Dunfermline Music Scene

Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning four decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most continuously successful band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s. Their aggressive, no-compromise attitude identified them as one of the instigators of the UK 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 through to the sophisticated pop of some of their 1980s output.

The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's pulsating bass, but also proudly gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards at a time when the instrument was seen as unfashionable. Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Jean-Jacques Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson would later write: "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."

Date : 27th February 2010
Doors : 7pm
Tickets : £23.00
Available from The Ticketmaster Website
Third Base Records, Chapel Street, Dunfermline, 01383 722554
Theatre Box Office, opening hours 9am to 4pm.