#81: No Mercy by Stranglers
City: Montreal, PQ
Radio Station: CKOI
Peak Month: August 1985
Peak Position in Montreal ~ #3
Peak position in Vancouver ~ did not chart
Peak Position on Billboard Hot 100 ~ did not chart
YouTube: “No Mercy”
Lyrics: “No Mercy”
The Stranglers formed in Guilford, Surrey, England, in 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 to the sophist-pop of some of their 1980s output. The classic Stranglers lineup was comprised of Jean-Jacques Burnel, Jet Black, Hugh Cornwell, and Dave Greenfield. Jean-Jacques Burnel was born in Notting Hill, London, in 1952. He trained as a classical guitarist, but switched to bass guitar with the Stranglers. As a holder of French citizenship, Burnel received his call-up papers for national service in France. He succeeded in avoiding it with a novel defence, arguing that his absence would damage the Stranglers as a band, and therefore the careers of the other members.