Vinyl #21 - The Stranglers

"Sverige (Jag ar insnoad pa ostfronten)" (7" single)

I always loved The Stranglers - the first band I saw live. I loved them so much that in the first few years of their existence I bought everything they released - including a few imports.

Their initial output was phenomenal - first album ("Rattus Norvegicus") released in April 1977; then in September 1977 a mere five - yes five - months later a second album ("No More Heroes") and then in May 1978 a third album ("Black and White"). Plus assorted non-album singles and b-sides.

And it's from that brilliant third album that this single was taken - with a catch. It was only released in Sweden and was sung in Swedish. The English-language version was only ever an album track ("Sweden - All Quiet On The Eastern Front"). It contains a fantastic and typically Stranglerish keyboard and guitar motif (at 2.01 mins on link below)

But being the Stranglers freak I bought it - which was only possible via mail order. The NME used to have pages of adverts to order records by post, but I must have been sooo excited when this plopped on the map. 

I knew the song was about how grey and boring Sweden was (is?) - based on singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell's time there doing post-graduate research. And it was so typically contrary for them to record a version in Swedish and release it there. For that reason alone I prefer this version even though I can't understand it. I've no idea how it did in the charts. Not well I suspect!



Here's the music:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLzGMs7vgZc