The Strangers were a quintet from Dudley, in the English West Midlands, who were lucky enough to get signed to Decca Records, even if no hits came out of the brief liaison. They'd started out as the Marauders and developed a solid rock & roll sound, very much in the manner of such Liverpool bands as the Big Three and the Beatles (on their harder side). Lead guitarist Alan Clee had a good attack on his instrument, in the studio or on-stage, to judge from the surviving evidence, and lead singer Roy Kent was one of the more talented singers of the period and their locale. They made their name on Birmingham's burgeoning band scene in 1963 and 1964, and were signed to Decca, which allowed them to get four songs, What a Way, Bye Bye Johnny, Return to Mary, and It's Not Too Late, onto the label's Brum Beat anthology LP. The Brum Beat LP didn't do an enormous amount for them or anyone else on it, but they did somehow acquire a dedicated fandom in Malaysia, of all places -- according to the 'N Between Times website, a press report in 1964 stated that they'd had requests for autographed pictures from fans in Malaysia, which makes one suspect that some unit or other of English Decca had gotten some sides out well beyond the confines of the Sceptered Isle. The group eventually changed their name to the Martells, before Kent, Clee, and bassist Jack Elcock left to join Finders Keepers, a Wolverhampton band that later morphed into Trapeze. ~ Bruce Eder, Rovi