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

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.

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.

This text presents a comprehensive and up-to-date reference work on popular music, from the early 20th century to the present day.