Life was good for a short while.
Hot sweet nights days that were fine.
Spent many hours just looking at you.
Heart stopped beating for a moment or two.
Long black veil now you are mine.
Stranglers guitarist for 26 years with the latter twenty fronting many of the vocals; Baz Warne is a legend to those fans who are grateful for the longevity of the band. I am lucky that many of my favourites have lasted decades, producing new music and still touring, and The Stranglers lead the way in this, myself having seen them 23 times in all incarnations. Now that may seem a lot but judging by the Q&A session at the end, I am a mere novice as there are those whose attendance is in the hundreds and have followed them all over the world. In fact, Baz is on first name terms with many of these admirable souls.
Following the 2025 release of his book, No Grass Grows on a Busy Street, Warne embarked on this tour (Convivial) which is described as a seated run of shows blending songs, conversation, and audience questions in an informal setting. Somewhere between a book tour and a gig with each night unfolding differently. I have deliberately avoided reading the book until now because I wanted to hear as much as I could fresh, and I was not disappointed. What is immediately clear is that Warne is a genuinely honest and open top guy.
Interspersed between an excellent casual conversation with WCRFM’s Garry Foster, Warne treated a packed audience to seven acoustic songs. These were Long Black Veil, Peaches, Breathe, And If You Should See Dave, Bear Cage, The Lines and Goodbye Toulouse. All were excellent, and poignant in the tribute song as you could feel the emotion at the loss of Dave Greenfield from Covid in 2020 which followers still feel now. But there was also humour in abundance, especially with impersonations and tongue in cheek references to current and past band members. Some genuinely kind words were said about the songwriting of Hugh Cornwell, which is important as although the show goes on, and that era is long in the past, the legacy always needs recognising. I do think, though, the band are now better live than ever, and much of that is down to Baz Warne including the excellent standard of studio albums produced over the past couple of decades.
What did we learn? A snapshot would be that Baz Warne loves Status Quo, his favourite cheese is Red Leicester and that former band member, John Ellis is a cunt. Overall, though, Baz comes across as humble and grateful to the fans, as we are to him. And in a photo opportunity at the end where he gave his time to all who queued, I told him after following The Stranglers since 1977, through times they could have folded, he has helped keep the magic alive. And for that, I can only say thank you.
Cheers.
Antony N Britt
*Some photos blatantly stolen from Garry Foster’s Facebook page.
Antony N Britt - Author 