The Stranglers in the MoS

Anyone thinks it's a bit incongruous that it's the Mail on Sunday giving away a Stranglers greatest hits CD today? 'Whatever happened to/Leon Trotsky' etc. But then that was ironic. And wikipedia suggests some things maybe we missed in the mid-70s.

I first saw the Stranglers play in the bar at the student union building in Bangor, 30 years ago this November. They were there the week we were occupying the Maths Tower in support of four Welsh-speaking students who had been sent down for putting graffiti all over the college, backing a bilingual policy. The Stranglers lead singer said between songs:

I hear you've got a problem with a bloke called Reggie.

Reggie-strar!

They only cost about £90 to play that night. Shortly after, they had a string of hits, and when we booked them for the following October's Fresher's Week they cost a grand.