The Stranglers are a British rock music group, formed on September 11, 1974 in Guildford, Surrey. They were originally called The Guildford Stranglers and operated from an off-licence in the town. They also based themselves in the nearby village of Chiddingfold for a while. Original personnel were singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell (from Kentish Town, London), keyboardist/guitarist Hans Warmling (from Sweden, replaced within two years by Brighton-born keyboardist Dave Greenfield), London-born bass guitarist Jean Jacques Burnel and drummer Jet Black (a.k.a. Brian Duffy), a native of Ilford, Essex.
They began as a sinister sounding, hard-edged pub rock group, but eventually branched out to explore other styles of music. The Stranglers were, beginning in 1976, tangentially assocated with punk rock, due in part to their opening for The Ramones' first British tour. The Stranglers were also associated with new wave music as well as gothic rock, but their idiosyncratic approach never fitted completely within any musical genre.
The group's members came from some very different backgrounds: Cornwell had been a blues musician prior to forming the band, bassist Jean Jacques Burnel had been a classical guitarist who had performed with symphony orchestras, Jet Black was a former jazz drummer, and Dave Greenfield had played at military bases in Germany. One of their early touchstones was a considerable influence from pre-punk psychedelic rock bands, especially The Doors, and The Music Machine.
However, despite their association with punk rock, the Stranglers were generally not regarded as punks by their musical peers. They wrote a string of top ten hits, including " No More Heroes" and " Peaches", which placed the band at the forefront of the New Wave movement - a branch one step removed from the more confrontational punks - not to mention that The Stranglers' material was fiercely intellectual. The band has been quoted as saying that they did not consider themselves to be a "punk" band. It was their frequent run-ins with the law and their strong following amongst British street gangs like the Finchley Boys that gave them a menacing persona. A nationwide UK tour in May 1977 where they were supported by the 4 piece band London did nothing but strengthen their credibility and fanbase.
