No more heroes for reenergised Hugh Cornwall as his British tour hits Yorkshire

Talking to the Harrogate Advertiser as his current Come and Get Some tour swings through Yorkshire, the band’s founding member who left in 1990, is more concerned with how to reproduce one of his most groundbreaking solo albums live.

When he steps on stage at the Picturedrome in Holmfirth on November 22 with his small but seasoned backing band, Cornwall will be playing the brilliant Nosferatu in its entirety.

Released in 1979 at a time when The Stranglers were enjoying chart hits such as No More Heroes and Duchess, both written by Cornwall, Nosferatu has more in common with David Bowie's Low or early Ultravox than The Clash or The Damned.

"I think the album has stood the test of time,” said Hugh.

"But it’s a hard album to learn, there’s so much going on in such short tracks.

"When I recorded it I had Robert Williams of Captain Beefheart’s Magic Band and members of Devo involved.

"I rang up Ian Dury to ask him to talk in one song and he said ‘yes’ straight away.”

The current tour will also include classic songs by The Stranglers and solo gems from Cornwall, including some from 2022’s Moments of Madness album.

Now aged 76, all that sharp energy is still there in his singing and playing, though, perhaps, with a little less aggression than in the days The Stranglers conjured up dark masterpiece albums such as Black and White, The Raven and The Gospel According to the Meninblack.

Although Cornwall shared an Ivor Novello Award for the song Golden Brown with the rest of the band, he has never fully received the respect his career merits.

His solo career has seen him work with big name producers including Steve Albini (“he hated being called a producer”) and Tony Visconti but he does not look upon himself as any sort of hero.

"My guitar playing is famously concise only because of my limitations as a player,” admitted Hugh.

More information: https://www.hughcornwell.com/