''The Collection 1977–1982'' is a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several Performing arts#Performers, performers. If by one artist, then generally the tr ...

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origina ...

. It was released to complete their contract with

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

, who had acquired the band's back catalogue on the

United Artists United Artists Corporation (UA), currently doing business as United Artists Digital Studios, is an American digital production company. Founded in 1919 by D. W. Griffith, Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, and Douglas Fairbanks, the studi ...

and Liberty labels. It peaked at No. 12 in the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts C ...

in 1982. The album collected together several of the band's most popular singles and album tracks, and also included a "new" track, "

Strange Little Girl "Strange Little Girl" is a song by the Stranglers, originally written in 1974 and re-recorded and released in the UK in 1982 as their last single while signed to Liberty Records (part of EMI). By the time of release, the band had already dec ...

". The inclusion of "Strange Little Girl" was an ironic move on the band's part: EMI had been indifferent to the band when they acquired their catalogue the previous year, not regarding them as a commercial proposition. The band proved them wrong by having a hit single with "

Golden Brown "Golden Brown" is a song by the English rock band the Stranglers released as a 7-inch single on EMI's Liberty Records, Liberty label in 1982, noted for its distinctive harpsichord instrumentation. It was the second single released from the band ...

", despite lacklustre promotion from EMI. When required to deliver a final single, the band re-recorded the song "Strange Little Girl", which had originally been on a demo tape they had given to EMI in 1974. EMI rejected the tape at the time, but the re-recorded "Strange Little Girl" went on to be a top 10 hit.

Track listing

All songs written by

Hugh Cornwell Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the ...

Jean-Jacques Burnel Jean-Jacques Burnel (born 21 February 1952) is an English musician, producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the English rock band The Stranglers. He is the last founding member to remain in the band. ...

Dave Greenfield David Paul Greenfield (29 March 1949 – 3 May 2020) was an English keyboardist, singer and songwriter who was a member of rock band The Stranglers. He joined the band in 1975, within a year of its formation, and played with them for 45 years ...

Jet Black Brian John Duffy (26 August 1938 – 6 December 2022), professionally known as Jet Black, was an English drummer and founding member of punk rock/ new wave band The Stranglers. He last performed with the band in 2015, and officially retired in ...

, except where noted.

Video

A companion VHS video was released to accompany the album, containing promo clips for several of the band's songs. This was later released on DVD. # "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" # "Something Better Change" # "Peaches" (live in

Battersea Park Battersea Park is a 200-acre (83-hectare) green space at Battersea in the London Borough of Wandsworth in London. It is situated on the south bank of the River Thames opposite Chelsea and was opened in 1858. The park occupies marshland reclai ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, 16 September 1978) # "Hanging Around" (live in Battersea Park, London, 16 September 1978) # "Straighten Out" # " 5 Minutes" # "No More Heroes" # "Sweden (All Quiet on the Eastern Front)" # "Nice 'n' Sleazy" (live in Battersea Park, London, 16 September 1978) # "Duchess" # " Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)" # "Bear Cage" # "Who Wants The World?" # "Golden Brown" # "La Folie" # "Strange Little Girl"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Collection 1977-1982, The 1982 compilation albums The Stranglers compilation albums 1982 video albums The Stranglers video albums Music video compilation albums