The Stranglers

The Stranglers emerged via the punk rock scene, formed as the Guildford Stranglers in Guildford, Surrey in the early 1970s, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene.

With their local connections, they were and remain one of my favourite bands of the period. I went to see the Strangers when they played Crawley College in 1977 and again when they were at Crawley Sports Centre in 1980.

The Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the UK punk scene.

While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging UK punk rock scene that followed, their unique approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles.

They had major mainstream success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "No More Heroes", "Peaches", and "Always the Sun".

The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's bass, but also gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards. Their early music also highlighted growling vocals from both Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated.

In no particular order, here are some of my favourite Stranglers tracks, starting with 'Golden Brown'

'No More Heroes' really grabbed my attention when it first came out in 1977, hot on the heels of the 'Peaches' release.

A classic early Stranglers cover hit was 'Walk on By'

And the popular 'Something better Change'

A later track that was released was 'Duchess'

Another relatively big hit was 'Always the Sun'

My personal favourite Stranglers track of all time (at this time) is 'Strange Little Girl'

There are numerous other tracks that I would have liked to have ad recorded here but many of the currently available videos are of poor quality, so I have omitted them

Lead Singer, Hugh Cornwell, left the band in 1990, for me that was the end of the group, the remaining three carried on with various additions but their best is over.

Jet Black no longer tours and has been reported to be in poor health

Founding keyboard player Dave Greenfield died on 3 May 2020 of Covid-19 complications.

The Alarm

The Alarm are a Welsh rock band that formed in Rhyl, Wales, in 1981. Initially formed as a punk band, The Toilets, in 1977, under lead vocalist Mike Peters, the band soon migrated to a more standard rock format and included marked influences from Welsh language and culture. By opening for acts such as U2 and Bob Dylan, they became a popular new wave pop band of the 1980s. The Alarm's highest charting single in Britain was 1983's "Sixty Eight Guns" , and is what they are most remembered for. Their 1984 album, Declaration, which contained "Sixty Eight Guns", peaked at number six in the UK Chart.

Malcolm McLaren

Malcolm McLaren was an English visual artist, performer, musician, clothes designer and boutique owner, most remembered for his management of the Sex Pistols. McLaren attended a number of British art colleges and adopted the stance of the social rebel in the style of French revolutionaries. He realised that a new protest style was needed for the 1970s, and largely initiated the punk movement, for which he supplied fashions from the Chelsea boutique SEX, which he operated with girlfriend Vivienne Westwood. After a period advising the New York Dolls in the U.S., McLaren managed the Sex Pistols, the issue of a controversial record, " God Save the Queen ", poking fun at the Queen's Jubilee in 1977, was typical of McLaren's shock tactics, and he gained public notoriety by being arrested after a promotional boat trip with the band outside the Houses of Parliament. McLaren performed with acclaim as a solo artist, initially focusing on hip hop and world music and later div...

Orange Juice

Orange Juice was a Scottish jangle pop band founded in the Glasgow by Edwyn Collins formed the Nu-Sonics with his school-mate Alan Duncan, and was subsequently joined by James Kirk and Steven Daly, They became Orange Juice in 1979, best known for their only UK Top 40 hit hit " Rip It Up ," which reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart in early1983. The band released their first singles on the independent Postcard Records label founded by Alan Horne, along with fellow Scottish bands Josef K and Aztec Camera.

King

Paul King was born in Ireland but moved to Coventry, England, with his parents at a young age. After graduating from Coventry Drama School he joined rock-ska band the Reluctant Stereotypes. King's line up of the band – which also contained record producer Paul Sampson – released an album and three singles before the band disintegrated. After the demise of the Reluctant Stereotypes, King formed the Raw Screens who in 1983 were relaunched as the self-named band King. As lead singer, King was famed for his BIG haircut and spray painted Doc Marten's Boots – whilst Richard James Burgess produced and drummed on most of the band's songs. The band lasted just a couple of years, though both of their albums, "Steps in Time" and "Bitter Sweet" , went Gold, and they had two Top 10 singles with "Love & Pride" and "Alone Without You" .

Big Country

Big Country were a Scottish rock band formed in Dunfermline,in the early 1980s, Big Country comprised Stuart Adamson (formerly of Skids, vocals / guitar / keyboards), Bruce Watson (guitar / mandolin / sitar / vocals), Tony Butler (bass guitar / vocals) and Mark Brzezicki (drums / percussion / vocals). The height of the band's popularity was in the early to mid 1980s and the band incorporated Scottish folk and martial music styles, and they engineered their guitar-driven sound to evoke the sound of bagpipes, fiddles and other traditional folk instruments. Their biggest hit and my favourite track is ' In a Big Country ', also 'Look Away' and their first single ' Fields of Fire '

Muzical Mystery Tour

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