It was a drizzly miserable day that the Black clad masses descended into Bristol for the rearranged Stranglers gig at the Beacon which was postponed from March 25 due to singer Baz Warne losing his voice, earlier in the afternoon the excellent Stranglers tribute band Straighten Out played a gig at the nearby Louisianna to warm fans up prior to the main event(and yes it was warm in there!)
Following an excellent gig in a great venue we made our way to the Beacon, car parked and down to the Hatchet pub to meet up with matesinblack, another great turnout of people from all over the UK and abroad to see the finest band to ever come out of Guildford.
This is my first gig at the refurbished Beacon since seeing the Stranglers at what was then the Colston Hall(or the Cold Stone Hole as previous Stranglers vocalist Paul Roberts called it), first impressions are that its very impressive, only downside it’s seated, I’ve seen the band 172 times and have only sat down at two other Stranglers gigs, that said with a seat pretty much central and in the third row from the front I’m happy.
At 8.00 on the dot the intro to Just Like Nothing On Earth comes on and away we go, the sound and lighting are both excellent, the band are on fine form after having around five weeks off since the tour finished at the Royal Albert Hall(that was a mighty fine occasion) and there are no signs of stage rustiness.
All four band members are looking very smart in their Black attire, bass player and sole original member JJ Burnel looks and moves like a man half his age(72) Baz Warne vocalist and guitarist is on fine form and there is plenty of in house banter, just before The Raven JJ says a few words and dedicates this epic track to the sadly departed Jet Black and Dave Greenfield, it’s one of the many highlights of the night for me.
Tonight is Keyboard player Toby Hounshams 100th gig, both him and Jim Macaulay the drummer have effortly slipped into the very big shoes of both Dave and Jet and play their part in continuing the band, Toby does a fine job singing Genetix another of my favourite tracks.
When you see a band on their 50th anniversary tour you wonder how many more times you will get to see them, this tour was only in total 13 dates, a deliberate decision to cut back on touring so to prolong the longevity of the band, on this showing there is plenty of life left in the band.
The final song of the first part of the set was the fan favourite Down In The Sewer, this was probably the highlight for me, a song of epic proportions(for those readers not familiar with this and who may want to check it out it’s the final track on their 1977 debut album Rattus Norvegicus, you will not be disappointed)
So after the 50 minute first set it’s time for a 30 minute break, very helpful for us old folk who need a toilet break and to snap up some merchandise before the inevitable long queue afterwards.
Back into the very comfy seat for the bands arrival for the second set which kicked off at 9.20, suit jackets are now off and the band look more familiar, for a long term fan like me it’s classic after classic, for a band who have been going for 50 years the choice of songs for a set have been discussed to death on forums and social media for a long, long time, yes there were a few I could happily not hear live again and there are plenty I would like to see in the set but albeit it with one original member the band are still going strong and playing to packed out vehicles and hopefully the promise of new material next year there is much to look forward to so we can’t really complain(but some do…..)
Before we know it the band go off and then back on for the encore of Go Buddy Go and the obligatory No More Heroes, by now the majority of people are out of the seats and are standing, many have tried to get to the front of the stage but have been stopped by for me over zealous security, it’s just people wanting to enjoy themselves and there were a few people ‘escorted’ out of the venue, even JJ tried to calm the security and explain what happens at a Stranglers gig, hopefully the band will play there again and as with The Damned who are playing there in December the seats(or some of them) will be removed.
So to sum up another excellent Stranglers gigs, highlights for me were Down In The Sewer, Genetix, White Stallion, The Raven, Baroque Bordello, 5 Minutes, Relentless, Threatened to name but a few.
Next up for me is seeing them at Caldicot Castle on June 8 with the Buzzcocks, should be a cracking gig, see you down the front!
Words by Simon Kent, Images by Daisy Kent
Daisy Kent @daisylkent
Role: Photographer / Reviewer / Interviewer
Hi! I'm Daisy, and I'm a music photographer and digital creative. I also write live music reviews.
Qualifications: 2:1 in BA Photography: Editorial and Advertising at the University of Gloucestershire.
Available for: Gig Shoots, Gig Reviews, Photo Shoots, Album and Single cover shoots, Interviews and Touring
First attended gig: Mcfly at Westonbirt Arboretum, June 2009.
First gig shot: My first photo gig was The Stranglers at O2 Academy Bristol, in March 2019. My first writing and photo gig was Bastille at Marble Factory, in February 2022.
Dream gig: Taylor Swift, 100%. No doubt.
