[kj] OT: Hugh Cornwell

[Geoffrey ODonoghue]

I saw ex-Strangler Hugh Cornwell here in Brisbane last Friday night. His 
Australian shows have been in two parts with the first being a mix of solo and 
Stranglers songs (probably more of the latter) and the second part being the 
Rattus Norvegicus album in its entirety. I'm a big Stranglers fan (in all their 
incarnations) but I don't have any of Cornwell's solo material apart from his 
latest, Hooverdam, which is a free download at his website.
Despite a low audience turn-out (making for a bit of a subdued atmosphere) I 
really enjoyed the show. The band consists of just Cornwell, bass player Steve 
(Fish) Fishman and drummer Chris Bell. No keyboard player (and no backing tapes 
or sequencers)! Despite this they pull off the Stranglers songs very well with 
clever arrangements that allow the guitar, bass and even drums (I'm thinking 
Golden Brown here) to cover for the integral parts normally handled by the 
keyboards. There wasn't a dud song in the whole gig and it was quite amazing to 
hear some keyboard-heavy Stranglers songs like Duchess and Down In The Sewer 
played by the trio.
Cornwell (turning 62 in August and looking very fit and healthy) still seems to 
have his dry sense of humour and, again despite the smallish audience, he gave a 
strong, professional performance. He came over to the merch stand after the show 
so I bought a 2009 2CD live show (the whole of Hooverdam and Rattus) which he 
signed.
I think he's been doing similar shows (all of Rattus and other Stranglers plus 
solo) over the last few years so if you're interested I urge you to have a look 
on Youtube (search for Hugh Cornwell Brisbane for example) and if you like what 
you see/hear then go and see him.
I don't know if this claiming of his Stranglers legacy is a recent development 
but I think it's great and only right that he should perform those songs. I 
notice that he's even using the classic Stranglers font for his name on recent 
releases. Good on him.
 
Geoff
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