Interview with Jean-Jacques Burnel in the Shropshire Star on 21st March 2014

40 years on The Stranglers are still fighting

In 1977, The Stranglers demanded that 'Something Better Change' but, with their 40th anniversary tour rolling into Birmingham tomorrow, one thing that hasn’t altered is the attitude of the band’s bassist and singer, Jean-Jacques Burnel, towards the music industry.

Photo by Stephen Taylor

“[This tour’s] a fingers up, because at one point it was us against all the others, but people forget that we outsold all the other bands –The Sex Pistols and The Clash – and it’s through being dogged and following our own instincts, rather than copying others or jumping on bandwagons, that we’re the last men standing,” the 62-year-old said backstage at Liverpool’s O2 Academy earlier this month.
While some critics might argue that The Stranglers were guilty of jumping on the punk bandwagon, there’s no denying that the four-piece recorded some of the most defining tunes of that era, with “Peaches” and “No More Heroes” completing a hat-trick of Top 10 hits for the band when they stormed into the charts thirty-seven years ago.

And in an era before overnight success was commonplace, Burnel recalls what it was like before they signed a recording contract.

“It was quite hard, and especially demoralising when you get turned down by 24 record companies.”
So, what can the audience expect to see at Birmingham’s 02 Academy tomorrow? “We’re pushing the boat out for this one They’re going to see a complete retrospective, with lots of amazing imagery, so we’ve got huge screens, which we’ve never used before,” he said.

And as for the future, Burnel remains positive. “Fourteen years ago, we were being dismissed by everyone, but now the last few albums have proved that there’s still life in the old dog yet,” he said.

By Stephen Taylor