The Stranglers at Bristol Beacon (28.10.2025) with Buzzcocks supporting.
The Meninblack march on. Jet Black and Dave Greenfield have left us – RIP. Hugh Cornwell abandoned us. No more major tours they said. The 50th Anniversary came and went. The crowds still come. The performances get more polished.
The technical ability of Toby Hounsham on keyboards and Jim Macaulay on drums continues to impress. Baz Warne, guitar, vocals, gig raconteur and now author has been ‘inblack’ for 25 years. JJ (Jean-Jacques Burnel) is now 73, going on 45, remains our leader and a role model for our failing bodies.
No more heroes, eh?
…and no I haven’t forgotten Hugh Cornwell or left him behind.
Tonight, aside from the black comfort blanket of another Stranglers gig, and catching up with friendsinblack there’s an added interest in those less common inclusions in the setlist.
I’m 62 and tonight is my 34th Stranglers gig over a 45 year period. That’s a quite conservative tally compared to so many men and women inblack, but this band are the cornerstone of my gig going and record buying and listening. Where would we be without them. My wardrobe contents might be a bit lighter for a start.
The band open tonight’s set with Goodbye Toulouse from their debut album – Rattus Norvegicus was rereleased on green vinyl on National Album Day recently. No Waltzinblack tape as the walk on music. This old tradition is maybe over and instead it’s Je Ne Regrette Rien (JJ’s French influence).
The sound is excellent throughout. A combination of the thoroughly refurbished venue and the polished performances we get from the band, consistently these days. I am on the front row of a side balcony. An excellent view from here although getting in and out is a bit of squeeze – you don’t want to be popping in and out from a seat here, unless you’re at the end of the row.
I took a video of one song, as is my way, either gambling on one or recording on cue from an introduction or opening notes – Thrown Away, the chart single from the Gospel According to the Meninblack LP: one with JJ on vocals. This seems to be a track I’ve always liked more than most fans…. here on my YouTube channel (Thrown Away). The lone track played tonight from that 1981 concept album – I saw them twice on that tour so perhaps a reason to warm to it, unusual though it is.
A treat of a Stranglers gig these days is hearing some less aired tracks. Tonight there are two songs from the other 1981 LP, La Folie, which you don’t hear often: Tramp and Pin Up. The backdrop for Pin Up sees a series of small images flashed up in various windows, randomly – there must have been some cheeky ones in there.
Last time I saw The Stranglers here (blog link), it was a rearranged gig and it was seated downstairs, front row (so up on my feet). Tonight is standing down there, with some usual unreserved seating at the back, but the crowd are quite static. Something Better Change starts a bit of movement in pockets but I guess everyone’s legs are getting old. I noticed how many bald heads there were and commented, wondering what proportion of men over 60 were bald? It wasn’t long into the set that Baz Warne commented on the number of bald heads. Whatever the reason, the audience did seem a bit subdued . It’s Tuesday night but hey ho, it’s no Sunday/ Monday. I’m sure they haven’t all got work tomorrow.
One album that passed me by and I picked up later on CD was Giants. This 2012 release is the middle one of three with Baz Warne on lead vocals. They play a couple from this tonight: 15 Steps and Mercury Rising. I must dig this one out more often.
Yes, it’s still those hits that the crowd laps up most. The softer Golden Brown or Always the Sun, or the harder Peaches or Hanging Around (maybe my all time favourite Stranglers’ track).
There is still room for a few from the most recent LP, Dark Matters, and White Stallion, which appears to have established itself as a new anthem.
In the encores the old pub rock sound still has a place with Mean to Me, a track featured on the free white EP that came with the essential Black and White album, which is clearly being rested this tour. It’s hard to knock No More Heroes off its closing number perch these days. The first of their singles I bought when it hit the charts. I still remember buying it, closely followed by the album, from the Squeeze Inn record shop on the Staines Road West, Ashford Common. We’ve all come a long way since then. No more heroes, eh?
Gigs with Ivan 