Opening for a band like The Stranglers can be a thankless task. Such a partisan crowd can vary from utter disinterest to outright hostility. Let’s make no bones about it the majority of the crowd are men of a certain age who know what they like. So, all credit to GOLD BLADE then, not only do they play a set of thoroughly enjoyable gonzoid punk, they also manage to get the crowd on their side as well. Singer John Robb has a nice line in self-depreciating wit and is a veritable ball of energy, throwing bizarre poses whilst hurling himself around the stage. The rest of the band wouldn’t look out of place in Rocket from the Crypt and it’s fair to say they have heard a Clash record or two. All in all they are the perfect support for the ‘men in black’.
Being a STRANGLERS fan over recent years must have been a testing time. With albums that at best could be labelled patchy it must have seemed increasingly difficult to see where they were going. Live, however, has always been a different proposition. Taking this into account and with the surprise success of new album ‘Norfolk Coast’, a real return to form, the stage is set for the perennial underdogs to show their worth once more.
Unfortunately the first couple of songs are lost in sound problems but things soon pick up with an in your face version of ‘Peaches’. The fact that they throw away a bona fide classic so early in the set gives an insight to the swagger and confidence in the Stranglers camp at the moment, a theory that’s compounded by the shit eating grin on JJ Burnels’ face throughout. They follow this up with ‘I Don’t Agree’ off the new album which manages to stand it’s ground even when sandwiched between ‘Peaches’ and ‘All Day and All of the Night’. No mean feat.
‘Always the Sun’ incites the first mass sing along of the evening and is only marred by some idiot in the crowd spitting at singer Paul Roberts. At the end of the song Roberts encourages said punter to join him on stage to ‘sort out their differences’. JJ must be proud! It seems that Roberts has finally found his place in the Stranglers and amongst their fans and tonight he puts in a performance that oozes self-belief to match his great vocal performance.
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From this point on the band are on the home straight. With material as great as ‘Golden Brown’, ‘Duchess’, ‘Get a Grip on Yourself’ and ‘Something Better Change’ you realise just how influential this band have been over the years and with the form they are in at the moment it is a thrilling spectacle. In particular Dave Greenfields keyboard prowess is a joy to behold.
The band return for their first encore with JJ and Roberts stripped to the waist, showing off physiques a 20 year old would be proud of. There is a collective sigh of relief when Dave Greenfield and Jet Black don’t follow suit! The encores begin with their version of ‘Walk On By’ and finish with a blistering ‘No More Heroes’. By the time they leave the stage there is an air of celebration within Shepherds Bush Empire, the feeling of a band hitting their stride (again). It is doubtful that the wider world will sit up and take any notice, after all the Stranglers have a strong claim on the title of the Millwall of music (no-one likes us, we don’t care) but that is their loss. For the rest of us you could do a lot worse than revel in another chapter of what is fast becoming a national institution.
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