La folie (song)

Last updated
"La folie"
Single by The Stranglers
from the album La folie
B-side "Waltzinblack"
Released20 April 1982 (UK)
Genre Art pop
Length6:11
Label Liberty Records
Songwriter(s) Hugh Cornwell, Jean-Jacques Burnel, Dave Greenfield, Jet Black,
Producer(s) The Stranglers, Steve Churchyard
The Stranglers singles chronology
"Golden Brown"
(1981)
"La folie"
(1982)
"Strange Little Girl"
(1982)

"La folie" is a 1981 song by The Stranglers. The title track from La folie , it was released as the follow-up to "Golden Brown" in April 1982, and peaked at number 47 in the UK Singles Chart. [1] Sung in French by bassist Jean-Jacques Burnel, it was Burnel who convinced his bandmates of the song's potential as a single, despite Hugh Cornwell feeling that "Tramp" was the better choice. [2] The song makes allusions to Japanese necrophiliac murderer and cannibal Issei Sagawa. [3]

The music video was filmed on the Montmartre.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Stranglers</span> English rock band

The Stranglers are an English rock band. 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Golden Brown</span> 1982 single by the Stranglers

"Golden Brown" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released as a 7-inch single on EMI's Liberty label in 1982. Noted for its distinctive harpsichord instrumentation, it was the second single released from the band's sixth studio album La folie (1981). The single peaked at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's highest-charting single in the country. It has also been recorded by many other artists.

<i>The Raven</i> (The Stranglers album) Album by The Stranglers

The Raven is the fourth studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers, released on 15 September 1979, through record label United Artists.

<i>Rattus Norvegicus</i> (album) 1977 album by The Stranglers

Rattus Norvegicus is the debut studio album by English punk rock band the Stranglers, released on 15 April 1977.

<i>Black and White</i> (The Stranglers album) 1978 studio album by the Stranglers

Black and White is the third studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 12 May 1978, through record label United Artists in most of the world and A&M in America.

<i>Live</i> (X Cert) 1979 live album by the Stranglers

Live (X Cert) is the first live album by the Stranglers, released in February 1979 by United Artists. It contains tracks recorded at The Roundhouse in June and November 1977 and at Battersea Park in September 1978.

<i>The Gospel According to the Meninblack</i> 1981 studio album by the Stranglers

The Gospel According to the Meninblack is the fifth album by English rock band the Stranglers, an esoteric concept album released 9 February 1981 on the Liberty label. The album deals with conspiratorial ideas surrounding alien visitations to Earth, the sinister governmental men in black, and the involvement of these elements in well-known biblical narratives. This was not the first time the Stranglers had used this concept; "Meninblack" on the earlier The Raven album and subsequent 1980 single-release "Who Wants the World?" had also explored it.

<i>La folie</i> (album) 1981 studio album by the Stranglers

La folie is the sixth studio album by English new wave band the Stranglers. It was released on 9 November 1981, through the EMI record label Liberty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Cornwell</span> English musician

Hugh Alan Cornwell is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for the punk rock and new wave band the Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the Stranglers, Cornwell has recorded a further ten solo studio albums and continues to record and perform live.

<i>Feline</i> (The Stranglers album) 1983 studio album by the Stranglers

Feline is the seventh studio album by the Stranglers and was released on 14 January 1983 on the Epic record label, their first for the label. The first edition came with a free one-sided 7" single "Aural Sculpture Manifesto". Feline drew heavily on two of the dominant musical influences in Europe of the time, by using primarily acoustic guitars and electronic drums as well as synthesizers. The American edition of the album included the British hit single "Golden Brown" as the closing track on side one of the original vinyl.

<i>Greatest Hits 1977–1990</i> 1990 greatest hits album by the Stranglers

Greatest Hits 1977–1990 is a compilation album by the Stranglers, released in November 1990 by Epic Records. It contains hit singles selected from their back catalogue from both EMI and Epic Records.

<i>Dreamtime</i> (The Stranglers album) 1986 studio album by the Stranglers

Dreamtime is the ninth studio album by the Stranglers, released in 1986 by Epic Records. The title track was inspired by a belief of the aboriginal peoples of Australia called Dreamtime.

<i>10</i> (The Stranglers album) 1990 studio album by the Stranglers

10 is the tenth studio album by English rock band the Stranglers, released in March 1990 by Epic Records. It was the last to feature guitarist/lead singer Hugh Cornwell. 10 peaked at No. 15 and spent four weeks in the UK Albums Chart.

<i>The Collection 1977–1982</i> 1982 compilation album by The Stranglers

The Collection 1977–1982 is a compilation album by The Stranglers. It was released to complete their contract with EMI, who had acquired the band's back catalogue on the United Artists and Liberty labels. It peaked at No. 12 in the UK Albums Chart in 1982.

<i>Aural Sculpture</i> 1984 studio album by The Stranglers

Aural Sculpture is the eighth studio album by the Stranglers, released in November 1984 by Epic Records. It was also the name given to a one-sided 7-inch single given free with a limited number of copies of their Feline album in 1983. The "Aural Sculpture Manifesto" on the 7" single was played before the Stranglers appeared on stage during concerts during both the 1983 "Feline" tour and the 1985 "Aural Sculpture" tour.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jean-Jacques Burnel</span> English singer and bassist

Jean-Jacques Burnel is an English musician, producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the English rock band the Stranglers. He is the only original member to remain in the band.

"Tramp" is a song included as a track on the Stranglers' sixth studio album, La Folie. "Tramp" was originally thought to be the ideal follow-up to their Top Ten hit single, "Golden Brown". However, Jean-Jacques Burnel convinced fellow band members that the album title track, "La Folie" was a much better choice. This backfired when "La Folie" only peaked at No. 47 on the UK Singles Chart.

Hans Axel Wärmling was a Swedish musician and songwriter, and was a founding member and keyboardist of the British rock band The Stranglers. He co-wrote their 1982 UK Top 10 release "Strange Little Girl". He drowned in a boating accident in 1995.

"Hanging Around" is a song by English rock band the Stranglers, released on their 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus. The song was written by the band's guitarist, Hugh Cornwell, and is notable for its driving bassline and its lyrics about urban alienation.

"Goodbye Toulouse" is a song by The Stranglers, appearing as the second song on their 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus. The lyrics were written by Jean-Jacques Burnel and the music by Hugh Cornwell, although it was credited to the band as a whole.

References

  1. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 535. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  2. Cornwell, Hugh; Drury, Jim (2001). The Stranglers Song By Song. Sanctuary Publishing Ltd. ISBN   1-86074-362-5.
  3. Simpson, Dave (31 August 2021). "'We were called heretics and ostracised': the Stranglers on fights, drugs and finally growing up". The Guardian . Retrieved 1 September 2021.