Whatever happened to heroes? They’re still here!
WHO would have thought that you would see The Stranglers and chandeliers on the same stage?
But there they were on Tuesday night at the Royal Concert Hall as the band performed a 28-song set as part of Fifty Years In Black – The Anniversary Tour.
Playing to a packed crowd, the men in black came on stage for two sets which could not have been more different.
With the first set focusing on their lesser-known material, they started with the bizarre Just Like Nothing On Earth, followed by the equally strange Hallow To Our Men.
Engaging in a little self indulgence, which they are fully entitled to do after 50 years, they followed up with The Raven poignantly dedicated to Jet Black and Dave Greenfield, both now sadly departed, leaving Jean-jacques Burnel as the only original member, along with Baz Warne who joined the band in 2000.
Burnel still manages that menacing look which has endeared him to fans throughout the years, as he provides the pulsating basslines that The Stranglers are known for. North Winds got a rare outing before Warne excelled with the taxing Genetix. As they finished with Down In The Sewer, the crowd knew that their favourites were yet to come, and they were not disappointed.
With a buzz of excitement, the second set started with a trio of bangers including Who Wants The World and Dagenham Dave while Duchess had lost none of its urgency, passion or power.
Things got slightly more mellow with Always The Sun and Skin Deep, which had the crowd singing along, before that distinctive bass intro signalled it was time for Peaches and the wonderful Golden Brown.
For the encore they returned for the boisterous Go Buddy Go, a song they wrote and performed as a band 50 years ago, and the bludgeoning No More Heroes.
There may have been a few bulbs out in those chandeliers, but The Stranglers were well and truly alight as they took this audience on a trip of pure nostalgia and left them pondering as to where that half-century had gone.