How
many years have you been with the Stranglers, and how does it feel being
in the band now that you are no longer the ‘new boy’?
I’ve been in the
band 5 years gone April now and I have to say that I feel as much a part
of it as I could have 20 years ago…we’re all good firm mates and we pull
for each other like mates do…I feel like I’ve known them all my life you
know? Which in a way…I have!
What’s the general vibe
like in the Stranglers camp after the excellent success you all had with
the ‘Norfolk Coast’ album, and will there be a follow-up in the near future?
The vibe in the
camp now is very positive and as I write this I’m relaxing with a beer
after being in the studio all day working on the follow up…hard graft!
It’s been fairly hectic so far gig wise this summer and we started the
pre-prod stuff a little later than we anticipated…but we’re slogging away
and it’s coming together nicely…JJ and myself spent January and February
of this year holed up in a lovely cottage on the Cornish coast writing
and so far it’s sounding great…high hopes… everyone is upbeat and we’re
as optimistic as we were this time during the Norfolk Coast sessions…
Do
you still get a big buzz out of live performances with the band, and how
different does that compare with your more intimate acoustic gigs?
Playing live is
and always has been where the Stranglers belong I think, and when we play,
corny as it sounds, it always has the balls and attitude that the crowd
expects…and that the band expect…Considering how many shows this band’s
done that’s a testament to something isn’t it? Every band has its duffers
though, and in the 160 odd I’ve done now I can count them on 1 hand…not
a bad average…
It’s a different
ball game playing the acoustic stuff though as you know Col, but I’ve been
doing it for so long now, and still enjoying it, that I see no reason to
stop…being in the band doesn’t hurt these days of course, and I had their
blessing to use that to my advantage solo wise well early on…so until I
get royally pissed of with it, expect to see me around on the acoustic
circuit for some time to come…judge for yourself whether that’s a good
thing…
You no longer live in
the North East these days, so apart from family & friends, what else
do you miss the most about this region and it’s people?
I miss the North
East every single day in some way or another…I’ve told mates who’ve asked
me the same thing that its maybe one of the big reasons why I ended up
in Somerset…the people are as friendly and open as they are up there…just
with a funny f**king accent! Which come to think of it is what they say
about me down here…ha! It’s about the closest you can get to the North
East in another part of England…a tad warmer anall…! I spent 40 years
up there, and since I was 18 I’ve been lucky enough to see a good part
of the world travelling in bands…and I’m not just saying this ‘cos I’m
from there, but if you ask any N.E. musician who gets about a bit where
the best place in the world is he’ll tell you…home…no question…the beer,
the people, the crack and the football banter…come on ye Reds!!!! Ha! Ha!
It’s
been almost 2 whole years since the last ever Sun Devils gig. Can you envision
the band ever getting back together, if even just for a couple of one-off
shows?
Aye, August 11th
2003…how the hell do I remember that eh? We had a great time in that band…did
over 450 gigs in 5 years and we had a total blast. I still look back on
those days with a smile on my face you know? I’ve never laughed so much
in my f**king life…Baz Crosby IS one of the funniest blokes I’ve ever met…It
was a big wrench to end it but we knew we had to…too much started
going on, mostly for me I have to say, but we kept it together as long
as we could…and wanted to…People tell me they hadn’t seen a band like us
before or since and that’s nice, but we did get lucky right from the off
in the sense that we had the right lads in the band straight away, and
we picked the right tunes straight away…we were ramming the boozers 3 months
after we started and we still played over half the songs in the last days
of the band that we’d done since day 1…and that was purely down to people
liking the way we played them…we tried loads over the years and always
came back to what we and the punters liked…it wasn’t rocket science after
all…we were playing other people’s songs in pubs and clubs…alright we did
some great originals later, but you still can’t get too precious about
that can you? Just enjoy it…and we did…right to the end… happy days…standing
round the back with the lads having a spliff…Would we do it again? There’s
been talk…ho ho…
You’ve been very busy
with the Stranglers over the last couple of years. Do you ever feel the
urge to start writing and performing your own material that doesn’t fit
in with the Stranglers style?
I’m writing all
the time and there’s stuff that wouldn’t necessarily fit in with the band
aye…I’m stockpiling it all and hopefully I’ll get across to my mate Ron
Angus’ place and start laying down tracks as soon as I can fit it in…we’ve
talked about it and we’ll do it as soon as possible…have you been to Rons?
Fantastic little independent studio putting out great stuff, friendly,
affable, funny and talented engineer…I won’t record anywhere else
in the North…(tenner in the post I hope Ron?!)
Your
acoustic gigs are basically a one-man show. Do you like the control of
being the only performer on stage, or do you prefer being part of band
where the attention is shared right across the stage?
Both I suspect…the
acoustic stuff lets me play and do basically whatever I want…I seem to
get away with murder sometimes! I do admit to liking the freedom and if
I f**k up a chord or 2 I can usually get away with it and laugh it off…
I don’t mind the odd gag or 3 either and it all adds to the vibe of it
and helps to make it a one off…no 2 gigs are ever alike…
With the band it’s
difficult not to get swept along by the sheer power and presence of it…standing
there blasting away through a couple of Marshalls and looking around at
the chaos…hot ,loud, and sweaty…nice one…
Have you hit the magic 40 yet, and if so then does life feel any different for you now hitting middle-age?
Aye I was 41 in March…thanks
for asking me that! I feel much as ever I did physically really…it seems
to take me longer to get rid of a hangover though, which really pisses
me off, and I don’t think I could do the old daft twat Sun Devils thing
with the same gusto again…(give it a good f**king go though). I’ve always
had a bit of bother with the old man tits though, and they seem to come
and go with alarming regularity…depends how ‘on the go’ I am and how much
energy I’m expending you know? Mentally I’ve had the most unpredictable,
strange and whirlwind 18 months of my life…You take stock of things more
is all I can really say Col…each to their own I know but I think most men
of my age just simply think more about life and it’s endless stream of
trials, tribulations and contradictions…coupled with the workload and just
everyday life itself it can wear you out…you have to try to make time for
yourself, even if it’s only a couple of hours here and there…and I try
to do that…not always easy though …not that I’m complaining mind , because
I’m lucky to be as busy as I am given what I do for a living but working
yourself into the ground is for the birds…and as I get older I’ve learned
to pace myself better with stuff… don’t want to get too deep here though…feeling
good at the moment…
How
often do you manage to get back in to this region, and do you mainly come
up to see the kids, or do you tend to tie it in with the odd local acoustic
show?
I come up whenever
I can…sometimes I’m there very often but at the moment we’re well busy
with the band and it pains me that I can’t get up as much as I’d like to…I
still keep in touch with the gig thing up north and when I can I try to
get a couple of shows in…took my son to a couple recently and he was the
star of the show…people buying him pop and crisps all the time…(think you
were there actually Col!) I’m in constant touch with my kids and my son
asked me if I was coming up would I take him to a gig again recently…you
think “oh my god is he going to end up loving this and doing this like
me”? Then you think“ didn’t do me any harm”…ha! ha!
You’ve
played so many pubs in this area as a solo artist and as part of the Sun
Devils. Do you ever miss the local pub scene, or do you prefer the arena
& festivals complete with road crew doing all the humping of the gear?
I schlepped so much
gear in and out of so many boozers in the North East that I have absolutely
no problem with the crew humping the gear around at shows thank you very
much…I lost count of the times I’ve barked my shins or caught a finger
on a f**king door frame or strained some part of my anatomy with a 4x12…and
never got paid for it either! Ha! But we did so many with the band, and
I’ve done so many on my own that it’s in my blood and I miss it very much
when I haven’t done many for a time…I do get a rush from walking into a
huge gig and seeing all the shit going on with the crews and stuff though
and it reminds me how much I hated taking the gear out after gigs…! Never
minded taking it in, but then you leap around for a couple of hours, drink
a few beers and have a spliff or 2 and that fire escape in the rain starts
to become less than attractive at midnight when the gaffer wants to go
to bed…Having said all that I’d do it tomorrow if the phone rang…I think…
With you now living in
Bath have you turned in to a soft southern shandy-drinking puff, or can
you still quaff & revel with the best of us?
You know me well
enough Col…need I say more? Hic…
With
you being born & bred in Wearside and being a staunch Sunderland FC
supporter, does it annoy you if people refer to you as a ‘Geordie’?
Aye it f**king does!!
As much as it would pain one of our black and white friends to be called
a Mackem… Always correcting people…My dad had a heart attack right? And
we’re all in there with my mam and all my brothers (3) in the Coronary
Unit and were all crying and thinking he was gonna die and stuff you know?
And this lady doctor came in an apologising profusely for intruding but
needing to ask if my dad was allergic to anything…and he was wired up with
things sticking everywhere and breathing apparatus on and everything, and
he slowly put his hand up to the mask, pulled it away, and said…Newcastle
United…Knew he’d be alright after that…feel like I’d be letting him down
if I ever let it get past me…even the Stranglers know the difference now,
and whenever anyone refers to me as a Geordie within earshot of one of
them they’re quick to correct it…very funny…got loads of Geordie mates
though…and all good lads every one of them…
You mainly play a Telecaster
guitar for the Stranglers shows. Do you miss using your Les Paul live?
Well funnily enough
I’ve got a mate in Sheffield who plays bass in a band and I’ve jumped up
for the 2nd half at 2 of their gigs recently…playing the Les Paul, through
an Eddie Van Halen 5150 combo…sounded canny! Bloody loud…I was never 1
for playing quiet though eh?…Reminded me of many nights out with
the Devils…30 people and a stinking bog in the sticks…Ha! It’s still one
of the best Les Pauls I’ve ever played and recently I got it out of it’s
case for a twang and was amazed to see the amount of dings and knocks on
it that must have accumulated during the Sun Devils…the body is a bit battered
and stuff but it’s still probably my favourite electric guitar…I broke
my 77 Tele at a Stranglers gig in Yorkshire earlier this year after throwing
it in a fit of pique and snapping the f**king headstock off…won’t do that
again…Got a nice old black ’76 now and my old ‘72 that I’ve had for 23
years…and the ’77 is on the road to recovery so I’ll be ok for Teles for
a while I suppose…
When are you due back
in this region, and where are you playing next in this area?
We’re in Sunderland
at the Manor Quay with the Stranglers on Aug 27th…it’s my first hometown
gig since joining the band and I’m hoping it’ll be a bit special…! Before
that I’m at the Duke of Cumberland in Felling on the 25th, and Washington
Arts Centre on the 26th , both solo…
You’re
pretty much an ‘all-round’ guitar player, so which guitarists have been
the biggest influence on your playing style (both local & worldwide
renowned)?
I suppose as you
get on you start to appreciate anyone who can play…however well. Knowing
how long it took you and who turned you onto it in the first place you
can see where people are coming from and who they’ve aspired to. The funny
thing is that if you talk to a lot of younger players who’ve really stuck
in and know their stuff so to speak, they all seem to have gone back to
the original people that we all aspired to when we were kids …Jimmy Page,
Jimi Hendrix, Jeff Beck…right through to Angus Young, Neil Young, Steve
Morse, James Honeyman Scott, Danny Gatton, Brian Setzer, to Chet Atkins,
George Benson, Joe Pass, Scotty Moore, Chuck Berry to Steve Jones, Hugh
Cornwell, Paul Fox, Mick Jones and Olga Toydoll...the list can be endless
when you really think about it…and then you discover Sacha Dystel was an
amazing folk and jazz guitar player and you have respect for him too…have
you ever heard him play guitar? F**king amazing…then you hear Jose’ Feliciano
and Jeff Healy and realise these guys are blind…and Django Rheinhart
only had 3 fingers on his left hand and you think ok…I’m not bad but I’ve
a ways to go…Locally I’ve always been a fan of Pat McMahon, Ted Hunter,
Davy Patton…feel and taste…nice f**king players…and Stevie Willis can play
a mean acoustic guitar too…but don’t tell him I said that !
Do you actually know
how many guitars you now own, and what was you first ever guitar you learned
to play on (no matter how cheap it was)?
Sound like a twat
saying this really but I do have a few at the minute as it happens…and
every one I have is with me to the end now! When you’re growing up and
badly want a ‘classic’ guitar for your own, you tend to trade, swap, buy
and sell to build your way to the dream…and so guitars come and go pretty
quickly sometimes…but when you get the first big 1 you never want to let
it go and anything you get after that you’ll have to save for…’cos you’re
not letting go of that first 1 you know? The first electric guitar I ever
had was a Kay SG copy…worth all of £60 and got from a shop in Sunderland
in1978…my auntie bought me it and I delivered papers to pay her back…I
worked my way through a few during the next few years and got my first,
and still one of the one’s I’ve got…the ’72 Tele…Now I have 3 Fender Teles
including the ’72…a ’76 and ’77…a Schecter Tele, a Gibson Les Paul Standard,
a Paul Richardson bass…he still makes his guitars in the next street to
where I used to live, and I bought the bass from my brother-in-law…I’ve
got the old Takamine Sante Fe, a Gibson J45 and an old EKO 12 string…not
a great guitar but it was given to me by a mate who’s no longer with us,
and I couldn’t bear to part with it…
The
shaven-headed look has been part of your image for many years now. Can
you ever see yourself growing any hair back now, or is this look now permanent?
Ha! Ha!…..I first
shaved my head in 1995 and was lucky enough to have a decent shaped heed!
I persevered with a number 2 guard until it got thinner and I finally shaved
it all off in 1998 when I realised I was starting to look like Prince Edward
with the slight ‘solar panel’ you know? It’s a pain that never ends…Ha!
Funnily enough I had a mate many years ago who was bald and had been since
his late teens. I asked him if he missed having hair, and would he have
it back if he could…and he always said no and that he was cool with it…I
know what he means now…I liked hair when I had it…and I like it now I don’t
you know? I’m 41 and I don’t give a f**k…it’s the way it is…
You’re a local lad who
has done well for himself in the music industry. Do you feel that getting
the Stranglers job was a lot of good luck, or more like you deserved a
decent break after many years of hard work with bands like Smalltown Heroes?
A little of both
really I guess Col…I wouldn’t have got the gig if I couldn’t do it you
know? I looked the part too, but my ability was 1st and foremost and we
hit it off straight away…couldn’t really see me as a Pete Doherty type
can you? Looks the part but is a totally talentless cunt isn’ he? Oh man…saw
him on TV a bit recently and couldn’t believe what I was seeing…is this
who all the hype’s been about? Really? F**king crap…pleased he wasn’t the
voice of my generation…Anyway I knew the Stranglers anyway from the 2 tours
we’d done with them with the Heroes, and it was a mutual mate who tipped
me the wink in the first place…The story is well documented now, but in
a nutshell I turned it down to start with for family reasons…but ended
up auditioning and getting the gig on the spot…I was in Kosovo 10 days
later playing for the troops…drove tanks, the lot…real boys own stuff…hurrah!
Jet
Black must be approaching pentioner-status by now (65). Can you foresee
him leaving the Stranglers in the near future, and if so then will the
band continue on without him?
Oh man…Jet’s got
drive and enthusiasm that could put a lot of young pretenders to shame…and
he’s a real powerhouse behind the kit…he’s great and is a very dear friend
to me…he’ll never leave the band as long as he can still breath…that I
know…I had a great laugh with him just today…
Paul Roberts has been
with the group since 1990, and has put in almost as many years as his predecessor
Hugh Cornwell. Even though the real die-hard Stranglers fans have taken
to him well, does he find it frustrating that the ‘Top Of The Pops’ older
audience still struggle to recognise him?
Paul’s an enigma…he
can get down about stuff like we all do but he’s always smiling and he’s
THE consummate pro…watch the energy he uses up during a gig and then transpose
that to everyday life and that’s what he’s like…full of beans and a real
inspiration to everyone…if the ‘old guard’ haven’t or won’t take to him
it’s their loss…
What are you next major
plans concerning the Stranglers, and do you think you’ll ever find the
time to relaunch your own solo career, apart from the odd acoustic shows?
Well as I said we’re
heavily into the new album at the minute, with gigs in between during the
summer…there isn’t a lot of time for the solo stuff at the minute, but
I’m well into getting it together as soon as I can…then it’s off to Rons…!
Do
you ever occasionally catch your breath and think to yourself “f*ck
me, I’m actually playing with The Stranglers”?
Not so much nowadays…I’ve
been in the band for 5 years now and already we’ve been through a lot…I’m
an equal in every sense of the word as far as the lads are concerned, and
they’ve always treated me like that you know? Even after I joined I felt
part of it very quickly and if I did catch myself doing that I soon realised
it was a band…and I was in it and doing my job…sounds corny as f**k doesn’t
it? But that’s what it’s like…You look across the stage, see JJ Burnel
and think “oh there’s JJ…I saw his arse in the dressing room before we
went on”…They’ve always done things fairly since day 1, and when you’re
a part of a band like this 1, you’re in it up to your neck from the start…
What’s the most bizarre
thing that has happened while being on tour (to you, the band, or the crew)?
The most bizarre?
Christ errm…standing in a bar in Reykjavic that was completely made of
ice…floor, ceiling, tables, chairs the lot…Swimming in the Indian Ocean
off Perth in Western Australia last year, looking down and seeing a giant
stingray passing 10 feet below me…just me and it…it was 6 feet across its
back…nearly shit…Driving a Challenger 2 British tank in Kosovo just after
I joined…firing live ammo from an original 1943 Tommy gun on the same trip…it
was taken from a dead Serb who was shot and killed and fished out of a
lake…when they traced the number on the stock they found out it had been
dropped into allied France for the partisans to use in 1943…the guy had
boxes of original shells from it, and I’ve still got an empty casing I
fired from it…a very romantic weapon in folklore the Tommy gun…but you
couldn’t hit a barn door with it…Me and Paul flew to France in an 8 seater
light aircraft a couple of weeks ago, and it was f**king amazing…talk about
a white knuckle ride…
With
playing around the world with this band, then which country comes across
as being the most lively & enthusiastic over The Stranglers?
Over the Stranglers?
Still has to be the UK…we’ve done some pretty heavy duty travelling over
the last 5 years, and the band always goes down well…France is a big one,
as are Belgium, Holland and Germany…but we’ve been to Australia, Canada,
Iceland, Portugal, Greece, Spain, Croatia, Macedonia, Poland, Switzerland,
Czech Rep…and gone down great…otherwise we wouldn’t go in the 1st place!
But when you look out and see 2,000 mad Glaswegians kicking off at the
Barrowlands…it gladdens your heart…Ha! Ha!
Can you give me your
3 most favourite ever gigs. One with The Stranglers, one with the Sundevils,
and one as an acoustic show?
My fave Stranglers
gig has to be 2003 at Guildford…20,000 hot, sweaty, happy people…the weather
was great…the band was great…we went on at 3.00 in the afternoon at the
perfect time…tremendous…! Sun Devils?…too many to mention but if I had
to pick one, it’s always one of the nights we did early on at the Turks
in Shields one stinking hot Saturday night about 5 or 6 years ago…there
was sweat running down the walls (ask Phil S !) and I looked across at
Pat McMahon about halfway through the 2nd half, and his famous spiky barnet
was limp and sticking to his head…a real dignity stripper…ho ho! He once
farted into a full pint of lager at a gig in Northumberland somewhere…(
Newbiggin Golf Club?)…he took his strides down and shot a very powerful
concentrated gutful of air into the top of the glass and covered everywhere
with foam…sounds childish and infantile, and indeed it was…but f**k it
was funny…
We always end with this
question, so please tell us what music you’ve been most recently listening
to?
Well on Norfolk
Coast we had a song with John from the Levellers
guesting
on violin, and the other week we did a show with them in Belgium. He gave
me a copy of their mighty new album and so I’ve been listening to that
over the last week or so…some great songs on there…The last CD I bought
was probably the Doves’
Some Cities…loved that single…I’m never far away from Neil
Young as I’m sure you’ll know, and
my album of the moment has to be the Futureheads…Mackems
! The guitar player used to live over the road from my mam and dad, and
when I’d visit them I’d sometimes hear him practicing in his bedroom…reminded
me of when I used to do it across the street 25 years ago…great spikey
pop…and homegrown !
Thanks Baz, as always, it's been a real pleasure.....................Riffs.
Catch Baz Warne
on one of his popular and entertaining solo evenings at The Duke of Cumberland
on Thursday August 25; Washington Arts Centre on Friday August 26
and The Stranglers
at The Manor Quay Building, Sunderland the night after, Saturday August
27
(thanks to Baz for forwarding some of these pics)
Hi Nige,
just wanted
to write and rave about the
interview...looks
fantastic! Thanks ever so much
mate...! It's
set out brilliantly and reads
great...and
there's some top snaps i've not seen
before of
your own...superb! There's a lovely one from
the office
of the old Les Paul...shame about me fizzog
though!
If it's ok
can i post it up on my site and have a link
between us?
It means a lot to me to keep in touch with
you all up
there you know?
Let me know
what you think ok?
All the best
mate, and thanks again...
Baz
x
