Hugh Cornwell

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Biography

Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949, Tufnell Park , North London , England ) is an English people|English musician and songwriter, best known for being the vocalist and guitarist for the punk rock|punk / New Wave music|new wave group , The Stranglers , from 1974 to 1990.

Career

Cornwell grew up in Tufnell Park and Kentish Town and attended William Ellis School in Highgate , where he played bass in a band with Richard Thompson (musician)|Richard Thompson , later a member of Fairport Convention . In the late 1960s, after earning a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Bristol University , he embarked on post-graduate research at Lund University (Sweden). Not long after his arrival he formed the band Johnny Sox.Gimarc, George (2005) ''Punk Diary: The Ultimate Trainspotter's Guide to Underground Rock 1970-1982 , Backbeat Books, ISBN 0-87930-848-6, p. 9, 262

Cornwell returned to the UK in 1974 with Johnny Sox (minus Hans Wärmling ). Jet Black then joined the band. At one stage it was just Cornwell and Black, who were then joined by Jean Jacques Burnel . Hans Wärmling , on holiday from Sweden, joined the line-up towards the end of 1974. The Johnny Sox name was then dropped and the band toured under the name The Guildford Stranglers and eventually The Stranglers .

Wärmling was soon replaced by Dave Greenfield , who joined in 1975 after answering an advertisement placed in the Melody Maker . Cornwell was the lead guitarist in the group, and he also sang the majority of songs.

By 1977 the group had secured a contract with the United Artists Records ; they went on to become the highest selling band to emerge from the UK punk scene, with numerous hit parade|hit singles and record album.

By the time Cornwell reached his thirties, the British punk scene had started to fade, and this was instrumental in prompting him to begin a solo career. He recorded his first album away from the group, Nosferatu (Cornwell and Williams album)|Nosferatu , in collaboration with the Captain Beefheart 's Magic Band's drummer, Robert Williams (drummer)|Robert Williams , in 1979.

In 1990 he decided that the band could go no further artistically. He recorded the album 10 with the band before leaving after sixteen years.

Since leaving The Stranglers, Cornwell has released several solo albums including Wolf (1988) produced by Ian Ritchie (producer)|Ian Ritchie , Wired (1993), Guilty (1997), Hi Fi (2000), Footprints in the Desert (2002), Mayday (2002), In the Dock (2003), and Beyond Elysian Fields (2004). Wired , Guilty and Hi Fi were released under different names, and with slightly different track listings, in the United States. Beyond Elysian Fields was initially released by Track Records in the UK, followed by Invisible Hands Music in the rest of the world, with expanded artwork. In 2006 a live album in two forms appeared: People Places Pieces , a triple CD box set , accompanied by a simultaneously released mass-market highlights disc, Dirty Dozen . The 12-track highlights disc, Live It and Breathe It , was released in 2005 in advance of the box set.

In December 2006, Cornwell toured with Blondie (band)|Blondie in the UK, and in September 2007 with Robert Williams. Three new songs were previewed, "Bangin' On", "Please Don't Put Me On A Slow Boat To Trowbridge" and "Delightful Nightmare". After this tour, the drum stool was taken over by Chris Bell, with bassist Caroline Campbell completing the current trio.

In June 2008, Cornwell followed in the footsteps of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails by offering his new album Hooverdam as a free download on his website. Hooverdam (album)|Hooverdam was recorded at Toe Rag Studios with record producer, Liam Watson (record producer)|Liam Watson . The album was accompanied by a film, Blueprint , which depicted the recording process of the album. Cornwell explained that the film was partly motivated by the risible quality of DVDs accompanying contemporary CD releases. Blueprint was described as "an engrossing film that borrows from Godard's "Sympathy For The Devil" and Jewison's The Thomas Crown Affair". The film had a limited theatre release in June 2008, with Cornwell attending each screening and taking part in a Q& A session at the end of the film. In February and March 2009, with the rhythm section of Campbell and Bell, Cornwell took Hooverdam on a tour of the UK and France, playing the whole album in order, followed by a mix of older solo and Stranglers material. On 26 June 2009 they played at the Glastonbury Festival .

In late 2009, Cornwell and his band toured the US and the UK playing Hooverdam and Rattus Norvegicus (album) albums back to back.

In an interview with conducted on 19 February 2010, Cornwell said that his upcoming new album will be titled 'Totem & Taboo', but no release date is yet agreed.

In October and November 2010, Cornwell toured the US with Steve Fishman on bass and vocals and Clem Burke from Blondie (band)|Blondie on drums. At the Mercury Lounge they were also joined onstage with Tim Wheeler .

On 23 September 2011, Cornwell announced details of a new album, Totem & Taboo , via the direct-to-fan platform Pledgemusic , which is available to pre-order along with a number of other exclusive, signed and unique items and experiences, many of which are designed by Cornwell. The album is scheduled for a full release in early 2012.

Films, theatre and television

Cornwell has an interest in acting, and has appeared in a number of productions including the 1987 Peter Richardson (actor)|Peter Richardson film Eat the Rich (film)|Eat the Rich , the award winning BBC Screen Two series (renamed from Play for Today ) and in the 1995 BBC production, Rumble . He has also appeared in a number of videos and short films, including Bertrand Fèvre's ''L'étoile de sang'' and Ben Thomas' Somewhere (2005 film)|Somewhere .

Cricket

A cricket fan (person)|fan , Cornwell appeared on the ' Jamie Theakston Cricket Show' on BBC Radio 5 Live in 2001. He played a live acoustic music|acoustic version of "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" with the then England cricket team|England batsman and guitarist Mark Butcher . Cornwell subsequently became a player with Bunbury Cricket Club, and has been a guest on 'A View From The Boundary' on BBC Radio Four 's Test Match Special and BBC Radio 5 Live's ''Yes It's The Ashes .

Books

Cornwell has written four books:

Inside Information (1980) tells of the time he spent in Pentonville prison for drug possession

The Stranglers – Song by Song (2001) guides the reader through all of The Stranglers catalogue

A Multitude of Sins (2004) A Multitude of Sins – 1st release: Harper Collins , 4 October 2004, ISBN 0-00-719082-4; 2nd release: 4 April 2005, ISBN 0-00-719325-4 is his autobiography.

Window on the World (July 2011) Window on the World http://www.quartetbooks.co.uk/ Quartet Books, ISBN 978-0-7043-7230-6 is a novel

Discography

Solo albums

Wolf (Hugh Cornwell album)|Wolf (1988)

Wired (Hugh Cornwell album)|Wired (1993) (US title: First Bus to Babylon , 1999)

Guilty (Hugh Cornwell album)|Guilty (1997) (US title: Black Hair, Black Eyes, Black Suit , 1999)

Mayday (Hugh Cornwell album)|Mayday (download: 1999, CD: Track Records|Track , September 2002) (live album)

Solo (Hugh Cornwell album)|Solo (1999)

Hi Fi (album)|Hi Fi (2000)

Footprints in the Desert ( Track Records|Track , April 2002)

In the Dock ( Track Records|Track , 24 March 2003) (live acoustic album)

Beyond Elysian Fields (Track, October 2004)

Beyond Acoustic Fields (2008) (acoustic recordings of tracks of Beyond Elysian Fields , limited edition to buy on tour only)

People, Places, Pieces (2006) (3-CD box set, live recordings), a one-CD compilation of this box set was released as Dirty Dozen .

Hooverdam (album)|Hooverdam (2008)

New Songs for King Kong (2010) (live album)

Totem and Taboo , projected album, to be recorded with producer Steve Albini in December 2012 in Chicago

Collaborations

Nosferatu (Hugh Cornwell and Robert Williams album)|Nosferatu (1979) (Hugh Cornwell with Robert Williams)

CCW (album)|CCW (1992) (Hugh Cornwell with Roger Cook and Andy West)

Sons of Shiva: Sons of Shiva (album)|Sons of Shiva (1999: download release, September 2002: CD Track Records ) Sons of Shiva are Hugh Cornwell and poet Sex W. Johnston (actually John W. Sexton )

Copyright Citations

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1. Hazel O'Connor 2. Richard Thompson 3. Joe Strummer 4. Cheap Sex 5. Richard & Linda Thompson 6. River Phoenix 7. Stranglers

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