Nail Soup Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 4 minutes ago, Beedster said: RN was also known as IV But why on earth? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassTractor Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 (edited) 13 hours ago, MrSpace said: What's the background to the IV on the cover? I see they used a big deal of it in the advert above, was wondering what it means? Back then we were told that the band changed their name from Stranglers IV to The Stranglers, but this probably is untrue. The WP entry for RN now says it was more of a joke of sorts, as if RN was their fourth album. Edited September 23, 2022 by BassTractor 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 22, 2022 Author Share Posted September 22, 2022 Well at the bottom of the cover there's IV.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted September 22, 2022 Share Posted September 22, 2022 I think I read somewhere that the IV doesn’t actually mean anything. Apparently they just put it there to confuse people, which it has! 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Well, There was four of them 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hobbayne Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 On 22/09/2022 at 12:21, thebrig said: Was the "ripped" speaker cone intentional, surely he could have got that tone some other way? Btw, I also love that tone! No, I think they were too skint to fix it it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 Another interesting thing about the RN front cover... The band later went on to have a song and album about the men-in-black, only to realise that there is a man-in-black in the RN album cover...... it's pretty much in the centre of the pic, against the window above Jet's head. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velarian Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 36 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: Another interesting thing about the RN front cover... The band later went on to have a song and album about the men-in-black, only to realise that there is a man-in-black in the RN album cover...... it's pretty much in the centre of the pic, against the window above Jet's head. That's amazing! Did they have the foresight to plan that or is it pure coincidence I wonder? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted September 23, 2022 Share Posted September 23, 2022 23 minutes ago, Velarian said: Did they have the foresight to plan that or is it pure coincidence I wonder? Or does it simply prove the existence of time travelling men in black? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 25, 2022 Author Share Posted September 25, 2022 Still enjoying the Stranglers journey, some great songs. In fact it was interesting listening to the below having listened to RN, because a song that has always felt like a run-off-the-mill punk anthem sounds and feels very different now Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NancyJohnson Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 Went to a wedding a few years back and sat next to Paul Roberts at the reception. Lovely bloke. During the dessert course, he just got up and sang a short set of big-band/rat-pack standards (to backing tracks) while walking around the guests! We had a long chat...he was always going to be on a hiding to nothing; I honestly felt sorry for him when he talked about the level of hate/indifference he got from early Stranglers fanboys who just wanted Hugh Cornwell to come back. Early in the evening, he did a short Stranglers set, again to backing tracks. It was quite surreal to see all the family elders bopping away to No More Heroes and Peaches. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crusoe Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 On 22/09/2022 at 19:52, BassTractor said: Back then we were told that the band changed their name from Stranglers IV to The Stranglers, but this probably is untrue. The WP entry for RN now says it was more of a joke of sorts, as if RN was their fourth album. They were originally called The Guilford Stranglers. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adey Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 I saw them at Ally Pally a couple of years ago supporting Halestorm. I think only JJB remains or originals, but still great to see them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 On 20/09/2022 at 08:08, Beedster said: So, following on from recent forays into 70's Prog with Yes and Genesis I delved back into that other major force in 70's prog The Stranglers.... And wow I'd forgotten just how bloody amazing they were, and how prog they were (certainly far more prog than the punk label they had in '77/78 would suggest). Elements of Squire bass tone and Emerson keyboards? And this is just one of the best tracks ever recorded (in my humble opinion of course) Great thread Chris! I've always been a big fan of The Stranglers and years ago, between 1979 and 1980 my first band were signed to the Stranglers management company, who's offices were located by the old Borough Market near London Bridge... Their offices were on the first floor of the building, and on the ground floor was a big open space where all of The Stranglers gear was stored. As part of the management deal, we were allowed to rehearse there overnight at the weekends and we used JJ's bass rig as our PA (his rig was a 2 kilowatt PA). I remember their roadie telling me that JJ liked to use a PA with multiple cabs as his rig so he could point them in different directions across the stage to make sure he could always hear himself properly. I also remember being shown some of JJ's basses at the time, including an absolutely beautiful, black, through-neck Yamaha BB bass which I thought was about the most amazing bass I'd ever seen at the time! As well as getting to meet the band a few times, we supported them at The New Theatre in Oxford on their 'Raven Tour' , and also at the infamous London Rainbow gig in April 1980 when Hugh Cornwall was in prison for 6 weeks for possession of drugs. It was an amazing night as the band brought in loads of famous artists to sing different songs in their set.. We shared our dressing room with Toyah (who wore more clothes back then than she does now. 😉) Also on the bill that night were a certain 'beat combo' from Manchester called Joy Division. Those were the days... 😁 19 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 Made my day Nik, great story, many thanks. Seems a million years ago doesn't it; no mobile phones, analogue recording, Columbus and Satellite basses (a Westone if you had rich parents or even a Fender if you had a recording deal), only three TV channels and the excitement of seeing a band like The Stranglers on one of them. If only I had a time machine*..... * although if I did go back to 1977 I'd probably come straight back to 2022 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 11 hours ago, silverfoxnik said: Great thread Chris! I've always been a big fan of The Stranglers and years ago, between 1979 and 1980 my first band were signed to the Stranglers management company, who's offices were located by the old Borough Market near London Bridge... Their offices were on the first floor of the building, and on the ground floor was a big open space where all of The Stranglers gear was stored. As part of the management deal, we were allowed to rehearse there overnight at the weekends and we used JJ's bass rig as our PA (his rig was a 2 kilowatt PA). I remember their roadie telling me that JJ liked to use a PA with multiple cabs as his rig so he could point them in different directions across the stage to make sure he could always hear himself properly. I also remember being shown some of JJ's basses at the time, including an absolutely beautiful, black, through-neck Yamaha BB bass which I thought was about the most amazing bass I'd ever seen at the time! As well as getting to meet the band a few times, we supported them at The New Theatre in Oxford on their 'Raven Tour' , and also at the infamous London Rainbow gig in April 1980 when Hugh Cornwall was in prison for 6 weeks for possession of drugs. It was an amazing night as the band brought in loads of famous artists to sing different songs in their set.. We shared our dressing room with Toyah (who wore more clothes back then than she does now. 😉) Also on the bill that night were a certain 'beat combo' from Manchester called Joy Division. Those were the days... 😁 Great story... I was at the London Rainbow gig myself .... it was a great gig as you say. Plus the bonus that I have seen Joy Division! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 1 hour ago, Nail Soup said: Great story... I was at the London Rainbow gig myself .... it was a great gig as you say. Plus the bonus that I have seen Joy Division! I would have killed to be at that gig! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 So, after a week or so of listening to their first three albums, I can summarise that the Stranglers make me feel quite........ Hopeful 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulWarning Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 1 minute ago, Beedster said: So, after a week or so of listening to their first three albums, I can summarise that the Stranglers make me feel quite........ Hopeful IMO they went downhill after that (and JJ's bass tone), on the subject of JJ's bass tone, do we really think they mic'd up a ripped speaker cone when they recorded them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lozz196 Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 Maybe on the earlier stuff but as with most things once "the money" side of the business came in I daresay the record companies wanted something a bit more cultured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 4 hours ago, Nail Soup said: I was at the London Rainbow gig myself .... it was a great gig as you say. Plus the bonus that I have seen Joy Division! I would have thought that the more memorable aspect was seeing @silverfoxnik perform 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silverfoxnik Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 8 hours ago, Beedster said: Made my day Nik, great story, many thanks. Seems a million years ago doesn't it; no mobile phones, analogue recording, Columbus and Satellite basses (a Westone if you had rich parents or even a Fender if you had a recording deal), only three TV channels and the excitement of seeing a band like The Stranglers on one of them. If only I had a time machine*..... * although if I did go back to 1977 I'd probably come straight back to 2022 Very true Chris! I played that gig with my Hondo II Ricky copy, which I still have... 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nail Soup Posted September 27, 2022 Share Posted September 27, 2022 3 hours ago, Beedster said: I would have thought that the more memorable aspect was seeing @silverfoxnik perform I don't remember a grey-haired bassist 🤔 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 12 minutes ago, Nail Soup said: I don't remember a grey-haired bassist 🤔 The word you're after is silver I'm picturing an early Wal, an aesthetic at the interface of Punk and New Romantic with a tinge of Cold War Berlin, and an abundance of bass player cool 👍 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beedster Posted September 27, 2022 Author Share Posted September 27, 2022 32 minutes ago, silverfoxnik said: Very true Chris! I played that gig with my Hondo II Ricky copy, which I still have... Well there goes my Wal theory 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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