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*[http://tabs.ultimate-guitar.com/s/stranglers/golden_brown_crd.htm Guitar Tablature]
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*{{MetroLyrics song|stranglers|golden-brown}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->
*{{MetroLyrics song|stranglers|golden-brown}}<!-- Licensed lyrics provider -->
* [https://www.wow-vinyl.com/thesingle.asp?c=4&d=147 ''Golden Brown - The Story Behind The Song at Wow-Vinyl'']


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Revision as of 09:31, 24 February 2021

For the colour, see Golden brown (colour).

"Golden Brown"
Single by the Stranglers
from the album La folie
B-side"Love 30"
Released
  • 1981 (US)
  • 1982 (UK)
Genre
Length3:30
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
The Stranglers singles chronology
"Let Me Introduce You to the Family"
(1981) 		"Golden Brown"
(00000004) 		"La Folie"
(1982)
The Stranglers singles chronology
"Always the Sun (Sunny Side Up Mix)"
(1991) 		"Golden Brown"
(1991) 		"Heaven or Hell"
(1992)

"Golden Brown" is a song by the English rock band the Stranglers. It was released as a 7" single, on Liberty, in 1981 in the United States and in 1982 in the United Kingdom. It was the second single released from the band's sixth album La folie. It peaked at No. 2 in the UK Singles Chart, the band's highest ever placing in that chart.[3]

In January 2014, NME ranked the song as No. 488 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.[4] It has also been recorded by many other artists.

Overview

Originally featured on the group's album La folie, which was released in November 1981, and later on the USA pressings of Feline, "Golden Brown" was released as a single in 1981, and was accompanied by a video. It reached No. 2 in the official UK Singles Chart in February 1982, remaining there for two weeks behind double A-sided record "Town Called Malice/Precious" by the Jam.[5][6]

David Hamilton, disc jockey on the comparatively conservative BBC Radio 2, which was a middle-of-the-road (MOR) music radio station at that time, made the record his single of the week.[citation needed]

The single was a top 10 hit around the world, including Australia. It was also featured in the film Snatch and is included on its soundtrack album.[1]

Meaning

There has been much controversy surrounding the lyrics. In his book The Stranglers Song By Song (2001), Hugh Cornwell states "'Golden Brown' works on two levels. It's about heroin and also about a girl." Essentially the lyrics describe how "both provided me with pleasurable times."[7]

Musical composition

The main body of the song has a 6/8 feel and is pitched halfway between the keys of E minor and E-flat minor.[clarification needed][citation needed] The instrumental introduction, in (a very flat) B minor, alternates bars in 6/8 and 7/8. The music was largely written by keyboardist Dave Greenfield and drummer Jet Black, with lyrics by singer/guitarist Hugh Cornwell.[8]

The BBC newsreader Bill Turnbull attempted to waltz to the song in the 2005 series of Strictly Come Dancing. In February 2012, when interviewing Stranglers bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel on BBC Breakfast, Turnbull described the attempted dance as "a disaster", Burnel responded that the alternating time signatures made "Golden Brown" impossible to dance to; in contrast, a song written entirely in 6/8 is not unusual in waltzing.[citation needed]

Music video

Two shots from Golden Brown: the band performing the song in Leighton House and as explorers

The video for "Golden Brown" was directed by Lindsey Clennell.[9] It depicts the band members both as explorers in an Arabian country and non-Arab Muslim countries (sequences include images of the Pyramids as well as the explorers studying a map of Egypt) in the 1920s and performers for a fictional "Radio Cairo".

In addition to the Pyramids, the video is intercut with stock footage of the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah in Bukhara, the Shah Mosque in Isfahan, the Great Sphinx, Feluccas sailing, Bedouins riding, and camel racing in the United Arab Emirates. The performance scenes were filmed in the Leighton House Museum in Holland Park, London, which was also used in the filming of the video for "Gold" by Spandau Ballet.[10]

Charts

Chart (1982) Peak
position
Australia (Kent Music Report)[11] 10
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders)[12] 7
France (IFOP)[13] 73
Germany (Official German Charts)[14] 63
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 3
Netherlands (Dutch Top 40)[16] 8
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[17] 10
UK Singles (OCC)[5] 2
Chart (1991)1 Peak
position
Ireland (IRMA)[15] 25
UK Singles (OCC)[18] 68

1Remix

Chart (2013) Peak
position
UK Singles (OCC)[19] 98

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[20] Gold 500,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

"Number Two" poll

In a BBC Radio 2 listener poll of the nation's favourite singles to have peaked at number two, conducted in late 2012, "Golden Brown" ranked fifth behind "Vienna", "Fairytale of New York", "Sit Down" and "American Pie", and just ahead of "Waterloo Sunset" and "Penny Lane"/"Strawberry Fields Forever".[21]

Cover versions

Kaleef version

In 1996 British hip hop group Kaleef had a UK Top 40 hit with their re-working of the song.[22]

Omar version

In 1997 soul singer Omar revived the song and took it back into the UK Top 40.[23]

Laurence Mason version

In May 2020, to commemorate the COVID-19-related death of Stranglers member Dave Greenfield,[24] British YouTuber and saxophonist Laurence Mason uploaded a cover of "Golden Brown" in the style of classical American jazz pianist Dave Brubeck. Mason had created his cover by sampling original Brubeck recordings, and had edited a 1960s film performance of Brubeck's quartet to show them apparently playing the cover version. The popularity of the video led Mason, in October 2020, to release the version commercially as a stream via Amazon and iTunes, and as a vinyl single on Paul Murphy's Jazz Room Records label, under the title "Take Vibe EP" (in reference to the song "Take Five" by the Dave Brubeck Quartet); the B-side was a similar cool jazz cover version of the Police's "Walking on the Moon".[25] The vinyl release stayed two weeks in the Official Vinyl Singles Chart's Top 40, peaking at No 24.[26][27]

Track listing

  • Songs, lyrics and music by the Stranglers.

7": Liberty / BP 407 (UK)

Side one
  1. "Golden Brown" – 3:22
Side two
  1. "Love 30" – 3:48

1991 7": Epic / 656761 7 (UK)

Side one
  1. "Golden Brown" – 3:29
Side two
  1. "You" – 3:09

1991 cassette single: Epic / 656761 4 (UK)

Both sides
  1. "Golden Brown" – 3:29
  2. "You" – 3:09

1991 CD: Epic / 656761 2 (UK)

  1. "Golden Brown" – 3:31
  2. "Peaches" – 3:08
  3. "You" – 3:59
  4. "Skin Deep (12" Version)" – 7:09

References

  1. ^ a b Potts, Diana. "Original Soundtrack – Snatch". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
  2. ^ McNamee, David (4 January 2010). "Hey, what's that sound: Harpsichord". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
  3. ^ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  4. ^ Barker, Emily (31 January 2014). "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time – 500–401". NME. Retrieved 28 July 2016.
  5. ^ a b "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  6. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100: 14 February 1982 – 20 February 1982". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 March 2017.
  7. ^ Cornwell, Hugh; Drury, Jim (2001). The Stranglers Song by Song. Sanctuary Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-86074-362-5.
  8. ^ "Golden Brown – Song Review". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 11 July 2013. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  9. ^ "Lindsey Clennell". British Film Institute. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  10. ^ "Filming and Photo Shoots". Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Forum – ARIA Charts: Special Occasion Charts – CHART POSITIONS PRE 1989". Australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  12. ^ "The Stranglers – Golden Brown" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  13. ^ "Le Détail par Artiste". InfoDisc (in French). Select "Stranglers" from the artist drop-down menu. Retrieved 17 May 2016.
  14. ^ "The Stranglers – Golden Brown" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  15. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Golden Brown". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 1 July 2014.
  16. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 11, 1982" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  17. ^ "The Stranglers – Golden Brown" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  18. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 24 December 2018.
  20. ^ "British single certifications – Stranglers – Golden Brown". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 May 2019. Select singles in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Golden Brown in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  21. ^ "Ultravox's Vienna tops 'number two' poll". BBC Online. 1 January 2013. Retrieved 1 January 2013.
  22. ^ "Kaleef". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  23. ^ "Omar". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 9 July 2014.
  24. ^ Hebeisen, Ane (30 December 2020). "Die besten Songs 2020 (Teil 2)" [The Best Songs of 2020 (Part 2)]. Tages-Anzeiger (in German). Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  25. ^ "Single of the Week: The Take Vibe E.P." DJ D-Mac & Associates. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  26. ^ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40: 16 October 2020 – 22 October 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
  27. ^ "Official Vinyl Singles Chart Top 40: 23 October 2020 – 29 October 2020". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 February 2021.
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