I am 45 today, so happy birthday to me and all that. The first 45rpm single I bought with my own money was Golden Brown by The Stranglers. At least, I think it was the first- I can't really remember but that's the story I've always told and I'm sticking to it. I remember buying it quite clearly, from a little record shop on Wilmslow Road in Withington. It came out in January 1982 so I would have been 11. The rumour that it was about heroin went round pretty quickly. I liked the harpsichord riff, the strange time signature and Hugh Cornwell's vocal delivery.
As Ctel posted recently at Acid Ted there was a cover version of Golden Brown by Better Daze and in 1997 a gorgeous dubbed out remix by Fila Brazillia, which washes all over you in ambient waves. Texture like sun.
Golden Brown (Fila Brazillia Remix)
