Dreamtime

Dreamtime is the ninth studio album by the Stranglers, released in 1986 by Epic Records. The title track was inspired by a belief of the aboriginal peoples of Australia called Dreamtime. The single "Always the Sun" peaked at No. 30 in the UK Singles Chart. Dreamtime itself reached No. 16 in the UK Albums Chart, the lowest charting studio album during Hugh Cornwell's recording tenure with the band (1977–90). Singles released in the UK for this album included "Nice in Nice" (peaked at No. 30), "Always the Sun", "Big in America" (peaked at No. 48) and "Shakin' Like a Leaf" (peaked at No. 58). A fifth single was proposed by the record company, and a remix of the song "Was It You?" was prepared, but it was never released. Background The initial recording sessions for Dreamtime began in late 1985 with producer Laurie Latham, who had worked on the band's previous album Aural Sculpture. A few months were spent working on a handful of tracks before the Stranglers and Latham parted company. Latham felt the songs needed more work from the band and had suggested a break in recording. In his 2001 book The Stranglers: Song by Song, guitarist Hugh Cornwell says, "Laurie's comment that our songs weren't ready had left a nasty taste in our mouths because we liked to work with people who were confident in us." The Stranglers therefore decided to continue work on the album with producer Mike Kemp.