I Owe My Life To Hugh Cornwell

No - he's not my dad or anything, jeez - that's my dad on the right. Hugh Cornwell was the lead vocalist & guitar player for The Stranglers for about 15 years; he now plays on his own or with bandmates he's more recently organized. The Stranglers was the band that really blew me away and prompted me to focus on music in my life from that point on. He played at the Blender Gramercy Theater last Saturday night, and I got the chance to tell him that I was glad he was alive. Don't start shedding any tears, kiddies..it just ain't like that...

s So here's where it starts for me: it's the late seventies. My high school's graduation song was some dung by Billy Joel. We had Kansas, Supertramp & Styx to slit our wrists to... right on! No wonder everyone was experimenting with drugs... head for one of my previous posts for fun weed-induced thinking. I had been to NY clubs at various times, but music seemed disjointed, my transportation into the city was usually unreliable...or maybe I was too stoned. Enter Max Stevens, my penpal from high school. In French class we were told we had to have a foreign penpal, but my instructor did not specify the penpal had to be French. She was really pissed at me when she found I had secured a penpal that was from England. My french sucked, and it was high school after all - there was no way I was going to make homework out of writing letters in french. I should add here, that I have lost  contact with Max, so if any of you kind readers got him, well turn him in! One day, Max shows up at my house in the NJ suburbs with the Ian Dury "Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll" 45 and The Stranglers' "No More Heroes" lp in his hands. He was wearing a black leather jacket covered with buttons and I was playing tetherball. I let the dog continue on alone, and ushered Max inside, NOT to meet my family, NOT to put down his backpack,  NOT to give him something to eat or drink... no - I ushered him frantically to meet ... my turntable. I listened to "No More Heroes" 5 times in a row and was stunned. The Stranglers were just plain mean; and it sounded good! Whoa, a band with great, solidly structured pieces featuring some really brutal dynamics, with lyrics like "stick my fingers right up your nose", and confident enough to sneer the word "fuck" proudly about fifty times without a mumble on the horizon - sheer delight! Scary, super cool, full of hooks and hilarious all in one shot - sign me up. These records catapulted me into a world that I soaked up immediately. I became bloated like a tick with a thirst for information, collected records like mad & found something that riveted me into existence. Hugh Cornwell and his bandmates (who still continue with the Stranglers moniker) were a big part of the reason I turned into the music freak I am today. Not long after that I started college and joined the radio station there; the beginning of my journey to eventually join the fabulous WFMU.

Cornwell's gig the other night was an opening slot, for Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler of the Jam with their new outfit sans Weller called "From the Jam". The advertising for the show was odd & I found many sources online stating that Hugh Cornwell was taking the place of Paul Weller...like the "New Cars" featuring Todd Rundgren. I couldn't really believe that was the truth. All accounts I read about why Cornwell left the Stranglers in the first place were because he felt there was no freedom left. Why be in a cover band, then? Details sorted themselves out and yes, Cornwell was opening with his own band and From the Jam was headlining the show. It had been years since I saw the Stranglers perform, I wondered how much material from his old band he would play. After all, he started putting out solo records before he ever left the Stranglers in 1990. My expectations were conservative just so I wouldn't be disappointed, and that psychology certainly worked for me! Hugh played a number of Stranglers hits, old catalog mostly - the most recent Stranglers song he played was off of their 1979 release, The Raven, interspersed with solo material. The split was a pretty even 50/50. I bounced around like a 20-year old, and introduced myself to the man who I believed to have been the brain & the balls behind the Stranglers for so many years, after his set. He was cordial and patient with all of his fans (he signed my Peaches 45!), chatting away and seemed comfortable yet dignified. And I was delighted again. He's authored a number of books; the one I keep going back to and highly recommend is the Stranglers: Song by Song. It's a great book that uh, goes through all the Stranglers recordings - song by song! He's also written an autobiography called "A Multitude of Sins". Cornwell's current catalog continues to embrace old Stranglers material; his "Dirty Dozen" cd on the Invisible Hands label features a number of Stranglers' ballads and anthems. Check out his live version of "Hanging Around" from this week's show off that cd. His arrangements aren't as fierce, but it has been 25+ years. I'm sure the rest of the band is not as fierce either. At this point, Cornwell is all style, that was apparent years ago, albeit masked by a bad attitude and a leather jacket. So yes, I did actually thank him for being alive - because I do really wonder where  Dianekamikaze would be if the Stranglers did not exist. Probably in jail, which is where, if you were familiar with the Stranglers material -is where one might suppose you'd end up BY listening to them. Somehow being a female Stranglers fan somehow let me cut through all the posturing; the typical male coolness - they WERE cool, but I certainly didn't want to BE them - the music just made sense. But yes, in the end I may not owe my life to Cornwell, but the WFMU audience may trace the journey of how Dianekamikaze emerged, back to The Stranglers. I'll see you in the sewer - and don't be late!

Comments

[Jammy]

didja bang 'im?

[Elisabeth]

Oh, I love him too! I JUST finished "A Multitude of Sins" and it made me love him even more.
One of the reasons my husband and I married (full disclosure-he's a former FMU DJ) is that I was a Stranglers fan-so rare in general and even rarer in a girl.
Thanks for the enjoyable post!

[Parq]

Remind me to send him a thank you card.

[dianekamikaze]

No, I didn't bank 'im. JJ Burnel (Stranglers bassist) kicked me in the face at a gig in 1981. Does that count?
-Diane

[dianekamikaze]

...nor did I bang 'im.

"transportation to the city was usually unreliable" YES,true at times. In my twenties, stupid and a drunk, yes I was. You still got to the city. You remember smashing our heads at SCARS? Messing up sucks...I'm so tired of wanting to talk and not being able to.

[Paul Costelloe]

Thanks for the interesting write-up. I saw Hugh and his band play at the Buxton Opera House last Wednesday night, and I was excited to chat to Hugh and his delightful bassist Caroline (Caz) Campbell at breakfast in the same hotel the following morning.

I almost had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't still asleep dreaming !

Paul
(Rugby)

[The Raven]

Saw them numerous times. Best one was at The Edinburgh Playhouse. They all walked out in Pinstripe Business Suits wearing Bowler Hats.

Not a word was said by The Band as Hugh walked up front and hit the guitar part to 'No More Heroes'. Place got wrecked that night. JJ battered a couple of bouncers on stage as well.

Happy Days.