The Stranglers

But their musicianship and menace transcended the genre, creating a sound unique to themselves. With their first three albums (Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes and Black and White) being released within an astonishing 13 months of each other, scoring hit singles with ‘Peaches’, ‘No More Heroes’ and ‘Walk On By’. Further success was to follow with ‘Always The Sun’, ‘Strange Little Girl’ and the mercurial ‘Golden Brown’, amongst many others, earning the group 24 Top 40 singles and 19 Top 40 albums in a career spanning six different decades.

With this unique Stranglers sound, combining a brilliant melodic touch with a dark aggression and effortless cool, The Stranglers are now recognised as one of the most credible and influential bands to have emerged from the punk era. In 2024, the Stranglers celebrate their 50th anniversary with a sell-out tour of the UK including the prestigious Royal Albert Hall and headline slots at festivals worldwide.

The band’s 2021 UK top 5 album Dark Matters was their highest charting album for 38 years showing The Stranglers are still a creative force to be reckoned with. Dark Matters achieved wide critical acclaim and was described by many music mags as ‘their best album for forty years’.

Dark Matters also became the swansong of Dave Greenfield, Stranglers’ keyboard player of 45 years who performed extensively on the record before his sudden passing in 2020 due to CoVid-19. Dave was a highly acclaimed keyboardist whose unique approach and instantly identifiable playing style massively contributed to the group’s inimitable sound.