Seven ages of rock - a history of rock music over the past 50 years

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• I'm so bored with the USA....Well, New York anyway. Yes the NY proto-punk CBGB bands were the progenitors of what became punk...but do we have to spend so much time acknowledging what was after all just a catalyst to the greater revolution. NY may have been the cradle of punk....but the UK was where it flowered into juvenile delinquency.
  Danny, Epping Forest.

  And..... once again.....the Stranglers are left out of a punk retrospective. I wonder if this is because their message is just not PC enough for our modern sensibilities. Ok, so they were a converted pub rock band from Guildford...and Jet Black was/is about a hundred years old....but nonetheless they were at the forefront of the punk outrage in the UK. The first two albums are as dark & threatening as anything at the time. Anyone who says that the stranglers were not one of the key 3 bands in punk in 1977.....just wasn't there.
  Hugh, Cambridge.

  And the 'The Stranglers?' + S'tiff Little Fingers'?
  franky - belfast

  Good to see The Slits getting a mention. I was very suprised to find my teenage daughter listening to 'Cut' the other day. She claimed they were 'cool' - wow, what goes around comes around....
  Pamela, Taunton

  Its a shame you couldn't get Wild Youth on the show to show how Punk is developing at the moment.I was there at the beginning and loved the exitement and energy of punk. I have now discovered Wild Youth a bunch of 16 year olds who play with the spirit of 77 in the style of the Dolls but for the youth of today.If you ever get the chance check them out i reckon their gonna be
  Paul, Birmingham

  Ruts,X-ray Spex, Undertones,Adverts, Souxsie and the Banshees, Devo,Bow wow wow, Rip rig and panic, The Jam, Killing Joke, Crass.....far too many to mention I suppose- What a cool time to be a teenage rebel, loved it !
  Rossy - Guildford - GU1 Punx !!

  WHAT ABOUT LED ZEPPELIN THE MOST MASSIVE ROCK BAND EVER THEY INVENTED ROCK ||||
  Ruth Nicholas

  Not enough Television. They were far more seminal, more generative, than your documentarians would have us believe. CBGBs would not have existed as a venue for "new" music had it not been for Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd's prodding of Hilly Kristal to provide it.
  Russ Van Rooy,Kalamazoo,Mi, USA

  It is important to point out that punk is still alive and kicking, if you don`t believe me get to blackpool in august (9-12th) and watch the Damned, 999, uk subs et al. you know you want to.....................................
  SLIM,WARRINGTON ENGLAND

  I was just 13 when the pistols played in my town. Of course i didnt get to see them, i was too young. A strip club is no place for a kid but a perfect venue for a punk gig. Now at 45 i can look back and be proud of being part of the PUNK ROCK ERA.
  Jez, Keighley

  I'm glad the BBC have chosen to write The Stranglers out of rock history. After all, what have they ever done for us? Well, apart from the highest number of top 40 hits for a "punk" band, and, er...apart from the largest "punk" fan base in the UK, er...apart from the series of successful, original & thought provoking albums, er...apart from still being in existance, er...apart from never following convention.....Ah, I see now... that's it, because they never gave a ***** for the luvvies at the BBC (& the NME) the ******** still bear a grudge...maybe the next generation of public school ******** will look back with a little bit more clarity & maybe, just maybe they'll get a mention...but I somehow doubt it....
  Matt, High Wycombe

  Sex Pistols? I thought this was a series about real rock not boy bands
  Mike, Scotland

  Don't understand...no Joy Division!!! Very odd..far better then the pistols
  Bradley Manchester

  Whilst not strictly punk, I struggle to see why there is no mention of The Jam. Their lyrics had more social comment and angst about this era than most. Still a strong fan base, a back catalogue that still sounds fresh today and two thirds back together, gigging again and sounding GREAT! Lost count on how many bands claim them as an influence. A weaker programme for this and no Stranglers either?PS - Rick and Bruce are doing fine without you Paul!
  David E, Northumberland

  Seminal it was and truth was I didn't understand half of what Joe Strummer was going on about! Living in the country Punk illuminated my bedroom in such a way that T-Rex and Slade quite frankly failed to do. The speed, the abandonment, the rebellion everything a teenage lad wanted and it seemed that everyone could have it too!For me Joe Strummer was my Elvis, a man with purpose and a band to convey it; which stayed with him right to the Mescalleros. I now understand White Man in Hammersmith Palais and its relevance and I wryly smile at Joe's references to places like Afghanistan in Ghetto Defendent.UK music has seen nothing like Punk since.
  Max, Berkhamsted

  The thing with all those early punk bands, the rawness and atitude lives on making it sound as good today as when you heard it the first time round. I thank John Peel for my introduction to the art of punk.
  Maddog, Niton, Isle of Wight

  What about the modern punk of today? Green Day, Blink 182, Sum 41 and The Offspring!!!!!
  Whittle, Bolton

  Hope my faves Dr Feelgood get a mention, they were a influence on many Punk/New Wave bands both in New York & London.
  Steve Smith. Nottingham.

  The Stranglers not mentioned again!!!Not part of Punk's fashionable but doesn't this make them even more Punk?
  Nige Ledbury

  Dreamtime - Stranglers Night BBC4 * Auntie Beeb finally lightens up, sees the funny side, takes the rod out her arse and celebrates the national institution that is The Stranglers. With over 5hrs of classic and never before seen footage and searing performances from the vaults, along with specially commissioned documentaries, programmes and surprises galore. 8pm: The NightInBlack will kick off with a special Rock School masterclass programme, originally recorded in 1980, where Jet, Hugh and JJ join the hosts to explain away all those devilishly tricky bass lines, fiddly "angular guitar" parts and unusual time signatures in the song Genetix, while keyboard maestro David Greenfield shows how to play every key on a Hammond in 1.27 seconds. A must see for any budding teenaged muso, sadly never transmitted at the time due to the scenes of violence, harsh language and prolific drug taking that amply fill the half hour show. 8.30pm: The Black Documentary. Classic, rarely seen rock-doc made by the band on the colour black. 8.50pm: Fan's Favourites- The Raven. Live footage from 1979. 9.00pm: We Are TheFansInBlack. Hard-core MIBs and WIBs from around the globe, selected from regulars at the outstanding Stranglers website, Burning Up Time give their memories and views on what it means to have been Strangled. 9.50pm: Linsey Dawn McKenzie Does It Every Time. The first of a choice selection of supermodels, actresses and pornstars trying their hand (and other bits) at performing an erotic dance routine to the Stranglers classic Nice N Sleazy. An ongoing phone-in poll will decide the winner by the end of the night. 10.00pm: A Lot Of Noise. Uberfan and original Finchley Boy "Big" Al Hillier and cyber punk web monkey "Slim" Jim Radley lead viewers into the dark, seedy world of the pubs, clubs, venues, stomping grounds and locals made famous in Stranglers songs and mythology in this specially commissioned film. Contains scenes of extreme violence. 10.50pm: Fan's Favourites- Down In The Sewer. Live footage from 1977. 11.00pm: Norfolk Roast. Stranglers drummer and all round good egg Jet Black takes viewers on a culinary odyssey up and down the country, from the Little Chef, Watford Gap to Fat Malky's greasy spoon in Govan in search of the worst pie in Britain. Parental advisory. 11.20pm: Salma Hayek Does It Every Time. More celebrity stripping. 11.30pm: Shut Up ! Definitive and hard hitting documentary that explains once and for all, and in plain language how The Stranglers were a mirror to their times, accurately reflecting the zeitgeist and social mores of Britain in the mid to late 1970's. Containing wry wit and biting social commentary originally missed by most critics at that particular period in history, the programme also includes illustrative footage from news reports and popular prime time television shows of the time including The Benny Hill Show and Love Thy Neighbour. 11.50pm: Fan's Favourites- Toiler On The Sea. Live footage from 1979. 12.00 midnight: Celebrity Fight Club Special. The Stranglers lean, mean scrapping machine Jean Jacques Burnel takes on, single handedly and at the same time, Chris Martin, Robbie Williams and Bono in a caged free for all death match. Only one will walk away at the end. No prizes for guessing who. 12.05am: Mean To Me. Jon Savage, Julie Burchil, Tony Parsons and "London Lady" Caroline Coon piss and moan, airing their collective tired old gripes about The Stranglers in a manner reminiscent of recently scolded school kids. All of it no longer relevant. 12.10am: Angelina Jolie Does It Every Time. Mrs.Pitt gets them out for the MIB. 12.25am: Anyone for Peaches? T.V chef Keith Floyd's playful look at the impact that The Stranglers' music has had on cookery programmes on the BBC over the last three decades. 12.40am: Bitching Around. Very rare rehearsal footage filmed prior to the aborted reformation tour of 2007. 12.45am: MIB Covered. A "Later..." special featuring a variety of acts performing their versions of tracks from Th
  Aliasinblack, Outside Tokio

  Why No Stranglers?I remember 76/77 and the stranglers were neck and neck with the pistols for infamy and influence. The Clash were quite a distance behind [not even being able to crack the top 10 singles chart though the likes of Sham 69 could]. A lot of revisionist thinking regarding the Clash because they became the darlings of the USA . Still gotta repeat...WHERE ARE THE STRANGLERS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?????????????
  Ray, Wigan

  The New York thing seems to to me (an old punk) to be pushing it a bit. The yanks never had mass unemployment, the troubles, the politics of the old trade unions, or the 'no future' outlook. They just had drugs and some free time. Punk was a British thing, it was, for the average punk, about confronting the very dull world they lived in, the lack of opportunity and saying 'fuck this, I'm not having it'. Start a band, get pissed, get laid....anything...just do it!Patti Smith, Blondie, Television? Nice music maybe...punk? No way. By the way, whatever happened to The Stranglers? I thought they were the most 'punk' band of the time...but they seem to have be passed over. Too old I suppose or maybe they beat up a one of the researchers for the programme. Shame.
  James, Scotland

  Ahh so once again the Stranglers have been ignored through the eyes of the beeb. To say they didn't influence Punk or indeed music in those seminal years is shocking! They out sold every band at the time and are still going strong!! Also pretty shocked at the exclusion of Led Zep and the Kinks! Guffaw!!
  Steve, Aberdeen

  wot no crass?
  milo kent

  The Misfits?
  Luke, Twells

  And what about The Dead Kennedys? I'm sure Jello Biafra would be real happy about this... NOT!!
  Myk, Aberdeen, Scotland

  No mention of The Stranglers? Bit of an incomplete, badly researched programme methinks. Most commercially successful band of the 'punk' era. Usual shit BBC.
  jack, camden

  Ok here we have yet another attempt to write the stranglers out of the history of punk. They have never fully split up despite the front man leaving they remain a strong unit with 75% of the original line up . Unlike the sex pistols they didnt just reform to cash in on the wave of nostalgia sweeping across this land. They tour regularly & still produce excelent albums, just last year releasing their 16th studio album which was as strong & musicaly valid an album as was released by any artist in that year. So why are they constantly ignored or mentioned as a foot note in passing & never any more. I for one am sick of this biased history & from comments i have read below it appears that i am not the only one
  Willie Macdonald, Oban

  I agree about the Stranglers - if they arent featured its beacuse the Punk fraternity disown them now. They were the biggest selling act to come of of that era only rivalled by The Jam in album sales.Theres a snobery attched to the fact that they were top muscians and had a keyboard player.
  martin chelsea

  In this weeks Punk episode you will no doubt fail to point out how Johnny Rotten (a massive Cooper fan) mimed to the Alice Cooper's classic 'I'm Eighteen' at his Sex Pistols audition!Just as in last weeks Theatrical/Glam/Art episode you failed to mention the originator of the genre ALICE COOPER!You producers really are second rate!
  Steven Crayn, London

  The Stranglers ?????????????????????
  R.Hartigan ,Limerick city Ireland

  Ok i will try to post again as you seem to have begun to censor even comments about the stranglers as well as the band them self from the history of punk.this is a band who have never quit & reformed to cash in on a wave of nostalgia. They have ploughed on over the years touring & recording while being constantly ignored by the media but not their army of fans who ensure their gigs are almost always sell outs. In the years i have been to see them it has always warmed my heart that young kids as well as old (but young at heart) punks attend the gigs & have the time of their life.So Mr. Director/Producer you wanted us to leave our comments & you wanted us to mean them well, I want to know how you can justify not even mentioning the stranglers & i want you to be honest. If you have the courage to
  Willie Macdonald, Oban

  All the programmes are the same, one or two bands getting the bulk of the playlist. Too many great and worthy bands have been missed out in favour of the usual suspects at the cost of the credibilty of the series. Perhaps your researchers would have been better off scratching beyond the surface of each genre and looking at the diversity of music each era offered.
  dij, Stockport

  Oh come on you guys from The Stranglers Fan Club. So, they haven't been featured in this film. It is about PUNK, not PUB ROCK!! They made a great pop single in 'Golden Brown', though. But, not very punk, was it? Can't imagine The Clash, the Pistols or any other punk band recording anything like Golden Brown. Why do you judge whether something is good or bad (and you ain't seen it yet) just by whether your pet band is included? Get over it and then put The Stranglers Greatest Hit CD on your player ...
  Strangled At Birth, Camden

  Well, STEVEN CRAYNE - Alice Cooper's Number One Fan - congratulations on having a rant about every last programme not featuring Alice So What Cooper. You need to get over it and stop cluttering up this site with your personal protests about the much neglected Alice Who Cares Cooper. Are you going to suggest that Alice Cooper should be in Indie Rock, too? Perhaps his theatrical make up influenced Morrisey? Who knows and - apart from you - who cares.
  Alice Cooper, Los Angeles

  Any JAM in there?
  Andy Retford

  Where is MY favourite band?
  monica, Cheltenham

  Hey, Alastair Producer/Director, you look like one cooool punky dude. In fact, you look ... familiar. I wonder if it was you I pogoed with at the Roxy in late '76?. I can see you are greyer now (you were pink topped then). Do you remember some guy gobbed at me and you became very chivalrous and threatened to nut him on my behalf? Those were the days, as Mary Hopkin once said. I can't wait to see your programme. Keep punking Alastair!
  Sonya, Macclesfield

  You appear it have inadvertantly missed about 1/2 of my already edited post!Just for the sake on continuity and to get to the punchline:-BBC Stranglers Night Part2 *12.45am: MIB Covered. A "Later..." special featuring a variety of acts performing their versions of tracks from The Stranglers opus The Gospel According To The Men In Black. Includes Radiohead's acclaimed version of Turn The Centuries Turn , Kraftwerk's radical reworking Hallow To Our Mensh, as well as groups such as The Residents and the Chemical Brothers. 1.15am: Fan's Favourites- Walk On By. Live footage from 1977 of The Stranglers own wondrous cover version. 1.30am: Ugly. The true story of the Nice University riot. With previously unreleased audio and video footage, along with new interviews with the band, road crew and other witnesses including police and students. 2.00am: Rock Goes To College. The Stranglers complete performance on this show, recently uncovered after being thought lost forever. With new introduction from that twat that originally introduced it explaining what a twat he was. 2.30am: The Story of No More Heroes. Hugh Cornwell explains, once again, who Elmyra was and what was so great about him, and the reasons behind the writing of this classic track. Includes rare footage of the comedian Lenny Bruce. 3.10am: Milla Jovovich Does It Every Time. The rauncy Ruskie gets her turn bumping and grinding along to Dave's massive swelling organ bleeps and wooshes. 3.20am: In His-Story. The NightInBlack draws to a close with acclaimed rock scribe Jon Savage as he tries vainly to justify the vitriol and disproportionate resentment he has harboured over the decades for The Stranglers, includes his heartfelt plea to now re-re-write the history books and concludes with an extended public apology for the way the band have been treated by the media, music journalists and him in particular. 3.25am: Fan's Favourites- Hanging Around. Live footage from 1982. *Provisionally penciled in for for the Spring programming schedule, 2024. And might actually have happened if The Stranglers hadn't told a few pompus arseholes to **** off a few times. Dreamtime indeed.
  Aliasinblack, Sweden

  Ermmm...As is becoming more and more obvious the longer this thread develops, why is there no reference to The Stranglers ? This just does not make sense. Seriously - why are The Stranglers omitted ?
  Paul - London

  Joy division are missing, but they always seemed better than punk. Incredible depth to the music, an astonishing frontman and lyricist who met an all to premature end. All that and their second incarnation have only just split up!
  Paul, Wimbledon, London

  Looking at this list it's apparent the depth of feeling in leaving the Stranglers out of this documentary, maybe there was not enough footage or maybe the band members were reluctant to play ball. Every fellow Punk teenager I knew in 1977 were obsessed with the Stranglers and were quite fearful too - I mean these were grown men doing it for real. It would appear they upset too many people they were true protaganist and anti-establishment managing to keep integrity whilst balancing having to make a living with not selling out to america. Punk they truly were and they were not afraid to change when it mattered no more.
  Mark, Manchester

  It's a shame the Stranglers are not featured. They were first's on many aspects of Punk and continue to be first in many things still today. For instance recently the Stranglers were first to bring out a song by song book, only to be followed by other Punk bands of the day bringing out the same - yet the Stranglers cannot be found on the shelves but with the Clash and Jam are readily available, this was always the case right from the start. You see the Stranglers were truly Punk who were more concerned at the time about there fans and not selling out to the establishment. They influenced so much before Punk when as Pub rockers they began changing there style and image well before Punk officially broke. They were pionneers, JJ had short hair when it was not fashionable and Jet had piroxide hair before anyone cared - The clash and ther Pistols used to go to Stranglers gigs and wished they could be like them.
  Des, Manchester

  To the fool who claimed to be someone famous.If you learn to read, you will see a lot of people care that Alice Cooper (the real one) wasn't featured in this series.
  Steven Crayn, London

  It's the same old story, the usual suspects, nothing new. Here I am expected something even slightly different to Pistols, Clash, Buzzcocks etc. If you can't improve on what you've already done in previous incarnations of this format, BBC, why bother?And I haven't even mentioned the Stranglers.
  Disappointed, Notts

  If you were lucky enough to survive a Stranglers gig in '76 - '78, you'll have found that they were the loudest & hardest of all bands from this era. More punks @ one of their gigs than an entire Slits tour ! And why does the media persist with labelling Debbie Harry / Blondie as punk ? Couldn't be furthest from the truth. Swap Shop favourites more like.Stephen.
  Stephen, East Kilbride

  Wot programme has got Nik Turner's Inner City Unit featured?
  Maddog, Niton, Isle of Wight

  Trying to do a one hour programme about the whole of punk, it's inevitable that some stuffs going to get left out, and that yeah, that stuff is probably going to include some people's favorite bands.The test of the programme is going to be whether it can bring anything new to a story that's been told so many times, and whether it actually thinks about the subject rather than just recycling all the standard myths and legends.
  Dave, Nottingham

  Another punter demands to know why no Stranglers.It makes me smile every time I hear them described as "pub rock chancers". What was John "Woody" Mellor doing before his Stalinist reinvention as Joe Strummer? Errr, fronting a pub rock band. What was Mick Jones doing before the Clash and London SS? Trying and failing to get a Mott / glam outfit off the ground. Glass houses, innit.
  Craig, Manchester

  No John Cooper Clark ????
  Hugh , Hayes

  For the historians, Queen were originally booked for the Bill Grundy show. At the last moment, they were unable to attend, so my sister Louise, who was responsible for them at EMI, decided to substitute one of the other two acts she was responsible..It could so easily have also been: wait for it, Cliff Richard. The rest, as they say, is indeed history.
  Nigel Chism, London

  Rare archive footage hey BBC, ever get the feeling you been cheated.No fun, no future for this series, never mind the B******* BBC where is the promised rare footage??????????Usual stuff again next week Black night TOTP take on the world TOTP FFS BBC I got better footage than what you have.Total Pants.
  Gary Jordan Birmingham

  Great programme, 1977, the Pistol's "Never Mind the Bollocks" and The Fall's "Bingo Master's Breakout" were most influential for me.Just get a guitar and play. Resulted in the attitude "you can do anything if you want too, "just get off your arse".Thanks to PunkGuy
  Guy Boden Aged 43

  how could you miss the amazing stiff little fingers? not being there first time but seeing them this year WOW!
  Tom

  Find it unbelievable that you can make a film on Punk and there is no mention of the New York Dolls.
  mike ryan, east sussex

  You would think the Pistols were the only band around. Whilst they have a massive following and influenced a lot of kids - there was + still is plenty of other bands who better and more popular than the pistols. And i shall name two of them ; The Stranglers [ still going strong and still the best] The Damned [ still a fantastic live band]. Bollox to the pistols and bollox to those who think they were the only punk/new wave band.
  Preacher Man - South Wales

  Thanks for the 10 second interview with brian James of THE DAMNED!!!!..."Pistols this pistols that" There were some other bands around at the time as well you know! Also I see that slimey twat JON SAVAGE managed to get his mug on another punk related programme...Mr know it all.
  alex plumb Harlow, Essex

  Strangled At Birth, Camden.golden brown was 83,the doc was about 76 , the strange thing is all of the other punk bands used to go see them play and wanted to be like them.will they admit this now.
  andy helgesen lincoln

  Ahhhh! Even after 30 years, punk causes a highly charged debate among the people!I enjoyed the programme, but for those that didn't, please put it into context. As the producer points out, 1 hour is not enough to give the subject justice and the film was made acknowledging that and other limitations.Oh, and the Stranglers were referenced. They were on a poster listed as support to Patti Smith. Hardly enough given their punk credentials.
  Mark, Church Crookham

  Once upon a time the clips shown would have been a rare thrill, but I must have seen every archive clip on that show at least a dozen times on the BBC in the last year or so. Same old bands over and over and if punk died in 78 when the Pistols broke up why are people still interested, why did Nirvana happen, why Green Day? Might be nice to see a bit of punk history after 78 for a change. You might even be able to show a less worn piece of footage than usual! Wot no Crass?
  Tim, Stoke

  I agree, The Stranglers were conspicuous by their absence in this programme.Far too much Johnny Rotten.Not enough Patti Smith.
  Carol, Newcastle

  once again the stragnlers omitted....i remember this quotaion about which band represented which punk branch -sex pistols - soul of the movementclash - politicsstranglers - musiciansjam- stylistsand why dont these programs mention the importnat word of that era - NEW WAVE. This is was the birth of a new generation of song writers ( eg COSTELLO) had finally brokedn away from the inflluence of the 'hippy generation' New wave needs a program of its self, as the british songwriter would once again dominate uk and americain charts.Ps bowie was again doing his own thing, as i recall the advert in the paper of 1977 :'there's old wave, there's new wave and there's david bowie' as the world would hear the ground breaking electronic 'sound and vision' - , while 'heroes' was around the corner - a new world was to begin
  colin cardiff

  Pleased to see you prove me wrong by featuring 'I'm Eighteen' by Alice Cooper as John Lydon spoke of his influence in last nights episode.Still doesn't excuse his omission in the Art Rock episode, how any mention of rock and theatre can leave out it's pioneer and master is beyond belief!So well done Alastair Laurence a damm sight better than your fellow producer Francis Whatley.I'll pay half my licence fee.
  Steven Crayn, London

  No mench of the pre- Pistols 'Cleveland Ohio scene' Rocket From the Tombs/Pere Ubu, Electric Eels etc.... And a missed opportunity to feature more key influences on 'punk' like Ron Asheton's guitar sound for one and also people like Peter Laughner. Lame
  Ian, Leeds.

  I Know its difficult to get it all into one hour, but to mention neither the Stranglers or Ian Dury? Otherwise a great programme. A follow up on where punk went next? I'm your man.
  Barry Buckinghamshire

  they did mention the misfits.Why is everyone so blind to see that Led Zeppelin, are in the later stadium rock episode??could any of you condense the history of rock in to 7 hours??
  Matt, Sheffiled

  Yet again another rock documentry is spoilt with a gaping omission, Sex Pistols, Clash, Damned & Buzzcocks all rightly featured, but why no mention of The Stranglers, ok they started life as a pub rock band (was'nt Strummer in One before the Clash??) but surely they were one of the main groups of that era.Rattus Norvegicus is a classic, and just as good as Bollocks or The Clash, me thinks it has something to do with the 2 Journos who featured heavily in this episode! You can't just ignore the facts cos you just dont happen to like them!!!!!!
  Jim, Channel Islands.

  Again, I'm not going to moan about the absence of my favourite band (they were all there). The analysis of interaction with society: "What caused and enhanced its success?" certainly was a lot better than for the previous episode (and was probably a littlebit easier).
  Jan, Durham

  I suppose the jam don't fit into your little organised sections of rock. shame
  Nikki, Manchester

  Incredible decision to omit the Stranglers from the programme. Undeniably a momumental "balls up" which, in my view, totally undermines the credibility of the programme claim to be " a definitive guide". Shocking!!
  Pat Kenny,Killearn

  Great program brings back memories,Still listen to the bands now and will do god to see the youth of today playing bands like the Ramones and the Clash, so they are still going strong and not forgotten great series waiting for the next.
  Neil kent

  Just to add that as much as I loved the show, SLF were everything to me about punk, yes I can see the clash influence, but they took it so much further, Best gig I ever went to, Paddy night at the Astoria energy, anger, lyrics, tunes. Inflamible Material still played often in the car.God save Johnny Rotten, God save Jake Burns, I mean it man!
  paul

  lol @ someone calling television "nice"and they're right btw; punk is more a NY thing than a british thing
  paul elkins, london

  I agree with Ruth Led Zeppelin were very skilled musicians
  Al McGill, Driffield

  I can't believe that The Damned were barely mentioned. They were instrumental in the punk scene. In fact they had the first punk single. Why is it that when one of these programmes looks at punk, they automatically focus on the Sex Pistols, who were essentially 'made' by Malcolm McLarren, not a group that emerged because they had something to say. I did watch with eager optomism, hoping this time it would be different...some of the real bands who had a significant influence would be mentioned. Sadly not.
  Jacqueline. Oxford

  SHOCKER NO MENTION OF THE STRANGLERS .(AGAIN)OH WELL BBC SO PREDICTABLE
  MOOSEDOG wolverhampton

  Never mind about the Stranglers, what about Alternative TV? How can you have programme about punk and not mention Mark Perry & Co is a mystery. 'The Image Has Cracked'.
  Ed, Wales

  Glad to see a few others have mentioned the lack of 'The Stranglers' in the program on saturday. Who wrote that biased rubbish???
  David, Milton Keynes

  fair comment by the director stating that an hour was never gonna be long enough to cram it all in but surely some mention of crass, the dead kennedys, uk subs, 999. the list is endless. fair play to all the guys who have gave the stranglers a mention, early doors they were well up there but they did go a bit soft poppy commercial gash later on?
  martin, dundee

  It is impossible to put a programme covering punk together with just 1 hours TV to tell the story. I think the programme tried to cover the rumblings in both New York and London and did it quite well. You cannot underestimate the shock of The Ramones first album and the impact it had. McLaren was certainly looking to New York when he took the Pistols under his wing. He was very lucky to get Rotten but had been looking at Richard Hell and Sylvain Sylvain before that to front the Jones, Cook, Matlock line up. I think we can all complain that our favourite bands were overlooked but the programme was looking at cultural impact not chart sales. The main disappointment is that there is so little footage of the original bands from that era. The New Rose clip is the only Damned clip in existance due to the fact that their manager wouldn't let anyone film them. The same must be true of so many bands. I think this programme adds to the story of punk already covered in films like The Filth and the Fury, End Of The Century and Don Letts' Punk: Attitude as well as books like England's Dreaming and Jon Robb's Oral History of Punk. If you weren't happy with the Beeb's version of history...do it yourself!
  Mal, Halifax West Yorkshire

  No Stranglers, no Blockheads, you must be joking!! Pub rock had more of an influence on Punk than New York. From My memories of 76 charles Sharr Murray hated Punk. You should have spoke to Nick Kent and Tony Parsons. Lester Bangs RIP
  Bill, Durham

  A very disapointing program, where the hell were the Stranglers?????
  David, Milton Keynes

  At this rate The Damned will be written out of history before long. The 4 Punk trailblazers of '76 were The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned & Buzzcocks. Would have been nice to give the Damned a proper segment.Also in the post Punk section towards the end no mention of Wire. Pink Flag came out a month after NMTB and of all the UK Punk(ish) albums of 1977 it made the rest sound like yesterdays music.
  Simon, Oldbury

  when punk came out i never paid much attention to it.After watching interview with John Lydon he was so truthful about the meaning of the music and words that i am turned on to the likeable `rogue`and his -was music.Fantastic propgramme `Seven Ages of Rock`,well done `The Beeb` and also `Sgt Peppers `celebration programme.My body `AGES`but my mind does not,great,magic,super!!!!!!!!!Cheers ,William Young,rock on.
  william young, Quarter,Hamilton,Scotland

  I think you'll find you spelt Paul Simonon's name WRONG!!!! It's SimOnon, NOT SimEnon ...................... glaring error in an otherwise entertaining look back. And, yes, The Clash were/are the most important band in the world.
  Deborah

  Is the reason for no coverage of the Stranglers anything to do with the fact that they were once a little rude to Jon Savage?Not a bad programme, but dominated too much by the Pistols, Clash and Ramones. Should have been some decent footage of Siouxsie, Sham 69, Adverts, Jam, Spex, Lurkers, Generation X etc etc etc.PS Strangled at Birth - The Clash had gone soft by 1979 with the MOR "London Calling".
  Paul, London

  The supposed influence of the New York artists was overdone. As I recall they were championed primarily by prog-rockers who wanted to buy into punk without having to give up their Pink Floyd albums.Poorly researched and lacking any real direction, I though this programme painted a completely inaccurate picture of the punk period. To someone like me whose whole musical ethos was defined by this period, it failed to ring true.
  Dave, Birmingham

  Once again a programme which fails to cover the host of new music that surfaced in the punk era. New York and London yes, it couldn't have happened without them, but what about the underground electronic scene of the time? Suicide ? The Normal ? Cabaret Voltaire ? all playing 76 and onwards but clearly not " punk" A shame we are still focussing on this silly word after all these years to describe a true revolution in music.Likewise, it's as if the Fall , Elvis Costello, Stranglers, The Saints, Heartbreakers, 999, Ultravox, Adverts, Rezillos, etc didn't really matter..What about the regional scenes in more detail ? Manchester, Liverpool, Bristol, Scotland etc? Might be good to have a programme on the 78-82 post punk period too?
  vincent clarke, wallasey, merseyside

  I thought this was a good, entertaining programme but like a few others I thought that to try and take The Stranglers and indeed The Jam out of of the equation was like doing a programme about astronauts visiting the moon and not mentioning Neil Armstrong.Most of us would say that in the UK the five most important bands in the whole punk explosition were the Pistols, Clash, Stranglers, Jam and Damned. The Jam has different moddy roots but they were an essential part of the scene then and The Stranglers had more aggression, power, iindividuality and great toons than all their contemparies. I also agree with Danny from Epping Foest below - yes, Amercia had a role to play but art house stuff like Patti Smith and Television were NOT what the UK punk experience was all about. We were all getting excited by the working class rougha nd tumble outfits like the bands mentioned above plus Gen X, The Boys, The Buzzcocks et al and none of us were beating each other up to get the last copy of Horses in the shop. The Ramones were the only truly great Amercian punk band of that time and they deserve all the respect going (I still love em to bits) but frankly you can keep your middle class arty Patti thank you.So a great TV show in parts but I do find the attempt to take The Stranglers out of punk's musical history to be very depressing. And we all know why it is. It is because the alleged king of punk writing and the man the Beeb probably consulted on this project - Jon Savage - hated the Stranglers after an 'altercation' with one of them after he wrote a bad review of them. Get over it Jon, stop 'Bitching' about the mighty Meninblack and give respect where respect is due.
  Sam H, Bath

  It's highly likely that the ubiquitous presence of Jon Savage (often disinterred when punk-doc producers are scratching around for a talking head) explains the non-inclusion of the Stranglers. Following a run-in in the days of yore with JJ Burnel, Savage has never been able to move on from setting the dial to 'hissy flounce' when it comes to the band - 'England's Dreaming' being the prime example.
  Marian, London

  Tim from Stoke, you said "...why did Nirvana happen, why Green Day? Might be nice to see a bit of punk history after 78 for a change". PERHAPS YOU SHOULD WAIT UNTIL THE GRUNGE PROGRAMME. DURR!
  dan, woolwich

  To have a programme about Punk and not feature The Stranglers is a disgrace. They were the most successful band during that Punk era. They outsold the rest on Album and singles sales (including The Clash) in the UK. Even Channel 4 had a documentary on Punk a few years ago and The Stranglers came 2nd in the public vote. It seems laughable after 30 years that the BBC still has a problem with The Stranglers since they walked off BBC 2's Rock Goes To College in 1978. Basically it's a farce to have a programme about a movement and not include the most successfull Punk band in the UK. Shame On You BBC!!!
  KEITH, CANTERBURY

  And the New York Dolls?
  Iain Halifax Yorkshire

  Surely The Stranglers were more of a New Wave thing than strictly punk? Not that I want to wade into this argument really, there are so many bands we could mention. I loved this programme if only because it reminded me how good Patti Smith was (is?), how funny John Lydon is and how much I love The Clash. Off to dig out London Calling immediately.
  Nic, Barnsley

  punk just blew away any previous rock music
  jeff in london

  Punk didn't really die, it continued in many ways - mainly in the development of hardcore and then grindcore and metalcore. Shame didn't go more into the affects punk had later on, especially that of hardcore.
  Tom, London

  what about the stranglers?? they were legendary. oh, and the jam?!
  Simon - London

  eh, the sonics! excuse me! the Sonics, hello HELLO THE SONICS!!!!!!
  paul glasgow

  A whole programme devoted to punk. By its own admission it was a short term phenomenon based on three chords. What next a whole programme based on Status Quo's greatest hits.
  Nick, Bicester

  OK - they only had an hour to fit in a lot of info. But why not explain more about the origins. Mclaren/New York Dolls 1972? How can they overlook that connection when the show highlighted the links with London/New York? They also missed out on showing the influences on later bands and as everyone as pointed out all the bands that werent mentioned. Punk soon became New Wave and gave birth to all types of new talent like Elvis Costello and Ian Drury.Once again it was the Year 10 guide to Rock!
  martin chelsea

  The reason that the Stranglers are not featured is simple. C S Murray and jon savage hated them. They were sexist (although I just thought they were classic wind-up merchants who liked tweaking bleeding heart pc types) and JJ gave some of the people who were journalists then and are now in the meedja a bit of a kicking. Naughty malchick that he was. He hit Jon Savage by the way, so that's why they've been edited out of punk history in such a stalinist way, I was lucky to see stranglers with old line up. Best gigs I've ever witnessed.
  nubileinblack

  really enjoyed the programme. i strangely grew up with punk like many of the people who did so at the time - as a kid aged 11/12 - however i picked up punk in the year 1994 rather than 1976... so a bit later than perhaps intended. it still had the same resonating effect. while my peers listened to soul-destroying cheese, tacky hardcore dance and r'n'b sleaze, i gorged myself on the clash's raw debut, the pistols' seminal release and stiff little fingers' intense 'inflammable material'. it led me onto bands like gang of four, television and wire whom most of my friends had never heard of let alone heard. it was an exciting time of my life and despite the fact it happened in what was probably my own little microcosm... i thank punk music for giving me a release from the bland mainstream way of life at my crappy secondary school. later i got into the american sound of hardcore - black flag, bad brains and 7 seconds and even hip-hop - which as don letts says is as close to the original feel of punk as you can get in the modern age thanks to bands like public enemy and NWA.
  matt, dorset

  The Stranglers were PUB rock not Punk Rock. There is a difference. Why can't you see that? Perhaps if they'd had an 8th programme then maybe they could have done something on pub rock and included Stranglers and Kilburn & the High Roads, etc., etc. Did you not see that BBC programme about Stiff? Dury and Co got their proper due. Why judge a programme and a series just because they didn't include your favourite band? I thought this was an intelligent film and all the more so because it wasn't the story of Punk according to Malcolm McLaren. It would have been sooo much easier just to give the microphone to him (again) and have him dominate. It is hilarious to read these comments; one person says too much time was devoted to punk and another says not enough. Maybe they should hand over the programme making reigns to these people. Blimey - what a messs that would be.
  David, Birmingham

  I just wanted to say how .... oh hold on a minute ... there's someone at the door. Oh no .... it's the television detector van.
  Steven Crayne, London

  Hey, Stephen Crayn, how come you got to see the programme 'last night' if you don't have a license?? Methinks a certain officer needs to pay you a little visit. Glad, though, your insatiable but deluded appetite for all things alice cooper was temporarily satisfied.
  James, Barnoldswick

  Seems to me that only the bands that are popular today by the younger generation have been mentioned like the pistols and the ramones. I mean you dont see teenyboppers walking around with The Stranglers on their t-shirts, do you?
  Rich, Cheshire

  hey i loved the documentary, i thought it was greatone thing thought, you played this track on the background which sounded amazing and i remember hearing it before probably in my uncles car when i was little and i cant get it out of my head that i cant find in the list of featured tracks.is there any way of findin out what the rest of the tracks on the doc were??
  sebastian - York UK

  Err all this talk about the Stranglers...what about Iggy Pop (the grandfather of punk) & Stooges, from whom the Ramones & numerous other bands took inspiration? Cmon.
  Becca, Glasgow

  To the impersonator who you spelt my name wrong, the TV Detector van isn't here yet! my protest against the licence fee is temporary seeing as the BBC are broadcasting Alice Cooper's Welcome To My Nightmare film soon (probably because of all the complaints from his legions of fans!)
  Steven Crayn, London

  Looked forward to the show only to be very disappointed with the unoriginal and lazy treatment of the period.Stiff Little Fingers are still touring and producing vital new material.Why no recognition that Punks alive and one of its most eloquent artists Jake Burns is ignored!
  jameel manchester

  The Guildford Stranglers & the 101'ers were Pub Rock, The Stranglers and The Clash were Punk do you see what I am gettin at, why slate The Stranglers for their Pub Rock roots.
  Mark, Manchester

  So the Stranglers Fanbase hijack a BBC messageboard to voice disapproval of their omission from a documentary. They have a fair point to make - the Stranglers early stuff was influential & controversial whatever their (and may other bands) dubious punk credentials, thay played an important role in the Punk movement. However, the immature reactions on here are pathetic. Get over it.
  Nev, Leeds

  No Stranglers? That is like doing a "Popumentary" on girl bands and not including the Spice Girls (not a fan). This happens when you have State run/owned and operated Gov't TV, they are not interested in what you want to watch!Their goals are clear: take the "left wing" point of view because they are afraid that a right wing party might just cut their funding, so they create shows that only "please themselves" and those who they think have the same point of view. We have a Gov't owned network here in Canada called the CBC and they have the lowest ratings in the country and the BBC will continue along the same path.... GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT!! (title of great Kinks tune).... goes to show the Strangs may not have been popular with the media (you might think they would have got over it by now), guess it's not "politically correct" to like the Stranglers, so be it.....
  Jason, Calgary, Alberta, Canada

  So where were the Stranglers? One of the main bands of the punk era but you only featured some minor players, such as the Slits and the Richard Hell. Or were they friends of the director/producer?
  Mark, Wiltshire

  Stiff Little Fingers and Stranglers...where were they. They're both still playing today pleasing their fans every year creating new music. Sex Pistols and Clash...very good bands indeed, but they were not all the biggest names then. Very sad that SLF and Stranglers not even mentioned.
  Baggy, British Forces Germany

  Not bad. Quite informative. But WHY NO STRANGLERS??!! They've stood the test of time and they're still going strong over 30 years later, with a fan base that's moved wth the times and now includes some kids.Punk was supposed to be ephemeral. Does anyone else think is it probably this very endurance which has seen then not even mentioned?
  Steve, Hucknall

  Well, once again history is rewritten to remove The Stranglers from the history of music. One of the most enduring (still going today, not just reformed to top the pensions up a little), original, and commercially successful bands of the punk era was completely excluded from this programme. Of course there isn't time to include every band from the era, but a little less time with the worlds oldest naughty schoolboy would have left plenty of time. Never mind just pigeon-holing them as punk rockers, The Stranglers are one of only a very small number of bands still going after 33 years and there's no justification at all for excluding them from a program like this, other than the fact that one of them once beat up Jon Savage for giving them a bad review. And that's a bit pathetic, thirty years on.
  Mike Edwards, Cheshire

  A strange programme.....how can the Slits have more exposure than the Damned who seemed to be fleetingly mentioned? And as for the Stranglers...not even a hint.....for one of the most important and enduring bands of the era. Incredible.
  Mark, Hull

  stranglers and the banshees??? jesus - just cause everyone in the media hated them back then you'd have thought the hatchet would've been buried by 2007. these were /are two of the biggest bands of that era whom carried on and influenced many!
  mark, birmingham

  Your programme, as usual for the BBC, completely omitted the biggest selling band of that time-THE STRANGLERS. Still going strong today with a fanatical, loyal following. The first british band to support The Ramones and Patti Smith who you overly featured. They have more hits than any other band from the punk era, yet unbelievably they didnt even warrant a mention. Imagine a programme concerning the Champions League with no reference to Man Utd or Chelsea! Ridiculous.Disappointing and biased, especially as I enjoyed the Hendrix programme.
  Sid wilson, Balderton, Notts.

  Why does BBC never bother to include the Stranglers in their Punk histories?? They have proved their worth over the years and are still going strong.They don't live in the past,unlike many of their contempories,and are constantly delivering new material very worthy of BBC airplay but is religiously denied them.WHY???
  Lorna,N.Ireland

  The Stranglers shamefully omitted from your Blank Generation programme and then their name considered famous enough to be used in the title of another recent BBC production - 'When The Stranglers Met Roland Rat'. Make your mind up please.
  Fiona, London

  Stranglers????? Ignored yet again by Auntie Beeb!! The most successful band to come out of that era, still gigging today still selling records/albums/cd's whatever and no mention!!Unless the BBC are going to do a "Stranglers Special" a whole weekend devoted to the Stranglers........I live in hope!!
  Dazinblack Oxford

  How can you have a history of punk without mentioning the Stranglers?.It seems no one wants to speak about them are they becoming the lepers of rock?especially after devoting most of the show to Patti Smith guess who supported Patti in her first british shows yes the stranglers funny that!!!!!
  Chris Wilson Glasgow

  What an absolute joke. No mention of The Stranglers on the 'punk' section of 7Ages.Whilst you all creamed yourselves over the Sex Pistols, the 'right-on' Clash and other assorted blandies, the Stranglers were (and still are) the best of the lot.Your show has no credibility.
  Iain, Belfast

  I must say that the omission of the Stranglers is a shame, but unsurprising. I wrote their official biography back in 1997 and noticed a deep-rooted and illogical antagonism towards the band from some sections of the media. And today, it’s obviously still the case. The simple fact, as anyone around at the time will remember (I was 12 when the Stranglers made it big in ‘77) is that the band were the biggest new wave act of the time, full stop, bigger than the Pistols and certainly bigger than the Clash. Their body of work, stretching over 16 studio albums, is as important as that of any British act of the last 40 years. Shame that the BBC seem blind to facts which are as obvious and incontrovertible as these.
  David Buckley, Munich

  It was an interesting take on the Punk years marred by the decision to exclude/not feature/forget several key players...no serious snapshot of the era could justifiably omit The Stranglers...although I suspected as much as soon as Jon Savage appeared...his reading of Punk history cleverly swerves the contribution of the Stranglers wholly as a personal issue between him and individual band members...Truth is that the Stranglers have so many critics that their place in the history of popular music is forever neglected...name me any other band with so rich a back catalogue and [in purely commercial terms] so many records sold ,who have so little recognition for their existence...still ...nice to see the Slits elevated to prominence for once
  Mathew in Sheffield

  Where were The Skids?
  Jim, Leeds

  Really dissapointed with this programme, The original (1976) Punk groups in the UK were The Stranglers, The Sex Pistols, The Damned, The Clash, The Jam, the Buzzcocks. The most influential of these (at the time) were The Stranglers and the Sex Pistols, with the Clash coming to the fore a bit later (when they 'broke' America). So how can the Stranglers be ignored in any Punk History (probably because 'journalists' like Jon Savage are still smarting over JJ beating him up). They've never been 'the flavour of the day' with the BBC but how can a documentry from what is meant to be an unbiased organisation ignore them.
  John, London

  After watch When The Stranglers Met Roland Rat as I very disappointed in the coverage that The Stranglers got, I am a Stranglers fan and thought the programme was sh** as I only tuned into to see The Stranglers not listen about Swap Shop, #73 or Going Live.
  Basher1874

  What about The Undertones, Stiff Little Fingers and The Stranglers? Also, the MC5 should have been mentioned as an influence.I'm finding these programmes increasingly flawed.
  Tom Green

  It seems clear that the reason the BBC chose to write The Stranglers out of punk's history is because they were too successful, and continue to be so as proven by the recent "Suite XVI" album. It is sheer cultural snobbery to bang on about the New York punk scene (how many millions of records did they shift between them?) and The Pistols (MacLarens early version of X Factor) whilst leaving out probably the most popular and certainly longest lasting band of the era. This whole series has been disappointing so far and I expected better of it from the advance publicity. Personally, I can live without another lecture on the contents of Charles Shaar Murray's record collection.
  Martin, Southend

  No Stranglers! surely a massive mistake, a truly great band, still performing to thousands of fans worldwide.
  Steve. Essex

  The Punk Rock Era played a significant part in my teenage life and all the bands mentioned played their part however, how can The Stranglers be ommitted from this line up? Their music is legendary, their live performances were aggressive, humurous and great to listen to and their influence on Punk rock was right at the top of the tree with the Pistols and Clash. To cap it all they are still doing it!!! There is no better moment than the lights going down and the sound of 'Waltzinblack' coming through the PA, you know the next 90 minutes will be the dogs b******s.
  Rob Lardner, Chippenham,Wilts

  “I hope there will be questions and queries about our decisions” You can argue that The Stranglers weren’t a Punk band, many have. You can ignore them because you don’t like their music, many have. You can judge them too old, many have, but you can’t deny them their rightful place in the history of Punk.
  
  They alone were the band all their peers envied. The Clash, before they even existed, used to drool over their brilliance and innovation. The Stranglers had queues around every block they played in, and still do today. They stirred the media and provoked intellectual thought throughout the world and influenced the entire Punk movement and thousands of bands ever since that historic era, yet the BBC do a programme about Punk and don’t even mention them! What kind of a history lesson is that? Their legacy is everywhere to be seen.
  
  Advertisers, film makers, tv programmers and new pop groups elect to utilise and rework their tunes because of their place in history. On the other hand, it’s hardly surprising that the same organisation which still largely ignores the band’s newest output and has done so for decades, are able to do a simple exercise in musical history and completely omit the principal artists of the chronicle. I was there too.
  Tom, London

  A very poor programme. The producers of this programme were not there or part of it. Missing out several major artists but missing out The Stranglers... you might as well have missed out the Pistols and Clash !
  Ian Manchester

  Why weren't the stranglers featured on this programme i believe they were an instrinsic part of the punk era. Apart form this mistake the programme was pretty good
  Mark from Southampton

  Yet another programme about punk that ignores the most commercial successful, popular and prolific band of the period - The Stranglers. Why not tell it like it was instead of promoting a revisionist and partisan history?
  Mike, Aberdeen

  As much as I loved the show, I found it baffling that the Stranglers weren't so much as given a mention. Nor, for that matter, were the Undertones and Stiff Little Fingers who were the mouthpiece for all the kids who had to grow up during the troubles in Northern Ireland.
  Marcus Hook, Croydon, UK

  The Stranglers.Have they not paid the tv license fee?
  Thanos London

  No mention of the stranglers who were the most accomplished and successful band of the era and the're still rockin!! Shame on you BBC.
  Devon

  no Stranglers very strange,I thought they sold alot of records ,supported Patti Smith etc.Lots of top of 20 hits,oh dear
  Ian, london

  Whilst it is commendable that the BBC should make a series of programmes on this subject, an opportunity has been badly missed. Perhaps the BBC should have employed people who know about music to make it, rather than people who know about television - and who seem more interested in spending resources jetting off to the States for a few minutes' worth of interviews rather than achieving a truer historical perspective.
  
  For example, in the programme about 'Art Rock' (whatever that is) I would question the implication that the major influence on Syd Barrett/British psychedelia was Andy Warhol/Velvets/East Coat, as opposed to the West Coast/Frisco/LA - wasn't Syd rather keen on records by The Byrds and Love? And loads of people in various places were mucking about with lights/mixed media etc.
  
  As for the programme about Punk, surely the Dolls/McLaren/Thunders/Iggy/Velvets/Cooper etc influence was key and should have been mentioned? It doesn't bode well for the rest of the series, nor do their titles. Going by the Director's comment on the Heavy Metal programme, he seems to think that it was invented in Britain in the 70s. As before, at best simplistic, at worst, just plain wrong.
  Mark, Swindon

  Enjoyed the programme but felt New York Dolls should have been included at the very least! Also no Jam but as another poster mentions, these programmes have to fit shink wrapped and neat into their dinky little BBC pigeonholes... Shame really - would have been nice to see The Rezillos, Jam, UK Subs, Sham 69... I could continue
  Alison East London

  The Stranglers did it for me way back then. They were the most accomplished musicians who took punk and had the motivation and creativity to do something worthwhile with it. Which is more than you can say for the Sex pistols. Not only that they are still rocking today, 33 years after they set out on there musical journey. Their music today is every bit as good as then. Genius. So why no mention of them in the documentary then eh!!!
  Chris Godfrey, Devon

  I'm shocked that the BBC ignored the Stranglers. You certainly lost some credibility in my eyes due to this excruciatingly glaring omission. Alastair, it would be helpful to know what your rationale was exactly for doing so. I know I'm not alone in that regard based on the posts here. Thank you.
  Greg, New York

  The BBC were right to omit The Stranglers from the programme - they outclass all of the bands mentioned as they could actually play their instruments. I for one will not be watching any of the future episodes of this so-called 'definitive' history of rock. What a joke.
  Mark, Belgium

  to ignore the best selling act of the time The Stranglers I thought was pretty pathetic.A big deal was made of Patty Smith coming to the UK for her first gig at the Roundhouse and guess who was the support band,It even showed the concert ticket.Sorry but very narrow minded.
  John Bonnybridge

  Same old format that told me nothing new, just looked rather like my DVD collection of Punk Material joined together. Very poor.
  Andrew Smyth: East Grinstead

  How can the BBC possibly leave out The Stranglers from the recent 'Punk' episode of 7 Ages Of Rock!! I appreciate The Sex Pistols were probably 'the image' of Punk, but musically they could never EVER compete with The Stranglers for quantity and quality of music. As for The Clash, great band, but I read that Joe Strummer once said to Hugh Cornwell he wished his band were as good as The Stranglers! When all is said and done, who's still around? Hugh Cornwell and The Stranglers, still gigging, still producing music. Oh BBC, you got it very wrong.
  Graham Nokes. Stafford. UK.

  How can the BBC run a program of the punk/new wave era without including a mention of one of the most sucessful bands from that era, The Stranglers. This band has outlived most of the bands featured and have probably spent more time in the charts as any of them as well. Legend has it that Hugh Cornwell the then leadsinger and guitarist started the reviled 'spitting' trend that became commonplace at pink gigs. He used to emulate masturbation (rubbing his neck) then sptting into the crowd at 'climax' during the song 'School Mam' at early gigs pre-dating and during the punk explosion of 76 - 77.Having no mention of this band clearly shows a lack of in depth research of the period. To add to this there was no mention either of the true anarchist band 'Crass'. Very much an underground band motivated by a political agenda more than anything else but still pivotal in promoting anarchistic ideals that was the lifeblood of the UK punk rock scene. They also championed a stong political stance against the government, racism, sexism and the like which was then championed by bands and organsiation like Red Wedge for example.
  Colin Hird, Durham

  i was rather dismayed that the stranglers were totally ignored in the recent punk episode of seven ages programme. the stranglers were one of the biggest and most succesfull bands to come froam that era , to ignore them completely was unforgivable. they also missed countless major players in the punk movement as well as the pub rock scene and all the great bands that sprung up there . i know they only had an hour to cram the history of punk into but all in all it seemed a good idea wasted.
  darry struthers , lanark

  I was 16 in 1977. The music was a breath of fresh air and changed my view of the world. It was the first time music had really spoken to me about what it was like to be young in Britain.One of the most successful and influential bands during that era were The Stranglers. I am amazed there is no mention of them at all here. The Stranglers were the intellectual heavy weights of this period. They wrote about what they saw. Yes lyrics were sometimes a little colourful (and often dark) but how could you ignore a band that explored Leon Trotsky, Lenny Bruce, UFO’s, suicide rates in Sweden, Europe, religion, ornithology and genetic engineering! This is a major error from the BBC if you really want to reflect the late seventies new wave scene.2007 sees my 47th Birthday. I look back with great fondness to many of the exciting live shows I attended as a teenager before the continued destruction of the county under Thatcherism. But where the programme is spot on is the social and economic context that this music grew out of. It WAS chaos. The Sex Pistols, The Clash and the American bands are certainly worthy of their place in punk’s musical legacy but let us not forget the band that coined “What ever happened to the heroes?’ – The Stranglers certainly should be held up along side these other musical legends.
  Steve Biz, Birmingham

  I can not believe that you ommited the Stranglers. The clash,Sex pistols,The damned and other yet to be formed acts were watching their shows from late 1975 in the london area. The stranglers could play their instruments and had the stage presence that other bands could only have wished for.Do it right and give the proper credit.
  cj mcdermott, florida, usa

  How can this programme overlook the best band to come out of the whole era? The Stranglers have, and will always stand up to scrutiny from a musical perspective. They will continue to influence music fans for generations to come. They have developed over decades but started with Rattus Norvecicus (excuse spelling). Surely one of the all-time classic albums of british music. I appreciate that some people really hate the fact that the band went on to achieve major commercial success. However, they started in the Punk era, were devastating live, and continue to thrill fans to this day. Thanks for letting me write this. Cheers DC
  Dave Curtis

  many years ago i would have looked forward to a film devoted to this (my)era but,as this film and many before it,has omitted "the stranglers", the only band that survived , evolved and have now been re-born stronger than ever, then i couldnt even be bothered to sky + it.
  MARK,HARROW

  Extremely disappointed that the Stranglers, who outsold just about everyone at this time and who are so often cited as an influence by other bands,totally omitted from the show. But then, Jon Savage was on it!
  chrisaa - scottish borders

  ..........and as expected no mention of the stranglers! despite selling more records than all the rest, the bbc decide they arent worth a mention, like it or not people at the beeb, the stranglers were an incredibly important band of that era, even if they werent exactly punk.
  nigel, alnwick

  How on earth can you make a programme on punk rock and miss out one of the most influential bands of that era who are still performing live today. They still captivate audiences all around the world played in front of the forces in places such as Sarajevo duing the Bosnia/Croat war entertained troops in the Falklands, I am talking about The Stranglers, I would love to hear your comments and excuses, a potentially good programme ruined by poor poor editing and selection of groups. The Pistols were a small part of punk not all of it you certainly missed the point, terrible show.
  Jeff Jackson, Harlow, Essex

  Seems I am not alone in wondering why no mention of the Stranglers ? We know why... BBC anti the band as they didnt quite play by the rules ? True punks in attitude and musically very cutting. Chronic oversight Auntie Beeb for a public service channel to have such prejudices and be so blinkered.
  David, Uttoxeter

  No mention of the Stranglers then...How Odd..Does the BBC still hold a grudge over Rock Goes To College..or is it just plain old poorly researched journalism.
  Mel..Rhyl Wales via London

  No Stranglers,very shameful.
  Paul Widnes

  Where the hell were The Stranglers? Left out because they were AND STILL ARE better than the rest of the punk bands put together!!! No SLF either!!! What were the beeb thinking??? As good as Damned, Ramones and Clash were - they could never touch The MenInBlack!!!
  Graham Pole, Newark, UK.

  Pity the Stranglers managed to outsell all of them on a regular basis. I was a punk and I bought the Stranglers albums and singles as well as the Sex Pistols and The Clash. Joe Strummer loved the Stranglers. Seems they always get sidelined due to personal and journalistic politics. People say they were not punk. Well the Apollo concerts were full of guess what, Punks. Must just have wandered in by mistake. Wonder if Mr Savage was again a consultant on this programme........
  Kevin , Glasgow

  Why no mention of the Stranglers or The Jam!! Are you saving the best for a latter edition?
  Ray, London.

  How can a punk show not include The Stranglers :-S? They were, still are and always will be the best punk band there is! End of.
  CHRISINBLACK - SOUTH WALES

  Sorry, but how can you have a programme on the history of Punk with no mention of The Stranglers?Must try harder.
  Junkmale, Belfast

  Seems like the good old BBC never got over their problems with The Stranglers. They didn't conform and that was the problem - too old, too good, could actually play and genuinely didn't give a toss.How is it possible for any such show that is supposed to be representative of an era and a genre of music totally ignore one of the most talented and influential bands of the time? They were the real deal unlike the prefabricated c**p produced by the pistols. As Mclaren said they were just a marketing ploy. Lydon himself confessed that - "ever had the feeling you've been cheated?"Sure the Clash and the Damned are good bands, but the Slits... come off it. As for the Director and his notes - he couldn't direct traffic.Have a look on You Tube to see a real band of class musicians playing real gutsy music.And what about the Jam. I don't even like them, but what about them and their influence??Get real. Perhaps the next in the series will be a Stranglers special featuring their greatest moments on the BBC - Rock goes to College, bad miming on TOTP, Hugh and JJ reversing roles, playing guitars with no strings!!! Obviously the BBC never did get the Stranglers. Fortunately many thousands of others did!Biased reporting does the BBC no credit - Get a Grip on Yourself and recognise the Stranglers for the part they played in the music revolution at the time.
  Dave, Burnley, Lancs

  How can you have a programme about punk with out even a mention of the stranglers. Surley to God they were and still are one of the most influential and talented bands of the last 30 years. Maybe it's because they never compromised their beliefs and didn't see eye to eye with you journalists. Isn't it time to forgive and forget.
  jim duffy, west midlands

  So, the show was fine as far as it wentm but it did rather focus on the manufactured bands like the Sex Pistols. One would think real bands like the Stranglers or XTC had never existed
  JOHN

  I was very disappointed that The Stranglers were ignored in the programme. Considering they were a founding influence in the punk era and now have iconic status there omission was nothing short of disgraceful. Having spanned 30 years, still with 3 original members and seen off thousands of tacky engineered bands with very limited talent it makes their omission particularly difficult to accept. Their music is still fantastic as their latest album Suite IXV and previous album Norfolk Coast are testaments to. To any one who has not heard them go out and buy them you are in for a very pleasant surprise.
  Phil Smith, Walsall

  Once again the Stranglers were omitted - apart from the Sex Pistols, the most notorious and successful punk band in the UK. The youngsters of today probably have no idea how important the Stranglers were in 1977-1978; primarily due to their being written out of history time and time again.
  Gavin, Derbyshire

  As usual The Stranglers get completely blanked from a Punk programme covering a period of time in which they were one of the most dominant . Typical BBC Stalinism. Airbrush things for the sake of political correctness. Here's to The Stranglers. The Most Un-PC in the world.
  Phil , Lancaster

  Unbelievable, no Stranglers on this show.Surely one of the most influential bands over the last 30 years, and that includes the punk era.Still going after all these tears.For me one of the best bands of all time.Ah but i see the reason for them not being on, BBC are going to do a two hour documentary on the STRANGLERS :)
  STEVEN SMITH AYRSHIRE

  How could you possibly have a punk show without a mention of The Stranglers? They developed a unique sound of their own which developed over the years.The only glimpse of their name was that they supported the Ramones,I think, at their first gig in London.In fact, I think you could feature the band in their on show for an hour without losing any interest. I know you can,t please everyone but to not even mention them is a travesty. Their live show, even without Hugh Cornwell,is still as powerfull as ever. Brian, Manchester
  Brian , Manchester

  Never Mind The Bollox, where were The Stranglers? What was great about The Stranglers, was that they were so diverse. Peaches and No More Heroes were both released in 1977 but were really different from each other, unlike The Pistols, The Clash or The Buzzcocks. To this day The Stranglers are ignored by the BBC, they have never appeared on Later With Jools Holland, even though their latest album Suite XVI is the best album they've done in years!
  Spanky, Shepton Mallet, Somerset.

  How the hell can the Stranglers not be mentioned in a programme about the Punk Era? They might not have intended to be, but they became one of the most notorious bands of that era. Would be interesting to compare UK record sales between the Stranglers and the Clash in the UK for that period?
  James, Northants.

  "Led Zeppelin the biggest rock band ever", well actually no because no band can be the biggest band ever due to the constantly changing tastes and opinions of societies and individuals. And time has a role to play, very little music is timeless and Led Zeppelin were of a time (but sound dated now) but Led Zeppelin were not punk, i would argue early talking heads were punk, and were definately NY contempories of Television; thats a sad ommission in my opinion.
  matt, basingstoke on the aberystwyth

  HOW COULD A PROGRAMME ON THE HISTORY OF PUNK OMIT THE STRANGLERS?I FIND IT ODD THAT THE MOST POPULAR AND INFLUENTIAL BAND OF THAT ERA TO BE TOTALLY OVERLOOKED,AS IF THEY HAD NEVER EXISTED.
  jason,glasgow.

  A good program spoiled by the omission of The Stranglers. Not sure who did the research for this show but it's like doing a documentary on World War 2 but leaving out the Atomic bomb.
  John McWilliams, Sussex

  J.J. Burnel explained a few years ago that if you ever see a programme on Punk and The Stranglers are not mentioned then carefully look at the credits at the end of the show - if Jon Savage is credited that's the reason they weren't featured. Jon Savage just didn't like the stranglers because JJ thumped him for a bad review in 1977, he hated them before that, he just didn't like them (I believe he had similar opinions about The Jam). I think Julie Burchill was another NME journalist who hated them, it's just the power these individuals have, if THEY don't like a particular band then tough on the rest. It doesn't however reflect the reality of the time and obscures the truth. Your really need someone impartial to make these documentaries.
  mib, chartham

  Another lazy, witless, hackneyed overview of what "punk" was all about. If it didn't happen on the Kings Rd or in NY, then it didn't happen did it? Oh well, who cares, stick on a few old clips of the usual suspects, some Johnny Rotten quotes, the punters won't care, will they? After all, who is really interested in Penetration, the Lurkers, the Undertones, Rudi, SLF, 999, Richard Hell, The Adverts, The Rezillos...why confuse people, after all? And if it fills a bit of air space, all well and good.
  Still a Part-Time Punk, Glasgow

  I really thought the BBC would be above the normal poorly researched romanticised version of punk history. Without commenting on the USA "roots" of punk that I honestly know nothing about, the usual and predictable bias towards the Sex Pistols (a manufactured band with no more of their own ideas than the Monkeys or Spice Girls) and the Clash who, much as I love their music were widely thought to just repeat the political views of their manager Bernie Rhodes, and were far from being the angry kids of the street suggested, for eg Joe Strummer (RIP) was in fact a public schoolboy son of a diplomat. These points aside, once I saw John Savage's name associated I knew this would be yet another re-writing of history 1984 style. Punk at that time was about attitude and rebellion, not one style of music. I can forgive failing to mention most of the main players, Stiff Little Fingers, The Ruts, UK Subs, Angelic Upstarts, 999, Adam and the Ants, X-Ray Spex etc, but not the Stranglers - sorry. The Stranglers sold more records in 1977 than all the other punk bands put together - fact. To not mention them is either incompetence by some spotty researcher who actually believes the fiction of Malcolm McLaren or John Savage, or maybe something more sinister. It's like a documentary on rock music without Led Zep or the 1960s without the Beatles. Absurd. The incident between Savage and Jean Jacques Burnel is well known. Whilst not condoling what happened and I can see why Savage might be miffed, you can't just re-write history beacuse you don't like it. Hitler tried that!
  Tim - Bristol

  The journalists & the beeb have never forgiven the men in black for all those little run in's! Even now they sanitise history.Always out of fashion yet still alive and thriving, better than ever - the Stranglers.John Peel said Something better change & it continues to do so. BEEB get it right & seve reverence to an institution.
  Duncan Round , Pulloxhill

  so why, yet again, no mention of the stranglers, such an important band from this era, it does seem that the beeb want to delete this band from history
  jon, ipswich

  I know you only had an hour for your show, but how could you possibly miss out one of the most important and talented bands in the early years of punk??? YES of course the STRANGLERS!!!! OR is there going to be a part 2????
  phil, cleveland

  Wot? No Stranglers?How can you describe punk and not mention the Stranglers. Unbelievable
  Mike in Black, Bath UK

  Pretty good show. A few major bands that didn't get a mention. The Stranglers for one!!! Although always considered to be outsiders, they were a major contributor to the scene at the time and could have done with a look in.
  Andy, Bristol

  how can you have a punk doc' and omit the stranglers ?they were the most musical ahead of their time band during this period!it always seems to focus on nothing bands like the pistols were . any real punk will tell you apart from the odd song the pistols were shit .just their image got them to the top .now the clash and stranglers ,vibrators ,the ruts,the dammed,stiff little fingers, now we are taking music punk music.maybe your researchers should look into punk rock music properly and not just think as most do ,"arr punk rock ,pistols and clash that will do every ones heard of them that will do, stranglers hmmm a bit to good to be a punk band they must have come later on ".one day a punk doc will get the balance right and all the top punk bands will be added ,all you really have to do is ask a punk rocker from the time they know the best punk bands.
  richard mellor evesham

  oh to be a teenager in 76/77... I WAS !! and it was ace, i'd also just started work at british rail and had free travel up and down the country.. so on a weekend i was all over the place watching bands PUNK BANDS! the best of the bunch been in my opinion THE STRANGLERS (who strangely didnt get a mention,was this down to savage been involved in the progamme??) and THE CLASH!! let's have a part 2 on this programme and devote it to the stranglers,damned,clash and penetration!!?
  bry ,york

  superb programme BUT why did you omit the stranglers ? the most energetic,dark,moody whatever you want to call them - they were one of the seminal bands of the punk era.the first 2 albums stand alongside anything that has been released since
  joe scotland

  You seem to have forgotten that the likes of The Pistols and The Clash were going to see The Stranglers before they were even in a band themselves - Need I say more!! - Peaches?? biggest song of the summer of '77!!
  Mick Coates - Newcastle

  Where are the Stranglers?
  Damian, West London

  Hi there,a very entertaining show, but failed to mention The Stranglers.
  Matt, London

  No Stranglers ? What was in your mind when you did your choice ? No Stranglers ? Are you still afraid of the Finchley boys ? Is it because they are still alive and could have kick the ass of all those so called "punky bands" (Just like JJ kicked Paul Simonon's ass)?Shame on BBC
  Fred, Goodbye Toulouse, France

  The programme fell well short ,why no stranglers, the stranglers toured relentlessly from 75/76 taking the punk sound around the uk. the band were extremly important to the becoming of punk, influencingjones/cook/matlock,strummer/jones the band were older but who cares the music was technical and aggressive and vile and brilliant. but no mention.. how sad but then punk was not about being accepted and the norm..
  pierre, france

  Revisionist history at it's worst. Should have been far more on The Damned and missing out The Stranglers but including The Slits...a joke. ITV did a great even-handed 2 hour 'punk' documentary last year. You're being left behind BBC !
  David Sinclair

  I'm assuming that the BBC decided to deliberately 'forget' to remember the Stranglers.Not even the slightest mention.....shame on you. Funnily enough it doesnt stop them using iconic Stranglers tracks at every opportunity....funny that isnt it?
  Arthur Humberside

  Where were the Stranglers? Still the biggest selling punk band. Something to do with the involvement of Jon Savage no doubt!
  Paul, Salisbury

  At the time the stranglers out-punked the fabricated clash/pistols/Banshees. They talked the talk and walked the walk and evolved into one of Britains best pop/rock bands. The rest of the pack followed and borrowed from the leaders. At least they were true to themselves and their fans.......punk died in 77, long live THE STRANGLERS
  griff w.a.

  Revisionist pap! And no 'Stranglers'. What about 'NO MORE HEROES'? 'The Stranglers' started in 1974 and are still going strong today, albeit with only 3 of the original 4 members since Hugh Cornwell left in 1990. If you're gonna do a series that purports to be an accurate history of rock how about talking to people who were actually THERE and not just a bunch of jobbing journos.
  Rockula, Hornchurch

  no Stranglers , first puk group to headline in glasgow, first to have a riot after their gig in 77 , hit after hit ,but no mention of them ,fantastic live gigs! progam was biased, once again to America, thr yanks just can't accept , there are things that they don't invent
  malcolm scotland

  no stranglers yet again! what an outrage.as for the program itself it was tired old formulaic stuff i've seen a hundred times before.
  jacko,newtown

  Once more no mention of The Stranglers...oh, but then they 'weren't punk' were they according to so many commentators. They had a keyboard player with serious chops, two of them had been to University and one of them was over 30. Thier music sounded like a meeting between The Velvet Underground and The Doors (the two 1965-formed bands without which there never would have been Punk Rock).Well, if Punk was the ultimate form of rock and roll - rebellion, subjectivity and individuality, then The Stranglers fit the bill, as they weren't like anyone else, the mark of a great Punk Rock group. Did Television sound Punk ? Did The Patti Smith Group ? Niether were three chord thrashers like the second-third wave nonsense that turned an experiment into a dull formula. If Television and PSG are Punk Rock, then The Stranglers are and then some...The fact is that a handful of influential journalists have for years tried to make Punk Rock fit into the grand narrative of rock and roll, tried to say there is one standard, one community, one belief that holds rock culture together. To believe this is to misunderstand rock and roll....and as for The Clash: old-fashioned sixties agit-prop, which is why the critics love them. It was OK for Strummer to jump on the badwagon after seeing the Pistols, but for The Stranglers to speed their numbers up over a period of a year or so before being signed is somehow inauthentic. In 1977, The Starnglers sold more records than all the other Punk Rock groups put together. Play 'The Clash' beside 'Rattus Norvegicus', 'Germfree Adolescence', 'Crossing The Red Sea With The Adverts' or any other Punk debut and it sounds weak, tinny and lame. It protesteth too much - leave it to Dylan, maan.
  Stephen E Andrews, Bath

  The fact that you have not even mentioned the Stranglers means there is absoulutly no credibility to you research and results - in other words your show is a waste of time and effort.
  Neil Brown, Newcastle

  rick in cheshire may have a point.you don't see many teenyboppers wearing stranglers t-shirts, -unless you go to a stranglers gig.at gigs nowadays, there are many younger fans taking to the band and wearing the t-shirts, because seeing them live, especially nowadays, is an awesome experience - nothing like the sterility of other bands gigs.the stranglers always have been and always will be an awesome, no nonsense hard rock band with an attitude of their own.maybe that doesn't make them trendy enough to deserve a mention on the programme, but the suggestion that other lesser bands were 'more punk' is silly.
  Paul from Blackburn

  i must say i'm very surprised the stranglers weren't mentioned..... i remember to this day there was always a bit of an egde at there concerts when your saw the two frontmen get on the stage and go straight into ' down in the sewer'..maybe they weren't punk ...who knows....
  hugo,' broadlands',romsey.

  Shocking that you missed out The Stranglers. One of the few bands still making quality records since the early 70s.
  Paul South East Asia

  It seems incredible that you have left out The Stranglers from such a detailed punk retrospective. Was the programme edited by Jon Savage?! Come on, love em or hate em The Stranglers were right at the forefront of the musical revolution of 76/77 both as a live act and their first three albums. They were 2nd in the Top Ten Punks a while back so why weren't they included here? They seem to have been airbrushed from Punk History as if in some bizarre communist age conspiracy!!
  Tim, Cheltenham

  poor show,the best and real punk band of this time is not even on the show,pish! im a huge punk fan but thought that not even mentioning the stranglers was just plain ignorant.
  derek martin dundee

  Stranglers had the most hits and biggest career of all the punk bands are were not included why?
  steve croydon

  No Stranglers..........Not really a true reflection of the day
  Dave Ruislip

  Contrary to this sort of documentary the streets of the UK in 1977 were not full of disaffected youths with drainpipes and spiky hair. If you only read 1 book on the era make sure its John Robbs - An Oral History, where you will get a true reflection of 'how it was'. To omit The Stranglers, or The Jam from this sort of 'documentary'? is just pathetic. Were'nt the Sex Pistols a New York Dolls cover band anyway.
  Sid, Canterbury

  I have been enjoying "The Seven Ages of Rock" so far BUT! Where was The Stranglers? A band with a typical Punk Rock reputatiion then, that still in some parts of the world today, precedes them. A band that blew the utterly amazing Who off the stage. A band that has "Stranglers Conventions", who can say that today? Granted the Pistols were there at the beginning ( and only came back for the "Lucre") but The Stranglers were there too and didn't even get a mention. A gentle tap on the back of the hand for Auntie Beeb (LOL) In the words of The Stranglers......."Get a Grip of yourselves!"
  James Mitchell

  Extrmely dissapointed that the best band of the era - who are still working - the stranglers, were not mentioned in the programme. Poor research if you ask me.
  Jim Nimmo - Lanarkshire

  Good show as far as it went except that it left out The Stranglers! Apart from a bief glimpse of the Advert showing that they were playing support to Patti smith the glaring omission of the most influential bad of this era was appalling, as was the inclusion of the idiotic wannabe Savage. actually it wasn't a very good show at all in retrospect. God old BBC
  Paul McCabe, Belfast

  You omitted The Stranglers . They sold more records in 1977 than all the other "punk bands" put together with the exception of the pistols, . They are , to date, the only remaining punk band who still tour , have not ever reformed, and have more top 40 hits than all the other bands. They were violent, sexist and controversial beyond the Pistols and played at huge venues culminating with a sell out at Wembley Arena . They were also excellent musicians. They were hated by the media and lambasted by the other bands of the time such was their reputation. I find it hard to believe that you omitted them on your programme. Their hugely enduring popularity over more than a decade on the back of the band's desire to court infamy says more about young people's attitudes in the late 70's than that of the media courting Sex Pistols. The Stranglers were the biggest thing to emerge in the punk era by a mile and influenced a generation. You ignored them.Someone isn't doing their research properly.
  Ian Davis, Rugby

  Good show, but where the hell were the Stranglers? Once again written out of punk history as if they never existed.
  Tracey, Kent

  No mention of The Stranglers? A bit of an oversight to say the least!
  Dave, Lincoln

  Why aren't The Jam featured in any of these programmes?
  D, Bristol

  The punk tale has been told and told now, in books CD collections, films and TV programme. To its credit, Seven Ages of Rock managed to get hold of an upbeat John Lydon who managed to restrain himself from his comfort zone, presumably jealousy riven, diatribes about of the Clash, and it got Paul Simonon to talk too, of an era when he held his bass way lower than he does now with The Good The Bad & The Queen. But what about the Stranglers? Is Laurence of the John Savage 'they hated me so to my mind they weren't there' persuasion? In its first English incarnation, punk rock was about individual takes. Subway Sect, Slits, Siouxsie, Stranglers nobody sounded the same but they were all a big part of the (musical) revolution. Who supported the Ramones and Patti Smith at the Roundhouse? The only band with the balls, bass and the nous to make a mark so early on. Rock cleansing, in this era more than any, is the way of the weak, who for all their talk probably stayed with the Stones anyway. Here's to JJ, Hugh, Jet and Dave who shook it all up and haven't stopped shaking yet.
  Nic Howden, London

  Pathetic doc the meninblack are punk and the most successful band to come out of that era. Please compare their first four albums to any of the other bands that came out when they did and none of these so called top bands of that time can touch them. Oh and by the way who wants teenyboppers wearing stranglers tee shirts anyway.
  Leeinblack St. Helens

  OK. So without question the Sex Pistols had the hype whilst The Clash and The Damned were the epitomy of the British Punk scene but what about The Stranglers? A little older maybe but if this band wasn't a major player at the time of the punk explosion then I wouldn't bother putting "pen to paper" now! The Stranglers had more anger and energy than the majority of the punk bands of the time but could put it across with fantastic melodies and song writing. I appreciate that they may not be everyone's idea of a typical punk band but to leave them out without any mention is criminal. I can only assume that whoever produced the show had a close scrape with them in those heady days and still bares a grudge!! You sad old people.
  Jez, Godmanchester

  Too many bands like the Stranglers and Stiff Little Fingers missing. The programme felt as though it had been put together on the cheap by someone who knew very little about that era.Suggest you have another go at making it and do it properly this time.
  D - Southampton

  I found the scope of the programme remarkably narrow in that it missed out alomost entirely the influenc eof The Hope & Anchor in Islington and the massive influence of the pub rock scene on the gestation of punk. The UK side of things really was a revisionist view with bands such as Kilburn and The Highroads and The Stranglers being totally written out in a Mao like rewrite of what happened in favour of a few friends over emphasising their importance and achivements whilst punishing those who they disagreed with by writing them out.
  Paul Wright

  No Stranglers: considering they formed in 1974 at the same time as the Ramones well before the Pistols and the Clash or the Damned and became the biggest (in terms of sales) Punk band why are they always left out of these sorts of restrospectives. Bias? You tell me....
  Alan, London

  Part of the many who watched and noticed the noticeably omitted The Stranglers. It appears am not the only one.
  Grimble Fourtytwo

  Punk Rock Music in the UK [not the art] evolved from the thriving Pub Rock scene. How can any series on Punk Rock ignore the most enduring outragous and accomplished of all the Bands .THE STRANGLERSThe programme completely missed the point musically.
  Ian McMillan London

  Fantastic programme, even included some footage I hadn't seen before, repeat please. Just one thing, though it is important as it affects the context of punk history. Whenever programme makers employ John (or is it Jon, I forget) Savage as a consultant, history tends to get re-written a bit. Basically, Savage has a problem with The Stranglers, his books ignore them, even though he was an early champion of the band (this changed after he got thumped by one of them following a poor review, I think). As a consequence the biggest charting punk act of 1977 (4 straight top 10's) get written out of punk history - he obviously has a long memory and little integrity. It's only him - Channel 4's Top 10 of punk had the Pistols at 1, Stranglers 2 and Clash 3. Other than that, fantastic stuff - but do use 'consultants' who (still, after all these long years) don't have axes to grind, please. Robert
  Robert Sneesby, Norfolk, UK

  Instead of a Sex Pistols show perhaps a more informed account of the time featuring the best of the lot.....The Men in Black of course!
  Andy , Peterborough

  A few missing bands, and ones that shouldn't have been missed. How can you miss Stiff Little Fingers? Seriously, they've gotta be there. Joy Division, well, they may not have been front and centre in the punk movement, but they were there, and shouldn't have been left out. But most of all, how can you miss out the Stranglers? Okay, they had a falling-out with the punk mainstream (the Sex Pistols and the Clash didn't like them), but they were there when it all started (the Ramones tour) and did some of the best songs of the era.
  Martin, Hungary

  Far too much American stuff...wha have the Talking heads got to do with punk, why are they counted in and The Stranglers counted out?
  Kev London

  punk a short phenomenon? even if that were true it was hugely influential.i mean u2 are a long lasting 'phenomenon' and they're dire. it doesn't really matter how long something lasts, does it?and some of the great bands of the last 10 years sound like punk bands.
  paul elkins, london

  Watched your 7 Ages of Rock programme-on the Punk theme. Who did the research?How on earth could you leave the Stranglers out of the picture. For me the Pistols, Damned, Clash and the Stranglers were by far and away the most important bands of that era.I grew up with them. Of course we had some other 10 minute wonders but these four alone must go down in the history of punk and one did not even get a mention!The Jam were associated with early punk-a very influential band. OK we all know they were never a punk band but I wonder where on earth they fit in to your programme. They were getting to be the new Beatles of the early 80s.I am still heavily into music with a diverse taste-and have sprawned musical talent in my son who is 16 and plays to Grade 7 level. Even if i cant play I do have an ear and appreciate quality.In my youth I saw the Stranglers and The Jam no less than 25 times each. As many as any band-and it looks like neither get an airing on your show-7 ages? Perhaps there were 8 ages!
  Andy-Kent

  So how about an official statement from the BBC as to why the Stranglers were omitted?
  Rob, Southend on sea

  You say be frank, well..... I see no mention of The Stranglers not even for being supposedly banned from top of the pops. That should have deserved a mention even if it was a rubbish music program. A band with a huge following who from 77 to 79 alone had 10 singles totalling 76 weeks in the charts. Many of your highlighted bands dont have that credibility ! and where are they now ? Some may have reformed to make some money ...but those true musicians never give up not even when they get ....Hmmm ...more perfect. Shame on you BBC !!
  Laurence Peterborough

  Yet another luvvie Punk production which tries to totally erase the Stranglers from history - but the fans who were around at the time know the real story. Most of the fashionable Punk bands were just pea-brained, weakling posers, but the Stranglers were the real deal, seamlessly managing a heady mixture of brutality, and intelligent musical virtuosity.It's a shame there isn't any footage of bassist JJ Burnel thumping contributer Jon Savage - I'd never get tired of watching it!
  Big Al, Scotland

  WHERE HAVE THE MISFITS GONE?
  dave, leeds

  This was disappointingly predictable. I really can't believe the Stranglers were air brushed out of this - although the appearance of Jon Savage should have been a clue. They were certainly part of the scene, were almost as notorious and the Sex Pistols and had more genuine angst than the Clash. If you're looking for an archetypal punk then check out JJ Burnel rather than posturing Sid Vicious.
  John, Newcastle

  Another so called look back at "punk" era... all the usual suspects .. But no .. how can you run a program lookin at the good old days . without the BEST of the bunch by far and still going strong.... THE STRANGLERS. Good old bbc never gonna open the door again eh.... Perhaps the men in black are to punk for the Beeb. Eh!!!!
  Basil.. essex.

  The whole series is revisionist drivel and cannot hold a candle to last decades offering of Rock history.(Dancing in the Streets was it? itself not particularly accurate). The decision not to cover events chronologically is perplexing and throws up some insane and tenuous snapshots. God knows what a seriously interested music fan half my age (43) would make of it all - how can Genisis be lumped in with Roxy Music and Bowie!! Last weeks punk show had all the usual suspects bringing there skewed and misguided rants:Savage, Shaar Murrey Hell etc. Sometimes the spectator sees more of the game. I read all of these guys articles in the rags of the time and though they might have been on the frontline I suspect they had a too focussed view of the action. where are the references to the Stranglers? biggest home grown punks that year in terms of gigs, probably press exposure and certainly sales, What of the Jam - tell me A Bomb on Wardour Street or Tube Staion or Modern World are not Punk songs - Where was the context politically - the Gender and Race issues? the birth of the small Labels? the feed into two tone? The Slits commendable efforts of that era pale compared to what Strummer, Jones, Shelly, Cornwell , Weller, Devoto and Costello left us. (Ditto Patti Smith and the NY crowd. Marquee Moon is probably the best album ever made but sold nowt and sometimes it pays to look at commercial aspects - that was part of how the revolution was measured, checked and balanced.) All the hallmarks of a rushed and "get in who is available this week" production.This weeks Metal show seems similar fayre Brit Metal? No Thin Lizzy? eh? No Zep? not my cup of Assam but come on Beeb.RW
  Rob Wild Staffs

  No Stranglers?Your having a laugh!! Easily one of THE BEST bands at the time and well after.To leave them out of the documentary is just pure criminal.Still going strong and the last 2 Albums,Norfolk Coast and Suite 16 are up there along with their early work.Come on BBC time to get your finger out and maybe have a programme which gives them the credit they more than deserve!!
  Murray Farroll,Stranraer Scotland

  And what about The Stranglers ? Why are this band continuously ignored by the BBC ? Does the BBC not realise that The Stranglers have sold more records in the UK than all of the other so called punk bands put together ?They too emerged in 1976/77 - and the volume and variety of their material is far greater than that of The Clash or The Pistols. And most of all - they are still touring and recording new material today. Why is this British institution of rock music ignored by all of the press and media in this country - and if the BBC screens a series that is meant to represent British rock music how can it ignore a band that has been touring and selling records, and writing and releasing new material for over 30 years ?
  Aldinblack

  I think this was a bit of a poor show as there was no mention of the Stranglers and the Jam, and like it or not, they were there at the time, the fans 'bought' into it and they were far more important to the masses in this country than dross like the Slits and the arty nonsense from New York.I also see Motorhead were omitted from the heavy rock/metal show as well, so well done BBC for making a real dogs breakfast of this series. You 'out-stalin' stalin.
  Mike, Edinburgh

  'The Stranglers dont play to elitist audiences' says Hugh Strangler as they walk of a Rock Goes To College programme, after becoming aware that the audience was all students after they'd been misled that tickets had been distributed to fans as well - is that more punk then Patti...?Glad u mentioned the Damned thu..By the way the programme above was for .....ah, the BBC!
  Graham

  James of Barnoldswick wherever that is! The protest against the licence fee as i have said, was temporary and I have been a supporter of the BBC in the past, it just annoys me when a public service broadcaster gets it so wrong, as they did on this part of the seven ages of rock series. Any mention of rock and theatre, which was a premise of the art rock episode, that fails to feature the originator of the genre is ridiculous! Even if you are not a fan of Alice Cooper which you clearly aren't, there is no excuse for a filmaker working for the BBC not to do their research. Bowie (who i am a fan of) came out looking like the originator of theatrical rock when Cooper was doing theatre on a grander scale before him. Sure Bowie should have been in that show, but to leave out the main man was a joke! At least John Lydon spoke of his influence in the punk episode. As for me being deluded, you are the deluded one if you think Alice Cooper's exclusion from that episode was right, it's like doing a film on a genre of soul music, say Philly, and leaving out the O'Jays!
  Steven Crayn, London

  I assume the reason you omitted The Stranglers is that they are the only group that emerged from the Punk era that possessed any musical diversity. Something Better Change...Sincerely,A Peasant in the big shitty
  PMP, Down in the Sewer

  Well my friends in Black have pretty much covered it all. Again the boys are overlooked for taking the p--s out of the College audience, grow up BBC, like it or not The Stranglers are clearly worthy of any retrospective if only to show the diversity of punk rather than just a narrow tabloid perspective. Apology will be accepted by all fans in the shape of a 60 minute Special!!! What a story, with 3 of the 4 still going, while John, Paul and Baz have all added their own bit. The guys are now releasing great albums again, give them a young alias and less bias and sales would be through the roof. Hope to see some of you at Sonic Fest. Great to see you coming back from illness Jet.Rob.
  Rob Hurley

  What were the BEEB thinking of when they made these series??? No, Stranglers in the Punk part - One of the most influential bands around in years, a band that stood up against the BEEB in the 70's and have been made to pay for it ever since.Then the "Heavy Metal" prog. missed Motorhead, AC/DC, Rainbow and many many more - And showed P*SS poor american bands that .... well lets just say no more otherwise this post will be deleted.It is a travesty that The Stranglers who started in 1974 and still play and tour now (New album Suite XVI) are still pounding the streets doing their stuff, and yet did not even get a doff of the cap!!!!
  Nick, Poole. Dorset

  Why did you totally miss out the stranglers. More top 40 hits than all the others! What hits did the slits/Television/Patti Smith/Dammed have? Please don't give me "its not about the commercial success, number of records sold etc, cos it was and is. Never mind the Bollocks sold millions but it was the only one of the pistols that did. The Stranglers made some classiscs sold millions of albums are still together now and still make great records and sell out tours. Shame on the BBC. Oh and they were on TOTP loads as well.
  Alan (Newcastle)

  nothing on the stranglers !! ,and many others slf etc. after looking forward to this programme was left disapointed .
  johnny norgrove west midlands

  Mainly enjoyed the punk show - happy memories as I had seen most of those bands live.But where were the Stranglers?The only bands I bought a second ticket for were The Clash and The Stranglers.Is the BBC re-writing history now?
  Helen Edwards, Leamington Spa

  although the stranglers may not have been "pigoen-holed" as a punk band they were present at this time and were party to the precedings, therefore should have been included....after all some artists/bands that were featured in the programme were not clearly defined as punk.....at all!
  wayne gosport hants uk

  No mention of the Stranglers?In 77 then were at the forefront of Punk and to leave them out of the programme was madness!
  Karen, Luton

  One very influential band from the punk era was left out. The band that is still going strong. A true, honest, loyal and dedicated band. I cant believe you ignor THE STRANGLERS.
  Pecky, Hull

  A good but flawed series. The punk bands, the Sex Pistols sold a vast quantity of records in 1977 but the second highest selling Punk band were the Stranglers outselling the Clash in 1977! Yet again the BBC attempts to re write history in what it thinks should have been popular rather than what was popular. So the Stranglers did not exist according to the makers, I am sure you will find a lot of people will disagree with you who were actually there at the time.
  Ian, Walsall

  I love all things punk and sing in my own punk band. I was 10 years too young when it first happened being 4 in 1976. Step forward 10 years and I start my love affair with music. The Stranglers became my favourite band and still are today. No mention in the documentary but surprise surprise one album wonders The Sex Pistols (YES ONLY ONE REAL ALBUM FOLKS!) are lauded as being the only band that mattered until the Clash came along. Check out Rattus or Black & White and for that matter Damned Damned Damned by the Damned as these were the real bollocks!!!!
  Peteinblack, Telford, Shropshire

  The Stranglers over in Blighty and Iggy Pop & the Stooges Stateside are glaring ommisions in this documentary. Why would members of the Pistols and the Clash attend Stranglers gigs if they didn't consider them to be punk? Especially as the Pistols were so outspoken against so called Dinosaur Rock. As for the Stooges, they pretty much influenced everyone that started out at CBGBs in New York.
  Andy, West London

  A disappointing program, airbrushing around some of the real New York stories of the time. This presented Richard Hell & The Voidoids singing their anthem 'Blank Generation' as if it was Television performing the song. I note that that agenda of the show was to talk up Television and Patti Smith, but the Voidoids deserve better than this ! And it also ignored the impact of the New York Dolls and the Heartbreakers, to mention only 2 of the influential big names.
  Tom Rafferty, Glasgow

  get it together chaps,next time you do one of these things mention the other bands that mattered like the stranglers and slf and you missed out the jam come on wake up.
  jv derby

  Congratulations on a programme that managed to rehash all of the tired and bored programmes that have been made about "punk". Same footgae, same story without mention of perhaps one of the biggest selling bands from the Punk Era, The Stranglers.It is well known that Jon Savage doesn't like The Stranglers, he denies their existence too, but I would have expected the Beeb to have doen a better job of their homework.Could do better.
  Rob, Here and There

  Shocking omission. No mention of the Stranglers. I expect the fact that Jon Savage was involved may have something to do with this. Stranglers are still an awesome band both live and in the studio. Their contribution to punk was seriously overlooked they had more attitude that the Pistols and the bottle to back it up.
  Tim Bristol

  No Stranglers - Is this a joke? The programme missed one of the front runners and leaders of the punk UK movement. Shame on you!!!
  Graham, Manchester

  As expected, no Stranglers in the punk edition of this series.As expected, the same old clips of the Pistols and the Clash.As expected, so predictable and boring.The Buzzcocks weren't punk and neither were the Banshees but they got a name-check. It's about time the grudges were forgiven and Black, Burnel, Cornwell and Greenfield et al, got the attention they've deserved all these years and sell outs like the Clash weren't hailed as the lords of punk. Get a 'grip' you lot.
  John, Sussex.

  I guess the Stranglers were missed off because they were one of the most influential bands and ****** off journalists big time. No journalist likes someone clever who you can't manipulate. Sod putting punk into a one hour problem, let's have a 2 hour show on The Stranglers alone...
  Andrew, Norwich

  Funny how Chnl 4 had the Stranglers as the No.2 on their greatest punk bands and the beeb missed them off all together, I noticed that a similar show hosted by Jonathan Woss also omitted them... The beeb must still be peeved for their TOTP misdemeanors.... LONG LIVE THE MIB seems they were too good to be called punk, what genre will they fall into then??
  Steve (birmingham)

  Where were The Stranglers in last weeks programme. Being one of the original punk bands and having influenced many subsequent ones, you'd have thought they may have been mentioned!! Watch out, JJ may want to practice some Martial arts on you all soon!!
  Mark S from Eastbourne

  Well what a surpise Jon Savage is involved and there is no mention of the Stranglers!!!!!!!They had more hits than any other Punk band and get omitted whats going on BBC? I thought you were supposed to be impartial! PATHETIC!
  Ian, Manchester

  Wot no Stranglers?! You have got to be joking. As important as the Clash and more important than many others interviewed. What a horrible snub to one of the most talented, intelligent and enduring bands of this era. Come on BBC - get your facts right!
  Karen H, Brighton

  I can't understand why the producers did not include the Stranglers? Not many punk bands issued two albums in 77 - the Stranglers did. Also why focus on the Clash - a manufactured band along the lins of Heresay!
  Rob Darlington

  I take it that, as usual in the eyes of the BBC, The Stranglers don't exist! Or maybe sometime soon you'll be screening a documentary about the most enduring, followed, successful and influential band of the era. Won't be holding my breath tho'!!
  Nick, London

  Where were The Stranglers? Unbelievable that they weren't included.I loved the New York Dolls, Johnny Thunders, Ramones, The Clash - the Pistols were a boy band, not shocking then or now, though entertaining when Mr Matlock was writing; Sid was a joke! Seriously, how can you not include The Stranglers?
  Paul, London

  I find it trully amazing that the one band that grew up in the punk era, but did`nt die in the punk era as so many did, but has evolved with time and to this day is still succesfull, obviously im talking about the stranglers. There has seemed to be a certain dislike of the stranglers coming from the bbc which stems back to the late 70s when they were a little more mischevious shall we say, certainly no more mischevious than those gallagher boys! It does seem a shame that with all this over produced x factor type pop, which is at best plastic, that the big institutions dont promote great british bands like the stranglers.
  Nick Wells Southampton

  To talk punk history, especially London punk history sans the Stranglers shows very little knowledge or research of the punk movement of that time and place. What next the history of reggae sans Bob Marley?
  Ian Loughran, Sydney

  No mention of the Stranglers is pretty poor when you consider their output between 76-78. Compare Rattus Norvegicus, Black and White or even the Damneds first album with 'Never mind the B*****s' and I know which has the real punk attitude.
  Peteinblack, Shropshire

  i thought this program was going to be about the seven ages of rock, through the late seventies and eighties uo until now the stanglers have been influential , so to my dismay they were never mentioned,.Patti smith was mentioned and guess who was on the undercard to her gig in the punk era in london the strangles.its a disgrace, sack the researcher and lets have an unbiased view and include the many other bands who contirbuted to that era.
  tim, cheslyn hay

  so what if you don't see teenyboppers in stranglers t-shirts,the two big punk bands in 76/77 were the stranglers and the manufatured pistols everyone knew who were the real deal,one was meanacing the other fake.
  trevor lincoln

  What gets to me about the programme is the way history is rewritten. At the time the punks really were against everything, they were nasty and an affront to mainstream society. When you watch programmes like this it was all about art school and is made out as an almost middle class phenomenon. And of course, why no SLF and Dead Kennedys? The Dead Kennedys being a much more important part of US punk than the New York Dolls or Patti Smith.
  Lee, Brum

  leaving out the best and most important band is pure ignorance the clash and pistols started in the same pubs and even asked the stranglers for advice.The stranglers influence is heard even today.
  alan hughes swinton.

  I’m sick and tired of seeing these kinds of programmes on punk. They just use the same old tired footage focussing on the immensely overrated Pistols and Clash. The former only made one proper album and the latter are just boring – I can’t be bothered to find any other words to describe them. By far the best band to come out of this period were the Stranglers. The BBC should now try and save face by making a programme solely about this group and get down on their knees and beg for the co-operation of past and present band members in their making of it.
  Dave, Warwick

  I can't believe that one of the most influental and long lasting "punk" bands of all time was not included in the show. The Stranglers spawned a generation of bands and style of music that is still comercially viable today. If you talk to any of the new generation of "punk" bands now most will saw they were influenced by The Stranglers. With the release of Suite XVI the aptly titled 16th studio album marks more than 30 yrs of excistence. Please consider these facts when considering your next project.
  Jim St Catharines On Canada

  Yes, well done BBC, your "definitive guide" to Punk overlooked perhaps the most important, successful and influential band of the era in the Stranglers. Unsurprising when you had Jon Savage on the team who's seemingly still carrying on his crusade to write the Stranglers out of music history because JJ Burnel beat him up 30 years ago. Obviously it's not nice to be beaten up but he's just making himself look stupid by constantly ignoring and omitting them. Did the Sex Pistols really merit that much airtime? They only released one real album for gods sakes, compare that to the 10 albums the original (and best) Stranglers line up released. And even since Hugh Cornwell left they've released 6 more albums and are still playing today as is Hugh (who's still releasing his own excellent new material). It's probably because the media at the time glorified the Pistols whilst the Stranglers were brave enough to not conform to all that PC rubbish which was one of the reasons why the press ostracized them. But of course, you're forgetting one thing, members of both the Pistols AND the Clash went to see the Stranglers before they started out themselves, both aspiring to be just like them. Another reason why leaving the Stranglers out was utterly ridiculous.Very poor show which is a shame because I'd enjoyed the ones prior to this. It might seem like a viewpoint born out of having my favourite band left out of the show but I'm afraid that is a more than valid reason. To leave probably the most popular and influential band of this era out was total lunacy and in turn has totally undermined the credibility of the show.Note to remember, if you ever consider doing such a guide again for the love of god stop being so purposely ignorant and give the Stranglers the credit they deserve. They were the most talented and innovative band of the era by a long shot and their place in music history should be undeniable. Despite this though, certain grudge bearers such as Jon Savage continue to attempt to deny The Stranglers any recognition.The amount of feedback you've got criticising the show for this reason cannot be overlooked.And yes, I do mean it man...
  Pete, West Yorkshire

  Great series,especially the metal one,1 thing does concern me though,is no mention of the stranglers during the punk programme,i was at school in the late 70s,and the sex pistols,the clash,the damned and the STRANGLERS,were the punk bands me and my mates most liked,i went to see them last year and they are still a great punk band,all the best Das.
  Das Stevens

  Clearly, The Stranglers richly eclectic musical & thematic history has rendered them a categorical anomaly. Thats why they are great. However, their exclusion from a programme supposedly reporting the history of the late 70's London music scene, EVEN if it was focussing on the punk music aspect is abysmal lazy journalism. The Stranglers (like the nearly overlooked and punkier Damned) were integral to it. **Lets start it here: WE WANT A STRANGLERS HISTORY BBC**
  Andy Staffs

  Well,just typical !!!The Stranglers were/are cutting edge,uncompromising and unique. 'So called' history of punk just got it wrong! (Again)...
  Mark Rawding,Dorset

  An OK programme that could have been really good but was sadly disappointing and inaccurate due to ommisions, namely a lack of Stiff Little Fingers, Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Undertones, Xray Specs and The Stranglers ! This programme was quite obsessed with John Lydon, The Sex Pistols and the usual superficial, hysterical hype. It was a really cool and important time for many people and the ommisions in this programme failed to reflect a musical genre that means so much to so many. The music of this time still means a great deal to me and it certainly has continued to shape my musical taste across the years. Put bluntly the BBC could have done a lot better even given time constraints. One questions the level of subject knowledge/expertise involved. Missing out major UK bands of the time is pretty much unforgiveable. Maybe other TV channels are more balanched in their approach to music documentaries!
  Colleen Birmingham

  Why are The Stranglers not included ? Can someone answer that ?
  Jakob - Iceland

  I didn't realise that the punk had so few bands. The Pistols and the Clash making up at least 75% of them. While these were great bands, this show omitted the important contribution of bands such as The Stranglers made to the era/movement. Perhaps it just isn't trendy enough for the Beeb's creatives to drop such names!
  Fred Filth, Mars

  Well what a suprise! Sit down to watch another punk programme and yet again The Stranglers get no mention despite being the top selling punk band at the time! Anything to do with Mr.Savage I wonder? That sad man who holds a grudge after all these years against the band choose to ignore their contribution again, shame I can't ignore paying the BEEB my television license! Come on BBC make up for this by making a programme on this great band, the stories that can be told from their beginning to the present day would make a fascinating programme and could easily fill a few hours. I'm now 40 and have 3 boys, they all sing Stranglers songs but take no interest when I play music from the so called punk favourites The Pistols and The Clash!
  Gav, West Sussex

  I thought the punk show was good but no mention of the stranglers. Why? .They out lasted most of the bands shown and evolved and are still around today. Typical BBC
  Steve, South Wales

  It is with great sadness that I write to you, my memories of this era of music was as everyone aware of The Sex Pistols and The Clash. But what in gods name where you doing missing one of the most progressive punk groups of the era. THE STRANGLERS were a leading force through the punk era and while not looking to give a history lesson they had a string of hits through 1977-78 with two album releases alone in 1977.Not even a mention to this great band of then and unlike many now (and not reformed either after a long career break as is the trend).Its time to redress the balance and give them a show to remember and not "when the stranglers met roland rat"
  Gary C, Oldham

  I watched this programme and I was staggered that it totally ignored the Stranglers. The Stranglers were by far the most successful and longlasting punk band in the UK and were also the first to have a top 10 hit album.Their behaviour was also probably more outrageous than Sex Pistols too - truly violent fans, prison sentences, and very sexist lyrics.What was the show's editor think of?
  Samuel, Reading

  I take it the comments about Green Day and Blink 182 etc were a wind up. Why is it that every US guitar band since Nirvana is billed as "punk". Green Day are no more punk than Gracie Fields was hip hop.
  Samuel, Reading

  I think there ain't much else to say on here that has not been already said? but what i will say is this...i am a 44 year old semi pro dj, i say semi pro because i do work in the day selling /hiring lighting and sound epuipment, i have been a dj since i left school, i cant begin to count the amount of times people have come and asked for this band and the pistols to be played??and if anyone asks me to play some punk, i can tell you it woudn't be Patti Smith i would be playing...infact i couldn't name one of her songs? sorry,i must have been alseep at that point?. Anyways, i must have been to over 30 strangler gigs in my time, which im sure is a not a record by anymeans, but these guys still survive today because the same people keep going back for more....and now they are bringing their kids along to the gigs as well to teach them that there is a bit more to music than Mcfly and sugababes!!!! They have a dedicated fan base, and they are Still good to go and see live today, as they were with the original line up, I always get plonkers that argue with me on that, Buts its simple, the back cataloge is now so much bigger and with such a wide choice of songs= more of the cream gets played at gigs. I dont think we need worry about the beeb when they have this kind of backing behind them, i think it just makes this band more exclusive to us..the fans.....i expect the Beeb will be doing a docu on the scissor sisters this week and one about the Zimmers the week after?
  Brian Hicks Hereford

  ...and they say not to believe everything you read!! Pffffft!! How can anyone believe this version of music 'history' according to a couple of pseudo 'experts' who didn't do their homework when an important chunk of the past is missing? I'm referring to the omission of The Stranglers! Does the BBC do this sort of reporting as normal practice?? Does this mean that everything I watch on tv is inaccurate and incomplete due to the lack of simple research??? A quick and easy 'google' would have spelled it out for you without having to break your budget! You wouldn't present a documentary on the history of gardening and leave out the 'SOIL' now would you?? Very important so we get it straight. You should have put a disclaimer on screen at the beginning of the program stating: 'The information contained in this broadcast is NOT exactly thorough, it's kind of incomplete, so please fill in the blanks yourself with the actual details we didn't bother to include.'
  Grizelda, Saskatoon, Canada

  As big Pink Floyd fans we have been watching the series with delight but often we found our jaws dropping at the clangers the BBC were dropping - For instance there was no sign at all of Motorhead in the Heavy Metal section and no sign of The Stranglers, who I must admit (As a part Hippy) were probably the scariest of the Punk bands and the most influential band of Punk.
  Pete and Karen. Bournemouth

  I was interested to view the Punk section of the Seven Ages of Rock which was a good programme in its own right. But when you are reviewing the eras how can you fail to recognise the influence that the Stranglers had at that time. They were one of if not the best selling band of the time and continue to draw accolades even to this day. Whilst some may say they were not 'punk' by their very nature they most certainly were the band to see when I was visiting rock venues around that time. Sad it may be on my behalf but I have seen them regularly over the intervening 30 years and they remain an absolutely brilliant live band. I feel aggrieved that you have chosen to ignore what I regard as a truly iconic group.
  Gary, Stoke-on-Trent

  The Seven ages has been very good apart from Punk. Get a Grip... Whatever happen to the Stranglers?I feel they would have had a much more interesting input, than say Buzzcocks, Slits, etc Didn't the Stranglers get their 'break' supporting the Patti smith gig in London? That could have been a nice little tie in!
  Rob , Glasgow

  Cracking Show. Where were the most successful band of that era? The Stranglers.
  Daniel Marks. UK.

  I've been enjoying the seven Ages of Rock programmes, and especially looked forward to the 'Punk' episode - this being my era. However, I was totally amazed (but not surprised) to see one of the most important bands of this era ommitted - THE STRANGLERS. How can you ignore the influence this band had on music and popular culture at the time. All their contempories went to see them, (Pistols, Clash etc.) and whilst perhaps not being 'true' punk per se, they were very much a part of what was going on at the time. Leaders not followers. You even mentioned Patti Smith's triumphant gig at the Roundhouse, well The Stranglers were the support band on this tour so there really is no excuse. I feel that your 'History of Rock' is incomplete and unreliable by leaving them out.
  Bugs, Somerset

  Completely agree Rob!......The Stranglers were, and still are, a breath of fresh air, no 'uniform', purveyors of original thought, always artistically motivated, and still about as Rock n'Roll as you can get!..if Patti Smith and Television are concidered 'punk' (which of course the never were), then the Stanglers deserved a mention......and of all the bands mentioned are 'still' making interesting music.
  Graeme, Bristol

  No more heroes? The Stranglers have white washed from the history of punk by the BBC. The very same group that once had a video banned from top of the pops ( Duchess ) in case it offended Sir Cliff Richard.Will somebody please wake up and include the best band of the punk era in your next series
  Peter, merseyside

  What a load of dross how on earth can you give so much air time to the sex pistols and none what's so ever to the band that is far better The Stranglers and they are still going strong
  Ian Wright, Lancashire

  NO STRANGLERS !? Not surprising and fully expected from the BBC who dont seem to know who the STRANGLERS are, or is it because they got challenged by them that they dont recognise them? Challenge was what punk was all about. The Stranglers caused more trouble, got arrested more times, imprisoned more, caused more riots, got banned from more venues etc basically challenged the system more than the Sex pistols and the monkey Malcolm McClaren who is always predictably mentioned. The most successful band of the punk era, omitted, not even mentioned, its pathetic journalism because it has been done maliciously or someone has not done 1 minute of research. The Stranglers were the most talented musicians, the most coherent and articulate and as the BBC has proved, the scariest. BBC you owe The Stanglers and their fans big time. And The Stranglers havent stopped challenging the system and writing fantastic material 30 odd years later, and you still ignore it, PATHETIC. You should be ashamed.
  dunga, north staffs

  The punk programme missed one important ingredient - The Stranglers. The heavy metal programme missed one important ingredient - Motorhead.
  tim rigby, lancs.

  The Stranglers Missing From BEEB Documentary. To mention only one band missing, very little on the Damned (First Punk UK Single), SLF (Irish Punk), The Ruts and many of the independent label bands around at the time. Listen to the latest album by The Stranglers, Suite XVI still as cutting edge as ever, still cutting the mustard (at their age) if any other band had been producing quality music for over 30 years they would have a lifetime achievement award by now. Status Quo have and all based on one song!!Please rectify your mistake, most of the documentary work will have been done for you already y other journalists.
  G, York

  Yet again you have omitted The Stranglers from any exposure. If you think about it for a band thats been going for over 40 years without any help from yourselves apart from a few totp appearances have done relatively well without you? But I must say to leave them out from a punk documentary is down right pathetic. Who did the background studies ...... little jimmy osmond?GO AND SEE EM LIVE.
  gary warne cornwall

  So The Stranglers never existed?BBC don't half hold grudges don't they.
  Killer, Swinton

  In answer to one of your earlier messages that intimated that the Stranglers couldn't possibly be punk because they wrote Golden Brown! What a completely spurious argument; the Clash wrote Jimmy Jazz in 1979 so they cant possibly be Punk! The Damned covered 60s track Alone again or, no way thats punk, so they're out! John Lydon Death disco etc etc.... So Lydons not punk. ramones did the whole Phil spectre Wall of sound thing, Baby I love you... is that Punk! I could go on. Punk was an attitude; as far as i am concerned any bands that had the punk attitude and ethos were punks! most of the bands dont fit the neat pidgeon holes thats why the Stranglers should have had at least a brief mention.... and no, i'm not a member of a Stranglers fan club, just someone who was around in 1977.
  rich Bristol

  Hey Ho Let's Go.........Punk was without doubt an important movement, and to this day I love the music, hey, my best mate just got married, and the classics of 77/78/79 from The Clash, The Pistols to Elvis Costello got everyone up, including The Stranglers, hey, The Stranglers, you know, the band that wrote classic songs, that were always fighting adversity, from mis-counts on the sales of (Get a) Grip (On Yourself), stupid bans (Duchess vid for example), who had attitude that was real not fake, who wrote classic songs, who released so many great singles, album's, and who, oh sorry is this punk.dared to go against the norm ! They evolved, they entertained, they were (and still are) an awesome live band. Punk was about working class kids bored, who enjoyed the thrill of a great buzz of music, the fact that it was possible to get involved, it was sod all to do with anything that Jon Savage wrote about in Englands Dreaming, but as in all things, punk 'history' is being dictated by certain journalists preferences rather than fact, to not refer to The Stranglers in any punk documentary is akin to ignoring the nose on your face. They were not everyones fav band, but they contributed, were successful, and many of us love their music, and still do, so at least drop them into the equation, as they were there and were vitally important !Check out the firts 4 album's, from Rattus to Heroes to B&W to The Raven for the essence, and then move on to La Follie, what a band, and all these years later, releasing great CD's such as Norfolk Coast, Suite 16, god, how an earth could they not have been mentioned ! Stanglers, love them or loathe them, they were part of the essence of the time, so BBC, a schoolboy error to not even refer to.
  Paul, Stevenage

  No more heroes again! where are The Stranglers??The most unassessed band in UK ever .unbelievable.
  Yaniv Perry,Israel

  What utter nonsense to have a program dedicated to punk and to not feature the only band who have continuosly recorded, gigged, and released new material since the demise of "punk".We are not in the era of 1977 now, there is no public outcry anymore, so please BBC and media get over this stigma you have with the Stranglers and give them some credit for what they have achieved. Please dont wait til they are all dead and im 99 because it will be difficult for me to pogo with a wealking stick or zimmer.
  Gary, Whyteleafe

  We were totally disgusted that you did not refer in any way to one of the most gifted and talented "punk" bands- The Stranglers. How could you make a programme about punk without mentioning one of the most successful bands of the era?? What a terrific blunder - was it deliberate??
  gill and stewart pert, edinburgh

  most chart hits,most arrested band,most aggressive band and by a country mile the best musicians of that era and yet according to the BBC, the stranglers didnt even exist. absolutely pathetic,dont bother doing any more shows on PUNK as its quite obvious that the pistols and clash were the only punk bands that count in your biased eyes.
  mike dublin

  I hope that someone in the BBC get's to read these comments regarding the Stranglers omission from the Punk programme. This is great opportunity to tap in to these feelings felt across the UK and create an indepth programme solely about the Stranglers. You would be guaranteed a reasonably large audience - nearly every comment listed here indicates disappointment for them not even being mentioned. The Stranglers were probably the most Punk for they were truly menacing.
  Kes, Manchester

  the bbc have got the time and money for punk rock but without the stranglers its just the same old story, someone goes to see the pistols at the screen on the green( i wasn't there ha ha) and then forms a punk band i.e all the bands featured. well there was more to punk than just that i'm afraid. alot more bands came out of that era because of the stranglers hard work and great live attitude. you couldn't write the script for a show about this band the stories are so profound in some cases. the damned wernt mentioned very much either. so come on bbc get your researchers out there or i can do it if you want and make the public happy. make a programme on the most popoular, rude, inventive, intelligent, scruffy and hilarious band according to the men in black cos lets face half you staff are or were stranglers fans anyway.
  nigel greaves, enfield

  To spend so much time on the american bands I felt diluted the whole british punk movement, up until this particular episode I was really impressed with the clips and interviews which I hadnt seen before, but here we had the same old pistols doing the grundy thing and Lydon being Mr spokesman.That whole movement encompassed so many different styles that to concentrate on the obvious was disappointing, I was 18 in 1977 and one band that caused untold amount of controvesy was the stranglers, the London arty farty music press hated them with a passion because they were nt PC (thank the lord) but if you went to a stranglers gig you were mixing with people who liked all the other bands too from that time.If you read Hugh Cornwells recents publications he talks about Joe Strummer who was a big fan of the stranglers when he was having doubts about the 101ers "wish i was in a band like yours hugh" also paul cook used to get tips off uncle jet about playing drums. I have followed these guys for 30 years now and saw them last year, still very much a force to be reckoned with, and only now do they get name checked by the new breed, probably victims of there own success, people forget how the clash lost the plot with their love of all things america.How did it go again 'I'm so bored with the USA', Dream on BBC you don't get off that easily.
  viny parkinson twickenham

  ooooo, the punk era on "7 gen will gerations of rock" i thought (as a massive STRANGLERS fan) i will watch that it is bound to have some content of the stranglers in there.So i sat down and watched the whole show, and at the end i thought how the hell can you do a programe on punk and miss out one of the greatest punk bads in the country absolutely rediculous and poor quality by the BBC i say poor quality!!!keep social grudges out of work life Mr Savagea punk programe without the stranglers pathetic!
  Jake Hight, frome, somerset

  Why no Stranglers? Come on guys, surely its time to bury the hatchet, Guildford Uni was nearly 30 years ago!
  Andy Sandom, Ruislip

  Hmm... Seven ages of rock? More like A selective histiry of rock. It seems the Beeb are still grinding their axe over the Rock goes to college "Incident". Grow up Auntie! How on earth can you claim to have made an in-depth look at the history of the British rock scene? Any teenager who saw the Punk edition, would think that Punk/New Wave started with the Sex Pistols & The Damned and finished with The Clash.The fact that The Stranglers are still releasing new material and constantly touring, proves they are a cut above the bands featured in your show. Whilst I appreciate that it's not possible to cover all the bands in each genre, I fail to see the point in covering a band like The Slits. In all fairness to Ari and her bandmates, they're hardly household names. So why mention them and ignore The Stranglers? Unless someone wanted to get their jollies and show that topless clip of the girls...Leaving The Stranglers aside, how come you failed to mention The Boomtown Rats? I always thought they made a major contribution to the punk scene, let alone Bob Geldof's later achievments, surely they deserved some air time?I also have to agree with the comments about the serious lack of Motorhead during the heavy metal episode. I can remember a time whenever Sounds, Melody Maker, NME or International Musician covered heavy metal, 9 out of 10 times, there would be an interview with Lemmy, Eddie & Phil. The way this heavy metal show was heading, I was expecting a full length interview with Joey Tempest.
  Jamie Cook, Chelmsford

  Having been born in 1964, the punk revolution was at the centre of my late childhood and early teens, and it is still central in most of my musical tastes. Whilst I loved the programme....I was very (and I mean VERY) disappointed not to see the best musicians from the era ..THE STRANGLERS.Bearing in mind that the band are still recording, touring and selling out venues across the world I find it amazing that they were not featured. It is unfortunate for the band that they have rarely had the support from the media at all during their 30 year careers, and yet the line up is 75% the same as it was all those years ago. Testament to the resilience of the boys and their loyal following. Of all the bands featured, only the Buzzcocks and Damned are still touring though both only have 2 original members left. Can the BBC PLEASE PLEASE feature the "meninblack" the next time there is a punk feature, they were and still are the best PUNK band going.Thanks.....Daninblack
  Danny, Aylesbury, UK

  I message from across the pond and across the content in Southern California. To omit The Stranglers is worse than an omission, but a black eye for the BBC's credibility. Wake up. Jet Black, Jean Jacques Burnel, Hugh Cornwell and Dave Greenfield comprised Britain's second most brilliant musicical quartet in history. Shame on you.
  Paul McGuire, Undead Loss Angeles

  Punk was, and is, a creative outpuring from a specific attitude: being yourself. The Stranglers were the first punk band to be banned from giging in London (remember the GLC and a certai T-Shirt ? - that was the Stranglers). The Stranglers could play and didn't hide the fact, while the fact they could play couldn't disguise their no-nonsense, and intelligent perspectives on modern life. Is Grip a political song ? No More Heroes a significant statement of modern culture ? Something Better Change a call of action ? Peaches the blunt end of a hypnotised page 3 Brittain ? If you can say London Lady, Hanging Around, Sometimes and a host of others are not articulate commentries of modern life then not only are you wrong to ommit the Stranglers you are also viewing Punk as a defined narrow fashion, rather than an attitude, which means you've just presented a documentry from the perspective of completely missing the point !
  Dave, Wiltshire

  Soory to say once again been dissapointed about the ommission from the story of punk by one of its "accidental" leading exponents the Stranglers. Given the controversy surrounding the band at the time their relationship with the press and dare I say their superior musicianship, once again scrubbed from history.Ever get the feeling you've been cheated...YES!
  Graeme Milne, Aberdeen

  The trouble with The Stranglers is that they we're too intelligent/ mature to be fooled by the 'purity' of punk. Guess they saw it for what it was. Four classic albums in 3 years; constantly breaking new ground; a unique sound. If only the rock establishment had the balls to face up to its own conservatism. Alas, another opportunity goes begging...
  CAL - Frome

  before the show started i told a friend it would be strange to see if the stranglers were once again deleted from history by some ex hippy-i was right -do a sixties show without the stones-i dare you.
  lawton-barcelona

  No Stranglers - unbelievable in many ways, but not in others - they always seem to be under-represented. After all, punk was never one homogenous whole and to omit a band that was key in every way - musically, but also in term of enduring sales - is just not on. The Stranglers had menace and attitude but brought real musical ability to punk and an uncompromising but unconventional look at a number of subjects other bands wouldn't dare touch. Perhaps this is why they cause such unease with journalists even in 2007. That they are still going today and are still a formidable live act, shows that it's more about their integrity and commitment to good music-making rather than the sorry procession of band reformations we continually see from other so-called icons. Or, as Stranglers fans, should we all just keep quiet and carry on enjoying this best-kept secret?
  Mark, Leeds

  It seems to me that everytime a programme is made about punk all that we get is Sex Pistols. Don't get me wrong, i liked the pistols but there were so many other bands around at the time that had just as big an impact. The Stranglers were a big ommision. Dead Kennedy's had a significant impact in the US. Was there any mention of The Jam, Sham 69, The Ruts, UK Subs et al ? No. I know it's only a short programme slot but if a job's worth doing do it right. Even a brief mention could have paid respect to these bands who were major players in the punk scene. Missing out the Stranglers was in my eyes a criminal act. If nobody at the Beeb has heard of the Stranglers, have a look at the charts from that period, they were quite sucessful you know.
  Nigel, Barnsley

  the stranglers supported both the ramones and patti smith during gigs mentioned in the programme. they went on to produce many great albums and singles very much in the "punk-rock" vein and had many fans, except perhaps your programme consultants who fell foul of the maddest and baddest group of the era and now refuse to acknowledge them.shame on the beeb for missing out "the best british band since the beatles" - not my quote, if you want to blame anyone for that, look no further than pete waterman.................
  ratman

  What do you expect?....no Stranglers on the BBC?......on a programme dedicated to one, John Lydon, who by the way, is now an American property developer!?..............it might be paranoia, but it has the same smell as when The Stranglers were 'not' asked to do Live Aid, can the 'music business' be 'that' lurid?
  Jack, Bristol

  Again another programme on Punk and no Stranglers! I sat waiting in anticipation for my heroes to be mentioned and like many others was extremely frustrated that they were ommitted again!How can any t.v programme referencing music from this period not include the Stranglers? Remember we were actually there.Again No More Heroes
  Michael, Blackburn

  No Stranglers in a Punk Show! 'Liberation from the BBC - That's what I say'.
  NHS Stokie

  Typical to leave the Stranglers out- these guys are legends and should be given the respect they deserve.
  s preston

  I'm not surprised in the slightest that the Jon Savage's of this world have once again delighted in trying to erase the influence of The Stranglers on British music. The band were the godfathers of punk and really didn't give a toss who they upset along the way. From 1976 onwards it was totally uncool to like the Stranglers and from then on it was literally The Stranglers v The World!As a long standing fan of the band yes it's disgusting they don't get a mention on these programmes, they outsold every punk band and are still going strong.What's sad is the types of people who watch programmes like these who weren't around in the punk era don't get a proper education on just how big an impact The Stranglers made.Loved by few. The Stranglers are well and truly still The Men They Love To Hate.
  Adam, Cheshire

  I think there is near unanimity on the Stranglers omission.Are we going to get some Beeb comment on this? Or perhaps a special documentary to mark the 30th anniversary of the first top 10 punk album - Rattvs Norwegicus - by - you guessed it!
  Samuel, Reading

  I am astonished that this program has not included any mention of The Stranglers. The most musically competant and long lasting of all the bands in the punk era. Very disappointing.
  michael, edinburgh

  Where the hell were The Stranglers on the punk edition of "7 Ages of Rock" the other week? Ignoring one of the most successful of that era's bands !!!!!!
  Nic Taylor London/South East

  I have been in London since 1979 and have been privileged to have seen live bands like The Clash, The Buzzcocks, Stiff Little Fingers, The Jam, The Cure, The Ramones and of course The Stranglers. When I left Australia they were touring and were fantastic. My mate's boyfriend got hit around the head with Mr Burnel's guitar. He didn't hold a grudge.
  CT, Lismore, NSW

  Get a Grip - I have followed this type of music all my life I cant bel ieve that no mention was made of Tone of the most talented melodic and enduring bands of the last 25 years - The STRANGLERS - who still have a strong following and produce fantastic music.They influnced many of thei contempories & continue to influence. I cannot for the life of me understand their ommision
  Andy Sherratt. Staffordshire. England

  Another Punk History omitting The Stranglers?They sold more records in 1977 than all punk bands combined???Yet we find the overrated New York Dolls (looked good sounded terrible) The Slits ( give me a break) etcYour TV show is no good just Get a Grip On Yourself!
  Glenn, Melbourne, Victoria

  Where were The Stranglers???? The most successful band to come out of the era & not a mention!!! Come on BBC!!
  Dave Rees, Birmingham

  No Stranglers? What a well reserched programme that was!
  matty liverpool

  No mention of the" STRANGLERS ",one of the most inspirational bands of the late 70's and 80's, not to mention pioneers of Punk Music!!
  Dave Ch. Tamworth ,England.

  would agree with the sentiments expressed below in that i can not believe the stranglers were ignored yet again - absolutely ridiculous!
  andy wray devon

  Can't believe this programme overlooked the Stranglers - how could you do that? There were many opportunities as well as the programme was trying to show the synergy with events in England and the U.S. So when Patti Smith came over here there was no mention of the Stranglers (even though you'd showed a cutting at the time with the Stranglers as support). Also, the Ramones played a legendary gig at the Roundhouse with the Stranglers. I realise you can't cater for every band but to leave the Stranglers out is criminal. Such an import/influential band throughout the decades. Wake up!
  Jim, Yorkshire

  Fourth attempt at getting on this board. Are you editing me because ive mentioned journalistic malpractice regarding your pathetic omission of the Stranglers. Or is it because I have asked the BBC to make a statement as to why this is the case.
  sir eyes, buxton

  How can you call this rock history when you do not mention the Stranglers? They were head and shoulders above any of any other "punk" bands at the time annd they are the most enduring.Shame you on BBC!!!!!!
  John O'Shea

  Hello BBC, READ EVERY MESSAGE BELOW! Its clear as day, how could you leave the single most successful band and STILL FILLING VENUES? The researcher either has a) a grudge against the Stranglers; or b) deserves shooting for criminal negligence....
  Neil C, Rutland

  Whatever happened to . . . the Stranglers, in your programme?The Stranglers were deliberately omitted in favour of the Clash, concentrated on throughout your coveraage. Wouldn't have anything to do with the film out on the rounds at the moment?I was around London at many gigs during the Punk years, and your programme was definately not representative of events, and rather of someone's interpretation who was never actually there.What about all of the early pub gigs that sparked many bands into existance???A really POOR show.
  Andy, Chertsey

  As has been said already, no mention of the Stranglers was a but stalinist wasn't it? I mean, I know they never endeared themselves to the media but to ignore them completely smacks of poor journalism.... something the Stranglers have been subjected to many a time over the years so it doesn't suprise me!
  Jamie Godwin, Peterborough

  Who really cares, they are what is a band you can only dream of. They have made history beyond this and made possibly the most unfathonable music known to EAR!
  Robert, Las Vegas

  Are music journos STILL afraid of being kidnapped for saying the wrong thing?Shame on you BBC. Either feature The Stranglers in a show of their own now, or refund my licence fee please.
  Dodge, Crawley, West Sussex

  WOT NO STRANGLERS ! ?
  kev hughes

  another show that didn't tell the whole story - where were the stranglers?? the biggest and the best band to come out of the punk era. very disappointing show.!
  coup, Kent

  THE STRANGLERS were conspicuous by their absence from your 7 Ages of Rock... For your info: in 1977, THE STRANGLERS went on the have 3 hit singles and 2 best selling albums, but they also linked LONDON PUB ROCK with PUNK IN THE UK - and you STILL hilariously ommitted them from your prog! They also supported US star PATTI SMITH at the ROUNDHOUSE - yet another link that passed you by! Do you need new researchers - or new spectacles? Because if you had watched the runs, you might have caught John Curd's Roundhouse poster advertising the gig - there it was - splashed right across the screen was PATTI SMITH and THE STRANGLERS! SHAME ON YOU BBC!
  Gary Essex, Kent.

  Oh dear once again the BBC misses the mark. A poor series overall lost this viewer after the Punk program. Where were the Damned and Stranglers and why so much history??Punk was about the here and now not some dull (John Savage) talking heads rabbiting on about Patti Smith...I note that the series start time has been moved back..Good do some proper reasearch next time you muppets!
  dave in sheffield

  where were the stranglers?
  victoria, uk

  What about The Stranglers??? They were a major influence - and are (unlike most), are still going. Come on BBC - give 'em a break!
  paula - London

  So Punk was all about the sex pistols and the clash. Like Malcolm Mclaren says "he invented punk" this show was B****cks. There were so many good bands about at the time but as usual the BBC put out a biased version.No Stranglers, Sham 69 etc They keep wanting to put up there fee to make quality programmes then cock it up, make a proper programme about punk or drop the fee.
  Ian, Dartford

  yet another 70's 80's music programme which seems to miss out probably the biggest selling band of the era!!! iknow the stranglers disrupted your programming on rock goes to college but really i think 30 years of holding a grudge is a bit extreme.where do you get your so called experts? i bet if you asked them it would be someone who "crossed the stranglers path"!!! a pure disgrace no other excuse. yours an extremely p£ss&d off music viewer
  ALLAN GOODSIR,STIRLING.

  Great programme but why no mention of The Stranglers. They must be one of the most supported punk bands who have out-lasted all others, infact are still playing to large audiences today.Still good to watch a programme that had a true grip of the reality of the music that still means so much to so manyThanks
  Mark Dorris

  A punk show with no Stranglers? The blank ganeration? More like blank programming & producer. Its like the Sixties with no reference to the Beatles. The Stranglers WERE the forefront band of that era (and beyond). You guys failed miserably in that particular episode.
  Mark, Birmingham

  We were greatly disappointed that there was no mention to the Stranglers in the broadcasted program. We have been fans since they started and have followed them through thick and thin. 30 plus years on and their concerts are a sell out and they are still making great tracks, but once again not mention of them. WE ARE VERY DISAPPOINTED. Perhaps a program about them would go down well with all us oldies who still follow them ardently.
  Sonia & Gerard, Wickford, Essex

  you need csi grissom to find anybody at the beeb,who will admit the existance of the stranglers.it is amazing that they can pay £18 million to crap like j.ross but cant employ a researcherto get the facts correct. the production team should be ashamed.the rock goes to college episode strikes again fnurrgs. oh i see the rock goes to college edition of the police was quickly pulled from the archives and transmitted asap.tells you lots dont it.
  ricky bethell,sthelens

  Being aware that a television show has severe time contraints, I still have to remark on the absence of especially Iggy Pop and the Stooges. They are mentioned in the series, but since especially Pop had a direct connection both to Bowie and also a role model character to the later punk bands, or what became punk, they should have been featured at least a bit.At least PiL is in, the band much more influential and radical than all the punk bands combined. Never mind the record sales, here is PiL.But altogether, a good show which contains a lot of interesting information.
  Claus, Germany

  It's SO obvious that these posts moaning about no Strangerls are either all from the same 3 people or the band's fan club have mobilised everyone to send messages. I mean, come on. So, the band were not featured in this punk programme. I am sure it's not a conspiracy. Maybe they just didn't fit into the story. I mean, GOLDEN BROWN is hardly Punk!! GET OVER IT SADDOS.
  Strangle Them All Now

  Oh dear, looks like The Stranglers message board arranged a mass protest. Saying the same thing over and over again just makes it boring. I only came on to ask why such a short burst of the Banshees? I'll only ask the once.
  Steve, Portsmouth

  "We switched on our TV’s with feverish anticipation, tuned into good old aunty Beeb and watched open mouthed in shock and genuine bewilderment as a universally accepted major force and influence; probably the most aggressive, proficient, prolific, creative musical driving force that existed at that time; a relentless, successful, popular and topical, esoteric juggernaut who wrote some of the most seminal songs of the seventies and packed out venues the length and breadth of the country (and probably played to more people in 1977 than many of the other bands put together) , an iconic, charismatic band that were undeniably; fundamentally pivotal to the existence and continued success of the subject being covered by this TV programme, were completely, comprehensively and in my opinion, deliberately ignored. At that moment we, the viewers, seekers of the truth, greedy for a complete, fair, unbiased and accurate factual documentary account of those events 30 years ago realised that something was very, very, wrong. We knew in an instant that something very important was missing and we also realised that we had been fed a carefully crafted, manipulated version of events with a docile and subservient nod to the USA as well as glaring omissions. It is quite evident by the knowledgeable posts on this BBC website that most people who saw this programme realised that instantaneously. Musical history, like all history is subject to the bias of the programme maker. This can manifest itself by applying a personal political, cultural or religious slant or maybe by ‘reinventing’ events by the application of some trendy and deliberately controversial revisionism simply to generate an unnatural interest in otherwise dull subjects. What cannot change, however, are the stats and facts and however biased a filmmaker is towards or indeed against a particular historical figure, those ‘facts’ always remain Deliberate marketing strategies are a simple fact of life and programme makers are intensely aware of how important the American TV market is, well, the Americans certainly are, after all, haven’t we all seen John Wayne liberate Burma (the Americans were never there) and the U.S Navy capture the first Enigma machine (They eventually got one in 1944 after the code had been cracked) and so on and so forth. TV programme makers who wish to achieve any creditability with their out put, especially with factual based programmes, would do well to present those facts without bias or censorship. Having been present at many of the early Stranglers (and the Damned) gigs I can assure you that the Stranglers were as punk as it got, in fact, they were as quintessentially representative of the punk movement as most of the other bands all rolled up and put together. To emphasise this ‘fact’ some of the crowd scenes in the seminal punk movie ‘The great Rock n Roll Swindle’ were filmed at Stranglers gigs because Pistols gigs were relatively tame affairs by Stranglers standards. Sam H’s astronaut analogy is just about perfect. A thirty year celebration of punk without a single mention of the Stranglers is completely and utterly astonishing. It’s so astonishing in fact that I do not believe it was anything other than premeditated, spiteful and peculiarly intentional……Can any of the programme makers come up with a plausible explanation for that??? because I think there are a lot people wondering what the ‘official’ agenda was and whether we can expect the programme makers to re-write the history books with other subjects in the future. I really do think some form of reply is warranted, even if its just to say ‘Sorry’ Just as an afterthought, can someone at the BBC also tell me why (assuming that they had genuinely completely forgotten about the Stranglers) they never miss an opportunity to use their music in so many of their programmes and indeed for their in house advertising????? " Alan A Hillier London
  Alan A Hillier London

  golden brown was a hit in 82 so there is no relevance ,the programme was about punk in 76/77.what people are saying is that they were there and the stranglers were the real deal, biggest selling with 270 gigs in 76.the pistols were a manufactured band with the one album.the stranglers were main players but because of what they did to certain individuals the certain indeviduals have written them out of punk.at my school it was either you liked the stranglers or the pistols end of story.
  andy lincoln

  it's amazing what lengths people will go to in an attempt to prove that their favourite band are somehow culturally significant. while the stranglers were there at the time, their evident musical competence is the biggest indicator that they were not of the same breed as the pistols, clash etc. i was 14 at the time and it was clear that the stranglers were the band who were adored by the kind of kids who were finding it hard to give up their yes albums and liked to think they were being edgy. some of them even knew what the word 'nubiles' meant and enjoyed mr cornwell's sexist lyrics.. in fact the stranglers do sound quite proggy - it's clear where dave greenslade (sorry, greenfield ) got his licks from and rick wakeman appears to be a fan. to suggest that the BBC is somehow still upset at some incident that happened years ago is typical paranoia from old speedfreaks who should know better. the stranglers were alright, but to claim that they had anywhere near as big an impact on punk as the bands that were mentioned is at best misguided.
  peter, london

  the pistols and clash used to go and watch the stranglers, joe strummer wanted his band to be like theirs.what a laugh stranglers were proggy all people are stating was to them they were the real punk band of the time the naughty boys not the manufactured pistols.
  dave london

  "the pistols and clash used to go and watch the stranglers, joe strummer wanted his band to be like theirs".back this up and i might believe you."what a laugh stranglers were proggy"how many other 'punk' bands had a keyboard player who took long solos? use your ears, dave.
  peter, london

  Come On. Surely The Stranglers should have had some sort of mention, I know that their later stuff didn't get as a great dead of comerical success, and by 82 they were more pop than punk, but thei is no denying that the stranglers were enitially the most sucessful punk band. They sold more records than any other punk band at the time. FACT!!! Even if none of their albums are considered classics like 'london calling' or 'Never mind the bollocks' they were a very important part of punk. They deserved at least one mention.
  Ross, Ireland

  the stranglers and many others played at hope and anchor,strummers band at the time was the 101's and two of the pistols used to go and watch them there.it's all in the stranglers biography no mercy.this is what people are saying how can you write them out of it so much history has gone begging on the subject because of certain people's views.the supposed main players wanted to be like them it's as simple as that.
  dave london

  Well Peter (London) it's well documented that the Clash and the Pistols were influenced by the Stranglers, you will have to read a recent book Stranglers No Mercy, also some of the books I have come accross about the Clash/pistols also mention this. If you go on You Tube you can view early Stranglers gigs and see Hugh Cornwell spitting on the audience not something to admire necessarily but don't think Yes and Genesis were up to that sort of thing. The Stranglers were incredibly Punk, Riots, Blasphemy, Swearing, Sex, Heroin, Bondage, Mysogony, Volence, Kdnapping, Armed Robbery, Imprisonment, Anarchy, Banned Records/Videos, Banned Gigs. The list is endless - can't see Yes/ELP/Genesis aspiring to those antics, not that it's clever but that was the necessary aspect to change the staus Quo.
  Mark, Manchester

  Great show, really enjoyed it. But i thought anarchy in the uk was the 1st pistols song?
  Someone, London

  The Stranglers were the missing link between what was the dying embers of Prog Rock and the 3 chord Punk that eventually happened in 1976. They were an integral part of what was to be influencing some of the important acts to follow. The programme is a snapshot of each era and not wholly concerned with transistions hence the omission of many great bands ie: Stranglers, Motorhead, Joy Division etc;
  John, Cheshire

  Hey Dave from London and Peter from London, Steve from Portsmouth, Strangle them all, and WHOEVER ELSE you and your split personalities are today!!! What a silly boy you are making your 3, then 2 almost identical posts one after the other showing your attempt that more than ONE person has your opinion! Get a grip..you're busted!! har har - loser!! Go to a Stranglers gig and see how many fans there are, and check the internet to see just HOW MANY STRANGLERS fan sites there are too!!
  Regan, Stroud

  "I hope there will be questions and queries about our decisions, about who, why, what and when in this story of Punk. Everybody will have their own history. So I hope fans - of my vintage and young folk too - will tune it and then leave their comments below. And I want them to mean it, man!"Ok, I think it's fairly clear now what the general concensus is re the lack of The Stranglers, so Alastair Laurence - why no Stranglers? Are we gonna get the real reason, straight from the horse's mouth, maaan?
  Alias, in black

  How I looked forward to this programme ! How disappointed I was afterwards.I won't comment further on the glaring ommission of The Stranglers, but to have the slits on there??? They were an OKish band but not in my top 20 or so of groups that sum up the era. And why the hell was so much time devoted to Patti Smith? - obviously the PC Beeb had to get their quota of females in there- so why not devote 5 mins to Siouxsie and the Banshees who summed up the whole ethos - just get up there and do it !! Touring in 77 / 78 with no recording contract and yet having a great influence and popularity ( I discovered them late 77 listening to their first sesson recorded for the immortal John Peel and remember punching the air with demented delight when he announced they were finally getting a record deal summer '78). The only reason I can think of for Sham 69 being ignored was their more basic working class roots don't go down well with the arty-farty types who put these progs together. maybe i am biased as Banshees and Sham were the first 2 groups I saw as a 16 year old. The groups I listened to the most were Pistols Damned Stranglers Clash Buzzcocks Banshees SLF etc. I don't want to pigeon-hole anybody but these are the probably the groups that most 'punks' listened to so surely this should have been reflected in the programme. Ramones - yes, but PATTI SMITH and her horses - do me a favour !! I had little/ no interest in music until I happened upon John Peel in '77 and the music changed mine and I suspect many others lives forever, if you're gonna tell the story - tell it right MAAAAAANNNNN !
  JK, Basingstoke

  Clearly the American punks were more musical than the British punks. In my opinion, punk is the most destructive form of rock and this covered Sid Vicious' life sadly as well. John Lydon makes me laugh though!
  Nic, Derby

  Another London vs New York retread with the same old faces...to not talk of The Stranglers is criminal, ditto The Jam & Sham 69...not to mention the Dead Kennedys, UK Subs, Wire, The Adverts, The Antz, Angelic Upstarts, Stiff Little Fingers, The Ruts...shoddy revisionist journalism...but then those who can, do, those who can't, write about it :)
  Ozzy Rotten, Hove

  I think programme confirmed my memories of time - the American punks, apart from the excellent Ramones, were more concerned with being seen as 'arty' than producing three minute blasts of pure energy...the beauty of the british punk bands was that they managed to combine this with some great tunes....
  Alan, Edinburgh

  If you walked into a record shop in 1976, almost everything you saw had been recorded in the previous ten years. If you were looking for anything older than that — maybe the Shadows, or Buddy Holly — well, there was one rack over in the corner.
  
  If you walk into the same shop today, you'll see something rather different, with the racks full of stuff twenty, thirty or forty years old.In the early and mid-70s, there were bands such as Yes, King Crimson, Pink Floyd and Genesis (to name only four) who played beautiful, complex and challenging music. This is not my nostalgia talking: at the time, I was only a young kid and hardly aware of it all, although fortunately I've been discovering this music in the last few years. These bands' work came about, not only through their creative talents, but also through the fact that they'd worked hard to develop the instrumental prowess to make their ideas into reality.
  
  Then punk came along. In the main, it was nasty and untalented music made by, and for, nasty untalented people. Now I won't deny there's a place for that: but the arbiters of taste in those days — the NME was probably the worst — decided that no-one should play, or like, anything that didn't belong to the so-called "new wave". By appealing to an unpleasant tendency of the British, to regard anyone who's worked hard to be good at something as being a show-off and a bighead, talent and prowess were made to become totally unfashionable. It was an utter disaster, from which UK popular music has never recovered. Certainly since then we've had bands who've produced worthwhile work through their literacy, their wit, their artiness, their social commentary (which some punk offered in the same way that John Craven's Newsround offered the news), or simply the passion of their performance. However, the musical beauty has gone, and has never returned.
  
  Where are today's Wakeman, Fripp, Akkerman, Blackmore, Emerson, or Clapton? A few grand old men (Gilmore, Manzanera and others) have carried on regardless and still manage to be popular; a few newer bands make good music by harking back to pre-punk styles; and there's beauty to be heard in today's techno/trance scene.Other than that, it's a musical desert; and for that, we have punk to thank. When punk was first emerging, the Clash sang: "no Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1977". Thirty years later, if you ask young people today to name a song by Elvis, the Beatles or the Stones, most of them can name something. Then ask them to name something by the Clash, and they'll say, "who?".
  Colin Wilson, Aberdeen

  punk rock is a form of expression just like any type of music...who cares is american or british punks did it best? the point is, is that punk influenced and birthed so many bands and so many people that it will live on forever in either nation. what about the canadian punk bands of the 80s? like the generics, demics, forgotten rebels? aha not that they are as well known but it just goes to show that punk music is powerful no matter the place. sure alot of american and british punk bands are listened to and idolized in canada... but so are the canadian punks. its about unity man. "f*** religion, f*** school, f*** the media, f*** you" - THATS punk, dont give a f*** and live the way you wanna live doing what you wanna do.. punk isnt just music, its a way of life and life is lived in ever city, state, country, nation, etc.... no one does it best, they just do it the way they know how to
  amanda, ontario