Stranglers Tour With Greatest Hits

Snatch was a great movie. It was good because of the characters, good because of the dialogue, good because of the startling number of expletives laced throughout its script, and mostly, great because of the soundtrack. One of the most poignant moments in the film comes just after Gorgeous George takes a chinner from Mickey the Pikey. As George tumbles like a tree, his world swirls into a tapestry of blurred color, and the flowing strains of a harpsichord gradually fill the scene with blissful oblivion as George’s face melts into the floor. That song, that blanketing, numbing warmth, was my introduction to the Stranglers.

I later found out the hit song, “Golden Brown,” was a nicer moment from the Stranglers, as the band is largely known as one of England’s more impolite musical acts. Their sometimes sexist lyrics and crude, growling delivery made them popular with the punk crowd – though musically they are anything but punk. One critic even referred to them as “bad mannered yobs,” though he acknowledged their musical talent in the same breath. Now, according to Music-News, the band is hitting the road on a greatest hits tour through several stops in their home country from the middle of October to the middle of November.

Though the band looks like it has been touring relatively steadily since its late ‘70s heyday, I doubt they’ve lost any of the attitude they had when they wrote “Peaches,” the narrative of a leisurely stroll along the beach while wolf-calling the ladies, or the self-explanatory “Bring On The Nubiles.” I’d like to see what they sound like, especially if they bring out “Golden Brown,” and I recommend to anyone who has not yet been deflowered to check them out. But make sure you get tested afterward.