The Stranglers

Emerging at the height of the punk wave with the album Rattus Norvegicus (#4 in 1977), the band from Guildford (Surrey, UK) evolved into post-punk and then new wave, achieving massive success with the classic "Golden Brown" (#2 in 1982). Made up of strong personalities with bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel and guitarist Hugh Cornwell sharing the role of singer, keyboardist Dave Greenfield and drummer Jet Black (born Brian Duffy), the band's dark, violent reputation has seen them through the years, recording some twenty studio albums, these included No More Heroes (No. 2, 1977), Black and White (No. 2, 1978), The Raven (No. 4, 1979), The Gospel According to the Meninblack (No. 8, 1981), La Folie (No. 11, 1981), Feline (No. 4, 1983), Aural Scuplture (No. 14, 1984) and Dreamtime (No. 16, 1986). With thirty-nine titles in the top hundred, The Stranglers have established a repertoire where the raging rock of "(Get a) Grip (on Yourself)" (no. 33), "Peaches" (no. 8) or "Nice'n'Sleazy" (no. 18) and the international hits "Strange Little Girl" (no. 7) and "Always the Sun" (no. 30) form a heterogeneous whole appreciated on the numerous compilations released by the United Artists and Epic labels. Hugh Cornwell's departure in 1990 marked a new stage for the band, who hired singer Paul Roberts and guitarist John Ellis, then Baz Warne, who took on both roles after the album Norfolk Coast (No. 70 in 2004). Two more albums followed, XVI (No. 89 in 2006) and Giants (No. 48 in 2012), before Dave Greenfield's death from the Covid-19 virus on May 3, 2020. However, he can still be heard on the band's 18th studio album, Dark Matters (No. 4, 2021), to which he had time to contribute. However, this was recorded without Jet Black, who had been on hiatus from the band since 2015 and made official in 2018, passing away on December 6, 2022 at the age of 84.

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