The Stranglers

The Stranglers are an English rock band formed in Guildford, Surrey in 1974. The group's classic line-up, active from 1975 to 1990, consisted of guitarist and vocalist Hugh Cornwell, bassist and vocalist Jean-Jacques Burnel, keyboardist Dave Greenfield, and drummer Jet Black. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning over five decades, the Stranglers are amongst the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the British punk scene.

Formed as the Guildford Stranglers in early 1974, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock to the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. They had major mainstream success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "Peaches", "No More Heroes", "Strange Little Girl", "Skin Deep" and "Always the Sun".

The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Burnel's heavy, melodic bass, but also gave prominence to Greenfield's keyboard playing. Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Cornwell and Burnel. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson later wrote: "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."

They have experienced several line-up changes following Cornwell's departure in 1990. Black retired in 2018, while Greenfield died in 2020, leaving Burnel as the only original member still touring with the group.