The Stranglers have outlasted and outsold virtually every other band of their era, recording ten hit albums and releasing 21 Top 40 singles. Their list of hits, including Golden Brown, were written against a background of spectacular success, dismal failure, drug dependency, financial ruin, infighting and misfortune. As a response to David Buckley's one-sided biography of the band ("No Mercy" Hodder & Stoughton, 1997) and the band’s reticence to reveal the true meaning behind their songs, Hugh Cornwell, founding member and songwriter, sets the record straight, displaces the myths and for the first time explains the real stories behind The Stranglers, his departure and the origins of their songs.

Autobiography by the singer and creative force of 70s rock group The Stranglers.

The Stranglers, or Meninblack, were once considered the bad boys of punk despite never really being a punk band. Formed in Guildford in 1974, they celebrate their golden anniversary as a band that have continued to tour and record throughout their history, giving us some classic tunes like ‘No More Heroes’, ‘Peaches’ and ‘Golden Brown,’ just part of a legacy that includes 40 top 40 UK singles hits and 18 studio albums. They have courted controversy, been jailed, been reviled and lauded – in fact, everything that can happen to a band has happened to The Stranglers. Still led by original bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, The Stranglers have created some thought-provoking music with a sense of melody, which proves that their musicality and intelligence were often greater than their contemporaries. This book examines every album and single recorded by the band, as well as rarities and their many videos throughout their history. With a foreword by current guitarist and vocalist Baz Warne, the band’s colourful history is explored as we discuss every song created by one of the most interesting and eclectic bands in rock music. Martin Hutchinson lives with his wife Michaela (and cat Sydney) in Horwich near Bolton, UK. He has written comedy sketches for TV and Radio, compiled quizzes for TV and has penned over 270 CD liner notes for EMI and others. For over thirty years, he has concentrated on music, supplying articles and interviews for around 20 provincial newspapers and three magazines. He is also, for his sins, a lifelong Bolton Wanderers fan. This is his second book for Sonicbond, the first being The Kinks On Track.

The Stranglers were at the vanguard of punk and new wave whilst never really being accepted as 'proper' punks. Still going to this day, but without original guitarist Hugh Cornwell, the classic line up is Cornwell, Jean Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield and Jett Black. This is the line-up covered in this book which goes from the band's conception to Cornwell's departure in 1990.

The life and times of The Stranglers, by their former front man.

THE DEFINITIVE, INVESTIGATIVE BIOGRAPHY OFJAZZ LEGENDDAVE BRUBECK("TAKE FIVE") In 2003, music journalist Philip Clark was granted unparalleled access to jazz legend Dave Brubeck. Over the course of ten days, he shadowed the Dave Brubeck Quartet during their extended British tour, recording an epic interview with the bandleader. Brubeck opened up as never before, disclosing his unique approach to jazz; the heady days of his "classic" quartet in the 1950s-60s; hanging out with Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Louis Armstrong, and Miles Davis; and the many controversies that had dogged his 66-yearlong career. Alongside beloved figures like Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra, Brubeck has achieved name recognition beyond jazz. But finding a convincing fit for Brubeck's legacy, one that reconciles his mass popularity with his advanced musical technique, has proved largely elusive. In Dave Brubeck: A Life inTime, Clark provides us with a thoughtful, thorough, and long-overdue biography of an extraordinary man whose influence continues to inform and inspire musicians today. Structured around Clark's extended interview and intensive new research, this book recounts one of the last untold stories of jazz, unearthing the secret history of "Take Five" and many hitherto unknown aspects of Brubeck's early career-and sharing details about his creative relationship with his star saxophonist, Paul Desmond. Woven throughout are cameo appearances from a host of unlikely figures, from Sting, Ray Manzarek of The Doors, and Keith Emerson to John Cage, Leonard Bernstein, Harry Partch, and Edgard Varèse. Each chapter explores a different theme or aspect of Brubeck's life and music, illuminating the core of his artistry and genius. To quote President Obama, as he awarded the musician with a Kennedy Center Honor: "You can't understand America without understanding jazz, and you can't understand jazz without understanding Dave Brubeck."

Now in paperback, this first oral history of the most nihilistic of all pop movements brings the sound of the punk generation chillingly to life with 50 new pages of depraved testimony. "Please Kill Me" reads like a fast-paced novel, but the tragedies it contains are all too human and all too real. photos.