In the beginning were The Strangers, a hard rock act that performed in the early 90s in Lebanon. The band included Eli Farah on vocals / guitars, Ghassan 'Gaza' Sakr on Drum, Ziad Sarrouh on bass / keyboards and Jean Pierre Matar on lead guitars. The Strangers were pretty much famous back then, regularly performing in various rock and music festivals all around the country. They had a few hits such as 'I Don't Need Your Love Anymore' featuring Grace Deeb on vocals and Rock Till You Drop. The band split in the mid 90s, then reunited with a different setup in '97 under the name 'Cedra' with Rabih Saad replacing Jean Pierre Mattar on lead guitars. The style shifted from Hard Rock to Heavy Rock a la L.A scene Glam Rock. All members of the band, and without exception left the country two years later to pursue their respective professional careers and the adventure was put to a halt. Now, 17 years after the first setup, the band reemerges under the name 'area.51.' The style has also matured and evolved and is slowly shifting towards a blend of electro, progressive and hard rock.The current setup is: Ziad Sarrouh on the Hammond organ, vocoder and keyboards; Ghassan 'Gaza' Sakr on Drums; Elie Helou on lead guitars; Tony Ghanem on Vocals; Walid Sarrouh on Bass. area.51 are currently writing a new album and recording in Studio A - Beirut,