The Stranglers had an image as the most antisocial of all English punks, and they were damn proud of it. But if you looked behind the Stranglers' rude and sexist exterior, you'd find--well, a rude and sexist interior, but one that belonged to an inspired rock band. Initially the Stranglers cruised on memorable tunes and a keyboard sound straight out of the Doors and ? & the Mysterians' "96 Tears." But before the original lineup broke up in 1990 they'd evolved to a lush, dark and mysterious approach that made them a Goth band before their time.

The early, nasty Stranglers were definitely the most fun. Their first major U.K. hit, "Peaches" (from the golden summer of '77) was perhaps the first summer-fun song to include the words "shit" and "clitoris" (both stricken from the single version, but they're loud and clear on every reissue). When they weren't trashing old Dionne Warwick hits ("Walk On By") or declaring their intention to start their own war ("Tank"), they were flaunting rude behavior onstage. Some of their controversies seem tame by today's standards--singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell was jailed for wearing the word "fuck" on his T-shirt, and a host of English rockers responded with a benefit concert (now available on the Stranglers And Friends CD). On the other hand, there's no topping 1982's New York show where they dealt with a heckler by bringing him onstage, pulling down his pants and sticking a celery stalk where the sun don't shine.

The new, well-behaved Stranglers made their bow with the 1981 album La Folie and emerged full-force on the following year's Feline--a haunting, melodic album that included the international hit "Golden Brown." They'd pursue this pretty, yet menacing direction on most of their later albums, scoring their only real American hit with "Always The Sun" (from 1987's Dreamtime). Coming full circle, the original lineup's last album, 10 (1990) was perhaps the biggest surprise of the lot: Recruiting producer Roy Thomas Baker of Queen/the Cars fame, they became a '60s garage-punk band, even recording the long-overdue cover of "96 Tears." Cornwell jumped ship afterward (releasing one weak solo album, then disappearing); the other three members carry on a reshuffled Stranglers lineup but the thrill's pretty much gone.