Punk icons The Stranglers have launched a video for their new single, This Song. Taken from the band's upcoming album Dark Matters, it stars former Nottingham Forest, Manchester City and England footballer and famed punk rock fan Stuart Pearce.
In the video, Pearce - who introduced the Sex Pistols onstage alongside current England manager Gareth Southgate when the band reformed for two shows at London's Finsbury Park in 1996, and appears on the inner sleeve of the Lurkers' album God's Lonely Men - shows off his parkour moves on the mean streets of Camberwell, South London, as he's pursued by a trio of mystery assailants.
"When the Stranglers make you an offer you can’t refuse… you can't refuse!" says Pearce. "I played it cool but to be honest I was excited, and honoured to be asked. As a lifelong fan of the Stranglers, being part of this video was very special. This Song is the Stranglers at their best, a really catchy song full of all the classic traits of the band."
Pearce's connections to The Stranglers run deep - he claims to have seen the band live over 300 times - and in 2018 Burnley manager Sean Dyche told The Sun how Pearce had sought permission from bass player Jean-Jacques Burnel before trashing the band's dressing room after a show in Leicester.
"They came up and flourished in the punk era," Pearce told Classic Rock in 2014, "but they always had more about them musically. Punk was all about ‘any fucking idiot can pick up a guitar and play’ – three chords and all that. But there were some good musicians in punk, and The Stranglers were a cut above anything at the time, with Dave Greenfield on keyboards and the way JJ [Burnel] played bass."
Asked about upcoming Stranglers album Dark Matters, Pearce says, "It’s a fitting tribute to Dave Greenfield, who will be missed by everyone. I'm sure I speak for all Stranglers fans by saying we can't wait to see the boys touring again."
Keyboardist Greenfield died in hospital earlier this year after testing positive for COVID-19. The Stranglers released a tribute single, And If You Should See Dave…, in May.
