VA - CBGB & OMFUG - A New York City Soundtrack 1975-1986 (4 x CDs)

NEW WAVE

VA - CBGB & OMFUG - A New York City Soundtrack 1975-1986 (4 x CDs)

This four‑disc set maps the pulse of a city that changed music forever. CBGB & OMFUG: A New York City Soundtrack 1975–1986 is not just a compilation; it’s a living record of how punk, art rock and new wave grew from cramped stages and restless nights into a movement that reshaped popular culture. The collection moves through the club’s defining years with clarity, tracing the sound of rebellion, invention and survival that echoed through the Bowery.

The first disc captures the early spark, the raw, fast, unfiltered energy of bands like Television, The Ramones and Patti Smith Group. These tracks still feel electric, shaped by the urgency of musicians who were inventing their own language. The second disc widens the frame, bringing in Talking Heads, Blondie and Richard Hell, artists who turned punk’s rough edges into artful rhythm and downtown cool. The sequencing feels deliberate, showing how CBGB’s stage became a testing ground for ideas that would ripple far beyond New York.

By the third disc, the sound shifts toward post‑punk and art‑pop, with The Feelies, Bush Tetras and Sonic Youth pushing texture and tone into new territory. The recordings carry the grit of rehearsal rooms and small studios, yet the ambition is unmistakable, a generation finding beauty in distortion and repetition. The final disc closes the circle with live cuts and later‑era performances that remind listeners how the club’s spirit endured even as the city changed around it.

Across all four discs, the box set captures the atmosphere of CBGB itself: the smell of beer and paint, the low ceiling, the sense that anything could happen. It’s a portrait of a scene built on risk and imagination, where musicians played not for fame but for the thrill of discovery. The sound remains timeless, restless, inventive, and unmistakably New York.

For collectors and listeners alike, this set stands as both document and celebration: a reminder that great music often begins in small rooms, with nothing but conviction and noise. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Dictators - (I Live For) Cars and Girls 3:57

02 Harlots of 42nd Street - S&M (I Can’t Live Without You) 3:52

03 Magic Tramps - S&M-Leather Queen 4:38

04 Patti Smith - Free Money 3:48

05 Brats - Be A Man 2:51

06 City Lights - Travelin’ Man 3:50

07 Hounds - Call Me 3:13

08 Erasers - It Was So Funny (That Song That They Sung) 3:38

09 Ramones - Beat on The Brat 2:31

10 Stuart’s Hammer - Everybody’s Depraved (Live at CBGB) 3:20

11 Planets - Come on Up 3:02

12 Milk ‘N’ Cookies - Not Enough Girls (In The World) 3:31

13 Just Water - They Live By Night 4:32

14 Television - See No Evil 3:50

15 Mumps - Crocodile Tears 2:07

16 Heartbreakers - Born to Lose 3:04

17 Testors - You Don’t Break My Heart 2:41

18 Dead Boys - Ain’t Nothing to Do 2:25

19 Senders - You Really Piss Me Off 2:37

20 Electric Chairs - Fuck Off 3:06

21 Marbles - Forgive and Forget 2:48

22 Cherry Vanilla - Hard as A Rock 2:31

23 Tuff Darts - Fun City 2:55

24 Talking Heads - A Clean Break (Let's Work) (Live) 4:53

CD2

01 Suicide - Ghost Rider 2:33

02 Pure Hell - I Feel Bad 2:30

03 Helen Wheels - Room to Rage 3:55

04 Blondie - Picture This 2:56

05 Mars - Helen Forsdale 2:30

06 Come On - Don’t Walk on The Kitchen Floor 2:15

07 Mink Deville - “A” Train Lady 3:22

08 Heat - Instant Love 3:34

09 Genya Ravan - Aye Co'lorado 2:59

10 Theoretical Girls - Lovin’ in The Red 2:16

11 Richard Hell & The Voidoids - The Kid With The Replaceable Head 2:20

12 Stillettos - Pink Stillettos 2:08

13 Paley Brothers - Baby, Let’s Stick Together 2:56

14 Neon Leon - Rock 'n’ Roll is Alive 2:51

15 Revelons - The Way (You Touch My Hand) 3:06

16 New York Niggers - Just Like Dresden '45 3:19

17 L.O.K. - Fun House 3:03

18 Material - O.A.O. 4:47

19 Laughing Dogs - I Need A Million 3:10

20 Shrapnel - Combat Love 2:16

21 Peroxide - Heart Disease 2:25

22 Student Teachers - Christmas Weather 2:48

23 Tom Verlaine - Breakin’ in My Heart 6:08

24 Richard Lloyd - Number Nine 2:52

25 James Chance & The Contortions - Jailhouse Rock (Live at CBGB 1978) 3:22

CD3

01 Cramps - Garbage Man 3:36

02 Dots - I Don’t Wanna Dance (With You) 1:44

03 Miamis - We Deliver 2:04

04 Model Citizens - Shift The Blame 1:45

05 dB’s - Black and White 3:08

06 Rattlers - On The Beach 3:01

07 Love of Life Orchestra - The Revolution is Personal 5:04

08 Urban Verbs - Next Question 5:46

09 Sylvain Sylvain - Teenage News 3:10

10 Stimulators - Loud Fast Rules 3:08

11 Tot Rocket and The Twins - Reduced 2:41

12 Bongos - Telephoto Lens 2:03

13 Outsets - I’m Searchin' for You 2:46

14 Sorrows - Teenage Heartbreak 2:40

15 Lounge Lizards - Do The Wrong Thing 2:39

16 Nervus Rex - There She Goes 2:46

17 Cosmopolitans - Wild Moose Party 2:09

18 Polyrock - Your Dragging Feet 4:59

19 Lenny Kaye with The Lone Wolves - Child Bride 3:20

20 R.L. Crutchfield’s Dark Day - Arp’s Carpet 3:08

21 Colors - Jealousy 2:54

22 TV Toy - (Don’t Blame it on The) Weekend 2:47

23 DNA - Blonde Red Head 1:50

24 Rudies - Sherri Goodbye 2:52

25 Raybeats - Tight Turn 3:55

26 Phosphenes - Asexual 3:00

27 Minor Threat - Straight Edge 0:47

CD4

01 Bush Tetras - Things That Go BOOM in The Night 4:25

02 Human Switchboard - (Say No To) Saturday's Girl 3:50

03 Disturbed Furniture - Information 3:08

04 Necessaries - Back to You 4:05

05 Chemicals Made From Dirt - Oriental Television 2:06

06 China Shop - If It's New 4:06

07 James Blood Ulmer - Open House 5:20

08 Nihilistics - You’re to Blame 1:06

09 Beastie Boys - Egg Raid on Mojo 1:20

10 Individuals - My Three Sons (Revolve Around The Earth) 3:19

11 Rhys Chatham - Drastic Classicism (edit) 3:46

12 Unknown Gender - Boys/Girls (Radio) 2:50

13 Khmer Rouge - Hinterland 3:50

14 Bad Brains - Banned in D.C. 2:09

15 Heart Attack - English Cunts 1:20

16 Outpatients - Fight 2:12

17 Vatican Commandos - Housewives on Valium 1:36

18 Sonic Youth - The World Looks Red 2:40

19 Jeff & Jane Hudson - Operating Instruction 4:37

20 Glorious Strangers - Deception 3:20

21 Nona Hendryx - Transformation 5:31

22 Reagan Youth - No Class 1:34

23 Rat at Rat R - Assassin 3:54

24 Ritual Tension - Social Climber 3:04

25 Ordinaires - Grace 4:30

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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VA - Lava Lamp, Feelings Within (A Butterboy Compilation) (4 x CDs)

LAVA LAMP

VA - Lava Lamp, Feelings Within (A Butterboy Compilation) (4 x CDs)

There is something strangely comforting about a lava lamp. You look at it for a moment and nothing much seems to be happening. Then, almost without noticing, a warm shape begins to move. It rises slowly through the coloured liquid, stretches, separates, disappears, and somewhere else another shape begins to form. There is no hurry. Nothing is trying to get anywhere. You simply keep watching. Almost hypnotised.

That was the feeling I wanted to capture here.

Not the obvious psychedelic world of distortion, freak-outs and kaleidoscopic excess, but something softer and more intimate. Music that seems to glow rather than shout. Sounds that have warmth around them. Voices that float in the room. Bass lines that gently pull you forward while everything else seems to be suspended in the air.

So, Lava Lamp, Feelings Within, became a journey rather than a genre exercise.

Some of these recordings are soulful, some are folk, some electronic, some dream-pop, some jazz-influenced, some almost impossible to classify. There are old recordings sitting beside much newer ones, and artists who would probably never have imagined themselves sharing the same musical space. Yet that is part of the pleasure. Like the shapes inside the lamp, they keep changing as they move.

CD1 - The Rise, is where we begin. There is warmth and curiosity here, a sense that something beautiful has just been switched on. Jessica Pratt leads us into the journey, and nineteen tracks later brings us back to where we started, although perhaps we hear everything a little differently by then.

CD2 - The Float, is where the music seems to loosen its grip on the ground. Rhythms become softer, spaces become wider and the voices seem to hover somewhere between the listener and the speakers. Beach House provides the doorway in and out, and in between are sounds that drift, shimmer, pulse and quietly pull at the imagination.

CD3 - The Merge, is where the boundaries become harder to see. Folk can suddenly feel electronic. Jazz can become almost ambient. A guitar can sound like a distant light. A voice can seem to come from somewhere inside the music rather than sit on top of it. Nick Drake begins the disc almost alone and returns at the end with "Northern Sky", and somewhere between those two moments the separate pieces seem to have melted into one another.

CD4 - The Glow, is the late-night part of the journey, when the room is darker and the lamp seems brighter. Soul, trip-hop, dream-pop, electronic music and fragile songs begin to sit together naturally. Portishead opens the door with "Roads" and eventually brings us home with "The Rip", a track that seems to change shape while you are listening to it.

That is really all I hope this collection does.

Maybe you will put it on when you have nowhere else to be. And let one song become another without worrying too much about where the change happened.

I hope the old recordings feel new, the new recordings feel timeless, and somewhere along the way you find yourself staring into the music in much the same way you might stare into a lava lamp late at night.

Watching.  Listening.  Drifting. 

And perhaps, without quite knowing when it happened, feeling something inside you slowly begin to glow. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Jessica Pratt - This Time Around 3:33 2019

02 Shuggie Otis - Inspiration Information 4:12 1974

03 Terry Callier - Dancing Girl 9:01 1972

04 Bill Withers - Hope She'll Be Happier 3:50 1971

05 Karen Dalton - Something on Your Mind 3:23 1971

06 Cymande - Brothers on The Slide 4:08 1974

07 Roy Ayers Ubiquity - Everybody Loves The Sunshine 4:02 1976

08 Szabo Gabor - Ferris Wheel 5:30 1968

09 Bobby Hutcherson - Montara 4:58 1975

10 Minnie Riperton - Come to My Garden 3:22 1970

11 Broadcast - Come on Let's Go 3:15 2000

12 Joni Mitchell - A Case of You 4:23 1971

13 Lonnie Liston Smith & The Cosmic  Echoes - Expansions 6:08 1975

14 Sade - By Your Side 4:35 2000

15 Mazzy Star - Fade Into You 4:57 1993

16 Michael Kiwanuka - Cold Little Heart 10:10 2016

17 Goldfrapp - Utopia 4:14 2000

18 Sibylle Baier - Tonight 2:26 1973

19 Itasca - Buddy 2:54 2016

20 Jessica Pratt - Aeroplane 3:35 2019

CD2

01 Beach House - Space Song 5:21 2015

02 Air - La Femme D'argent 7:08 1998

03 Cocteau Twins, Harold Budd - Sea, Swallow Me 3:09 1986

04 Stereolab - Cybele's Reverie 4:40 1996

05 Zero 7 - In The Waiting Line 4:34 2001

06 Morcheeba - The Sea 5:48 1998

07 Galaxie 500 - Strange 3:17 1989

08 Grouper - Heavy Water/I'd Rather Be Sleeping 2:53 2008

09 Brian Eno - By This River 3:03 1977

10 Massive Attack - Teardrop 5:21 1998

11 Talk Talk - I Believe in You 6:16 1988

12 Yo La Tengo - Our Way to Fall 4:18 2000

13 Cigarettes After Sex - Nothing's Gonna Hurt You Baby 4:46 2012

14 Lush - Sweetness and Light 5:17 1992

15 Clientele - Reflections After Jane 3:24 2000

16 Spiritualized - Broken Heart 6:38 1997

17 Radio Dept. - Strange Things Will Happen 4:26 2003

18 Duster - Inside Out 2:21 2010

19 Mum - Green Grass of Tunnel 4:28 2001

20 Beach House - Days of Candy 6:16 2015

CD3

01 Nick Drake - Pink Moon 2:04 1972

02 Tim Buckley - Song to The Siren 3:25 1970

03 Linda Perhacs - Chimacum Rain 3:23 1970

04 Robert Wyatt - Sea Song 6:33 1974

05 Nico - These Days 3:33 1970

06 Arthur Russell - A Little Lost 3:18 1986

07 Alice Coltrane - Journey Into Satchidananda 6:31 1971

08 Roy Harper - Another Day 2:57 1970

09 Marissa Nadler - Drive 5:36 2014

10 Durutti Column - Sketch for Dawn I 5:19 1981

11 Fennesz - Before I Leave 4:07 2001

12 Julia Holter - Night Song 4:12 2015

13 Blue Nile - Downtown Lights 6:31 1989

14 Low - Sunflower 4:39 1999

15 Red House Painters - Katy Song 8:25 1993

16 Perfume Genius - Normal Song 3:13 2012

17 Beth Orton - She Cries Your Name 4:47 1996

18 Slowdive - Dagger 3:34 1993

19 Cat Power - Metal Heart 3:59 1998

20 Nick Drake - Northern Sky 3:46 1971

CD4

01 Portishead - Roads 5:09 1994

02 Smokey Robinson - Quiet Storm (Single Version) 3:58 1975

03 Leon Ware - Rocking You Eternally 4:00 1981

04 Ned Doheny - A Love of Your Own 3:45 1976

05 Smoke City - Underwater Love 6:46 1997

06 Hooverphonic - Mad About You 3:46 2000

07 Lamb - Gorecki 6:31 1997

08 Tricky - Overcome 4:30 1995

09 Julee Cruise - Falling 4:12 1989

10 Cranes - Jewel 3:04 1993

11 John Martyn - Small Hours 6:32 1977

12 Moby - Porcelain 4:02 1999

13 Everything But The Girl - Driving 3:58 1990

14 Mojave 3 - Bluebird of Happiness 9:15 2003

15 Elliott Smith - Between The Bars 2:22 1997

16 Sundays - Here's Where The Story Ends 3:52 1990

17 Ryuichi Sakamoto - Andata 3:26 2017

18 This Mortal Coil - Another Day 2:54 1984

19 Chromatics - Shadow 4:13 2012

20 Portishead - The Rip 4:31 2008

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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REUPLOADS # 157

REUPLOADS # 157

NEW LINKS for reuploads can be found here:

Click on the links and it will take you to the requested page.

DOUBLE HEADER - BILL NELSON/BE-BOP DELUXE Be-Bop Deluxe (Deluxe Edition) [1974-1978] + Bill Nelson’s Red Noise - Art-Empire-Industry, The Complete Red Noise [2022] (22 x CDs)

https://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/2024/10/double-header-bill-nelsonbe-bop-deluxe.html

Don Shirley - A BOX OF... Don Shirly [1956-1972] (14 x CDs)

https://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/2024/11/don-shirly-box-of-don-shirly-1956-1972.html

VA - Time Life Legends [2003] (8 x CDs)

https://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/2022/11/va-time-life-legends-2003-8-x-cds.html

VA - Time Life's Gold & Platinum, The Ultimate Rock Collection-1964 1995 [2003] (6 x CDs)

https://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/2022/09/va-time-lifes-gold-platinum-ultimate.html

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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BB LUCKY DIP #564

BB LUCKY DIP #564

Lucky Dip's will be a mystery gift to those who choose to pick them up. 

Be quick. No re-uploads.

Today's topic: MIXED BAG

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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VA - All You Good Good People (Britpop And Beyond 1995 - 1999) (4 x CDs)

BRITPOP

VA - All You Good Good People (Britpop And Beyond 1995 - 1999) (4 x CDs)

Britpop’s mid‑nineties surge was more than a chart moment; it was a collision of voices, attitudes and ideas that reshaped British guitar music. All You Good Good People captures that world in motion, gathering tracks that show how the era moved from sharp indie confidence to a broader, more exploratory sound. The compilation begins with the immediacy that defined the period: bright guitars, quick tempos, and lyrics rooted in everyday life. Bands like Elastica, Ash, Sleeper, The Bluetones and Gene brought a sense of urgency, turning small observations into big choruses. Even the quieter songs carried momentum, shaped by musicians who understood how to make intimacy feel electric.

As the set unfolds, the music grows wider and more ambitious. Supergrass, Cast, Ocean Colour Scene and Shed Seven deliver polished, muscular arrangements that still retain the spirit of small venues and late‑night radio. Electronic, Lush, Catatonia and Longpigs add texture, showing how Britpop absorbed influences from dance, shoegaze and alternative pop without losing its melodic core.

Later selections reveal the era’s expansion beyond its own label. Lightning Seeds, Stereophonics, Primal Scream, Cornershop, Terry Hall and James blur the boundaries between indie, pop, art‑rock and groove‑driven experimentation. The mood shifts toward reflection, deeper production and broader emotional range. By the time Embrace, Gomez, Rialto, Puressence, Idlewild, Ultrasound, The Delgados and Doves appear, the sound has evolved into something darker, more atmospheric, and quietly ambitious, the beginning of post‑Britpop’s rise.

What makes All You Good Good People compelling is its sweep. It doesn’t freeze Britpop in its most obvious poses; it shows the movement’s full arc, from swagger to subtlety, from immediacy to introspection. For collectors, it’s a panoramic view of a scene that shaped a generation. For listeners, it’s a reminder that Britpop was never just attitude, it was melody, imagination and the thrill of hearing new voices find their place. (B)

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Track lists

CD1

01 Elastica - Waking Up 3:17

02 Ash - Kung Fu 2:19

03 Paul Weller - The Changingman 4:03

04 Sleeper - Inbetweener 3:20

05 Bluetones - Are You Blue or Are You Blind? 2:55

06 Charlatans - Just When You’re Thinkin’ Things Over 4:50

07 Gene - Haunted by You 3:42

08 Boo Radleys - Find the Answer Within 4:34

09 McAlmont & Butler - Yes 4:02

10 Pulp - Mis-Shapes 3:49

11 Radiohead - Fake Plastic Trees 4:52

12 Salad - Drink the Elixir 4:07

13 Echobelly - Great Things 3:31

14 Aardvarks - Bargain Day 2:45

15 Wannadies - You and Me Song 2:51

16 Menswear - Sleeping In 3:45

17 Weekenders - Man of Leisure 3:42

18 Powder - Afrodisiac 4:20

19 Senseless Things - Something to Miss 3:56

20 Drugstore - Solitary Party Groover 2:56

21 Dubstar - Not So Manic Now 4:30

CD2

01 Supergrass - Going Out 4:19

02 Ride - Black Nite Crash 2:34

03 Black Grape - Kelly’s Heroes 4:24

04 Ocean Colour Scene - Riverboat Song 4:59

05 Cast - Sandstorm 2:43

06 Delta - Make it Right 4:20

07 Marion - Sleep 3:05

08 Lush - Ladykillers 3:14

09 Northern Uproar - From a Window 3:16

10 Shed Seven - Going for Gold 4:26

11 Dodgy - In a Room (Full Version) 4:17

12 Heavy Stereo - Chinese Burn 3:03

13 Longpigs - On and On 4:12

14 Space - Female of the Species 3:20

15 Catatonia - You’ve Got a Lot to Answer For 3:17

16 Mantaray - I Don’t Make Promises 2:36

17 Electronic - Forbidden City 4:04

18 Jocasta - Go 4:24

19 Auteurs - Light Aircraft on Fire 2:18

20 Feeder - Chicken on a Bone 3:47

21 High Llamas - Checking In, Checking Out 5:47

CD3

01 60ft Dolls - Happy Shopper 3:06

02 Supernaturals - Smile 3:44

03 Lightning Seeds - Sugar Coated Iceberg 3 3:50

04 Edward Ball - Trailblaze 2:59

05 Stereophonics - Local Boy in The Photograph 3:22

06 Primal Scream - Burning Wheel 7:05

07 Cornershop - Good Ships 4:40

08 Corduroy - The Joker is Wild 3:07

09 My Life Story - Sparkle 3:58

10 Terry Hall - I Saw The Light 3:17

11 White Town - Your Woman 4:19

12 James - She’s a Star 3:41

13 Monaco - What do You Want From Me? 4:09

14 Silver Sun - Lava 2:42

15 Pimlico - Glummer 2:39

16 Sussed - One in a Million 3:06

17 Kenickie - Punka 3:07

18 Bis - Sweetshop Avengerz 18 2:43

19 Babybird - Goodnight 2:54

20 Reef - Come Back Brighter 3:33

21 Seahorses - Love is The Law (Album Version) 7:45

CD4

01 Embrace - All You Good Good People 6:18

02 Echo & the Bunnymen - Nothing Lasts Forever 3:54

03 Gomez - Whippin’ Piccadilly 3:12

04 Rialto - Monday Morning 5:19 (album version) 4:51

05 Puressence - This Feeling 3:00

06 Jesus and Mary Chain - I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll 2:37

07 These Animal Men - Light Emitting Electrical Wave 3:01

08 Idlewild - Everyone Says You’re So Fragile 2:18

09 Clint Boon Experience! - White No Sugar 4:11

10 theaudience - A Pessimist is Never Disappointed 3:43

11 Ultrasound - Stay Young 7:04

12 Delgados - Pull the Wires From the Wall 3:48

13 Mojave 3 - Some Kinda Angel 3:44

14 Gay Dad - To Earth With Love (full version) 5:05

15 Doves - Here it Comes 4:49

16 Bronco Bullfrog - Del Quant 4:12

17 Big Kids - I’m Bored 3:42

18 Fall - F-’oldin’ Money 2:46

19 I Am Kloot - Titanic 3:11

20 Toploader - Achilles Heel 4:19

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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The Stranglers: A Box of... (50th Anniversary 1977-2027 Super Deluxe Edition) (35CD) (2027)

A BOX OF...

The Stranglers: A Box of... (50th Anniversary 1977-2027 Super Deluxe Edition) (35CD) (2027)

In celebration of 50 years since The Stranglers released their debut single '(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)' on 28 January 1977, here is a splendid overview of their extraordinary work.

"Grip", or "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)", is a single by the Stranglers from the album Rattus Norvegicus. It was the Stranglers' first single, released as a double A-side with "London Lady" in January 1977, and reached number 44 on the UK Singles Chart.

Background

"Grip" was written by Hugh Cornwell whilst the Stranglers were renting a house in Chiddingfold, where they had been based since 1975. He later said he was "very proud of it because it was my song completely. I was constantly writing songs by myself and this was the first one where I felt I'd really cracked it". In the first line of the lyrics, there is reference to a "Morry Thou", a slang term for a Morris Minor 1000.

In 1976, "Grip" was sent as a three-track demo, along with "Bitching" and "Go Buddy Go", to various record companies in an attempt to sign a record deal. Martin Rushent, who had been working as an engineer for a number of years, took the role of assistant to the head of A&R at United Artists Records, Andrew Lauder. On his first day in the role, he was played the demo of "Grip", and was asked for his opinion on whether United Artists should sign the Stranglers. Rushent's response was "well on the strength of that song I would sign them tomorrow". After then seeing the Stranglers perform at the Red Cow in Hammersmith, Rushent also offered to produce the band. The Stranglers signed for United Artists at the beginning of December 1976 and then immediately went into the studio to record "Grip" and "London Lady". The single was later that month announced for release on 28 January 1977.

"Grip" features a saxophone by Welsh coal miner Eric Clark, who was a friend of the Stranglers co-manager Dai Davies.

Release

Following its release, "Grip" was moderately successful, spending four weeks in the UK top-fifty, peaking at number 44. Apparently, there was an error by the chart compilers, BMRB, where sales for "Grip" were accidentally assigned to Silver Convention's "Everybody's Talking 'Bout Love" which peaked at number 25 during the first week of February. However, by the time the error was noticed it was too late to rectify. Despite having sold 15,000 copies by its second week, "Grip" only entered the chart that second week, reaching its peak two weeks later with the single unable to improve on the initial sales it had received.

Reviewing for New Music Express, Tony Parsons described the record as "a stunning double-sided single of distinctive, intelligent, contemporary rock'n'roll that sounds like Roxy Music would have if that old capped-tooth smoothie Ferry had been influenced by The Doors".

The Stranglers are an English rock band formed in Guildford, Surrey in 1974. The group's classic line-up, active from 1975 to 1990, consisted of guitarist and vocalist Hugh Cornwell, bassist and vocalist Jean-Jacques Burnel, keyboardist Dave Greenfieldand drummer Jet Black. Scoring 23 UK top 40singles and 20 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning over five decades, the Stranglers are amongst the longest-surviving bands to have originated in the British punk scene.

Formed as the Guildford Stranglers in early 1974, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging punk rock scene that followed, their idiosyncratic approach rarely followed any single musical genre, and the group went on to explore a variety of musical styles, from new wave, art rock and gothic rock to the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. They had major mainstream success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "Peaches", "No More Heroes", "Strange Little Girl", "Skin Deep" and "Always the Sun".

The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Burnel's heavy, melodic bass, but also gave prominence to Greenfield's keyboard playing. Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Cornwell and Burnel. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson later wrote: "From bad-mannered yobs to purveyors of supreme pop delicacies, the group was responsible for music that may have been ugly and might have been crude – but it was never, ever boring."

They have experienced several line-up changes following Hugh Cornwell's departure in 1990. Jet Black retired in 2018 and after many years of health problems, he died on 6 December 2022 at the age of 84, while Dave Greenfield died on 3 May 2020, leaving Jean-Jacques Burnel as the only original member still touring with the group.

Legacy

"No More Heroes" was featured in the first episode of the BBC fantasy crime drama series Ashes to Ashes and in the third episode of the second season of the American TV show Queer as Folk. The title was used for the 2007 video game No More Heroes, created by Japanese designer Goichi Suda, who is also a fan of the band. Despite the name, the cost of licensing the track prevented the song from appearing in the game. A cover version by Violent Femmes was used for the film Mystery Men.

The song "Let me Down Easy" was used as the opening credits theme for Hardcore Henry. "Peaches" appeared in the title sequence of Sexy Beast by director Jonathan Glazer and was used as the closing theme for many of Keith Floyd's cooking programmes, with the instrumental track 'Waltzinblack' providing the title music.

"Golden Brown" featured in Guy Ritchie's film Snatch (2000), was used extensively in the Australian film He Died with a Felafel in His Hand. It also featured in the Black Mirror episode "Metalhead" and in Season 2 of The Umbrella Academy.

More songs by the Stranglers have been licensed for use in commercials than from any other punk band. "Always the Sun" was used for a TV and radio campaign by insurance company Sun Alliance in 1992 and 1993. "Peaches" has appeared on adverts for Adidas, HSBC, Tesco and JBL speakers while "Waltzinblack" has been used for Vodafone and the Carphone Warehouse. In 2002 "Hanging Around", a track from the 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus which was never released as a single, was used in several French Wonderbra commercials featuring model Inna Zobova. "Golden Brown" was used to advertise Ore-Ida french fries and later used in Waitrose's 2008 Christmas campaign.

Tori Amos covered "Strange Little Girl" on her 2001 Strange Little Girls album.

Formed in 1974 as The Guildford Stranglers, they performed hundreds of gigs to little response. With the arrival of Punk and a new atmosphere sweeping music however, their style of playing and songs soon found a new audience. The Stranglers were unusually tuneful with a unique sound based on a growling base and swirling keyboards. Along with this, The Stranglers added aggression, intellect and a playful sense of deliberately provoking reaction. Only they could mention Shelley’s poem Ozymandias in the song Ugly while complaining that ‘an ugly fart attracts a good looking chick if he’s got money.’

Songs ranged from the growling punk of Shut Up, 5 Minutes and Burning Up Time to the sublimeness of Hanging Around, Toiler on the Sea and their cover of Walk on By. Left of stage, JJ Burnel on the “barracuda” bass. To the right Hugh Cornwell on guitar. Further right on keyboards Dave Greenfield. And at the back, Jet Black on drums.

Live, they were excellent, with Burnel and Cornwell prowling the stage and Cornwell providing terrible in between song jokes. Between 1977 and 1979, the band released a string of superb albums Rattus Norvegicus, No More Heroes, Black and White and The Raven - and singles that showed them to be innovative and progressive while still retaining a spiky punk attitude.

Sadly, the Stranglers have never been given the credit they deserve, largely being forgotten in books written about this time.

While Hugh left in 1990, both The Stranglers and he as a solo artist have continued on and still releasing some mighty fine stuff. It’s 2026 now and both Dave and Jet are sadly dead but JJ & Hugh continue though not in the same band.

More information, full discography and background history can be read here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Stranglers

K’s original badge from 1977!

The albums included in this 35CD 50th anniversary box set are as follows:

Original Studio Albums:

01 The Stranglers - Rattus Norvegicus (2014 Remaster) (1977)

02 The Stranglers - No More Heroes (2014 Remaster) (1977)

03 The Stranglers - Black and White (2014 Remaster) (1978)

04 The Stranglers - The Raven (2014 Remaster) (1979)

05 The Stranglers - The Gospel According to the Meninblack (2014 Remaster) (1981)

06 The Stranglers - La folie (2014 Remaster) (1981)

07 The Stranglers - Feline (2001 Expanded Edition) (1983)

08 The Stranglers - Aural Sculpture (2001 Expanded Edition) (1984)

09 The Stranglers - Dreamtime (2001 Expanded Edition) (1986)

10 The Stranglers - 10 (2001 Expanded Edition) (1990)

11 The Stranglers - Stranglers in the Night (1992)

12 The Stranglers - About Time (1995)

13 The Stranglers - Written in Red (1997)

14 The Stranglers - Coup de Grace (1998)

15 The Stranglers - Norfolk Coast (2004)

16 The Stranglers - Suite XVI (2014 Remaster) (2006)

17 The Stranglers - Giants (Deluxe Edition) (2CD) (2012)

18 The Stranglers - Dark Matters (2021)

Compilations:

01 The Stranglers - The Great Lost Stranglers Album (1983)

02 The Stranglers - Off the Beaten Track (2014 Remaster) (1986)

03 The Stranglers - The Early Years 74-75-76 - Rare, Live & Unreleased (1992)

04 The Stranglers - The Hit Men 1977-1991 (2CD) (1997)

05 The Stranglers - The Rarities (2002)

06 The Stranglers - The Very Best of (2006)

07 The Stranglers - The UA Singles 1977-1982 (3CD) (2009)

08 The Stranglers - Here & There - The Epic B-Sides Collection 1983-1991 (2CD) (2014)

Live:

01 The Stranglers - Live (X-Cert) (2018 Expanded Edition) (1979)

02 The Stranglers - Live at the Hope and Anchor (2014 Remaster) (1992)

03 The Stranglers - Fifty Years in Black - The Anniversary Tour 2024 (2CD) (2024)

 Please Thank K for sharing these sets and for the write up...

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Track lists

Can be found here:

https://www.discogs.com/artist/71891-The-Stranglers

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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.

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