When I was in grade 11 high school (1979-1980), I became friends with this guy who was also getting into some of the new music that was coming out. He'd twigged that I was listening to The Clash and asked if I had heard the Sex Pistols and we got chatting about these bands, which were not at all popular with the rest of the teens in our isolated Northern Ontario school. He mentioned that he had a cousin who lived in the UK and would send him tapes of the latest bands. We started to hang out after that and he was the first person to play me any music by The Stranglers, who fast became his favorite band.
I wasn't quite so into them at first. I liked them well enough, but it wasn't until I heard The Raven that I started to find them really interesting, particularly the Meninblack song with it's half speed drums and evil Munchkin voices. When they put out the Meninblack album in 1981, an entire LP dedicated to exposing the conspiracy of aliens farming humans for food, I was all in. The Gospel According to the Meninblack became the first album I'd buy from The Stranglers. I wasn't put off by the middling reviews for the album as I found the combination of the mechanical percussion and Dave Grenfield's synths highlights of the album and the whole concept was super cool to me. I had no idea at the time that the endeavor would turn out to be something of a "curse" for the band, who endured a year of terrible misfortune while they attempted to record, promote and tour the album.
With the sudden, unexpected passing of keyboardist, Dave Greenfield, I wanted to highlight what was my "gateway" into appreciating this band, who were so significantly stamped with their identity thanks to Dave's inimitable musical prowess.
I wasn't quite so into them at first. I liked them well enough, but it wasn't until I heard The Raven that I started to find them really interesting, particularly the Meninblack song with it's half speed drums and evil Munchkin voices. When they put out the Meninblack album in 1981, an entire LP dedicated to exposing the conspiracy of aliens farming humans for food, I was all in. The Gospel According to the Meninblack became the first album I'd buy from The Stranglers. I wasn't put off by the middling reviews for the album as I found the combination of the mechanical percussion and Dave Grenfield's synths highlights of the album and the whole concept was super cool to me. I had no idea at the time that the endeavor would turn out to be something of a "curse" for the band, who endured a year of terrible misfortune while they attempted to record, promote and tour the album.
With the sudden, unexpected passing of keyboardist, Dave Greenfield, I wanted to highlight what was my "gateway" into appreciating this band, who were so significantly stamped with their identity thanks to Dave's inimitable musical prowess.
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