 | Thisbiography of a living personneeds additionalcitations forverification. Please help by addingreliable sources.Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced orpoorly sourcedmust be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentiallylibelous. Find sources: "Hugh Cornwell" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(August 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Hugh Cornwell | |
|---|---|
 Cornwell performing in 2010 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Hugh Alan Cornwell |
| Born | (1949-08-28)28 August 1949 (age 75) Tufnell Park,North London, England |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Instruments |
|
| Years active | 1974–present |
| Labels |
|
| Formerly of | The Stranglers |
| Website | hughcornwell |
Hugh Alan Cornwell (born 28 August 1949) is an English musician, singer-songwriter and writer, best known for being the lead vocalist and lead guitarist for thepunk rock andnew wave bandthe Stranglers from 1974 to 1990. Since leaving the Stranglers, Cornwell has recorded a further ten solo studio albums and continues to record and perform live.
Cornwell grew up inTufnell Park[1] andKentish Town. He attendedWilliam Ellis School inHighgate,[2] where he played bass in a band withRichard Thompson, later a member offolk rock bandFairport Convention. In the late 1960s, after earning a bachelor's degree inbiochemistry from theUniversity of Bristol, he embarked on post-graduate research atLund University in Sweden. Not long after his arrival he formed the band Johnny Sox.[3]
Cornwell returned to the UK in 1974 with Johnny Sox (minusHans Wärmling). DrummerJet Black then joined the band. At one stage it was just Cornwell and Black, who were then joined by bassistJean-Jacques Burnel. Guitarist, keyboardist and saxophonistHans Wärmling, on holiday from Sweden, joined the line-up towards the end of 1974. The Johnny Sox name was dropped, with the band adopting the name the Guildford Stranglers before settling on the Stranglers.[3]
Wärmling was soon replaced byDave Greenfield, who joined in 1975 after answering an advertisement placed in theMelody Maker magazine. Cornwell was the lead guitarist in the group and he also sang the majority of songs, with Burnel handling lead vocals on about a third of the band's songs. Years later, Burnel recalled that he often sang lyrics written by Cornwell, and vice versa, depending on "who had the best voice for that particular song".[4]
By 1977, the group had secured arecording contract withUnited Artists Records. They went on to become the most commercially successful band to emerge from the UK punk scene, with numeroushit singles and record albums. Cornwell recorded his first studio album away from the group,Nosferatu, in collaboration with theCaptain Beefheart's Magic Band's drummer,Robert Williams, in 1979.[3] Cornwell's first solo studio album,Wolf (1988) was produced byIan Ritchie with additional production on two tracks byClive Langer andAlan Winstanley, who had engineered the first three Stranglers albums and produced their fourth studio album,The Raven (1979).[5]
Throughout his Stranglers career, Cornwell used a BlackFender Telecaster all the way from 1974 until 1989 when he adopted aGibson Melody Maker for the 10 Tour. He also used a Hofner Razorwood for the La Folie Tour in 1981-82 for certain songs which required distinctive sounds. He also used a bass guitar when performing "Dead Loss Angeles" on The Raven tour in 1979 and was instrumental in teaching Stranglers bassistJean Jacques Burnel how to play bass guitar.[citation needed]
In 1990, due to growing tensions within the band and a constant clash with Burnel, he decided that he could go no further artistically. He recorded the album10 with the band before leaving them after 16 years.[citation needed]
After leaving the Stranglers, Cornwell worked withRoger Cook and Andy West asCCW. Their self-titled studio album was released in 1992, with five of the ten tracks co-produced byNeil Davidge.Wired (1993), produced byGary Langan (Art of Noise) with the exception of "Ain't It Strange", which was produced by Cornwell;Guilty (1997);Hi Fi (2000) (both produced byLaurie Latham).HiFi was released on 180g vinyl in 2020 through HIS Records Ltd with a new remix by Hugh Cornwell and a remaster.Footprints in the Desert released in 2002 is Cornwell's second "lost album" and compiles rare and unreleased tracks from the mid-1990s, that were not part of a record deal. It was recorded inBath with James Kadsky, who engineered the albumWired (1993).
Beyond Elysian Fields (2004) was produced byTony Visconti.MusicOMH described it as "something like a cross between[Bob] Dylan andDire Straits at their best...with a dash ofTravelling Wilburys for good measure".Beyond Elysian Fields was released on 180g vinyl in 2020 on HIS Records Ltd.
In June 2008, Cornwell followed in the footsteps ofRadiohead andNine Inch Nails by initially offering his new album,Hooverdam, as a free download on his website.[6] The album was recorded atToe Rag Studios with record producer, Liam Watson. It 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 the DVDs accompanying contemporary CD releases.[7]Blueprint was described as "an engrossing film that borrows from[Jean-Luc] Godard'sSympathy for the Devil and[Norman] Jewison'sThe Thomas Crown Affair".[8]
The studio albumTotem and Taboo followed in 2012; engineered and mixed bySteve Albini, it was described as "Cornwell's finest and most unashamedly epic moment since the punk era".[9] Prior to a Scottish tour that yearThe Herald wrote "The album yields its eloquent lyrical strengths on repeated listenings: stand-out tracks include the evocative 'A Street Called Carroll', 'Love Me Slender', 'I Want One of Those', a commentary on consumerism, and, unquestionably best of all, the atmospheric, nine minute noir epic, 'In the Dead of Night', which should become a live favourite. Cornwell's forthcoming tour sees him play the new album and the Stranglers' landmark 1977 record,No More Heroes, butTotem and Taboo is strong enough on its own."[10] A review on the Witchdoctor.co.nz website stated that "In a world or egotistic over-achieving and slack-arse under-achieving, Hugh Cornwell knows how to play it just right, andTotem & Taboo is a master class in sticking to your guns and doing what you do well".[11]
In 2016, Cornwell collaborated with performance poetJohn Cooper Clarke to create the albumThis Time It's Personal, a collection of classic American and British pop songs from their youth. Cornwell had the idea that Clarke should apply his distinctive vocals to "MacArthur Park" and the project grew from there.Jethro Tull'sIan Anderson also makes an appearance on flute. The album was described as "a modern masterpiece from 'Punk's Progressive Alliance'" byLouder Than War.[12]
In 2018, Cornwell signed to Sony as a solo artist and releasedMonster. On this album, Cornwell sang aboutEvel Knievel,Lou Reed,Hedy Lamarr,Benito Mussolini,Phil Silvers and many more. The title track "Monster" pays tribute to special effects wizardRay Harryhausen, of whomGeorge Lucas said "Without Ray Harryhausen, there would likely have been noStar Wars".Aaron Badgley ofThe Spill Magazine wrote that "This is perhaps his strongest solo album since 1997'sGuilty, and it might be even better than that album... Cornwell is a genius andMonster is just another example of his brilliant work."[13]
Cornwell has an interest in acting, and has appeared in a number of productions. In the early 1980s, he appeared inCharlie's Last Stand withBob Hoskins andStephen Rea at theAlmeida Theatre, London. He also appeared in the 1987Peter Richardson filmEat the Rich, the award-winning BBCScreen Two series (successor toPlay for Today) and in the 1995 BBC production,Rumble. He has also appeared in a number of videos and short films, including Bertrand Fèvre'sL'étoile de sang.[citation needed]
Cornwell hosts Mr Demille FM, apodcast that takes his passion for film and explores it through interviews and episodes on careers and themes. Guests have includedDebbie Harry,Brian Eno and SirDavid Puttnam.[14]
Acricket fan, Cornwell appeared on theJamie Theakston Cricket Show onBBC Radio 5 Live in 2001. He played a liveacoustic version of "(Get A) Grip (On Yourself)" with the thenEngland batsman and guitaristMark Butcher. Cornwell subsequently became a player with Bunbury Cricket Club, and has been a guest on "A View from the Boundary" onBBC Radio 4'sTest Match Special and BBC Radio 5 Live'sYes It's the Ashes.
Cornwell has written six books:
| Studio albums | |
|---|---|
| Live albums | |
| Compilations | |
| Singles |
|
| Other songs | |
| DVD releases | |
| Related | |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| People | |
