by

Rob Jones

The Stranglers came, saw and conquered! The aesthetic ambience of Caerphilly Castle on a sultry summer night was filled with the musical magic of a truly great band of both the studio and the stage. A full house came out to witness their idols as they traversed through the six decades that have encapsulated their career. Those years have seen the band meander via a series of genres filtering through mostly punk, post punk and pop styles coated with an array of delightful dressings. This is an act who could never be accused of either being one dimensional or treading the same furrow time and time again. The Stranglers are pioneers and from their early impact it was evident that they had their own sound with that bombastic bass, cutting keyboards, guitar grooves and potent percussion. There have been several line up changes but Jean Jacques Burnel and Dave Greenfield have remained as constant factors with their roles in proceedings being core to the end product.

On a July evening more recent material went down well but the old classics literally brought the castle walls down – and, an exploration of the recording period of the 70’s and 80’s was explored it could not get any better. The inspirational Hugh Cornwell was fronting the group in those days and tit would be a treat to have had him present but that ship has long since sailed. The singles of that yesteryear era scored significantly and none more so than the epic contents of possibly one of the most original and unique cover versions of all time in the form of Walk on By. Yes, there were songs that did not appear on this occasion but how is it possible to fit it all in across a busy 90 minute set. What a sensational setting in wonderful weather conditions added to the vibe and main vocalist Baz Warne paid homage to the venue with a string of superlatives.

All in all the performers were in their element and the punters were even more overjoyed at this glorious gig. No More Heroes? Yes, there are and those men in black will always be welcome back……..

The set list was:

Toiler On The Sea
I’ve Been Wild
(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)
Norfolk Coast
Peaches
Duchess
Unbroken
Time To Die
Skin Deep
Golden Brown
Always The Sun
Walk On By
This Song Will Get Me Over You
Relentless
Something Better Change
Water
Hey! (Rise of the Robots)
5 Minutes
Hanging Around

Encore:

Tank
No More Heroes