[spunx]

Right if you'd like to stop your spitting and keep yer lugholes open...

New Stranglers album 'Suite XVI' out very soon (16th Sep) and its an absolute cracker. To celebrate the release of it we have a 5 page extravaganza conversation with Baz Warne their guitarist about ...The Toy Dolls, 'Norfolk Coast', 'Suite XVI' and what the Stranglers have in common with Bon Jovi!

Its here so enjoy!

http://www.punk77.co.uk/groups/stranglersbaz080601.htm

[Tracy]

Have you finally slain the ghost of Hugh?
I make no bones about the fact that I’ve never met Hugh Cornwell and I don’t know him. I’m a better guitar player than he is. I'm in the Stranglers and he isn’t and he’s not coming back. (Lots of laughing). Its bizarre that he’s using the similar writing for his logo, releasing a live album with loads of Stranglers tunes on it and every opportunity he gets he's talking about the band and he’s not refuting coming back now. But the band will never have him back. The band is better now.



this just confirms that I for one will never go and see the band again there lead singer is a cnut how he can talk about Hugh like this and he has NEVER even met him makes me laugh


The Hugh Cornwell comparison irritates me when I look at reviews and they still have the gross incompetence to use old pictures and even pictures of him before Paul's time. People have even come up to me at gigs and said when did Hugh lose his hair? I'm fuckin telling you! How insane is that?


your only get comparied to him because you are singing HIS songs Baz!!
and it only insane as people who are not fans and do not keep upto date with the band go along to a gig for nostalgia and see and hear a different singer!!!!!



Tracy

[MULLY]

Jim - it all makes sense to me now!!

[jem750]

I thought it was a refreshing, honest and open interview

Why should Baz have to suck up to Hugh as everyone else seems to?

Hugh left The Stranglers 16 years ago of his own accord, and has stated on many occasions that he would not go back. If it was down to him, the stranglers would have ended years ago. Baz is the lead singer now, end of.

I still enjoy watching Hugh live even though BEF did nothing for me.

And I do still think it bizarre that Hugh writes his name in a 'stranglers' stylee logo!

Right I'm off to don the hard hat now

Jez (Looking forward to the Stranglers gigs more than ever)

[mr harry power]

Hi Tracy

I take that means yer not on for next Saturday in Glesga then

[ravenlunatic]

Tracy, I asume you have met Baz otherwise by your own morel standards you would find yourself unable to critisize him as he has done to Hugh. Unlike you I have not had the pleasure of meeting Baz or Hugh but I think from reading about them I have gleened a little of their characters from the written word. Therefore I would suggest that like Hugh, Baz takes pleasure from winding people up and making tongue in cheek comments, he certainly has a good sense of humour and like any true Strangler delights in making controversial statements. Is this not what the band represent? Controversy and intelligent observation of the things that surround them?
As far as Baz singing Hughs songs, well as we all know, the band have attributed the songs to whoever was in the band at the time they were written, therefore they are Stranglers songs and not just Hughs songs.
Make no mistake, if it were possible to go back in time and persuade Hugh to stay in the band I would do it, Hugh is without doubt a genius. He sadly decided to leave and we must respect that decision. However the remaining 3 original members are in my opinion also genius's(genii?) and I respect their decisions on who they choose to perform with.
I respect your comments and think its great that we have the place to air our views, but as far as I'm concerned Baz strikes me as a decent bloke and undeniably first class musician. He (in my opinion) has the attitude of a Strangler and wish him well. I'm sorry you have made the decision to not see the band live again but feel you are cutting off your nose to spite your face (as my mother used to say).
To all of you out there, can we please keep all dicussions on an intelligent and civilised level, as simply calling band members names is neither interesting nor constuctive, and is why Jim dropped the section originally.
I, like many others have tried to do our bit to persuade Jim to reinstate the new line up section which he has kindly agreed to do so please lets not descend into childish rants like certain other forums.

[spunx]

[theraven1979]

I've met both Hugh and Baz and both of them are top blokes as people and absolutely skilled musicians. However, as I'm in this position I can see both sides of the argument. For example if you find it bizarre that Hugh is using the similar font to the Stranglers logo then surely you must find it bizarre that you're singing his lyrics, playing his guitar style etc. Unless of course Baz was being tongue in cheek on this one.



Jim

[theraven1979]

That's crazy!

Say what you want about 10 but some of us do like that album - sure it's not their strongest but neither is Coup De Grace, About Time, In The Night etc. And even Hugh admits on his new live album it wasn't their best but there were a couple of gems and his version of "Out Of My Mind" certainly shows that.

Does the new Stranglers album sound like "Stanglers mayhem" then? I've heard it's a good album but far removed from the usual Stranglers menacing, melodic fayre. In fact someone said they sound a bit like Dire Straits in place!! I hope not.

I agree with your comments about dropping the Stranglers MKI stuff - Perhaps they will do this now.

I hardly think Hugh needs the Stranglers. Let's not forget he was the one who left, dropped the Stranglers name, decided to go it alone. Takes balls that.

Jim

[paulinblack]

Suprised at the emotions that this interview has evoked. Thought that it was an interesting interview that brought out a few points that I hadn't heard before. It was just interesting to get Baz's take on the whole thing - no more than that (ie Doesn't change my opinions)

Paul

[spunx]

[ThruBeingCool]

[Tracy]

[Alias]

I wouldn't bother, they're not playing till a week after that anyway.

[theraven1979]

Yeah great interview shame interviewer and Baz have to ruin it by spinning out the Hugh topic. Why do they have to do this? He left the band 16 years ago


Jim

[gizzard]

[quote="spunx"]

[yellowcakeuf6]

[quote="gizzard"]

[Eurofemme]

Me too!!!

I have just been out to my local record shop...which is tiny!! And guess what!?.... They had a whole rack of Spectre of Love!!! I bought a few and now I'm smiling.

Tracy....I take it you don't have yours yet.....?

[Tracy]

[ravenlunatic]

[quote="spunx"]

People used to be quite cheerful on this forum. I would have thought with a new Stranglers cd out soon they would be even more so.

What do you mean not cheerful!! I'm always cheerfull!! God it makes me so fucking angry when people say that! GOD ALMIGHTY how cheerful do I have to be for GODS SAKE!! There is nothing wrong with me and I have not had a bad day! I am perfectly happy thank you very much and It makes me so mad when people say I'm not cheerful!! For fucks sake I invented the word cheerful!! I am the most cheerful person on earth and I am surrounded by miserable people who make me so mad and grumpy and depressed that I want to shout at everyone and get a gun and kill everyone because they all make me so fucking angry, and I hate everyone in the world and the world is a shithole and eveybody is out to get me because their all assholes and they make me so fucking angry that I could get a nuclear device and blow up the whole fucking universe because its what eveyone deserves because they are all bastards who tell me to be cheerful all the time! I am so cheerfull that I could cry...........

[Cola Can]

Interesting read. Although I would just say that you don't have to be the best guitarist in the world to be a good songwriter. Hugh's quirkiness was what made the Stranglers happen. John Ellis was also a better player but didn't have the edge....each person has contributed in their own way and thankfully have kept the band going for 32 years.

[wadey1]

baz is good but he aint no hugh cornwell. and to say hes a better guitarist than hugh so bluntly is just plain arrogance, cos i dont think he is at all. he couldnt write riffs and solos anywhere near as good as hughs. i love hughs guitaring is excellent and has influenced me a lot. hugh certainly doesnt need the stranglers, cos his solo stuff is fantastic, 100 times better than stranglers of present. hugh wants to please fans by playing the old numbers just as mk4 do. paul mcartney plays a lot of beatle songs but no one would say he needs the beatles in order to sustain a career. hughs logo is to maybe attract a wider fan base by highlighting his strangler songs, then people may dig his own material. its all quite simple. its not odd at all. hugh has moved on and personally if i got the chance to interview mr c i wouldnt even ask a single strangler question. and i am only young and never saw the original line up so its not a case of biased.
like the new single though. fantastic.

[theraven1979]

Well put Wadey! Which Hugh gig(s) you doing? I reckon I owe you an ale

Jim

[paulinblack]

Must admit that I will be pleased when the proportion of Stranglers tunes reduces in the setlist.

Doesn't the better guitarist bit refer to his interview and the joke from the rest of the band ?

Who cares ?

Paul

[gizzard]

[wadey1]

no joke mate. hugh s songs are fantastic, and yes even harry power. god i love it. his voice is fucking ace, glad he discovered subtlety.
dunno raven might be doing manchester. was gonna go down to bournmeth on my week off and see him there but my week off has been moved so i dunno.

[theraven1979]

If you do Manchester gimme a shout.

Jim

[paulinblack]

[50millionwatches]

Obviously a highly emotive subject. I went to see Hugh back in April. There were 18 at the gig, that included the staff! Highly embarrassing.
Because of this I was able to talk with him to some length.

He told me the most annoying thing was having to put "ex Stranglers lead singer" on his flyers. So I was suprised when he put his name on his website in the same logo.
He also told me that if he didnt play Stranglers numbers, he would lose most of his audience. And besides, he was very proud of his time with the Stranglers, a lot of lyrics were his, so why shouldnt he sing them? (hughs words)
I know there has always been a lot of ugly bickering, but a month later-on stage, he commented on the 3 original members. I couldnt believe it- not a bad word for any of them! Even praising "John"

He did say however,that there would always be bad blood, as he has yet to read an article where the other 3 dont slag him off.

So nobody wins. To me its just all rather sad.

[C r a s s !]

I don't know Paul @ PUNK77 directly, but his Baz interview was a breath of fresh air. End of!

Unless, of course, anyone else can better it????

Others can discuss and dissect 'the whys and the wherefores' until they are old and grey... it's still a great interview and worthy of inclusion on Strangled in my case. And a good angle too - as great articles should have... Thank you Paul - and ta for letting Strangled in on it! Looking forward to your next piece... Good interviewers are hard to find.

[mabus]

I actually thought Hugh was much better live when he omitted Stranglers songs.

I Remember the Heads and Tails tour at Sheffield Boardwalk as the best Hugh gig i've ever seen.
He played Guilty almost in it's entirety and played loads off Nosferatu including a blinding version of White Room.
Now he has included so many Stranglers songs in his set, it seems to imply a lack of confidence in his own stuff, which is a shame because he breathes a lot of life into his own numbers live.
I find Beyond Ellysian fields a bit to lightweight and middle of the road. A very bland album, but live the songs are far superior. It's a shame he omits so many to play Stranglers crowd pleasers.

[jem750]

After following the ups and downs of Hugh and The Stranglers career since the 'split' I make the following observations

All IMHO of course

Hugh thought he didn't need The Stranglers, he believed he could be big in his own right.

He wouldn't play Stranglers songs live 'If you want Stranglers songs, go and see The Stranglers'

I saw him support Big Country around '94? God, it was embarrasing, he wore a white puffer jacket, and just sang, had no guitar!

The next time I saw him at the Joiners in Southampton, I was blown away, Jeans and a T Shirt, Guitar, still mainly his own stuff although there was a twisted 'grip' as I recall. Big Steve Lawrence on Bass too.

Meanwhile The Stranglers were still a great live act but were maybe missing Mr C's songwriting skills!

Hugh released Guilty, a cracking album and surpassed any of the MKII lineup albums.

But 'The Stranglers' retained the name and the pulling power in a way that Hugh could never manage. I do not think he envisaged this when he left, he thought they would go away, whereas they have gone from strength to strength.

Hugh needs 'The former Stranglers frontman' tag for pulling power. He has not made it big in his own right, he has written some cracking songs but it ain't happening guys.

So I do still think it bizarre about the new logo but I understand why. I am looking forward to the Stranglers and the Hugh gigs coming up, best of both worlds.

I also don't really rate BEF as I have mentioned before whereas NC and what I have heard of Suite XVI does it for me!
Oh and PPP does too, but that is cos it captures Hugh at what he does best!

In conclusion, at this point in time, The Stranglers don't need Hugh, but Hugh sure needs The Stranglers

Jez

[paulinblack]

Agree there Mabus. Quite happy to keep some of the more obscure Stranglers things like WOG, DLA OOMM in the set list, but also prefer to hear majority of solo stuff.

Paul

[ravenlunatic]

Well said jem750, I could.t agree more, very well observed and hits the nail on the head as far as I'm concerned.

[ThruBeingCool]

I reckon we're now at a stage where we have 2 'Stranglers acts' doing the rounds.

One has 3 original members but not the original lead singer. They write & play new songs which are often very good/excellent. They play a few old Stranglers album tracks which get changed around now & again to satisfy their hardcore fans. However, you'll usually hear 'Golden Brown', 'Always The Sun' & 'No More Heroes' in the set to please the majority of the crowd.

The other Stranglers act has the original lead singer/guitarist. He writes & plays new songs which are often very good/excellent. He plays a few old (often more obscure) Stranglers songs to satisfy the hardcore fans which get changed around more frequently than the other act. However, you'll usually hear 'Golden Brown', 'Always The Sun' & 'No More Heroes' in his set to please the majority of the audience.

2006 - THE CHOICE IS YOURS! :-)


USE YOUR FREEDOM OF CHOICE!

[paulinblack]

Wow ! A whole page full of posts that I totally agree with !

Sorry if I sound like PaulinLondon Raven, but at least you have the option of running away with two Pauls to make babies with !

Paul

[gizzard]

[PaulinLondon]

[theraven1979]

People are starting to make sense now

Jim

[Eurofemme]

[quote="wadey1"]baz is good but he aint no hugh cornwell. and to say hes a better guitarist than hugh so bluntly is just plain arrogance, cos i dont think he is at all. he couldnt write riffs and solos anywhere near as good as hughs. i love hughs guitaring is excellent and has influenced me a lot. hugh certainly doesnt need the stranglers, cos his solo stuff is fantastic, 100 times better than stranglers of present. hugh wants to please fans by playing the old numbers just as mk4 do. paul mcartney plays a lot of beatle songs but no one would say he needs the beatles in order to sustain a career. hughs logo is to maybe attract a wider fan base by highlighting his strangler songs, then people may dig his own material. its all quite simple. its not odd at all. hugh has moved on and personally if i got the chance to interview mr c i wouldnt even ask a single strangler question. and i am only young and never saw the original line up so its not a case of biased.
like the new single though. fantastic.[/quote]




Well Wadey, we are all entitled to our own opinions and coming fom a strongly musical background, I have to say that BW is definitely the better and more accomplished guitarist. If you know you're good at something why hide your light under a bushel? It's not arrogance...it's confidence, and that gets you places!

HC has a different quality and style which really shouldn't be compared to BW's. He's completely different.

The Stranglers have moved on from the HC era...it's the interviewers to blame...they refuse to let the ghost of HC rest. Do you really think the present line up want to discuss HC? I think not...afterall, they have a new album to plug!!

All this aside, we can't deny BOTH artiste's contributions to a fantastic band.

[GRIFF]

Well well, the ranks are well and truly divided. I can see the management getting a tad worried now. Litterally 100s thousands will see the band on their world tour, and there are still one or two out there who will not attend because that cnut baz is taking the proverbial. Didums. Shuggy must be well pissed off with the prospect of another commercial success for the band. I agree he has talent, but his time has been and long gone. However he may see his sales improve due to the bands success, and I am sure Jim would agree that can only be a good thing.

Do you(minority) resent the band and their loyal supporters that much? Awa and boil yir heids! We do not need 200 negative hac fans spouting forth their whingeing pap. Stick to the shuggy gigs and enjoy his output, and leave us sad Stranglers supporters to our outings of fun. If you only new the truth, when you see it, whatever it is

[norman normal]

I both like BEF and NC, and maybe many of the fans here do.
They are not sounding much alike, but it shows that both bands have more great stuff inside of them.
NC is the best since The raven in my opinion.
I mean that we should buy both Hugh/Stranglers as long as it's good stuff on it.

[theraven1979]

Erm...


Jim

[theraven1979]

Yeah but Griff - people are commenting on what Baz said - No fan has come out with the comparisons to Hugh

Jim

[norman normal]

Let's have a boxing match or a wrestling fight between Hugh and Baz!

[Arthur Streeb-Greebling]

[Eurofemme]

Hugh's songs were fab, Art. No denying it! But, to his own admission, singing and playing guitar similtaneously became a strain for him (enter Ellis) Golden Brown...point in case... HC's fingers just wouldn't play quickly enough. I think we must look at the overall package and I personally don't think Hugh had it ALL. His voice was spectacular and unique sounding. But the point for discussion was the quality of his guitar playing, which imho, was not as good as BW's.

As for songwriting...give Baz a chance he's only been with The Stranglers for 6 years and look what he has contributed in such a short time. Some real crackers!!

Will you eat your hat in 10 years time....we'll see....

[spunx]

Is it coincidence that Hugh has his tour dates round about the same time as the Stranglers and that also he is slipping in an acoustic cover of Norfolk Coast? How about changing his name to JJ Cornwell and how long before he starts pulling on a Triumph T shirt?

Frankly I'm amazed that 10 lines can generate this kind of reaction out of a 5 page interview. Its clearly not Baz who has a problem but the people who go off on one about it as the last 4 pages show.

While he may have been larking about the next lines were deadly serious which is a healthy dose of respect. People seem to have missed that.

[Alias]

[Eurofemme]

Yeah yeah yeah! Ok Alias...I get the point! But let's get everything into perspective...that was then...this is now....know what I mean?!

[Arthur Streeb-Greebling]

[MULLY]

[Eurofemme]

I honestly can't see Baz coming up with a tune as good as any of the old Stranglers classics. 'Ive Been Wild' is good but 'Dutch Moon' & 'Long Black Veil' are awful.[/quote]


Well, time will tell, I guess....

Dutch Moon and Long Black veil are beautifully written and widely enjoyed by most Strangler fans. It all comes down to personal preference/opinion...and Art, you're entitled to yours hon!

[ratking]

Wow, that was a bloody good read, 4 pages, I can't really add anything else apart from, I only watch and listen to the stranglers these days, wish Hugh all the best, and can't wait for the Suite XV1 tour, doing 10 dates so far, thanks to all the loyal fans who have stuck by the band over the last 30 odd years.

[PaulinLondon]

[mabus]

This better guitarist malarky is really a load of bollocks.

If we were interested in a better technical guitarist we certainly wouldnt be frequenting a Stranglers/Hugh Cornwell forum.

We'd be all on an Eric Clapton or Jimi Hendrix forum

It reminds me of Ade Edmonson in Bad News ' Jimmy Page never wrote Stairway to Heaven till he was 19, but I could play it when I was 16, says it all really'

But... Can anyone tell me a Baz solo that can trump these?????

Hanging Around
Goodbye Toulouse
Walk On By
Toiler on the Sea
Down in the Sewer
Sometimes


It's not how fast you move your fingers, it's what you do with them...

I bet many of Hughs session musician Bass players are technically better than JJ, but could they think of stringing together 3 notes like peaches? or 8 notes like sleazy?

[suchi]

[Alias]

[theraven1979]

Who wants to hear Golden Brown note for note anyway? I'll stick the record on if I want that. Crikey let's have robots onstage eh?

I'd love to get into some reasonable debate on this one but some of these replies are a tad bizarre

6 years Hmmm 74-80 - no classics there then!

Jim

[theraven1979]

Piss funny!

Jim

[spunx]

[theraven1979]

Well that's the conclusion sorted then! Someone can now turn out the lights on this thread.

Jim


[quote="suchi"]

[theraven1979]

Yeah but JJ's bass and Dave's keyboards aren't the topic of conversation here are they?!

Jim

[Fredib]

[Fredib]

And anyway, from my point of view, I'm happy having the best of both worlds. No need to compare. Hugh and Stranglers are still at their very best in 2006. Suite XVI is a stormer and next year's hugh new release won't deceive me, I'm sure. Long live Hugh, Stranglers and everybody down here

[wadey1]

hugh is a genius. hes ray davies, hes ian dury, hes macca, hes just one of those guys and thats a fact. full stop.

[suchi]

[spunx]

I dread to think what you guys are gonna make of the in depth interview coming with Paul about his time with and thoughts on The Stranglers thats on its way. Probably another control+F 'Cornwell' and then at will!

[gizzard]

[C r a s s !]

[mr harry power]

Hi Tracy,

look what you started!!!!!!!!!!

did i not see you in HMV today clutching a copy of the spectre of love

[theraven1979]

I'm with you Crass - seems someone has to have a dig at Mr Cornwell and the fans follow suit. *yawn*

Jim

[wadey1]

hes good but he aint that good? he is. is jj that good? or is baz that good? arent you a big stranglers fan then?

[Damian]

Whats happening, has hugh left the band or something?

[ravenlunatic]

[PaulinLondon]

Anyone fancy tea or coffee in the breakout session ? Now being served.


"Fook !" as they don't say in London.

One thing I will say with direct reference to Hugh and Baz and despite criticsm from third parties, I have always admired the way the Stranglers guitarists have replicated the notes and chords to the songs live on stage. That of course includes the equally important contributions from the rest of the band in whatever format. Every part of the unit of course, has a part to play.

The little deviations to live songs along the way from both lead guitar and bass have been a pleasure. Eg. early 80s live version of Sewer where Jet dropped down low during intro to let Hugh and JJ chug before Jet came back with main beat. Better than sax. Sorry, better than sex.

Hugh and JJ together during the link between MSD and European Female - spine tingling stuff.

Also spine tingling to think that the four of them came up with the idea in rehearsals and decided to run with it.

Leads me back onto how nice it would be to have a CD of out takes but that is for another thread.

Anyway. Tea, coffee, biscuits, lard ?

[ravenlunatic]

[gizzard]

[gadge]

listen to Suite XVI and listen to Elysian Fields
anyone who prefers the latter clearly shouldn't be on this forum
oh sorry I forgot, this is a Hugh Cornwell site not a Stranglers one

[PaulinLondon]

[paulinblack]

[gizzard]

[paulinblack]

[PaulinLondon]

And there's no excuse for shit grammar.

[kinski]

[gizzard]

[suchi]

[MULLY]

The kettle hasn't even reached the boil, the milk has only just been poured into the cups in anticipation of t'brew and the assorted biscuits are still in the tin...

and it all kicks off again!!

There has been a lot of valid points posted regarding the qualities/abilities of both Hugh & Baz. But at the end of the day (and all off the night GROAN) Hugh is Hugh, Baz is Baz and The Stranglers are The Stranglers.
We may have our preferences as to which period we like, some preferring Hugh's material post-Strangler, some now liking the Baz-ified Stranglers.

Well whoopee-fuckin'-do!! I like this, you like that, they like the other. Who really gives a flying fuck? IMHO we all share a cross-over liking of The Stranglers in some configuration - and thats the point we should be celebrating. Not sniping and trying to score 'cheap' points off each other.

As all the abovementioned have, at one time or another, so rightly said (Get a) Grip (On Yourself)!!

OK - so who is for sugar?

[Alias]

[PaulinLondon]

Just in case.

[yellowcakeuf6]

Y'see, ya just don't get interesting, heated, 'friendly' debate like this on Black to the Future.

[stranglersfan]

[Mad Hatter]

[ravenlunatic]

[theraven1979]

Some of the things Hugh is doing with the guitar on PPP is very inventive. Some very tasty guitar on there - almost sublime in fact


Jim

[theraven1979]

Eee people comparing something they haven't heard yet to something they've probably heard about 3 times then got bored with it cos it didn't immediately hit them. This thread gets better and better - Then there's Gadge who's one outragous chap!


Jim

[ravenlunatic]

[PaulinLondon]

[mabus]

http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2005/05/3114.cfm

[paulinblack]