Heston and Marky's Friday Top 5

[Marky Dread]

10 for Kory.

1. The Raven [The Raven 1979]

2. In The Shadows [Black And White 1978]

3. The European Female (In Celebration Of) [Feline 1983]

4. Bear Cage [Single 1980]

5. Tramp [La Folie 1981]

6. Sometimes [Rattus Norvegicus 1977]

7. No Mercy [Aural Sculpture 1984]

8. Fools Rush Out [Duchess B-Side 1979]

9. Thrown Away [The Gospel According To The Meninblack 1981]

10. Cruel Garden [Strange Little Girl B-Side 1982]

[Heston]

I love Bear Cage and No Mercy would be my favourite Stranglers song if it wasn't for the mid eighties production.

[Marky Dread]

I love Bear Cage and No Mercy would be my favourite Stranglers song if it wasn't for the mid eighties production.

Both great tracks. Shame they rejected this mix I like it.

[Dirty Harry]

1 Black and White ( probably in my 50 best ever albums)
2 Rattus Norvegicus
3 The Gospel According to the Meninblack
4 The Raven
5 No More Heroes

another great stranglers song think it was recorded around 78 or 79 but never been released to my knowledge on any compilation or B'side..also think theres a story behind why ...Think it was something to do with the infamous Rock Goes To Collage concert for the BBC

[Marky Dread]

1 Black and White ( probably in my 50 best ever albums)
2 Rattus Norvegicus
3 The Gospel According to the Meninblack
4 The Raven
5 No More Heroes

another great stranglers song think it was recorded around 78 or 79 but never been released to my knowledge on any compilation or B'side..also think theres a story behind why ...Think it was something to do with the infamous Rock Goes To Collage concert for the BBC

Known to fans as "Social Secs" it has been released twice kind of . First in 1979 as the track "Yellowcake UF6" which was the B-side to the "Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" single. "Yellowcake UF6" is "Social Secs" played backwards with the vocals removed.

Also released as an Mp3 download (only) for the "Decades Apart" compilation.

The same bass line was also used on JJ's solo album "Euroman Cometh" for the track "Do the European".



The Stranglers were clever at this type of thing the track "Two Sunspots" which appeared on "The Gospel According to the Meninblack" was actually recorded much earlier in 1978 at the sessions for the "Black And White" album. The same backing track but slowed down was also used for "The Meninblack" track for "The Raven" album.

The story behind the Rock Goes to College BBC gig was simple. Universities often excluded anyone other than those who were students into the gig. So The Stranglers took the stance of appearing on stage then walking off not wanting to play to an elitist audience as an agreement to make tickets available to non-university peoples. They could've just cancelled the gig but decided to make a statement as it was broadcast by the BBC and by taking the stage honouring their commitment.

Cracking short set then walk-off at 18mins 20secs.

I need to go and lie-down now.

[Marky Dread]

The Stranglers, The Jam, Joe Strummer all came from the pub rock scene as did a lot of the bands like Eddie and the Hot Rods, Ian Dury etc.. The Stranglers seem to be the only ones accused of bandwagon jumping.

Walk On By is a brilliant cover and my favourite Stranglers track.

Despite The Stranglers being the first British band to support both The Ramones and Patti Smith and hanging out with members of The Sex Pistols and The Clash, the band was viewed with suspicion and derision within the burgeoning punk movement and the press. Why?

JJB: Initially there wasn't. It was later on. It was actually after a Ramones gig one night; they did two gigs – one at the Roundhouse and one at Dingwalls and in those days I didn't drink. So after the Dingwalls gig someone poured some wine down my gullet and we were walking out in single file and passed Steve and Paul from the Pistols and also Paul Simonon from The Clash. Simonon, in those days, had a bit of nervous tic where he was gobbing everywhere and he did it just as I walked past so I thumped him.

Of course there was a bundle and Steve and Paul are having their pints knocked about so Paul [Cook] attacked me and we were thrown out by the bouncers into the courtyard there and it was The Stranglers and friends on one side and The Sex Pistols, Ramones and The Clash and press on the other side and after that it polarised opinion. Although we were playing all the gigs, the Pistols and The Clash had the clothes and the look so they were the ones going on the front covers and we were the ones going out of London. We were seen as representing the punk thing and of course we bore the brunt of the anti-punk thing.

Plus there was the fact that Hugh and I had admitted that we'd been at university and unlike a lot of people we admitted to smoking dope. All the other bands were saying, 'No! There's no drugs involved!' and that was a lot of bullshit.

There was an incredible amount of violence surrounding The Stranglers at the time. Was this the result of a siege mentality?

JJB: Yeah. When we started getting ostracised by all the people we thought were our mates, the press started taking sides and started to slag us off. Of course, when our first album, Rattus Norvegicus, came out, we outsold everyone and they were really cheesed off. So we'd start hearing things like, 'They use keyboards so they can't be a part of this and they're using synthesizers so they're definitely not a part of this new thing' and that kind of stuck. But it was good for us because it meant that we didn't have to subscribe to any new orthodoxies or new forms of fundamentalism and we could do what we want.

Sterling Morrison from The Velvet Underground said something to the effect that once they realized that they'd be ignored by the mass media they could do what they wanted. Was this a philosophy adopted by The Stranglers?

JJB: We just allowed ourselves to follow our musical noses. We weren't straightjacketed by expectations. I remember on the first album there's a 6/8 waltz on it and there's stuff that's prog rock, really, like 'Down In The Sewer' and it was full of everything that inspired us in the first place. When you're a young band, your first album usually reflects your obvious influences and you find your own identity later on.

It's quite strange how The Stranglers seem to have been written out of punk history. I was looking through Jon Savage's England's Dreaming and the only mentions of The Stranglers are those of just a footnote…

JJB: Well you know what happened with Jon Savage, don't you?

You punched him, didn't you?

JJB: I sort of slapped him about a bit and ever since he's been re-writing history. Of course, whenever they want to bring out a consultant on that period they wheel him out. He's made a professional career out of being an expert on all that. TV, books, whatever, we've been written out of it but that's OK. It bothered me at the time but does it bother me now? Not really. I mean, who's the last man standing, you know? We are. And perceptions change big time. The last 10 years our demographic has changed considerably; we're attracting a lot of teenagers and much younger people because to them, all that stuff are badges of honour: they've had spats with the press, they've tied journalists up – fantastic! No one does that any more! No one commits commercial suicide any more and they all play safe so yeah, it's become a bit of a badge of honour, I think.

This is why I dislike Jon Savage so much the snobby twat! It's a shame he has become the so called authority on punk and everybody takes his word for gospel - Marky D.

[Low Down Low]

Nice interview that Marky. I always liked JJB, even if he did give Paul a smack one time. As much as I love Paul that gobbing affliction of his was probably worthy of a slap at some point I think. Not the biggest fan of The Stranglers personally, but I heard Rattus Norvegicus long before I ever heard anything by Clash or Pistols and always loved that album. Never dawned on me to think it might be punk or, indeed, any other label. I suppose its the same with Ian Dury, I dont really know how to label music like that. Pub rock seems too trivial, punk doesn't quite fit and plain ole rock just seems like a grab all. Not that it matters a whole lot anyway I guess.

[Kory]

10 for Kory.

I'll get on this soon and add my comments over in the challenge thread so I don't gum up the top 5. Thanks!

[Marky Dread]

10 for Kory.

I'll get on this soon and add my comments over in the challenge thread so I don't gum up the top 5. Thanks!

Thread drift is like Bread Mould Madness!

[Marky Dread]

Talking Heads top 5 albums (no live or comps).


1. Fear of Music
2. Remain in Light
3. Speaking in Tongues
4. Talking Heads: 77
5. Little Creatures

[revbob]

Talking Heads top 5 albums (no live or comps).


1. Fear of Music
2. Remain in Light
3. Speaking in Tongues
4. Talking Heads: 77
5. Little Creatures

This is yet another band Id need a challenge for

[Heston]

Talking Heads '77
Remain In Light
Little Creatures
Fear of Music
Speaking In Tongues

[Flex]

Not going to be very creative here:

1. Fear of Music
2. More Songs About Buildings and Food
3. Talking Heads: 77
4. Speaking in Tongues
5. Remain in Light

You could make a case for any of their records through '85, imho. Last two are pretty uneven, but a pretty stellar discography, really.

[Heston]

Not going to be very creative here:

1. Fear of Music
2. More Songs About Buildings and Food
3. Talking Heads: 77
4. Speaking in Tongues
5. Remain in Light

You could make a case for any of their records through '85, imho. Last two are pretty uneven, but a pretty stellar discography, really.

Still some good stuff on the last two, great, great band.

[Marky Dread]

Talking Heads top 5 albums (no live or comps).


1. Fear of Music
2. Remain in Light
3. Speaking in Tongues
4. Talking Heads: 77
5. Little Creatures

This is yet another band Id need a challenge for

When you've done The Stranglers one give me a shout and I'll set up a Talking Heads one for you.