Hugh Cornwell at the Slade Rooms, Wolverhampton. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.

Originally published by L.S. Media. April 17th 2011.

There will always be fans and critics alike who hark back to the days when Hugh Cornwell was the lead vocalist with the punk band and great British export The Stranglers, however, what these fans and critics always seem to miss is the prodigious amount of work that Hugh has done in the 21 years since he left the band and without sounding condescending to the man, how damn good that solo stuff is and how laid back his nights on stage are.

In one of the best venues for the experience of being up close and personal in Wolverhampton, The Slade Rooms, Hugh came on stage and began the first part of a two part set that would see his support band The Brothers of Brazil play in between them, a novelty which only Hugh could get away with, whilst he proceeded to wow a near capacity crowd with his 1997 release, Guilty and then afterwards an set combining some fan favourites from his days with one of Britain’s favourite Punk/Rockband.

For the last couple of tours, Hugh has, quite rightly, been playing songs from the critically acclaimed album Hooverdam, so for the crowd to hear an album as distinguished and as accessible as Guilty is a rare and pleasurable event.

For the casual fan who would have only come into the night with only the vague notion of Hugh’s career it would have been a surprise to hear such intentionally well crafted and emotionally diverse songs as Snapper, Black Hair, Black Eyes, Black Suit and the iconic Hothead.

After a twenty minute break which saw the Brothers of Brazil astound the crowd with their fusion of Punk and Latin music which they combined superbly to make one of the most interesting nights flow brilliantly.

After a great support act has been on stage, some artists find it hard to keep the momentum going, some become enthused and pull an even bigger performance out of the bag, Hugh fell firmly into the latter camp, even when experiencing a slight malfunction in the sound department, Hugh thrilled, cajoled and played his heart out to give the audience a great night of music.

Amongst those songs being played from the Stranglers songbook were the excellent No More Heroes, Feel like… and Always the Sun.

One of the finest musicians to ever come out of Britain, consummate and a treat to catch live.

Ian D. Hall