At 74, Hugh Cornwell remains a regular gigging musician, his live performances inextricably linked to his time fronting punk forebears The Stranglers – even though he has now been solo for twice the length of time he was a member of that band.
It is likely the songs from that band (comprising nearly half the set) which are the primary draw for the audience. Even though they're Stranglers songs, they remain very much Hugh's own and as such, fit well interspersed among his own solo material performed mainly from the last 15 years including and preceding his last album 'Moments Of Madness' released in 2022.From all reports, he was at ease with his decision to leave The Stranglers in the early '90s and the loss in audience numbers he played to, but we are grateful for the intimacy this allows. I, for one, am glad to be back in the familiar environs of The Gov five years since his last visit.
'Coming Out Of The Wilderness' is an appropriate opening song, but this beginning to the set is unfortunately marred due to the amplification not kicking in for a few moments.
Flanked by Pat Hughes on bass and Windsor McGilvray on drums, this trio of men in black power through the eco-anthem of 'Too Much Trash' before the audience are treated to their first Stranglers' song of the night, a primal 'Skin Deep' chugging along with backing vocals supplied by a rowdy pub choir.
After this opening salvo, Hugh looks stunned momentarily and asks: "What happened at the beginning?" He sets his ground rules by chastising those in the audience who have been constantly taking photos and tells them, "it's not a press conference," before asking for the aircon to be turned off. "When I play a gig I want it to be hot and sweaty."
He's not quite a grumpy, old man and not too far from the angry, young man he might have once been but suitably somewhere in between. He promises further "Stranglers nuggets" before two songs from his 'Hooverdam' album, the raucous 'Wrong Side Of The Tracks' and the poetic, twee 'Delightful Nightmare' with its haunting muscular riff.
The stripped-back 'Strange Little Girl' precedes another pairing of songs, this time from his 'Totem And Taboo' album, the pumping, pulsing reflective title track and the straight-out garage rock of 'Bad Vibrations'.
The set pattern of two steps forward one step back becomes apparent when Hugh ploughs through another song from his former band, 'Who Wants The World', before a couple more contemporary songs from the 'Moments Of Madness' album, the reggae-styled title track and the militant contemplation of 'When I Was A Young Man', the clattering drums evoking an aborted countdown to a rocket taking off.
Another Stranglers song 'Tramp' breaks up Hugh's later era solo material, which then continues with a selection from his thematic 'Monster' album represented by the driving voodoo of 'Pure Evel' about famed stunt rider Evel Knievel and then an ode to Lou Reed, 'Mr. Leather'.
A wiry, skeletal 'Always The Sun' is filled out by the pub choir, which by now has become a near rowdy mob and the early solo song 'Another Kind Of Love' is performed akin to cowboy punk.
The pounding, rhythmic 'Out Of My Mind' with falsetto backing vocals by Pat and the pumping, bouncy 'Live It And Breathe It' round out the main set, with Hugh far from spent and giving a near shredding guitar solo in the latter.
The encore is nearly given over entirely to The Stranglers' material, starting with the punky reggae crossover 'Nice 'N' Sleazy' before Hugh does a deep dive into his solo back catalogue for the chanted vocals and rumbling abstract instrumentation of 'Big Bug'.
It has been worth the wait for 'Golden Brown', a jazzy rendition performed with the keyboard parts transposed to bass, and it is almost a waltz with Hugh's scat vocal and a three-part vocal melody before the contrasting, throbbing, rough-edged 'Duchess'.
The final song performed is a timely and still relevant 'Nuclear Device (The Wizard Of Aus)' with Hugh playing a surf guitar styled solo as the song ends in a mantra of "Australia", before a final "thank you" brings the set to completion, the audience left sated and grateful.
