The best thing Cornwell did for the Stranglers was leave, just as JJ mentioned. He was determined to turn them into some sort of pop band and I will always prefer Baz on vocals to him and I've followed the Stranglers since day one. Cornwell has done literally nothing since he left.
I would just firstly like to say I love and respect JJ . Hugh Cornwell is NOT dead , but alive and still very much kicking and for JJ to look up at the sky to say" Thanks Hugh "is wrong as he is not thanking the heavens and God above .It has not been a blessing in disguise or serendipitous that he left The Stranglers , it was a fuckin' tragedy for all parties .End of.
It was positive that JJ never publicly slagged Hugh off or spoke ill of his decision to leave the band. Some people would react openly react bitterly, but his diplomacy even after all these years is very commendable ?
After years of relative diplomacy, it's understandable that JJ has finally let rip in his memoir, after years of snarky sideswipes from Hugh. The truth is that each of them benefitted from the other's critical eye (and Jet's) when developing songs, and both of them have a propensity towards self-indulgence. Most of Hugh's solo albums would have benefitted from some harsh feedback at the writing stage.
@@jezbollahxxx5653 i think to be fair to Cornwell he would probably say that the rough edge he had to many of his albums - What probably disappoints Cornwell has been the lack of success going forward, I went to see him a the stables near Milton Keynes, there were less than 300 there while Stranglers are still playing medium size venues - His live performances are also rather patchy, which has a charm in itself, but its a hard slog putting out album after album and touring with very limited resources - fair play to him
Loved the Stranglers but as the years went by it diminished and as for discrediting Hugh he was the true song writing talent, Going seperate ways destroyed what could of been
Although I think the stranglers were great at one time, neither Cornwell nor the Stranglers, which is now little more than a tribute band, are producing any music of note nowadays. Although many people do it, I can't see the attraction in seeing a band performing their hits from 50 years ago.
i think Hugh Cornwell mistakenly thought he was going to be the next Paul Weller and it didnt really work out that way despite having a sizeable body of work - His whole solo career, has been built on proceeds from his Stranglers days - Stranglers are still playing sizeable events, Hugh much smaller venues/festivals but credit to him for keeping on going
Hugh never copied anyone, he was his own man as a musician. Paul Weller though was a fourth division Stevie Marriott who he tried to copy, Weller isnt a MOD, the Style Council proves this......
@@ShaneRaw1 I dont know whether Weller is a MOD or not (though i would suspect not) My point was more that Hugh didnt enjoy the same success as other would be solo artists, Weller was an example of an artist that left a band and greatly increased his profile, its not really a reflection on the quality of Cornwells output, moreover that he struggled to maintain the level of success he had with the stranglers following his departure
Some of the Stranglers songs after Cornwell are brilliant, Cornwell leaves becomes a non entity , the Stranglers carry on playing to packed audiences with new songs and old classics , whose the one that’s made the bad decision !
I thought the same, and although it wasn't the same, I went to see them not long after in Glasgow, it was a great gig, they did play all their old hits so that may have been a factor 😎
That's a simplistic view. Most people on this thread would agree that the Stranglers were at their absolute peak (with Hugh) until the early 80s. Their quality of output declined in the mid-late 80s, culminating in the dismal "10" and the half-arsed final live performances. In the last 25 years, what the Stranglers have produced has never come close to the magnificent early years, but it's been far better than the mediocre material on "Dreamtime" and "10".
I grew up with the stranglers .Got very much most of there vinyl.i saw them live with Hugh.Thank god.my personal opinion never the same without Hugh.He was the back bone.Great voice great frontman.jj.jett.dave.hugh.were and still in my heart the best.They all fitted well together.i won't go and see them anymore.
Unlikely that the original line-up would stay together for 50 years, so we should be thankful this version of The Stranglers is still going and the last album was excellent. It was Hugh’s choice to leave, so the others were within their rights to continue under The Stranglers banner.
For Hugh, and a right decision, although he could do both, the leave allowed him to express himself outside the confines of a long term group situation.
.....I know from someone close to the band at the time, they were gutted and felt abandoned when Hugh thought he could do it without the rest of them forgetting there was also someone behind the Drums, Bass and Keyboards, oh those keyboards, there will never be another album like 'rattus', so structured and what a journey to be spat out at the end in the sewer of boredom
@TransSpewMan💯% The rot had set in around the Aural Sculpture period with the introduction of that awful brass section & Drum machines.Saw them in June 89 a spent force & what came next even worse.
Loads of reasons offered by different people. I liked the one he offered, that originally the band was together 24/7, their own little family, but as time went on, things changed, it became a '9 to 5' business, and they all went home to their families at the end of the day, except him.
Vinyl is a real record. Nobody’s stopping you from playing it. When HC left, my eldest child could barely walk. Nowadays we all have lines on our face and my youngest Grandchild seems to enjoy dancing to them. Sorry to disappoint you but there is no holy grail of true devotion to the Stranglers even if you are disposed that way.
Totally agree asked for an autograph at a CCW gig he said sure when he saw it was a Stranglers 45 he then refused plus a total arse on other occasions that I wont bore you with. Never meet your Heroes.
@@hammondauger yeah but imagine how boring it is, if every fcker whos living in the past keeps sticking your old music under your nose for a signature..... maybe you were that bore who took along an old record to gig..... seriously what kind of person does that
Their last album 'Dark Matters' was pretty good. Not in the Stranglers best half dozen but better than 99% of the garbage you hear today and it will be the last to feature participation from Dave Greenfield.
The spark went out on the last 2 albums with Hugh ! Can you imagine wot the follow up to 10 would have sounded like if Hugh had stayed ?? They had turned into a shitty pop band ! When i heard 96 Tears i knew they were done . Something had to give ? Hugh had different ideas to JJ, Jet , Dave .
I have seen The Stranglers many time over the last 40+ years and enjoyed the band with Hugh in it. I still went and saw them in the nineties and wondered how long they could continue. The output improved so much after Baz joined and i think they are now on a par with what they were in 70s and 80s.
Agree. I hated the Paul Roberts/John Ellis version, but the four-piece with Baz on guitars and vocals (like Hugh) is brilliant live, and they've written some great songs. 'Relentless' is up there with the very best of their early output.
I saw Hugh Cornwell (supporting Wilko Johnson) a few years back; he trotted out some flat, pedestrian versions of songs made famous by the Stranglers, and came back out to do an encore nobody asked for.
I went to see Hugh about 10 or 12 yrs ago on my birthday. The show was great, and Hugh was so gracious afterwards. It was his mum's birthday too, she was 96.
Your loss then. The 'latest' version of The Stranglers is just as energetic as the original version with Hugh, and more recent songs like 'Relentless' are up there with the early material, with Dave's (RIP) swirling keyboards and JJ's pounding bass. I've seen Hugh live a few times, playing to small crowds, and he's just going through the motions; almost karaoke Stranglers. It's actually rather embarrassing.
i loved the original stranglers but the albums after la folie, though they had some individual great tracks, were becoming a bit bland so i think hugh cornwell left at the right time- its a real shame that they never made up their differences because they always seemed to have a "us against the world" attitude- my friend said he was hitching round london in 75/76 and he got picked up by a beaten up old van with four dudes on board who shared their beer and pot with him and went out of their way to drop him at a good spot and told him they were a band called the (guildford)stranglers and to watch out for their name cos they were going to be big!
Really? I've seen them with Baz Warne on guitar/vocals several times in the last 10 years, and they are very much alive and kicking. Hugh, on the other hand, has resorted to slowed-down crooning or karaoke versions of Stranglers' classics.
They were over before then ? Listen to the last 2 albums . Wasn't a fan of the Roberts, Ellis era , it got better when they left. GIANTS, was a great return to form ! The Stranglers, ended when Jet retired .
You would do well to work with Hugh again .. Baz is ok and that’s about it … I find him irritating that he’s been in the band that long and still has zero identity.
He’s an older man now chatting shit. JJ and Hugh WERE The Strangers and even though i have continued to follow both separately neither advanced another step musically and both continue to play mainly the so gs they wrote together. Says it all. Shame but question of egos being misshapen which is one reason The Stranglers existed in the first place. We should celebrate that…
@@garyhitchcock3828 Well you could say that for almost every classic band that is still touring with one or two original members. If there is a demand for it why not. See, there are young folks who never had the chance to see the original band live and for them it is great to a get the chance to see what is still around. Plus a lot of older people prefer to see the heroes of the youth instead of going to a Taylor Swift concert.
It was this guy, it was that guy. I'm not sure that it really matters all that much. The Stranglers went through at least 3 phases while Cornwell was still in the band. They had to keep moving, and the glory days were behind them regardless. Having Burnel and Cornwell be the best of friends and The Stranglers keep generating that same quality (rock) forever would be great, but that's just not how reality works. For anyone.
C'mon, it's been over 33 years now and this guy still can't fathom why thier creative force(Hugh), decided to leave a band he felt he had no connection to after 1983. You're 71, and you have grandchildren. Isn't it time for you to grow up?
I'm a massive Stranglers fan and have been since Rattus but in reality the Stranglers peaked with The Raven, made a few good but not great albums after and tbh, live in concert Hugh looked bored out his head for the last 2 years. Think Hugh wanted to try other things and the rest of the band, I think he felt, sometimes had to be dragged screaming into his way of thinking, so he got frustrated. Wish they could have stayed together and written more great music but Hugh's heart wasn't in it anymore. I gave up when Paul Roberts joined. Total embarrassment and a real kick in the teeth.
I loved Paul. He bright a real energy back to the live gigs. The last few years with Hugh had been quite dull. Very much painting by numbers as a live act. I think 'About Time' and 'Stranglers in the Night' are very good albums too.
Many are like that. Often you think otherwise. But actually, all grow old, crumble and fade away - mainly in search of sensible items such as curry and nice snuggly dogs, perhaps?
Hugh Cornwell wrote all the great guitar lines that have given Barry (not even the best guitarist in the Toy Dolls) a living. The true mark of a guitarist is in their writing skills. Hugh was leagues above 'Baz'.
@@toffeeriot4219 Correct. Everybody praise Dave and JJ quite rightly so however it was not easy to blend a guitar in between and still providing a quality contribution (I mean, who cares about guitar in group like Japan as a comparison?). Hugh succeeded and it is quite an achievement
Baz is far better than Cornwell ever was, that much is obvious from the live gigs alone. Pop star wannabe Cornwell was dragging the band down year after year and they lost their original identity. Baz has helped to restored that identity and they're selling out gigs to this day. Toby and Jim are also excellent.
@@wolfenstein6676 Mate, Hugh wrote all the lines that are giving Barry a living. Being technically better is just bollocks as there's always someone better than someone else. For me, the mark of a good guitarist is in the writing, the choice of notes, the riffs. Hugh was top notch on all counts. Baz can't compete on that score. 🫤
I loved the early Stranglers, but their last two albums with Hugh (Dreamtime, and Ten) were awful. They'd clearly run out of ideas and enthusiasm - and their last two singles were note-for-note cover versions which added nothing to the originals. Just watch their final gig with Hugh, at the Alexandra Palace - with that awful jazzy brass section - and Hugh was visibly bored and going through the motions; he looked half asleep for most of the gig. It was embarrassing. It was clear that this version of the band had reached the end of the road - they were barely a faint shadow of their former selves.
I saw Hugh's leaving as a betrayal says JJ after beating him up and genuinely behaving appallingly towards him. Always trying to be the edgy tough guy. Much as I love JJ's bass playing-I became a pro bass player because of his influence- Hugh gets my sympathy. Thankfully JJ seems to have melowed but being in a band with this ego must have been hell at times, he's has always been up his own arse (when he wasn't up Steve Strange's). They've done nothing memorable since he left. Hugh is one of the great English song writers in my opinion but is ignored by the wider music press whereas The Stranglers are now a tribute band. Not a likeable guy at all.
