How many times have you seen the papers apportion the blame?
Who gets to say, who gets to work and who gets to play?
I was always told at school, everybody should get the same
How many times have you been told if you don't ask you don't get?
How many times have you wasted your money your mother said you shouldn't bet
And who has the fun? Is it always a man with a gun?
Someone must have told you if you work too hard you can sweat
There's always the sun
Mmmm, there's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun
How many times has the government told you stories that made you laugh?
You know it's not up to the politicians and the leaders, when they do things by half
Who gets the job of pushing the knob?
That's what responsibility you draw straws for if you're mad enough
There's always the sun
Mmmm, there's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun
There's always the sun
Mmmm, there's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun
There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun
Always the sun
Always the sun
There's always the sun
Mmmm, there's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun
There's always the sun
There's always the sun
Always, always, always the sun
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 originated in the UK punk scene.
Formed as the Guildford Stranglers in Guildford, Surrey, in early 1974, they originally built a following within the mid-1970s pub rock scene. While their aggressive, no-compromise attitude had them identified by the media with the emerging 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 the sophisti-pop of some of their 1980s output. They had major mainstream success with their 1982 single "Golden Brown". Their other hits include "No More Heroes", "Peaches", "Always the Sun", "Skin Deep" and "Big Thing Coming".
The Stranglers' early sound was driven by Jean-Jacques Burnel's melodic bass, but also gave prominence to Dave Greenfield's keyboards.
Their early music was also characterised by the growling vocals and sometimes misanthropic lyrics of both Burnel and Hugh Cornwell. Over time, their output gradually grew more refined and sophisticated. Summing up their contribution to popular music, critic Dave Thompson later wrote: "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."
Keyboard player Dave Greenfield died on 3 May 2020 after contracting COVID-19 while receiving treatment for a heart ailment. The remaining band members completed a new album recorded with Greenfield, Dark Matters, and confirmed that they would proceed with their "Final Full UK Tour", initially announced in January 2020, in his honour. The band has continued to tour Europe, playing France and Spain in 2023; a 50th Anniversary Tour has been announced for October 2024.
