Hugh Cornwell

What a treat to enjoy a pre-Yule double whammy in the Scottish capital! Ex-Strangler Hugh Cornwell introduced his new novel ‘Arnold Drive’ in the afternoon, followed by his gig in the evening that saw the venue packed with eager fans!

First off it was Hazel O’ Connor who delighted (and surprised) fans with her eclectic and rather minimally performed set (Hazel, a sax player and a keyboard player).
Then Hugh appeared on stage, fans having grown inpatient and shouting his name loudly. Apart from some much-loved Stranglers classics, Hugh performed songs from his latest solo album ‘Totem & Taboo’. He too had opted for the school of minimalism… accompanied only by a drummer and female bassist Caz Campbell (Cradle Of Filth). The rapport between Hugh and Caz was that of two musicians perfectly in tune, exchanging cheeky banter in between songs. After ‘God Is A Woman’, which gave Caz ample opportunity to display her wicked talent for bass play, Hugh quipped: “Now that we’ve established that God is a woman, please let me introduce the fantastically talented Caz Campbell to you!” Of course, the next song had to be ‘Strange Little Girl’!

But the opener to Hugh’s set was the title song ‘Totem & Taboo’ – indeed, what’s totem for Hugh might be taboo for you. Delivered in a no-nonsense style that was punchy and which saw the ex-Stranglers guitarist emerged in his own sphere and riff-picking, the trio managed to draw the crowd in their spell from the go. After ‘Skin Deep’ followed the witty ‘Stuck In Daily Mail Land’ – another shining example of what a gifted wordsmith Mr. Cornwell is. A rather poppy and light-hearted chorus belies toxic undertones. “Which place begins with D, followed by A, G, and E…?” the frontman teased his audience. Cue for the Stranglers hit ‘Dagenham Dave’ – another crowd pleaser. As it turned out, there were many crowd-pleasers amongst the repertoire, including ‘Peaches’, ‘Duchess’ and the thought-provoking ‘Gods, Guns And Gays’ – fiercely performed by our much-cheered on trio.

Other gems included the energetic ‘A Street Called Carroll’ and the rocking ‘Tank Bilston’. Despite a killer repertoire, some practical jokers in the audience continued to demand ‘No More Heroes’ – golly, they should have known better and realised that the greatest hit is usually saved for last! The band promptly responded with ‘Get A Grip On Yourself’ – now that’s what I call quick brained! Still, in order to keep die-hard Stranglers fans at bay the song ‘Hanging Around’ was performed.

For the encore (of course there was one) the prolific Hugh and Co. returned to play one of my favourites from his solo album, namely the considerably different and mystic ‘In The Dead Of Night’ with its musical nod to The Doors. After ‘Nice ‘N’ Sleazy’ punters finally got their wish granted and ‘No More Heroes’ brought a mighty great evening to a close.