Issue 87 / April 2018

The Stranglers
+ Therapy?
O2 Academy – 06/03
The chance to see a legendary (a word not used lightly) band such as THE
STRANGLERS play live is too good to pass up on a chilly March evening, and the
O2 is a great venue to witness the opening night of the UK leg of their Definitive
Tour. Many, or perhaps all, of the crowd gathered eagerly in the semi-gloom of
the Academy’s main room are hoping to recapture versions of themselves vaguely
remembered from 1979.
The place is a sell-out and anticipation is rising when support band THERAPY?
take to the stage. Lead man Andy Cairns powers out tune after tune, blasting
through selected items from their back catalogue causing the massing crowd to
jump, bounce and generally throw themselves around in time to the churning riffs
and pumping drums. The last time they played Liverpool was in 1991 at Planet X
according to Cairns, and he and his bandmates are clearly enjoying themselves.
Therapy? blaze through their set with the poise and swagger of veteran rockers and
warm the crowd nicely for the main event.
The Stranglers take the stage to huge cheers. Baz Warne, now fronting the band
with original members Jean-Jacques Burnel on bass and Dave Greenfield on keys,
get things going by launching into a powerful version of Curfew and muscle memory
kicks in for everyone present. Jerky dancing, pogoing and jumping ensues as the
room appears to rumble.
It’s The Stranglers’ distinctive sound that is most impressive, it’s unmistakable
with Greenfield’s Manzarek-style keyboard riffs and Burnel’s throbbing bass. Warne
is a terrific frontman; an accomplished guitarist and charismatic singer, he delivers
with the confidence and attitude of someone who owns each and every song.
At times it’s like the band have forgotten how old they are as they blast through
Bear Cage and Nuclear Device ably assisted by the crowd roaring the lyrics back to
them. Youthful abandon is conjured on stage and they prove that punk is not dead, it
is still vital, still surging from their core. Classics Peaches, Golden Brown and Always
The Sun are huge and demonstrate that the songwriting on display here is still gobsmacking.
The audience really come alive when these are played, chanting in perfect
harmony.
Warne and the boys plough on with Just Like Nothing On Earth and Freedom Is
Insane, by which point Burnel’s shirt is unbuttoned to the waist and he is prowling
the stage like a man possessed, buzzing the crowd with grins and shockwaves from
his bass.
This is a masterclass of musicianship – even the drumming of Jim Macaulay is
bang-on, tying the whole together to form a perfect package of propulsive punk pop.
The Stranglers may be into late-middle age but their energy, enthusiasm and quality
has not waned. Every member of the audience has experienced the burning power
of Warne and his merry men and we all file out into the cooling air of real life, ears
still ringing with counter-cultural anthems that chronicled our youth.
Mike Stanton / @DepartmentEss
The Stranglers (Keith Ainsworth / arkimages.co.uk)
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