
David standard Walk On By reached number 21 in spite of the
fact that 100,000 copies of the record had already been issued
gratis with Black And White.
Equally effective and contrasting was the melodic Duchess,
which displayed The Stranglers' plaintive edge to surprising
effect. Their albums also revealed a new diversity, from The
Raven (with its elaborate 3D cover) to the genuinely strange The
Men In Black. The latter was primarily Cornwell's concept, and
introduced the idea of extra-terrestrial hit-men who silence
individuals that have witnessed UFO landings - an ever-vengeful
music press delighted in pulling it to pieces.
For their next album, La Folie, the band was accompanied
on tour by a ballet company. The album spawned The Strangler's
biggest hit, the evocative Golden Brown, with its
startling, classical-influenced harpsichord arrangement. It
reached the UK Number 2 spot, resting just behind Bucks Fizz's The
Land Of Make Believe.
Even at their most melodic The Stranglers ran into a minor
furore when it was alleged that the song was concerned with heroin
consumption. Fortunately, the theme was so lyrically obscure that
the accusations failed to prove convincing enough to provoke a
ban. Another single from La Folie was the sentimental Strange
Little Girl, which also climbed into the UK Top 10.
The melodic influence continued on European Female, but
in spite of the hits, the band's subsequent albums failed to
attract serious critical attention.
As unremittingly ambitious as ever, The Stranglers' 1986 album Dreamtime
was inspired by Australian Aboriginal culture and complemented
their outsider image. Just as it seemed that their appeal was
becoming merely cultish, they returned to their old style with a
cover version of The Kinks' All Day And All Of The Night.
It was enough to provide them with their first Top 10 hit for five
years.
Increasingly unpredictable, the band re-recorded their first
single, Grip, which ironically fared better than the
original, reaching the Top 40 in January 1989. Despite their small
handful of collaborative ventures, it seemed unlikely that either
Cornwell or Burnel would ever consider abandoning The Stranglers
for solo careers.
Perpetual derision by the press finally took its cumulative
toll on the lead singer, however, and in the summer of 1990
Cornwell announced that he was quitting.
The lacklustre 10 was written specifically for the
American market, but failed to sell, in light of which Cornwell
called time on his involvement.
Burnel, Black and Greenfield were left with the unenviable
problem of finding an experienced replacement and deciding whether
to retain The Stranglers name. The band recruited vocalist Paul
Roberts and guitarist John Ellis (formerly of The Vibrators and a
veteran of Burnel's Purple Helmets side project).
Stranglers In The Night was arguably a return to form,
but still failed to recapture old glories. A second set with the
band's new line-up then emerged in 1995, with strong performances
on tracks such as Golden Boy, but with Cornwell's absence
felt most acutely in the unadventurous songwriting. Written In
Red, released in 1997, was a better effort.
The band celebrated their 21st anniversary with a concert at
London's Royal Albert Hall, incongruously backed by a string
section. Baz Warne replaced Ellis on guitar in March 2000.
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