.stop me if you’ve heard this one before

^{[WARNING: contains images of nudity and scenes of general filth 😵🤩]}

This piece is about one of our favorite groups back in the day. “The Punk” and I especially bonded over their surly proto-punk sounds. It suggests a grubby version of ’60s garage punk with an ominous psychedelic undertow aided by Dave Greenfield’s keyboards. They were also suitably rude and delinquent in their image. Albin and I gravitated to the lyrics where the band weaved tales of sexual decadence, strange relationships, and bad behavior. All of this was, of course, perfect fodder for the two Alberton teenagers! 

With time, they developed a more pop-oriented sound, still dark but with redoubtable melodies that allowed numbers like “Duchess,” “Golden Brown,” and “Only the Sun” to become hit singles. Even when their songs became more nuanced and their production got cleaner and more user-friendly – they never entirely abandoned the sonic sneer that was always their trademark.

The group in question first came together in 1974 in Guildford, Surrey, England under the name the ‘Guildford Stranglers.’

ladies and gentlemen,

meet,

the Stranglers 👇

form an orderly queue please girls 🤣

Talking of the Stranglers, I have a story the Punk recently reminded me of – the memory is especially poignant as it features my late father, who passed away only a few years ago. Albin had found and rented out a video from Street Records in Braamfontein, of the Stranglers doing a live show. He’d brought it over to my house for us to watch together. The Wagner family did not own a VCR, you see. The concert in question was an outdoor gig they did at Battersea Park, London, in 1978.

👇 this one

_{Ooh, Peter Gabriel, special guest – nice one!}

My family retired for the evening, and only my Gran (who was then living with us) remained in the lounge. After, what felt like an eternity, she finished her last whisky and milk (yes! milk!!) and wobbled off to bed. The Punk and I, at last, had the video machine to ourselves. On went the Stranglers video. It was, of course, all good. Everything was pretty mellow until nearly the end of their set when the band slid into Nice ‘n’ Sleazy from their 1978 record, Black and White. The Stranglers then brought a group of female strippers onto the stage. And of course, as you do, a guy with a whip, who all proceeded to serve up some daytime strip club, full-frontal glamour for the audience. 

“I think the WHOLE band is the perfect combination. Angry poet on vocals, mad virtuoso frog on bass, old hippy on keys. Backed up by the sleaziest, rocksteadiest drummer in the business. Best rhythm section in the new wave era!”

YouTube comment on the Stranglers

Our teenage hormones were now on full alert! We had not been expecting this! The girls then started kissing band members and removing their knickers. Could it get any better for us? We were loving it – this was Rock ‘n Roll at its naughtiest best. Please remember this was in the deep, dark “verkrampte” days of National Party rule and Apartheid. This nakedness was surely a “skande” * according to the NG Kerk. Did this bother us as we sat glued to the screen? One word answer … NO!

_{[*it’s … a … SIN]}

Jean-Jacques Burnell on bass was now also beginning to lose his clothes and the guy with the whip was corralling the lovely, now almost all naked ladies, into a tight formation on the stage … and then … MY DAD WALKED IN!! “What are you boys watching,” he asked with little interest. I said … “it’s a music video Dad.” He takes another look, laughs, says something about keeping the sound down, has another quick peep, and then goes off to bed. Leaving the Punk and me in relieving hysterics on the lounge floor. We then of course rewound to the beginning of the song and watched it all again.

_{We came across the west sea
We didn’t have much idea of the
Kind of climate waiting
We used our hands for guidance
Like the children of a preacher
Like a dry tree seeking water
Or a daughter
Nice ‘n’ sleazy
Nice ‘n’ sleazy does it … every time}

Imagine my surprise in the morning when I staggered into the lounge to find my Dad having his morning coffee while watching something on the TV. The music drifting from the speakers of our old Sony was unmistakable. “I didn’t know you were a Stranglers fan, Dad?” I asked as I peered at the screen, catching a surprising glimpse of what he was now feasting his eyes on. Yes, the old bugger had found our Battersea gig video and was having a good look at the appropriate bits for himself – “nice ‘n sleazy, nice ‘n sleazy, does it, does it, does it every time …… “

Watch the video here 👇👇👇😂

Below is the link to the article on the Battersea Gig back in 1978. At the end of the piece is the video of the Stranglers and their stripping friends doing “Nice ‘n Sleazy” … enjoy.

Nice And Sleazy Does It – The Stranglers And The Strippers https://reprobatepress.com/2019/04/14/nice-and-sleazy-does-it-the-stranglers-and-the-strippers/

Watch the video here👆👆👆🤣

‘The Middle Eight’

I asked some of the

Usual Suspects

what

Stranglers

tracks were their favorites?

👇 Jimmy Barr 👉

said … “I always enjoyed their covers of “96 Tears” and “All Day and All of The Night.” They made both of them their own.”

👇Kevin Diamond

chose “Peaches” and “Hanging Around“

Albin 👇Wagner

_{simply said}

“Golden Brown” (obviously!) & “Strange Little Girl.”

_{which are basically also my two favorites}

John Dagley 👇

is another who selected “Golden Brown,” but added “Midnight Summer Dream,” “Skin Deep,” “European Female,” and “No Mercy.”

Kara Jayne 👇

picked “(Get a) Grip (On Yourself),” “No More Heroes,” and “Always the Sun“

Marcus Pryor 👉 said

“The one Stranglers track that comes to mind is “Skin Deep” from Aural Sculpture. Oh my fuck, what a tune lad!!! Don’t know if it counts as a Stranglers track but Hugh Cornwell’s “One Burning Desire” from the album Guilty is fucking A!!!”

_{end of survey}

but

here’s our

“Usual Suspects”

Stranglers

Playlist

_{15 videos}

Probably my favorite Stranglers album👇

“Aural Sculpture is a textbook minimalist, new wave-romantic jam that breaks into euphoric, melodic, shimmering harmonies when you least expect it. Sublime.”

Kara Jayne

I rented Aural Sculpture on import vinyl from Street Records in Braamies. I of course immediately recorded it onto a cassette even though we had been warned that “Home Taping was Killing Music.” That tape would meet my listening requirements for this album for well over a decade.

Somewhere in the late 90s I borrowed the CD from a friend (someone at our CD club I imagine – Trevor possibly?) and burned it onto my own blank disc. I then even copied and printed out the CD cover and manufactured my very own “legitimate” copy of the album. I did such a good job of this replication that I believed I owned the original. Sometime in the 10s I eventually found a proper copy of the CD at Micogram in Randburg.

“Many people tell you that they’re your friend”… this song also really foresees the dangers of social media!!

The Stranglers

LIVE

_review

“They fucking rocked! Maybe my ear not good enough, or J.J. Burnel carries all the leacy through; but Warne replacing Cornwell on vocals, and the new drummer, and keyboard members was not noticeable. (but then I never saw the original line-up!) What I would say was quite sobering was seeing the average fan and realising how fecking old we all are!!!”

My mate Jonathan Kritzinger after seeing The Stranglers in the flesh at the Brixton Academy on the 5th of February 2022. Apparently there were NO STRIPPERS!! 😏

Quite a wicked set-list that night – no wonder it pleased Jonno so – click on the link below to see what he saw/heard.

https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/the-stranglers/2022/o2-academy-brixton-london-england-53883b31.html

“Hugh (Cornwell) has become a very bitter bloke. I suspect he thought – as I did – that when he left, The Stranglers would implode. But we’re playing bigger venues, and he’s playing pubs. If I were in his shoes I’d be p**sed off.“

The Stranglers bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel has no sympathy for his former bandmate.

were

and last, but not least

In two years’ time, Jean-Jacques would have been a Strangler for 50 years. Incredible!

may I at this .point just Say

A big thank you to Albin “The Punk” Wagner for assistance with this blog. His memory is no doubt better than mine. Punk, this story you remember so vividly was a lovely souvenir to recall of my old man from when we were growing up. So thank you for sharing it with me. A big well done for finding the video link we enjoyed watching together that night many years ago.

One question though … did Street Records ever get that video back? 😂

My

Stranglers

DISCOGRAPHY

^{in my collection:}

^{still looking for:}

Black and White (1978), The Gospel According to Meninblack (1981), and 10 (1990)

Dreamtime would be the end of my road with listening to new releases by The Stranglers. Hugh Cornwell would make one more LP with them – 10 in 1990 (it’s apparently a stinker) – and leave the band. I left with him.

🎶

Thanks

for reading my blog on The Stranglers

and to the

Usual Suspects for their most valued input

👋