Hugh Cornwell – Live Review – Old Woollen, Leeds

By Victoria Holdsworth, November 2024

As a huge Stranglers fan, and having seen Hugh perform solo on many occasions, I was really looking forward to this evening’s gig. However, things did not end as well as I had hoped.

The venue was sold out, with barely room to breathe as the man of the hour took to the stage, accompanied by a small band, and greeted his audience.

Kicking things off with two tracks from his Moments of Madness album, released in 2022, ‘Coming Out of the Wilderness’ and ‘Talking Trash’ were performed effortlessly. They sounded fresh and poignant, getting the evening off to a great start before he addressed his crowd—though not in the best of ways.

I had always thought of Hugh Cornwell as a man of the people—a live-and-let-live kind of soul. However, after mentioning that his set tonight would include both his solo material and some Stranglers classics for good measure, he verbally berated an audience member for filming on their phone. He told them they needed to “get a life” and live in the moment, adding that he might as well have wheeled a TV onto the stage and played videos instead. While I can appreciate that this sort of thing might irk some artists, I had never seen it bother him at previous gigs. I found his comments a little rude, considering the audience had paid good money to watch him perform.

“Promising”

He then shifted to what seemed like a football mentality, going on about how the venue was technically classed as Leeds but was nearly in Bradford. Does anyone really care about that sort of thing anymore? Before long, a few people began heading for the doors, seemingly shocked by his behaviour.

That aside, he continued to work through his set with minimal interaction with the crowd. A Stranglers classic, ‘Nice ’n’ Sleazy’, was performed in a more relaxed and low-key manner than usual. However, the outstanding ‘Wrong Side of the Tracks’ and’ Delightful Nightmare’ from his 2008 album Hooverdam brought some reverence back to his playing and were probably the highlights of the evening for me.

‘Golden Brown’ was up next, and as the opening tones began to trickle through the venue, it initially seemed promising. However, it quickly became apparent that the performance was lacklustre, leaving fans eagerly waiting for it to pick up—but sadly, it didn’t. It failed to leave the lasting impression it usually does, with his vocals lacking their usual dominant presence and his energy seeming to wane.

‘Totem’ and ‘Taboo and Dead Loss Angeles’ tried to reignite the old spark I had seen in Hugh before, but it felt like watching a man simply going through the motions. His heart just didn’t seem to be in it tonight.

It’s inevitable that some of Hugh’s music will sound reminiscent of The Stranglers, and the title track from Moments of Madness is one such tune. To his credit, this was another standout of the evening and seemed to win the crowd back somewhat. It was followed by ‘When I Was a Young Man’, another track from the same album. This song, with its emotionally charged and jarring lyrics set against a Weller-esque background, pushed the post-punk vibe to its limits.

“Slipping away”

Another Stranglers classic, ‘Tank’, should have been played with the pomp and energy it deserves. However, it too fell slightly below par, lacking its former vibrancy. A new track, ‘Pure Evil’, from All the Fun of the Fair, did make its way into the set. I must admit it’s a cracking tune, even though Hugh continued to go through the motions.

‘Mr Leather’, a song about Lou Reed and a meeting that never happened between them, was a poetically balanced open-letter affair. Dripping with hope and regret, it had a bittersweet ambience, and was one of the more poignant moments of the night.

‘Nuclear Device (The Wizard of Aus)’ and ‘Duchess’ were welcome Stranglers tracks towards the end of the set, and Cornwell played these with a little more gusto than earlier numbers. However, it felt like too little, too late. The main set concluded with ‘Live It and Breathe It’ from People, Places, Pieces.

The encore consisted of ‘Wired’, ‘Big Bug’, ‘Mothra’ and ‘Wrong Way Round’, all from the Nosferatu album, which Cornwell produced with Robert Williams, drummer for Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band. While ‘Wrong Way Round’ remains a favourite of mine, the others felt out of place and seemed an odd way to end a set that was already slipping away.

The whole gig felt like one step forward and two steps back throughout the evening and although I still love the man, Hugh’s usual essence was somewhere else tonight.