First listen to The Stranglers - Golden Brown (REACTION) 

The smile that appeared spontaneously on your face when your mind gave in to the song and enveloped you was a joy to see 👍🏻

I love this song. Who would have thought a song about Heroin and featuring the Harpsichord could be punk or post-punk. Just genius.

Any band that could have this and Peaches as hits must be amazing, and they are.

I was 14 when this came out. 1981. I went to my first Stranglers gig at The Odeon in Birmingham (UK's second city after London). It was the La Folie album tour. Remember, the band up to this point were a band born in the UK punk era but emerged with their "sound" intact. So the gig I mention was them blasting through their "punk" hits. Everyone in the venue dressed in black wearing leather jackets and pogoing. Then Dave played this song. The venue was silent. Everyone stood still. No-one had heard it before. At the end, the place erupted. Hairs on my neck standing up just writing this. I have followed the band for 44 years, and through their "Strangled" magazine, and a mate of mine being their official photographer for a number of years, I got to spend a day with JJ Burnel (my inspiration for becoming a gigging bass player), and Dave, with his lovely wife, at their pub - The Windmill in Somersham. I asked Dave about Golden Brown, recounting the above memory, it was a great conversation, one I will cherish - along with playing the pub's "Give Us A Break" quiz machine - old UK folk will remember these. JJ has written Dave ".. was a musical perfectionist and could be awkward in social situations; observations consistent with his diagnosis, never made public during his lifetime, autism". All Stranglers fans know he was a quizaholic - but I can tell you he made me answer all the sport questions, as he insisted that wasn't his strongest topic 🙂RIP Dave and another of the band I got to spend an hour 1 on 1 with, Jet Black. Both were absolute gents. Love to all x

Whether it’s a song about addiction, or an obsessive love affair, the musical structure is genius, it moves like an circle that feels impossible to escape from.

The stranglers are a fantastic band they emerged in the UK punk scene although they never were really a punk band they are incredible, the Rattus Norvigous album and Black and white are amazing.

I was 23 when this came out & my mum and loved it! Still do of course even if it is supposed to be about drugs, to me it's a love song❤ Glad you enjoyed it.

I can't imagine a world in which The Stranglers are `never heard of'. It's like "Gravity - what the hell's that...?"

I was a student when this came out, and it was fun seeing people try to dance to this track:) Love it and pretty much all the Stranglers stuff.

It's basically a waltz with an extra measure thrown into the fourth bar of the riff. It's just lovely isn't it? For a bit of epic brilliance, try their cover of 'Walk on By' - I shed a LOT of sweat to it when I was a lad.

An absolute classic from the Stranglers, so many 80s social issues in their music beautiful musicianship, this is one of my melancholy go to tracks, I can play this over and over without getting bored this is time travel for me always take me home 14000 miles, and back 40 years.

Im 23 now, and i grew up listening to all kinds of music. Im an old soul in every way. And this song, ever since i can remember has always and will always remain my No.1 all time favourite song that will never be topped. Listened to it probably a million times and it never gets old. And every year its my No.1 on spotify wrapped. Brilliant tune. Its always good to see someone else loving the song as much as i do 👍

love how you *instantly* figured out the rhythm

Respect for doing this. The Stranglers were a transformative force in my life.

Can't believe David Greenfield died from Covid two years ago. This was a really cool sounding song. First caught my attention many years ago. Nice!!

You owe yourself to get deep with this band. A wonderful collision of Punk, New Wave, and dark Psychedelia. Add a strong dose of surrealism, and you've got a killer outfit!

Brand new to me. That was CRAZY cool. Highly unusual rhythm scheme. So many treasures I am hearing lately.

I love his response to a harpsichord, am I mispronouncing it? Its the C17th equivalent of a synthesiser, son. Oh, to be that young again........

Ive still got my original copy of the vinyl 7" It is a hypnotic song that always makes me think of growing up and of When a boy changes into a young man.

A tune from my childhood. I remember this on Top of the Pops, I would have been 8 years old. Check out the Dave Brubeck Golden Brown mash-up that someone made here on RU-vid.

Daniel did you know that the stranglers are still releasing albums today despite the loss of a number of key members over the years. The first was in 1977 ‘Rattus Norvegicus’ riding the wave of the punk rock explosion in the UK (though their songs were always more complex and thoughtful than any other punk band except perhaps the Clash) and their latest ( the 20th studio album) was in 2021 called ‘Dark Matters’ - check back to perhaps their biggest hit from the punk era ‘ No more Heroes’ from the 1977 album of the same name-its a musical classic. For an up to date song check out the MV for ‘This song’ from the latest album.

Wow.. your first time listening reaction to this stunning masterpiece was truly enjoyable.

If you are ever in the mode for beautiful sounding dark sounds, Kate Bush's "The Kick Inside" is a hauntingly beautiful but extremely dark song.

So Glad You Took My Word On This One Daniel,, I Knew You Would Enjoy It.

No wonder youtube suggested this, I've listened to this song hundreds of times over the years. My story with this song: first heard it in the theater (20+ years ago) watching _Snatch_ that scene where the Pikey (Brad Pitt) knocks that other bare knuckle boxer out. Was watching it with my best buddy at the time (and maybe still my best buddy, despite the bygone decades and distance), a half-african American Japanese exchange student. Over the coming weeks and months, I'd always put this song on when I was in the International Student's Lounge, it became synonymous with my very presence, among the exchange students, like my theme song. Years later I tried to teach myself to play it on my microKORG while *heading west* on a flight to Vancouver.... well, I am no musician, and that odd-- waltz?-- time signature always fouled me up. But I could always sing it. My Japanese buddy said he had it stuck in his head during the *entire* 24+ hour flight back to Tokyo for Christmas break (he's almost 7 foot tall... him in cramped economy class, he said he never stood up once, with this in his head the entire time...I guess it soothed his aching body...?) Ha... memories... this song means so much to me. I am so happy to see younger people connecting with it, I love your reaction! Cheers, I am off to do some karaoke.... _never a frown... with golden brown...!_

Great song, love that scene from the movie "Snatch" where it plays.

I loved this song when it hit big in the UK. Great memories of 1982- Thursday night with the TV on BBC1 and Top of The Pops introducing all of us to a gorgeous song- which I learned years later was about drugs- who knew!

Always the Sun was the song I remember by them.

Man, I saw your face-reaction during the audio, it's the very same face I got 20 years ago, when I first heard it. There is something enchanting and super-unique with the rhythm of this piece. Just to die 4...

The Stranglers!! Yay!. One of my all time favourite bands. This song, though a great classic, is not necessarily indicative of their earlier sound. Just JP has just finished reacting to their first album, "Rattus Norvegicus", which he loved. If you were to deep dive with these guys, you will not be disappointed. Every album is a steady progression into various styles of music but with that fantastic Stranglers attitude. "Sometimes" is the first track of the aforementioned album, so you may want to start there? Love that you love this song.[ Btw, I haven't forgotten to listen to the rest of your album, but things have been a little crazy here what with one thing and whatever! I've got some time tonight so I'll be checking that out!]

The Stranglers "Walk On By",, "Skin Deep",, "Always The Sun",, "Strange Little Girl" & "...And If You Should See Dave"

Oh Young Man....Delve deep You have so much to find. Enjoy! X

I love this song I have already listened to this twice. That when you know it is good. Thank you Daniel.

This song owes more than a little to the Jazz classic 'Take Five' by the Dave Brubeck Quartet. There is a very good mash-up of the two here on RU-vid if you want to look that up.

Golden Brown was released as a 7'' single taken off their 6th studio LP. All 6 LP's are absolutely fantastic and diverse and should be heard by everybody on the planet!

Great song and reaction. From the same album, try The Man They Love To Hate, also try The Stranglers’ Walk on By, Hanging Around and 5 Minutes, they have dozens of classic tracks…

The Stranglers are worth further investigation. Skin Deep is one of my favourite songs of theirs.

The Stranglers are just the Best! So many great songs...Peaches, Strange Little Girl, Punch and Judy, Something Better Change, Down in the Sewer, Midnight Summer Dream, and many more. Their musical chops and variety of styles put them in a category of their own. Great reaction video, very well put together!

I'm really pleased you enjoyed this.

It's in 6/8 and 7/8. It changes a few times. Counting it out is pretty fun.

I think you should listen to more this group a of music 1978 to 1980 peaches 🍑

My favourite of theirs, probably one of my favourite songs ever. Cleverly structured. Nice to dance to, with its 6/8 time signature. It has a dreamy, hypnotic quality that reflects the subject matter really well. Oh wow you watched Requiem for a Dream? That movie is like a punch in the face.

Clan Of Xymox "A Day",, "Back Door" & "Medusa" & "Masquerade"

The creativeness of British bands pop rock in the 70s 80s have no equal for sure

Thank you so much for trying The Stranglers. Still producing music to this day

Never heard of the strangler's, WOW that makes me feel old lol

Takes me right back to art college in the late seventies, one of my favourite albums

Love the uniqueness and oddity in the music of this masterpiece ✨🙌🏾🙌🏾🙌🏾 I've used it in a warm up dance class.

As a former junkie (many years clean) I will say a few things. First, brown heroin isn't necessarily cut/contaminated. In the US heroin hydrochloride is preferred, which is white. But in Europe and Asia freebase H is preferred, which is brown in color. Secondly, the novelty of the H high doesn't ever wear off with repeated use, like it does for most other intoxicants (eg: X, LSD, Alcohol, pot, etc...). You can easily get the same high as your first time, it just requires more of the drug. However, while tolerance to the high builds quickly, the tolerance to the respiratory depression effects is much slower, and has a maximum cap. So each time you use more and get that same wonderous high, you get closer to ODing. Eventually, your tolerance to the strong high feeling will exceed your bodies limit for the depressant effects. At that point, you literally cannot get to that same blissful state without risking death, this leads many to try and get as close as possible and they OD, or they literally don't care and purposely OD.

Nice assessment. This song is entirely new to me as well. Will definitely check back regarding your other "reactions." Best to you!

Wonderful to see you reacting to The Stranglers. I was but a lad in the late 70s/early 80s when I first heard these guys. I still have a vinyl of their album "Black and White" in my collection. This song is about addiction to both a woman and heroin at the same time. It was meant to be that way as the writer was referencing both events in his life simultaneously as they had the same effect on him. Great reactions btw. I enjoy your close listening.

I've been a Stranglers fan since the early 80s. Incredibly original approach to everything they do. I would highly recommend the album "Aural Sculpture". On a side note, there is a fascinating edit of an instrumental version of this tune mashed up with Dave Brubeck's Take 5 - very cool.

This is a bona fide classic and timeless song. However - it won't give you the slightest idea of the Stranglers as a band. Lumped in with the British punk scene in the late 70s, The Stranglers somehow always were their own scene, and hard to classify, but they definitely had a gritty punk vibe on a lot of their tracks. Try "No More Heroes" or "Nice and sleazy". BTW this is 6/8 time.

Still gives me goosrbumps & i dont know why...one of my favs ❤ Glad u found it 🤘

Their b-side to Here And There, Vladimir and the Beast (part III) is amazing.

Great song. Loved this as a kid. Who knew it was a song about heroin back then lol. I only found that out about 10 years ago.

Aaaah, the Stranglers! Fantastic!

Great song..One of my fav bands and songs of theirs. Thank you for listening. Their song ''Peaches'' is a great song too!

I'm very glad you heard this song. It's up there with the best of all time.

I like your chilled-out vibe, I subbed 👍

Awesome British band, loads of great material.

Heroin young man. Take note

My favourite Stranglers tune is Strange Little Girl, highly recommend a listen

Interesting song. I hadn't heard this one, very dreamy and the time changes keep you always a bit off balance. I think this would be tricky to try to cover. Nice reaction as always.

a bit late to the party..great reaction..to a great song..back in the day we thought the Golden Brown was Heroin.

I think this is their most experimental track and it's a classic. Well worth checking out all their best hits from 77 to 86.

An amazing song. I played this record so much my older brother threatened to break it! Still love it A really good reaction

A guy I liked loved them. Then I started liking them too!

The first time I heard this I was watching the movie Snatch it stuck with me I love it also.

Beautiful as you said. Timeless

To me, the Stranglers are the "No More Heroes" LP. "No More Heroes," "I Feel Like a Wog," "Dagenham Dave,." "Bring On the Nubiles."

It’s a TRUE CLASSIC, an extremely clever song/tune including the harpsichord playing. I also play on the harpsichord sound on my keyboards. The band are excellent and yes unique.

such an underrated channel

Please REACT to Midnight Oil band. They are one of my favorites growing up . Check out the song Power & The Passion video....Peter Garrett dancing is awesome to watch!!!

NEVER A FROWN....proof! Best popular song ever written!

Always loved this track. Maybe it's just me , but I could hear The Doors all over this. Which isn't a bad thing.

This is so dreamy.The Insruments used are perfect.The Harpsichord sound is great the Guitar emphasises the dreamy nature of the music. The time signiatures vary. Sometimes I count 5 beats sometimes 3.oh well. I wonder if you have reviewed A track called Strange Little Girl? interesting thing I came across a version by Dave Brubeck, but was in fact a doctored version of Take Five.Very clever.

There's a richness to this song that I love.

Magnificent baroque song. At the time 1977-83 the Stranglers were a very inventive band. RIP Dave Greenfield and RIP Jet Black

From the same album, I recommend the track "Everybody Loves You When You're Dead".

This has been my favourite song for my entire life.

Again, yes, it is a pure classic and the band are very good to us. He wrote a lot of great material. Golden Brown was released as a single during January 1982 and reached his highest position of number two in the UK pop charts as far as I remember. Back in those days, I’d be 13 years of age coming up for 14, and I was proudly attending a nice boarding school based in the beautiful South lake district Cumbria, England. Sure enough, this classic tune/song reminds me of my memorable days at that school I didn’t particular, we had to yards, a small and a big yard. The classic track in particular reminds me of the small yard with black gates et cetera. You may be a little too young to remember this classic tune, but most certainly, it’s a great track and back in those days, the charts were fantastic, as well as of course the rest of the stuff in the pop charts back then.

Love this song, I recommend a version of this recorded in the style of Dave Brubeck, including video. Just search Dave Brubeck Golden Brown

First hit my ears in early 1981

Some info about this song which has an interesting story. The Stranglers decided from the start to share the right of each single song among the 4 members despite the fact that JJ and Hugh were the main writing powers. One day JJ & Hugh confronted Dave and Jet and told them "Look we go into the pub and we are going to have good time for a few hours and we expect that by the time we are back you have written a song". Apparently once back they have been presented with a mix of most awkward ideas which were no practical at all made exception for a bit of music which once better developed and refined it became "golden brown" which remains the most acclaimed songs in their repertoire. I believe it was mainly Hugh to take the lead concerning the writing of the lyrics.

I thought there might be a heroin Angle to this song. It is beautiful. Great reaction to a great band

The strangles... who would of though a band from Bath UK could of mDe such hits!

Would love to see more stranglers reactions

I always recall JJB being "playmate of the week" in NME. Decent interview, with a very scantily clad JJS in provocative pose on the centrefold!

I saw The Stranglers in concert in the 80's ....so good!!!

Time signature? 2/3, classical waltz. + a bit of Stranglers' spritz. It's their most harmless song btw. Must checks are, in no particular order: No More Heroes ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2B4bsqYxwo0.html Peaches ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1_YmixqepdI.html Hanging Around ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-d4piHt4jvG4.html Nice n Sleazy ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-OYqllpnyWrY.html Always the Sun ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cYQTL-ws6p4.html Walk on By ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WYkqLm9cM3Y.html Skin Deep ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-aw9mEFn38to.html

This song is a real earworm. Hugh does a version of this with a Mariachi band that I have listened to a hundred times.

Kind of reminds me of the style of Phillip Glass. It has a syncopated sound.

Thank you, Umbrella Academy! 😅

Lovely tune and brings back lovely memories of my childhood. I also like “skin deep” by the same group. The extended version (or 12” if you’re old school) is really good.

To produce such a hit that went against the music genre grain of the time = genius. I put this song and "Vienna" by Ultravox in the same category.

The Stranglers Walk On By is the best cover version of any song ever.

Yo Tambien 🌵🎶😻🎶🌵

One of my favourite songs ever, thank you for checking it out! On the topic of The Stranglers claiming this song is about heroine ; they almost ALWAYS claim this and in some cases it is simply not true as I've heard the bass player admit on a community radio interview in Australia. A lot of people don't get the interpretation I do but hear me out. The music video for the song takes place at the Giza Pyramids and features several shots of the sun which sets in the west. There's an ancient Egyptian motif known as The Boat of Ra which, loosely speaking, is what they viewed as the sun's orbit and carried the solar deities, they also believed the the sun gives solar power through the palm of our hands (takes both my hands, from far away stays for a day) Boats are often referred to as female and are shaped like a smile, one of the most common depictions of this motif are the sun gods standing on top of a horizontal Crescent moon (never a frown). They also worshipped different malenial ages based on where the sun was placed in the cosmos (through the ages, she's heading west). I do believe this also ties into a sense of euphoria not unlike a high or falling in love. The Stranglers also use a lot of ancient symbolism in their art work, most notably ancient myan sun/solar motifs, where they also claim the meaning is tied to heroine. The word heroine itself has MANY different meanings.

There’s a great Dave Brubeck jazz version of this on YT.❤