The Stranglers

This was my 24th Stranglers gig, having first seen them back on the No More Heroes Tour in the late 1970s when I was still at school.

Many (former) fans complain that the band are not the same, or as good, as they wee when Hugh Cornwell was dinger-guitarist, before leaving in 1990. yet their last two albums with the original line-up were awful; they had clearly run out of ideas and steam.

Now, however, with Baz Warne on guitar (a black telecaster, like Hugh played) and vocals, The Stranglers are rejuvenated and re-energised, and some of their newer material (Relentless, Freedom is Insane) is as good as their early material.

So their Bristol 2017 gig was superb - one of the best gigs I've seen them do.

As they wee not promoting a new album, they trawled their back catalogue, and even played some rarer tracks, such as Bear Cage. The sound was crystal clear, the musicianship faultless - Jean-Jacques Burnel remains a fantastic and mesmerising bassist, the bass low-slung as he prowled the stage, and did the occasional trademark karate-kick while playing - and the band were clearly enjoying themselves, joking and bantering with each other, and with the audience.

During Peaches, Baz cheekily sang: 'I can think of a lot worse places to be... like the f***** Colston Hall', a wry did at an all-seater venue across the road, which tends to have AOR bands!!

A suberb gig from a band enjoying a new lease of life.

The Stranglers were the first concert I ever went to. I was about 15 at the time, and could not have asked for a better first experience of live music! They were great fun and they worked so well in the small arena I saw them in. The atmosphere was amazing, and everyone was having an amazing time. The lead singer really engaged with the music, and the most memorable part of the concert was when the keyboardist downed a pint during his solo. This meant as soon as they were playing again in my area two years later, I didn't hesitate to buy another ticket. They were just as good the second time, and I would definitely buy their tickets again. Even if you don't know their music so well, they are great fun to listen to, and you will definitely enjoy yourself at their concert. What I also liked about them is that yes, they played most their well known songs, and they had the whole audience joining in- no one was standing still enjoying the music, unfortunately that's not possible!- but they also played some of their less famous songs, which were just as enjoyable. The lead signer didn't hold back, he was enjoying the music as much as we were, and dancing around stage. It was obvious how much he loved performing, which gave the concert that extra edge which you don't always find. Would definitely recommend without a doubt!

It’s widely agreed that 1977 was the year that marked the birth of punk as we know it, and even if that’s primarily because it’s the year that saw the release of Never Mind the Bollocks, it’s no coincidence that another seminal album of the era, No More Heroes by The Stranglers, was also released around that time. That was already the Guilford four-piece’s second album, and they’ve gone on to show scant regard for what the Sex Pistols did, where record releases are concerned; their most recent full-length, 2012’s Giants, was their seventeenth. Celebrating their fortieth anniversary as a band this year, two of the original members remain, and Dave Greenfield’s been involved for thirty-nine of those years himself; you have to admit, though, that the departure of Hugh Cornwell in 1990 means that this isn’t quite the real Stranglers. Try telling that to the crowd that continue to pack rooms across the UK, with the band touring pretty much annually; after replacing Paul Roberts in 2006, Baz Warne is doing a fine job of handling classics like ‘No More Heroes’ and ‘Golden Brown’, and you get the impression that there’d be no shortage of job applications should he ever step down - The Stranglers are just one of those bands with a fanbase that refuses to let them go.

After taking multiple trips overseas to see The Men In Black, I was extremely excited to see them locally. It’s been a long, long time since I’ve seen them in Los Angeles.
I can empathically say they did not disappoint. Not only did we get to hear the staples, “Grip”, “No More Hero’s”, “Duchess”,”Golden Brown”, etc. We were given the gift of two new unrecorded cuts that sounded great. The caveat was their delving into the songbook and playing exceptional cuts that surprised even me. “Time To Die” from Stranglers In The Night. Multiple cuts from the outstanding album The Raven including “Baroque Bordello” which blew me away. They even dusted off “Nubiles”.
These boys tour relentlessly and it shows. Tight as a frogs behind, they tore through the 2 hour set with such ferocity the hairs on the back of my neck were standing on end the entire show.
The greatest and arguably the most underrated band in the world truly gave us a gift long overdue.

The band wee great, but unfortunately due to mixing or otherwise, the vocals keyboards and guitars were drowned out by way too much bass. I know Stranglers music has a bassy bass, but either the speaker system couldn’t handle the bass or the mixing was a disaster.
A pity, as in spaces where the bass hadn’t kicked in, the vocals, keyboard and guitar were strong and high quality. I was standing beside the mixing booth, and several people were complaining in my vicinity. Don’t think it was because of my location as the opening show by Therapy? was well mixed.
Should have been more of a treat, as the Olympia is a pretty special and intimate venue. Baz Warne did a good job on vocals, but I’d really like to hear Hugh Cornwall perform the originals.

Wasn’t sure what to expect as it’s been a while ( about 40 years) but couldn’t resist because they came up to Aberdeen. Glad I did tho wasn’t disappointed!
Audience of a certain age but a packed venue with great atmosphere and a wee bonus of Dr Feelgood to start with !
Was good to hear the old numbers but enjoyed all the new stuff to ! And tho slightly different still unmistakably The Stranglers !!
Might be a bit sad but I really enjoyed the birthday roadie coming on and dancing to Bring on the nubiles in a fetching outfit ! It is a vision that will probably remain with me for a while p

Great gig! Great venue! Great sound! Great band in real fine form! Superb setlist playing mainly songs from the first four albums and a selection from the following ones! It was a brilliant concert where clearly they were having as much fun playing as us listening! The crowd was very enthusiastic and participated a lot, probably due to the fact a coach or two of english fans came specially for the Paris event... I do hope they’ll continue rocking the way they did, I’ll catch them next time too, for sure. (I’ve seen them 5 or 6 times, first time 1983 Feline Tour)

Peaches changed my life back in the day and I have always wanted to see them. It’s taken 40+ years but better late than never. Being a massive Linkin Park fan I am now booking to see anyone I have or do like. You just never know.
I thought The Stranglers were excellent last night. A lot of punk bands have disappointed in the past at live concerts but these guys are top class musicians. That’s why they are in my list of fav bands. I am a regular at the Brixton O2 and I like it as a venue. No more Hero’s ? You will always be my hero’s.

Not the normal show from the boys covered a lot songs that if a life long fan of them would know but if expecting a run through of the normal set people may have left disappointed.I really enjoyed it lost how count on how many times I have seen them a long time since Ive heard Nubiles and when Hugh turned up the bass before no more heroes had the whole place reverberating.Not the best gig I’ve seen from them but still a class act .

Great gig in Limerick. Must admit, I was one of those fans who always thought that without Hugh they band would never be the same.... But how wrong I was. In Baz they now have the perfect replacement. JJ killed it with 5min.
Base as always was mean. Drummer was class act. Still tight and sharp after all these years. Also good to see a whole new generation enjoying this great music.