It was quite obvious from day one that The Stranglers were disciples of Beefheart. You could really hear the Beefheart influence in Cornwell's guitar playing style. Gotta love JJ Burnell. Such a humble fella.
awesome interview. It's just great hearing the anecdotes, and JJ putting flesh on the bones. It's just such a shame JJ's relationship with Hugh is now that antagonistic, considering the shared success, and so much history, memories etc...... I wish it wasn't. Watching this in the wake of Dave's passing, but hearing JJ talk about where the Stranglers would be at "if" one of the members died was hard as i'd watched another interview with JJ a few days ago where he was very visibly grief-stricken after Dave had had actually died. I look at the stranglers, who we grew up with, and I look at todays clowns who don't gig, and get into brawls, and experience life on the road as a working band, or deal with mega record companies, the nitty-gritty reality stuff.....and these clowns make a linear "beat"with a shelf-life of 2 minutes, get to no.1 with 10,000 sales or however little it takes now.........and the comparison between then and now is striking, and I'm forced to conclude that there are "no more heroes anymore". I wish we had moe bands like The Stranglers. RIP Dave
There always were bands / singers that never did it live on stage. That was why the Clash wouldn't do Top of the Pops. Music in the seventies was mostly over blown self indulgent pap. For me Punk washed all that away, there was a movement rather than just music you could be part of.
good advice. my son dislikes the stranglers and karen dalton. i don't believe in brainwashing our children. so when he's out at karate, i can play karen dalton; when he's home he still doesn't like the stranglers. i hope he has the energy of jj when he's older; school doesen't help!
Excellent interview. Always been fascinated by Jean-Jacques and Hugh. Both had a dark, macho exterior, yet from their interviews they come across as well-spoken and intelligent. Would love to share a beer with them (separately) down a country local.
I had always been a fan anf in the 90s got invited to a Stranglers gig at Leeds where I met JJ and the rest of the band. Later we met them back at their hotel and had a fun time, I will never forget that night. I was living in York at the time and went back to the station to get the train, saw the York train and climbed aboard and fell asleep. A while later the conductor woke me looking for my ticket which I gave him and he asked where I was going too, York! Ah, well, you should know, this train is going to Manchester Airport! But it had York on the front, no, that was the back. So, I spent a long time on that train getting home to York but a night I can't forget.
JJ is so cool,yet so down to earth. Mum had a massive crush on his she told me. I grew up listening to their music and fell for the incredible sound and the awesome image. A real nice guy who has time for fans and also a love of bikes
He's always struck me as quite shy, no ego and very intelligent and cultured but he's hard as nails and took no nonsense now and back in the day when he looked scarier, legend. I'm sure he only used his powers for good though!
I saw the stranglers play the nashville a few times. dave was a lovely person, one night he turned up in a safari suit and pith helmet smoking a pipe. The bar was busy so i offered him a drink, he asked for a pint of bitter in a jug , pure rock n roll.
Great interview, just seen for 1st time, recorded on 40th anniversary, now @ 50th. Saw them in Leeds 1981/2 and would love to see them again now, having been a fan right through
“ assuming you’re heterosexual, you’ve looked at women right ? You admit it ? “ ....thank the gods for simple truths like this - surviving all the fucking bullshit that’s shoved into our citizens’ pummelled media minds nowadays. The Stranglers deserve the ‘ Internet revived ‘ part of their career because shows like the Paris 2014 demonstrate their worth & enthusiasm when playing and especially when contemporaries and old guard acts of much less diversity or imagination continue receiving more daily routine radio exposure and are treated as national treasures . When was the last really good or very popular New song written by Elton or Rodney or Sting or U2 or Blondie or Roxy or Pink Floyd or Spandau Ballett etc etc ? All of the above are only in it to generate profits let alone live on glories from 45 years ago. Longlivethismaninblue ❤️
Great bloke, just like having a chat with your mate. Still remember 5 minutes from back in the day. Punk summed up how young people were feeling at that time.
Recently discovered this band, and I curse my fate that I hadn’t heard about them decades ago!! Making up for lost time now, emersing myself in all their albums and history! I give them HUGE respect for everything that The Stranglers have been doing all these years! Msr. Brunel, merci 1000 fois pour vos efforts massifs pendant toutes ces années!
Thank you very much for posting this. I've been looking for the integral version of this interview for so long..... OMG this man is simply irresistible!!!!!!!
JJ was totally on it in this terrific interview. To be honest I hate most modern interviewers as it's all ego and about them but this guy knew about The 101'ers and asked some good questions. One of my fave JJ interviews. What an entertaining guy. Hope when the cameras were switched off he didn't mash that interviewer to a bloody pulp!
The hardest thing for JJ must be that it is almost impossible for anything the band now do, to standup against their first four albums. They had a whole movement behind them back in the late seventies and such a distinctive sound. I have to admit that if I think of The Stranglers I imediately go to '5 minutes' or 'Goodbye Toulouse' coz that is where they exist for me.
That could be said of a lot of bands that were about in the 60s - 90s and are still going. Duran Duran & Depeche Mode are still going but they'll never reached the heights that they did in the early '80s.
No comparison to both Duran and Depeche Both those bands have their main driving force teams still in tact Le Bon, Rhodes John Taylor, Gahan ,Gore...& the so called Fake Stranglers? The entire original line up of Cornwell,Black (RIP) Greenfield (RIP) gone & Burnel ( Hardly a frontman?) still calling them the 😅 25:49
JJ has always shone. There are some amazing brilliant bass players around but his playing and his bass sound has been the measure that I compare others by. Noone comes close in my opinion
For a lot of us who came out of the late sixties into the seventies when punk rock started around 1976 the Stranglers caught us because of the organ. It kind of connected the two eras with bands like the Doors and so many others. At the time punk was raw, abrasive and absolutely needed but the Stranglers, the Damned, Blondie and the Ramones made it more palatable for us who were over 20. Fast forward to today we are due for another revolution.
Jj burnel essentially well educated man from humble beginning to cracking musician/songwriter. Modest and proper down to earth geezer 1 in 4 of one of the most diverse bands covering several eras but in a way you dont notice a gap until hugh decided to leave for his own reasons still one of the very best from the uk and underrated in a lot of peoples opinions who cares about the doubters go buddy go.❤
I didn’t know - Norfolk Coast was the album that brought me back . The Stranglers were my favourite band for years , I was heartbroken , I did try . I was much happy for them and their release of some proper music again . So true = Norfolk Coast & Suite XVI are two excellent additions to the canon . Anything Can Happen !
Yes Norfolk Coast ( the title song ) sits very easily amongst their more Punchy Catchy Tunes like Duchess and Go Buddy Go and Rise of The Robots and lots more . I didn’t hear it until I had my very own tablet computer and found these music apps. I should feel thoroughly ashamed for straying over the years and not hearing the rest of the album yet ..but I’m pleased to see the shows of the last 20 years and how they’re still pretty tasty for a bunch of old fellas . 👍new forest pixies
Great interview. The Stranglers were never really my thing, tbh, but JJ is a superb bassist. Him and Derek Forbes from Simple Minds were the best from that era by a country mile.
What a great interview, I was 12 when I was gifted NO MORE HEROES album and it blew me away and that was in 1977, So obviously I followed these guys long into their career, I’m 59 now and still get a rush when I hear a STRANGLERS tune played!
Awesome. J.J fills in a lot of details. I've been listening since 78. Only thing I would say is the impact and contribution to their sound of Dave Greenfield cannot be understated. I identify with these keyboard sounds. Love them all.
Now I don't know if I watched this for the sake of nostalgia or because of current sterile conditions. I have a feeling both amount to the same thing. I always think I'm not a fan of anything... Then I see something Stranglers related and..... Click.
Wether it’s the early stranglers or the current lineup and material they were and are a killer band with a great back catalogue but still staying relevant I love them.
Ist time I’ve heard him being interviewed, I always though he’d have a French accent. He used to be a handful back in the day. I guess age has mellowed him over the years.
Here because bbc news says some pop singer chick has 10 hits in the top ten new record better than Beatles ..so I listened to one and was not surprised as I expected.. so I quickly adjourned
Why do todays teenagers go and support The Stranglers? Simple but complicated. They always says things tend to skip a generation so here is my theory as they say. Us old punks are now Grandads, papa and old grumps even. Anyway like us our own kids took a great dislike to their parents taste in music, our music, I certainly took a great dislike to my parents musical taste, mum was a Elvis freak and dad Cliff Richard. So here we are in the 21st Century and along come the grandchildren and todays vinyl revival and who still have those original records and what are they? Us old grumps who suddenly find our now teenage grandchildren doing what there parents NEVER did, listen to our music and best of all, loving it. I had a varied interest in music, depending on the girlfriend and what they listened to. So I built up quite a varied "vinyl" record collection, best of British 70/80s but started with and always will be a devoted Punk.... So yeah out come the Stranglers Albums, Siouxsie, The Clash, SLF and many many other great Punk bands. People often asked why I kept my vinyl collection and the answer will always be the same, they are part of my life, my youth, and they mean a lot to me. Now I get asked by those grandkids if they can have them when I die, sorted, cos I know they will cherish them as much as I have. Geese many of those vinyl records are 40 plus years old, older than their own parents !!!!!
So does the less cool and unimfamous. South West of the New Forest - but we all love them for sure 🏴😇❤️ new forest pixies ps The Chameleons I loved as well
The problem with the guy who replaced Hugh Cornwell is that he posed for photos as if he was part of a Stock, Aitken & Waterman act, he had an ok voice and actually sounded a bit like Hugh but to me he was really out of place, clicking his fingers when he wasn't singing and cheesy stuff like that, Baz is a better fit
"If one of us dies or leaves that's it", but Dave sadly died and Jet left and he is now soldiering on alone. His right but it's not the Stranglers imo.
No ego at all one of the best British bass guitarist of all time,thanks for posting
Seems like a great guy.
Good but defintiely not amongst the best
I liked Bruce foxton as well
The best
Isn't he French ?
Love the original line up, Hugh, Jet Black, Dave Greenfield, and JJ BURNELL, fucking class👍🇮🇲
Great interview. “We’ve sold 40 million albums and we’re still selling out everywhere… I don’t want respect for what we were but for what we are now.”
Only play the songs you wrote then JJ see how that goes
The "Stranglers" will live forever as one of the best bands of their era!
It was quite obvious from day one that The Stranglers were disciples of Beefheart. You could really hear the Beefheart influence in Cornwell's guitar playing style. Gotta love JJ Burnell. Such a humble fella.
awesome interview. It's just great hearing the anecdotes, and JJ putting flesh on the bones. It's just such a shame JJ's relationship with Hugh is now that antagonistic, considering the shared success, and so much history, memories etc...... I wish it wasn't. Watching this in the wake of Dave's passing, but hearing JJ talk about where the Stranglers would be at "if" one of the members died was hard as i'd watched another interview with JJ a few days ago where he was very visibly grief-stricken after Dave had had actually died. I look at the stranglers, who we grew up with, and I look at todays clowns who don't gig, and get into brawls, and experience life on the road as a working band, or deal with mega record companies, the nitty-gritty reality stuff.....and these clowns make a linear "beat"with a shelf-life of 2 minutes, get to no.1 with 10,000 sales or however little it takes now.........and the comparison between then and now is striking, and I'm forced to conclude that there are "no more heroes anymore". I wish we had moe bands like The Stranglers. RIP Dave
There always were bands / singers that never did it live on stage. That was why the Clash wouldn't do Top of the Pops. Music in the seventies was mostly over blown self indulgent pap. For me Punk washed all that away, there was a movement rather than just music you could be part of.
What a great bloke JJ is
A great explanation of the 4 way split. Everyone invests in the song, encouraging each member to enthusiastically promote the music together.
My son was 14 when he start loving the stranglers. I told him not to sell the vinyl collection after i pass away.
good advice. my son dislikes the stranglers and karen dalton. i don't believe in brainwashing our children. so when he's out at karate, i can play karen dalton; when he's home he still doesn't like the stranglers. i hope he has the energy of jj when he's older; school doesen't help!
Excellent interview. Always been fascinated by Jean-Jacques and Hugh. Both had a dark, macho exterior, yet from their interviews they come across as well-spoken and intelligent. Would love to share a beer with them (separately) down a country local.
Dont flatter yourself
I had always been a fan anf in the 90s got invited to a Stranglers gig at Leeds where I met JJ and the rest of the band. Later we met them back at their hotel and had a fun time, I will never forget that night. I was living in York at the time and went back to the station to get the train, saw the York train and climbed aboard and fell asleep. A while later the conductor woke me looking for my ticket which I gave him and he asked where I was going too, York! Ah, well, you should know, this train is going to Manchester Airport! But it had York on the front, no, that was the back. So, I spent a long time on that train getting home to York but a night I can't forget.
I love The Stranglers 🖤😎
Cheers mate!... remember JJ when he came with the Stranglers to Iceland 2006... R.I.P. Dave Greenfield, he was still there at that time...
Great interview with a wonderful bass player and a good talker. I remember seeing Soft Machine playing the proms, though, in 1970 :)
JJ is so cool,yet so down to earth.
Mum had a massive crush on his she told me.
I grew up listening to their music and fell for the incredible sound and the awesome image.
A real nice guy who has time for fans and also a love of bikes
He's always struck me as quite shy, no ego and very intelligent and cultured but he's hard as nails and took no nonsense now and back in the day when he looked scarier, legend. I'm sure he only used his powers for good though!
My first favourite band. JJB made me play bass. 40 years later I’m still watching clips and listening to their songs.
I saw the stranglers play the nashville a few times. dave was a lovely person, one night he turned up in a safari suit and pith helmet smoking a pipe. The bar was busy so i offered him a drink, he asked for a pint of bitter in a jug , pure rock n roll.
Great interview, just seen for 1st time, recorded on 40th anniversary, now @ 50th.
Saw them in Leeds 1981/2 and would love to see them again now, having been a fan right through
“ assuming you’re heterosexual, you’ve looked at women right ? You admit it ? “ ....thank the gods for simple truths like this - surviving all the fucking bullshit that’s shoved into our citizens’ pummelled media minds nowadays. The Stranglers deserve the ‘ Internet revived ‘ part of their career because shows like the Paris 2014 demonstrate their worth & enthusiasm when playing and especially when contemporaries and old guard acts of much less diversity or imagination continue receiving more daily routine radio exposure and are treated as national treasures . When was the last really good or very popular New song written by Elton or Rodney or Sting or U2 or Blondie or Roxy or Pink Floyd or Spandau Ballett etc etc ? All of the above are only in it to generate profits let alone live on glories from 45 years ago. Longlivethismaninblue ❤️
I really love JJ's take on songwriting credits and sharing them from the start. An excellent interview!
Great bloke, just like having a chat with your mate. Still remember 5 minutes from back in the day. Punk summed up how young people were feeling at that time.
Recently discovered this band, and I curse my fate that I hadn’t heard about them decades ago!!
Making up for lost time now, emersing myself in all their albums and history!
I give them HUGE respect for everything that The Stranglers have been doing all these years!
Msr. Brunel, merci 1000 fois pour vos efforts massifs pendant toutes ces années!
Theyre currently doing the "last tour" in France check out their website
Such a great bloke, so grounded 👍
Brilliant interview
Shame Vintage TV no longer exists,thankfully JJ does & last Stranglers album 'Dark Matters' is the best album i have bought for years
J.J. is an absolute Bass Legend ! and an example for many bassists .
Thank you very much for posting this. I've been looking for the integral version of this interview for so long..... OMG this man is simply irresistible!!!!!!!
Just an excellent, highly enjoyable, and informative interview.
Saw them at B-ginnings in Schaumburg IL in April of '78.
JJ was totally on it in this terrific interview.
To be honest I hate most modern interviewers as it's all ego and about them but this guy knew about The 101'ers and asked some good questions.
One of my fave JJ interviews.
What an entertaining guy.
Hope when the cameras were switched off he didn't mash that interviewer to a bloody pulp!
One of my favourite bassplayers
The hardest thing for JJ must be that it is almost impossible for anything the band now do, to standup against their first four albums. They had a whole movement behind them back in the late seventies and such a distinctive sound. I have to admit that if I think of The Stranglers I imediately go to '5 minutes' or 'Goodbye Toulouse' coz that is where they exist for me.
That could be said of a lot of bands that were about in the 60s - 90s and are still going.
Duran Duran & Depeche Mode are still going but they'll never reached the heights that they did in the early '80s.
No comparison to both Duran and Depeche Both those bands have their main driving force teams still in tact Le Bon, Rhodes John Taylor, Gahan ,Gore...& the so called Fake Stranglers? The entire original line up of Cornwell,Black (RIP) Greenfield (RIP) gone & Burnel ( Hardly a frontman?) still calling them the 😅 25:49
Brilliant interview with one of Britain's best-ever bassists - thanks for uploading.
JJ has always shone. There are some amazing brilliant bass players around but his playing and his bass sound has been the measure that I compare others by. Noone comes close in my opinion
Don't forget the late Mick Karn of Japan who was an incredible Bass Player
Check out the kid in New Model Army when they started out
Just saw him and The Stranglers yesterday. Loved the show.
3 fave bands, Beatles, Stranglers and the Clash.
Liverpool loves The Stranglers
Watching tonight, the night Jet died RIP X
Brilliant interview of my favourite bass player.
I still love listening to the stranglers. That bass!
Great interview, I enjoyed that.
I idolised the Stranglers in the 70s,and I live 5 miles away from JJ now, sadly Dave also lived there too but passed last year
Happy birthday !!
For a lot of us who came out of the late sixties into the seventies when punk rock started around 1976 the Stranglers caught us because of the organ. It kind of connected the two eras with bands like the Doors and so many others. At the time punk was raw, abrasive and absolutely needed but the Stranglers, the Damned, Blondie and the Ramones made it more palatable for us who were over 20. Fast forward to today we are due for another revolution.
Fantastic Artist!!
Bravo!!
Fascinating stuff !!!
His Great Western Railway was pretty good too. And some of his bridges.
That was I.K. Brunel.
But, good one!😄👍
A well conducted interview with open and honest responses from J J. Great stuff.
I learned every word of La Folie.
JJ was way ahead of his time the stranglers were the best punk rock band I ever heard when I was a kid in 1978
They still are now!!!
Birmingham loves the stranglers!
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Respect.
A great show.
GREAT INTERVIEW
Jj burnel essentially well educated man from humble beginning to cracking musician/songwriter. Modest and proper down to earth geezer 1 in 4 of one of the most diverse bands covering several eras but in a way you dont notice a gap until hugh decided to leave for his own reasons still one of the very best from the uk and underrated in a lot of peoples opinions who cares about the doubters go buddy go.❤
So use to fancy JJ when he was young....
He's still pretty hot here 😉
I didn’t know - Norfolk Coast was the album that brought me back . The Stranglers were my favourite band for years , I was heartbroken , I did try . I was much happy for them and their release of some proper music again . So true = Norfolk Coast & Suite XVI are two excellent additions to the canon . Anything Can Happen !
Norfolk Coast and Suite XVI stand with all the great Stranglers albums.
Yes Norfolk Coast ( the title song ) sits very easily amongst their more Punchy Catchy Tunes like Duchess and Go Buddy Go and Rise of The Robots and lots more . I didn’t hear it until I had my very own tablet computer and found these music apps. I should feel thoroughly ashamed for straying over the years and not hearing the rest of the album yet ..but I’m pleased to see the shows of the last 20 years and how they’re still pretty tasty for a bunch of old fellas . 👍new forest pixies
I was around that scene then and didn’t much like punk. But I loved The Stranglers and The Jam. The Clash were a din live.
Great interview. The Stranglers were never really my thing, tbh, but JJ is a superb bassist. Him and Derek Forbes from Simple Minds were the best from that era by a country mile.
well.. Mick Karn? Percy Jones?
You should listen to "Colin Moulding " of XTC, a fine all round bass player, and yes Mick karn, i'll add Bruce Foxton aswell.
What a great interview, I was 12 when I was gifted NO MORE HEROES album and it blew me away and that was in 1977, So obviously I followed these guys long into their career, I’m 59 now and still get a rush when I hear a STRANGLERS tune played!
An incredibly well mentally-integrated and balanced guy - contrary to his historic media image projection
I always thought he was a bad boy of Rock’n’ Roll with a strong French accent….how wrong I was. Looks like a really chilled out geezer.
Brilliant band
He took out a couple of bouncers at Glasgow Apollo back in the 70s. Remember it well.
what a great guy and the band of couse
Awesome. J.J fills in a lot of details. I've been listening since 78. Only thing I would say is the impact and contribution to their sound of Dave Greenfield cannot be understated. I identify with these keyboard sounds. Love them all.
Last album they produce worth listening to was aural sculpture but that was nearly 40years ago! Says all you need to know.
Omg, how good does Mr Burnel look 👍
Now I don't know if I watched this for the sake of nostalgia or because of current sterile conditions. I have a feeling both amount to the same thing. I always think I'm not a fan of anything... Then I see something Stranglers related and..... Click.
He seems a lovely guy
Never mind 'Peaches' being perceived as sexist JJ, what about 'Bring On The Nubiles'!!😮😮
Hero ❤
"The blues was always black" - Brilliant! I laughed aloud.
10 years ago!!
I’ve never listened to them, only heard of them. I remember Golden Brown when I was a kid
I feel sorry for you for not listening the brilliant strangers Awesome group especially the early days
No sorry.... Lucky guy can get to listen to amazing stranglers.. They have literally 100s of incredible tracks..
shame on you lol 😆
Wether it’s the early stranglers or the current lineup and material they were and are a killer band with a great back catalogue but still staying relevant I love them.
Seen them at Eric's Liverpool and they opened up with Shah Shah a go go great night
JJ Brunel speaks WORD
Lovely man, so normal, he makes modern men seem trivial.
Ist time I’ve heard him being interviewed, I always though he’d have a French accent. He used to be a handful back in the day. I guess age has mellowed him over the years.
Top bass player, top bloke.
Here because bbc news says some pop singer chick has 10 hits in the top ten new record better than Beatles ..so I listened to one and was not surprised as I expected.. so I quickly adjourned
10:10 Love that album too
not the same without Hugh, that's it in nutshell.
Why do todays teenagers go and support The Stranglers? Simple but complicated. They always says things tend to skip a generation so here is my theory as they say. Us old punks are now Grandads, papa and old grumps even. Anyway like us our own kids took a great dislike to their parents taste in music, our music, I certainly took a great dislike to my parents musical taste, mum was a Elvis freak and dad Cliff Richard. So here we are in the 21st Century and along come the grandchildren and todays vinyl revival and who still have those original records and what are they? Us old grumps who suddenly find our now teenage grandchildren doing what there parents NEVER did, listen to our music and best of all, loving it. I had a varied interest in music, depending on the girlfriend and what they listened to. So I built up quite a varied "vinyl" record collection, best of British 70/80s but started with and always will be a devoted Punk.... So yeah out come the Stranglers Albums, Siouxsie, The Clash, SLF and many many other great Punk bands. People often asked why I kept my vinyl collection and the answer will always be the same, they are part of my life, my youth, and they mean a lot to me. Now I get asked by those grandkids if they can have them when I die, sorted, cos I know they will cherish them as much as I have. Geese many of those vinyl records are 40 plus years old, older than their own parents !!!!!
R.I.P. Jet Black :(
"...the Surrey delta."
LOL! Classic!
RIP Jet, and if you should see Dave say Hello.
JJ un français, whaouh. J 'adore.
Manchester Loves The Stranglers
So does the less cool and unimfamous. South West of the New Forest - but we all love them for sure 🏴😇❤️ new forest pixies ps The Chameleons I loved as well
Peter Green came from Bethnal green east london
The problem with the guy who replaced Hugh Cornwell is that he posed for photos as if he was part of a Stock, Aitken & Waterman act, he had an ok voice and actually sounded a bit like Hugh but to me he was really out of place, clicking his fingers when he wasn't singing and cheesy stuff like that, Baz is a better fit
He seemed pleasant
"If one of us dies or leaves that's it", but Dave sadly died and Jet left and he is now soldiering on alone. His right but it's not the Stranglers imo.
Hmmm
Wonder why he didn't mention Golden brown never going #1.. because he told the press what the song was about
Where can I find the picture at 12:20. Thanks.
?*
JJ seems to say the would end when Jet died, ..... 11 years later......????
definitely a good musician and a good man. he might be interested to see the new bassist of the cure who must be a clone off jj.