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The Stranglers lineup between 1975-1990 was Hugh Cornwell (Guitar/Vocals), JJ Burnel (Bass/Vocals), Dave Greenfield (Keyboards/Vocals) and Jet Black (Drums). In 1990 Cornwell left and the band continued with a new singer and a new guitarist. (thanks, Christian - Copenhagen, Denmark)
The song originated when keyboardist Dave Greenfield experimented with a musical passage. While Greenfield perfected the synthesizer/harpsichord backing texture, Hugh Cornwell wrote 10 minutes worth of lyrics. He cut them down to fit the song.
No one considered the song more than just an album track, until radio stations in England started playing the song. Drummer Jet Black had always thought of it as a hit song and pushed for its release as a single. It became their biggest hit and one of their most popular songs with the fans.
Stranglers bass guitarist
Jean Jacques Burnel says in an interview with the online music magazine
Reminiscin': "We were written off by then. There was a new record company at the time that had taken us over because they have swallowed up our previous record company. They said punk was over and we were finished, and then we forced them to release that record. They said it didn't sound like The Stranglers and that you couldn't dance to it, etc. They released it before Christmas thinking it would kinda die a death, but it developed its own legs. As a result it won an Ivor Novello award that year."
The band has denied persistent accusations that the lyrics are about heroin use and trade. They claim that different listeners will hear different things in the lyrics. An alternative interpretation is that the song was about Cornwell's Mediterranean girlfriend at the time - with golden brown skin.
This song features a '60s type harpsichord riff with an unusual time signature. The intro (and the parts like it) sound like three bars of 3/4, then one of 4/4, with the rest just straight 3/4 like a waltz.
This was The Stranglers highest charting single in the UK, and EMI's highest selling single for many years.
This song peaked at #2 in the UK, behind The Jam's "
Town Called Malice/Precious." The Stranglers' record label, EMI, objected to the Jam's single being available in both a studio-recorded 7-inch version and a live 12-inch version. They argued that the Jam's fans were buying both versions of the single, stopping "Golden Brown" from reaching #1.
This song was featured in the 2000 film Snatch.
The album title La Folie is French for "Madness."
Comments (13):
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Golden brown finer temptress
Through the ages she's heading west
The Opium trade began thousands of years ago in modern day Iran, Irag, Turkey, and Syria.
Then in 1300 BC Eygpt became the biggest exporters of Opium under Tutankhamen, with it eventually making its' way to Europe [West]
Raw opium is yellow, amber colour, and could indeed be described as "Golden Brown"
The video for the song features images of Egypt, and could therefore be directly referencing the role that country had
in getting the Opium to Europe.
-Kaz, Chicago Heights, IL
the bassits, JJ Burnell lives in the village where i grew up. he used to (maybe still does) run a pub there. he also taugh karate lessons to the local kids and adults. i remember he was very fit and very good at martial arts
us villagers loved our punk landlord