The Stranglers

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by mixtress, Nov 4, 2010.

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  1. fattyramone

    fattyramone New Member

    Location:
    Cambridge UK
    The Stranglers live locally to me and I twice booked Baz Warne, the new lead singer, to play accousticly at my pub......cash in hand

    The first time I was warned not to advertise the gig and took it as a bit of a joke and did advertise locally with no trouble.

    The second time I was again warned not to advertise the gig but did so in my local paper ......bearing in mind his fee was £250 and we don't charge for entrance , this time there was trouble as his manager had noticed the ad.

    I was left to defend my postition in that I could have had Paul McCartney offer to play my pub for £250 cash-in-hand , but without the ability to let people know he was playing I was always going to be on a loser.

    JJ Burnel also used to instruct the local karate classes , and I once saw him perform as guest bassist for a local band of 15 year olds who's bass player (Tom Jones RIP) was killed in a traffic accident , they peformed the usual 15-16 year old band cover versions of stuff by The Jam , The Undertones (Teenage Kicks) , etc....quite a surreal sight to behold

    I filmed it too.
     
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  2. jsayers

    jsayers Just Drifting....

    Location:
    Horse Shoe, NC
    Cool story! Hard to believe, but they were older than me when I started listening to them back in 1979 or whatever, so they must all be 60-ish or so now <I'm 56>. All still alive, which is quite unusual for a band that's been around so long. I'll have to admit I admire them for not "going for the bucks" and reuniting for a tour, whatever. I'm sure the cash has been waved in front of thier faces more than once...
     
  3. fattyramone

    fattyramone New Member

    Location:
    Cambridge UK
    The have been touring quite regularly in the UK , admittedly without Hugh , so put away any romantic notions of "not going for the bucks" ...they have ....and who can blame them?

    I think Jet as an astonishing 75-76? years old now..aye carumba!
     
  4. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Jet's 72 now. JJ is 58, Dave and Hugh both 61.

    Both Hugh solo and The Stranglers played the same festival a few years back (Guilfest, down in Guildford Surrey,) but they played separately on different days. Hugh has long refused to rejoin the band, which is a shame. It would be nice if only for a charity (Live8 style) reunion.

    There's been talk over the past few years that the band may pack it in. Jet's health has been poor and he was replaced on drums by his drum tech for some live dates. I am tempted to go see them in London in the new year as would like to see them one more time before they split.
     
  5. jsayers

    jsayers Just Drifting....

    Location:
    Horse Shoe, NC
    They aren't making anywhere near the bucks they could with Hugh back in the fray, though. To my mind, and this may be uninformed and a bit harsh, they are more a "bar band" version of The Stranglers these days.
    They're simply earning a living, and there's nothing wrong with that, but the big "cash grab" would be a proper reunion, not that I really care, I usually always hate those affairs and they never live up to expectations, imho.
    So, for that, I applaud them, especially Hugh.
     
  6. fattyramone

    fattyramone New Member

    Location:
    Cambridge UK
    The trouble with these cash-grab tours is that it leads to a diminishing returns cycle.

    Look at when the Buzzcocks reformed 12-15 years ago(??) ...prior to them actually doing it they were reportedly getting million £/$ offers to do so , now they are lucky to fill a 500 hall (and I love the Buzzcocks).

    I think we are singing from the same hymn book.
     
  7. BlueSpeedway

    BlueSpeedway Curated Iconic Half-Speed Picture Disc

    Location:
    England
    Thanks for the good info. I got the Old Testament when it came out, but haven't owned it for years, and can't remember what I did with it. In recent times I play Stranglers vinyl mostly. Last year or earlier this year I came across a mint original The Raven LP in a junk shop for something like 30p, and mine was a bit wrecked so got it, and since then started listening to the band a lot again. Apart from all the old vinyl, I have the Japanese Jasrac original CD if The Raven, it sounds pretty good, but have no other copy to compare it to, the old German La Folie CD, and the old CBS CD of Feline. They're OK on an iPod or something, but none of it is as good as the vinyl to me.
     
  8. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I was at a half price sale at the local vinyl store on Sunday afternoon. Bought a few items but passed on an original version of Feline with the 7" single. Can't remember what the tracks were on the single but somehow I didn't fancy spending £4 as i've already got that LP on vinyl.

    There was also an original copy of Black and White with the free single, would've been £13 but again, I already own the vinyl LP.

    Not sure on the worth of both of these items nowadays. Hopefully I didn't pass up 2 bargains.
     
  9. oxenholme

    oxenholme Senile member

    Location:
    Knoydart
    Which single? Weren't there two, the original with 'that' track from Live at the Hope & Anchor? Or maybe I'm getting confused.
     
  10. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I've got both.

    The No Mercy book is very good. I did feel quite squeamish reading about that guy who they forced to drink a whole bottle of whiskey. Really not a pleasant tale to read. JJ really was a nasty piece of work in those early days.

    I have the Inside Information but haven't read it in years. I do like his writing in his books to date.
     
  11. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    Can't remember, i'm getting confused too. I thought there was only one - Walk on By, Old Codger and Mean to Me.

    I might be wrong though.
     
  12. oxenholme

    oxenholme Senile member

    Location:
    Knoydart
    A quick look at their site confirms that the original freeby had the Hope & Anchor track instead of Old Codger.

    Well worth seeking out!
     
  13. DEG

    DEG Sparks ^^^

    Location:
    Lawrenceville Ga.
    I still have my minty condition UK lp pressings of The Raven and Live (xcert) that I bought in 1979 at the record store I worked in. Never really got into xcert, but the cover and inner sleeve are works of art.
     
  14. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK


    There were indeed - the original white vinyl/black label 7" of Walk On By/Mean To Me/T*ts.

    Walk On By was then released as a pic sleeve black vinyl 7" with Old Codger instead of T*ts.

    I've also heard that there's an UBER-rare 12" white vinyl promo of Walk On By - full length version on one side, edited version on the other. Never seen it.
     
  15. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK

    Indeed. I saw clips of Rattus at the Roundhouse on Youtube with Baz Warne, and they were very very good. Baz's guitar sounds like Hugh's used to. But he ain't Hugh.

    Hugh apparently came close to rejoining the band twice - for a one-off gig. He was going to play the first half of a show in 1992 (or thereabouts) at the Cambridge Corn Exchange, and then hand over to Paul Roberts for the second half. He made it as far as the backstage area, but didn't go on.

    I heard/read that they all had a talk about reuniting for a one-off tour when the remasters came out again in 2001, but the animosity between Hugh and the band (especially JJ) was so deep, the meeting ended inconclusively. I think if he'd wanted to do it it would have happened a while ago.

    Part of me would love to see one more 'proper' Stranglers tour with Hugh. A lot of people would. But I also like the idea that it'll probably never happen. That said, everyone's reforming now (Pulp have just announced they'll be playing festivals in 2011 - no surprise there, mind), so you never know.
     
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  16. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK
    Believe it or not I never got these. The rest were all meant to appear throughout the year, but they were such low sellers that the release got cancelled. What do they sound like - even through computer speakers?
     
  17. Almost Simon

    Almost Simon Forum Resident

    I never knew that. I knew about the bad feeling between Hugh and JJ, which is a real shame. You'd hope by now they would've made up even if they don't reform.

    But to go back your mention of a reformation at Cambridge. Does this mean they had some rehearsal prior to this show??
     
  18. SCOTT1234

    SCOTT1234 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scotland
    I don't own any Stranglers CDs (only the UK vinyl), and from reading the comments above it sounds like I might be better off needle-dropping my LPs if I want to go digital. So, that's my project for this coming weekend.

    Luckily, UA produced some great sounding vinyl in the 70s and the Stranglers LPs are generally excellent. So, maybe we could share some information about best sounding mastering for the UA LPs?

    Here's a start:

    Rattus Norvegicus: A-1U/B-1U mastered by John Dent (Jonz). Sounds great.

    No More Heroes: This is again mastered by John Dent. A bit harsh on my ears, still ok, but the worst sounding of the early LPs. Does anyone know of a better pressing?

    Black and White: The UK A-1U/B-1U, has the Artisan logo in the deadwax - not sure who did the mastering. It does sound very good, but the white side is a little better I think. The black side bothered me because of some vocal sibilance - a little too hot on the high end for me, so I found a George Peckham (Porky, Pecko) mastered Jugoslavian pressing A-2U/B-2U. I prefer the Porky.

    The Raven: A-1U/B-1U. A porky prime cut. The best of the lot - fantastic sound.

    And a final mention for the truly immense sounding Bear Cage 12" single.
     
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  19. fattyramone

    fattyramone New Member

    Location:
    Cambridge UK
    I cant offer any insight to this other than WHY it was Cambridge and not any other City.

    At one time most of the band lived at a small village called Somersham , which is not far from Cambridge , in fact Dave Greenfield used to (still does??) run a pub called "the Windmill" in Somersham.

    They used to play at a lot of village fetes(for free) there until very recently when JJ moved away.
     
  20. PhilBiker

    PhilBiker sh.tv member number 666

    Location:
    Northern VA, USA
    The USA LPs of the first three on A&M and Meninblack on "Stiff America" sound pretty good also IIRC. My needledrops do not leave me wanting, although I do have the original CD of "Rattus".

    The 45RPM Japan maxi singles of "Bear Cage" and "Shah Shah A Go Go" sound absolutely tremendous and are loaded with great bonus material.
     
  21. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK

    Yes. It was mentioned in No Mercy - the gig was, at least. It was all going to be unannounced, Hugh symbolically passing the torch to his replacement, closure and all that. Hugh had second thoughts. P*ssed the band off.

    Another thing I've heard is that whenever they've approached Hugh about reforming he's initially been open to the idea, and a meeting has been arranged, and then he's had cold feet. Very indecisive. Possibly because JJ's punched through a wall or something (joke).
     
  22. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK
    You answered your question - they all lived in Cambridgeshire at one point. Hugh moved to a village in Kent and played cricket with the local team.
     
  23. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK

    Glad you mentioned the Bear Cage 12". What a monster (and I mean in that as a compliment). The CD version (on the UA singles triple) doesn't quite capture that immense bass, and neuters the synths running left to right throughout the thing.

    You might want to track down the West German No More Heroes or the Japanese first pressing. Both of those are very good. I got them cheap. The later mid-price reissue of Heroes sounded a lot better than the original.

    Other than that, The Stranglers on vinyl sound simply stunning. La Folie is a thing of beauty. I remember being blown away by Feline and Dreamtime as well - the sound, if not the music. Vinyl suited JJ's bass. I don't know why people harp on about Jah Wobble being a great bassist. Burnel was by far and away the best punk bassist. No competition. At all. (Shame John Lydon didn't call him to play in PIL ... but I don't think JJ would have stood for the bs, and I'm not sure those two ever got on).
     
  24. frank010

    frank010 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    UK


    JJ was the real deal - a genuinely tough, hard, scary bloke. And yes, back in the day, a nasty mofo. Was a teenage nazi, don't you know? Rolled with a seriously hard biker crew, who formed The Stranglers earliest fans - The Finchley Boys. They all vanished when the band made it seriously big. Great bassist though, and a terrific vocal counterpoint to Hugh.
     
  25. NaturalD

    NaturalD The King of Pop

    Location:
    Boston, Mass., USA
    PiL would be a very different band though; both good players with cool sounds but JJ plays a lot more notes than Jah, who gives those bass tones lots of space.
     
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