Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
There are some musicians who can just stand on the stage and their very presence is enough to send a venue into rapture and unreserved ecstasy. The former lead man of the superb London band The Kinks is one such man and as Ray Davies came on stage to thunderous applause it really felt as though time had been wound backwards to the days when they were one of the most talked of and much loved groups.
Originally published by L.S. Media. October 26th 2008.
The Stranglers came to Liverpool Academy on the back of a truly hectic night in Birmingham.
This was to be their tenth gig inside fourteen nights and in all honesty, you would wonder if it was beginning to take its toll on their health or on the music that they have spent so long honing.
Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. October 2008.
Twenty two fantastic songs played at breakneck speed in a head-turning 90 minutes. If there is any other band which can do this and do it superbly well then I have yet to see them.
The Stranglers are one of the great survivors of the British music scene and even with drummer Jet Black recovering from a heart attack, which has limited his appearances this year, the band still give some of the best live performances to ever appreciative audiences.
Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. September 2006
Following the release of their stunning new album Suite XVI just a few weeks ago, the Stranglers, now back to a four piece, thrilled a dedicated an eager crowd at the Birmingham Academy.
Opening the set with the riff-crunching5 Minutes, J.J Burnell, Baz Warne, Dave Greenfield and Jet Black rocked and rampaged their way through an evening of old favourites and new material.
Classics such as Peaches, Always the Sun and the ever popular Golden Brown were given their deserved airing alongside Spectre of Love, Unbroken and I Hate You.
Punks not dead.
Originally published by The Birmingham Mail. March 2004.
What a pleasure to see the Stranglers back in Wolverhampton, entertaining a packed Wulfrun Hall with selected tracks from the new album Norfolk Coast and well-worn classics that recalled a time when punk rock actually stood for something.
Whilst some of the musicians from the late seventies have tried and failed to become mainstream personalities, The Stranglers have maintained their position of being humorous, energetic and youthful, while growing old disgracefully.
Which fitted with the set list as well through like Peaches, Something Better Change and Golden Brown were interwoven skilfully with new tracks.
Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 7th 2010.
One of the early tracks released by The Stranglers sums up completely the lack of good post punk bands with any sort of longevity. A band who have been at the business end of rock music and who have let trends pass them by without kowtowing to anybody else’s rules. That song finished a set filled with classic hits, firm fan favourites and nods to every decade that the band has been active. After over thirty five years, The Men in Black prove time and time again, that they alone are the exception to the rule that there are “No More Heroes“.
The Stranglers in Liverpool 2011. Photograph by Ian D. Hall.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 9th 2011.
If there’s one band that knows how to stir up passion for their no nonsense direct music then that band has to be The Stranglers. Even before the band came out on stage sections of the audience could be heard singing at full volume through a medley of some of the band’s greatest hits including the instrumental pieces of Waltz in Black to which the band came on stage to in the time honoured tradition.
Originally published by L.S. Media and Liverpool Live. March 1st 2012.
March 5th sees the highly anticipated return of The Stranglers to the o2 Academy, Liverpool. In recent years the band have had nights on stage in the city that have been talked about for weeks afterwards. This though will see the punk rock legends do a national tour on the back of a new album release for the first time in six years. Not since Suite XVIwas released in 2006 have the band come out on the road armed to the teeth with a trunk full of new songs.
J.J. Burnel in Glasgow 2012. Picture by Ian D. Hall
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 4th 2012.
L.S. Media Rating *****
Nobody should ever believe that The Stranglers ever give two performances that are the same. The set list may undergo little tweaks and the odd track be removed in favour of a song that the dedicated fans at that night’s venue would appreciate more but that aside, the only things that remain constant are the intensity of the music and the passion of the crowd.
Originally published by L.S. Media. March 4th 2012.
L.S. Media Rating *****
The new Stranglers offering, Giants, opens up with a guitar riff that stands somewhere between John Lee Hooker and Metallica’s Enter Sandman. That normally would send people scurrying off to find a reason for the change in style, the departure from the Stranglers’ norm. However it really is the start of an album that stands as one of the finest that the band have ever delivered.