Stranglers

The Stranglers are an English rock music group, formed on 11 September 1974 in Guildford, Surrey.[1] Scoring a string of UK top ten hits, including "Golden Brown", "No More Heroes" and "Peaches", the Stranglers originally built a following as part of – but never quite fit in with – the mid-'70s pub rock scene. Their aggressive, no-compromise attitude made them one of the instigators of the developing UK punk rock scene, but their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre with the group exploring a variety of musical styles including punk rock, gothic rock, and new wave through to the 'pop' of some of their '80s output. With a sound that relied heavily on keyboards inspired by Ray Manzarek's style when the instrument was unfashionable, The Stranglers' early music was characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of Jean-Jacques Burnel and Hugh Cornwell, but their output grew more refined and sophisticated, as critic Dave Thompson writes, "From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude – but it was never, ever boring."[2] Genre(s): Rock and roll, punk rock, protopunk, New Wave Years active: 1974–present Label(s): United Artists, EMI, Epic, Castle Communications Members: Jean-Jacques Burnel Baz Warne Jet Black Dave Greenfield Former members: Hugh Cornwell Hans Wärmling John Ellis Paul Roberts