Hugh Alan Cornwell
(born 28 August 1949, Tufnell Park, North London) is an English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for punk/new wave group, The Stranglers, from 1974 to 1990.
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HUGH CORNWELL TICKETS
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Career
Cornwell grew up in
Tufnell Park and
Kentish Town and attended
William Ellis School in
Highgate, where he played bass in a band with
Richard Thompson, later a member of
Fairport Convention. In the late 1960s, after earning a
B.A. in
biochemistry from
Bristol University, he embarked on post-graduate research post in
Lund University (
Sweden). Not long after his arrival he formed the
band Johnny Sox.
Cornwell returned to the
UK in 1974 with Johnny Sox (minus
Hans Wärmling).
Jet Black then joined the band. At one stage it's just Hugh and Jet who are then joined by
Jean Jacques Burnel.
Hans Wärmling, on holiday from Sweden, joins line-up towards the end of 1974. Johnny Sox name is then dropped and the band tour under the name The Guildford Stranglers and eventually
The Stranglers.
Wärmling was soon replaced by
Dave Greenfield, who joined in 1975 after answering an
advertisement placed in the
Melody Maker. Cornwell was the lead guitarist in the group, and he also sang the majority of songs.
By 1977 the group had secured a
recording contract with the
United Artists record label; they went on to become the highest selling band to emerge from the UK punk scene, with numerous
hit singles and
albums.
By the time Cornwell reached his thirties, the British punk scene had started to fade, and this was instrumental in prompting him to begin a solo career. He recorded his first album away from the group,
Nosferatu
, in collaboration with the
Captain Beefheart's Magic Band's drummer, Robert Williams, in 1979.
In 1990 he decided that the band could go no further artistically. He recorded the album
10
with the band before leaving after 16 years. He described life with the Stranglers as "brilliant", though his biographical writing attests to many conflicts within the band, particularly with Burnel.
Since leaving The Stranglers, Cornwell has released several solo albums including
Wolf
(1988) produced by
Ian Ritchie,
Wired
(1993),
Guilty
(1997),
Hi Fi
(2000),
Footprints in the Desert
(2002),
Mayday
(2002),
In the Dock
(2003),
Beyond Elysian Fields
(2004) and in 2006 a
live album in two forms;
People Places Pieces
as a triple
CD box set, accompanied by a simultaneously released mass-market highlights disc,
Dirty Dozen
.
Wired
,
Guilty
and
Hi Fi
were released under different names, and with slightly different track listings, in the
United States.
Beyond Elysian Fields
was initially released by
Track Records in the UK, followed by
Invisible Hands Music in the rest of the world, with expanded artwork. In December 2006 Cornwell toured with Blondie in the UK and in September 2007 with Robert Williams. Three new songs were previewed, "Bangin' On", "Please Don't Put Me On A Slow Boat To Trowbridge" and "Delightful Nightmare". After this tour, the drum stool was taken over by Chris Bell, completing the current trio along with bassist Caroline Campbell.
In June 2008 Cornwell followed in the footsteps of bands such as
Radiohead and
Nine Inch Nails by offering his new album
Hoover Dam
as a completely free download on his website. Hoover Dam was recorded at
Toe Rag Studios with producer
Liam Watson. The album is also accompanied by a film,
Blueprint
, which depicts the recording process of the album. Cornwell explained that the film was partly motivated by the risible quality of
DVDs accompanying contemporary CD releases.
[1] Blueprint has been described as "an engrossing film that borrows from Godard's Sympathy For The Devil and Jewison's The Thomas Crown Affair".
[2] The film had an extremely limited theatre release in June 2008, with Cornwell attending each screening and taking part in a Q&A session at the end of the film. In February / March of 2009, with rhythm section Caroline Campbell and Chris Bell, Cornwell took Hoover Dam on a tour of the
UK and
France, playing the whole album in order, followed by a mix of older solo and
Stranglers material. On Friday 26 June, they played a triumphant set to a packed crowd at
Glastonbury Festival.
Cricket
A
cricket fan, Cornwell appeared on the '
Jamie Theakston Cricket Show' on
Radio Five Live in 2001. He played a live
acoustic version of "(Get) A Grip (On Yourself)" with the then
England batsman and guitarist
Mark Butcher. Cornwell has subsequently become a player with
Bunbury Cricket Club. Hugh has also been a guest on A View From The Boundary on Radio Four's
Test Match Special.
Books
Cornwell has written three
books:
- Inside Information
(1980) tells of the time he spent in Pentonville prison for drug possession
- The Stranglers - Song by Song
(2001) guides the reader through all of The Stranglers catalogue
- A Multitude of Sins
(2004) [3] is his autobiography.
His next book,
Window to the World
, will be a work of fiction.
Discography
Hugh Cornwell's full
discography, including his work with
The Stranglers, can be found
References
- Cornwell speaking to the Liverpool Daily Post in June 2006
- North by Northeast: Hugh Cornwell Blueprint
- ''A Multitude of Sins'' - 1st release: Harper Collins, 4 October 2004, ISBN 0007190824; 2nd release: 4 April 2005, ISBN 0007193254