The Burning Up Times - Strangled.co.uk

Burning Up Times Issue 3
Hugh at the Nashville, autumn 1975 © Garry Coward-Williams
they looked and their presence on the
stage, with Jean and Hugh wearing
leather jackets – they looked like benign
intellectual bikers! However, they weren’t
threatening – there was aggressive tension,
just a sort of dark brooding vibe. Jean
was quite static in those early gigs and
Hugh was essentially the front man. I
particularly remember liking Hugh’s guitar
sound.
And as individuals?
Hugh stood out very much at the
beginning. It appeared to be his group – he
seemed to be the leader, certainly he was
the main focus. Jean was more subdued
at that time. It was a while before I got to
know Jet and Dave
Were you close to any particular
member?
Initially Hugh, then Jean and then Jet.
Dave spent any spare time in Brighton, so
outside of the gigs I would not see much
ofhim. Certainly as time went on it was
Jet and Jean that I spent the most time
with, but I loved them all dearly. They
became my family.
In the early days, the band gave
nicknames to all their friends. Who gave
you your nickname and why ‘Chiswick
Charlie’?
Hugh was the one who gave out the
nicknames and I got mine because I
lived in Chiswick. Dagenham Dave got
his because he once worked at the Ford
plant in east London. Hugh originally
called the Finchley Boys – the Finchley
Freds. There was my friend Duncan
who became Duncan Doughnuts.
Was there a moment when you realised
that the band were something special?
The second time I saw them. It was then
that I was totally sold on them
You fi rst saw the band shortly after
Dave had joined. Did you notice the
‘Stranglers’ sound developing?
Obviously, I didn’t know what they were
like pre-Dave, but I did see the band
develop their set from the early gigs in
autumn 1975 to the beginning of 1977.
They were very melodic, if not a little
romantic in 1975 with songs like Strange
Little Girl and I’ve Got Myself to Blame,
but as the momentum started to kick-in
with the New Wave movement their songs
became harder and faster. Having said
that, from my view, I loved every new
song they wrote at that time, but I equally
missed songs like Promises when they
were dropped from the set.
As a professional gigging musician, how
did Dave react to the more youthful
antics of JJ and Hugh?
I remember a gig once where Dave walked
off stage. Jean was singing Go Buddy
Go but couldn’t be bothered to sing the
lyrics properly and was just pissing about.
Dave stood up, shut the lid on his split
Hammond and just walked off the stage. I
think he was upset at this unprofessional
approach to musicianship!
How did the band change with the advent
of Punk?
There’s a real question if Punk was a
good thing for them. They were extremely
melodic at the beginning. Then all the
songs started speeding up, they became
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