Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

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Jon the Impaler
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Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by Jon the Impaler »

For the benefit of Ozymandias , who obviously missed all the talk about punk bands and members of 40 odd years ago - a chance to enlighten from our own points of view that era music , including our own favourites , The Stranglers ( so I guess this will be quite a biased thread really ) .

People nowadays forget what rivalries there were between the top players of the 76/77 punk era , all were very different bands to each other and were probably jealous of each's success' .
The Pistols , of course were the main players but its often forgotten what a brief time they spent in existence , forgetting the more modern get togethers . They really did one album and were utterly destroyed by the joining of Sid Viscious - a cartoon punk at best , total idiot at worst . However not many bands who made one album ( forget Rock n Roll Swindle - that was McLaren's baby ) could have made such a dramatic effect on music history .
The Clash - these had more of a background in music , Jones and Strummer having played in bands prior to The Clash , but again at best I'd say 2 punk albums before ( depends on your point of view ) - selling out to the US . Bernie Rhodes idea maybe of rivalling McLaren's Pistols in that he also wanted some of the action .

The Jam - like The Stranglers - were they actually punk ? . Well , fast short 3 minute anthems , attitude , more working class than any of their peers - they are part of the history of it all , though not liked by many punks , chartwise probably the most successful in the UK of the 4 bands . Weller I believe moved on when he realised that the material the band were doing wasn't really what The Jam were about , unlike The Clash IMO

The Stranglers - probably technically the best of the four by a long way , almost as successful as The Jam , by far the most controvertial ( riots , prison , more riots , drugs kidnapping etc ) . If that wasn't punk I don't know what is , more albums than all the others put together and a very varied sound but usually a trademark Stranglers sound in there somewhere .

There were many many minor players , but these were the major players back then . The Damned often had their moments , but were never near the popularity of these four . The Clash oddly , were the lesser of the four in the UK , but probably worldwide the biggest after London Calling , but I wouldn't have classed them as punk by that stage .

For a while there was quite a rivalry and The Stranglers were excluded form that inner circle , don't think The Jam were part of it either . But .... it was a great time in music history .
All quiet ..........
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strangledinAuch
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Re: Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by strangledinAuch »

great times,at school back in 1978 we had 3 main gangs,Stranglers fans,Jam fans and the headbangers
The Stranglers were the most popular,remember a big JJ v Foxton thing,Foxton always getting voted best bassist in NME used to piss me off
you couldn't admit to liking both,which I did,but the Stranglers were always head and shoulders above anyone back then for me
Pistols were a what seemed one year wonder,played NMTB to death,preferred them to the Clash at that time
remember one time playing NMTB with the arm over and the neighbour coming round,asking if that was me,yeah I replied good init
he replied turn it off now or I'll call the police,which back then to a 15 year old was a bit scary
I did see the Clash live,the London Calling tour and it was a fantastic gig,but didn't get into anything they did after that
liked the Damned,but preferred Buzzcocks,SLF and Angelic Upstarts at the time
standing in the corridor at school,listening to DITS until the batteries ran out,great times
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Jon the Impaler
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Re: Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by Jon the Impaler »

At our school , if you were a punk ( the majority in my year were , it was that and heavy metal ) , to be called a Jam fan was an insult , however they were a very decent band . Punk or not .....who cares now , but it was important then. Same with The Stranglers , looking at The Stranglers compared to The Pistols or Clash , they were angry men as opposed to the kids that the Pistols/Clash were , The Stranglers looked mean in photo shots . The Pistols looked like they still needed Clearasil :grin: . The majority of punks however treated both Stranglers and Jam as outsiders BUT if the bands were in town they were happy to go and see them . I did see The Exploited one night in Brum , I believe the same night as The Jam were at a much bigger venue , but it was a big mistake as Wattie incited punks in Brum to go along and beat up Mods at The Jam concert , which also would have had a fair few punks in attendance too . Silly when you think about that now , so much for Jimmy Pursey's " If the Kids are United " eh ?
I saw The Clash on their something Tons tour ( can't remember the number , might be 17 , might not be ) , it was a few weeks after seeing The Stranglers . It was the time they were moving away from punk , I was never impressed with London Calling and all that stuff and was even more alienated when Sandanista came out - never had time for The Clash after Rope really .
Like you said , a lot of fine bands at that time , Buzzcocks , Adverts , Sham , Chelsea ( one of my favourites ) - Upstarts , now there is a singer who says what he means - Mensi . SLF were very big for a while and I further got into the harder edged punk music , seeing most of the original bands as sell outs ...but it was all good music and a bloody good era , a very dark and depressing era , but some bloody imaginative stuff came out of it all . I always stuck with The Stranglers for some reason despite how soft they got at some stages , in fact despite someone on here submitting "the shit years " as M2 era , I would possibly argue alternatively the shit years could also so easily be the era between Aural and 10 , but that just my opinion .
As to who was the best , JJ or Foxton , well they are just different styles of bassist suited to very different bands , there isn't a winner or best , if you're a Stranglers fan its likely to be JJ , or Foxton to a Jam fan . I do think despite many arguing The Jam weren't punk , listen to their lyrics, they are as punk as anyone of their era .
All quiet ..........
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MULLY
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Re: Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by MULLY »

NOSTALGIA, ROSE-TINTED GLASSES, YEAR ZERO and SHOWING MY AGE.

Back in my teenage years listening to the Glam bands - Sweet, Slade and T Rex (to name but a few) - the 'outbreak' of punk was a pretty amazing time. I was hitting the perfect age to be apart of something new and exciting - and that initial groundswell of bands that came out of the scene showed a wide range of musical styles - not only The Pistols and The Clash, but The Jam, Ian Dury, The Lurkers, The Buzzcocks, Elvis Costello even. They were all encompassing of this new direction. All were different but each had that attitude. It was a great time to be immersed in music.

You were able to be yourself - probably why a lot of the 'early' punk fans were the outsiders in society. Everyone was accepted for being a music fan rather than any label bestowed upon you by others. In the early days punk was the connection. This was highlighted in Northern Ireland by the 'new' question of which band you liked rather than what religion you were (to a certain extent!!).

Then as the scene broke into the 'mainstream' (and especially with the emergence of the UK82 scene) the punk police came to the fore - and all of a sudden it seemed to become quite restrictive. Nowadays when I say I am/was a punk the immediate response is I must have had a studded leather jacket and a 12" coloured mohawk.

Looking back now - there is very little difference (apart maybe from the clothes) between some of the new Mod music (Lambrettas, The Chords) sounding very similar to the new wave punkster tunes. And as the original bands became more established - rather than preaching Year Zero - they have revealed their influences - The Damned covering Love, Jefferson Airplane (hippy shit!!), The Clash covering Vince Taylor, etc...

It is hard now to look back and listen to the 'originals' and wonder what all the fuss was about - how much of a shock this music (in all it's various forms) was to the ears - how exciting it was to walk down the High Street with straight jeans whilst everyone else wore flairs. A different world, a different music (and a different kitchen).
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Re: Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by PJayBe »

Too difficult. Picked four bands from that era I love and still play regularly. If a gun was put to my head I might have to say The Clash, but in reality it's probably whichever I have listened to most recently!!
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parasiteinblack
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Re: Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by parasiteinblack »

Easy one:
1. Stranglers
2. Clash
3. Pistols
4. Jam.

But then again, I'm only just about to hit 32 so what do I know?
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laurie
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Re: Stranglers v Clash v The Jam v Pistols

Post by laurie »

Love The Stranglers
Liked The Jam
Liked The Pistols
But The Clash just passed me by never got into them
do you wanna
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