whereas coming in with a collection of already written songs is like painting by numbers and that can be very boring.
You are well known for being the leader of The Stranglers, what was your experience like being part of the band? It was a part of my career and now things are different and I've moved on, but I have lots of fond memories and the songs are amazing and I think the way both myself and the current line-up manage to get people to come to hear those songs is remarkable. That stands for the longevity of these songs and the work and they are great and I don't mind playing the ones I really like as they are still great to play and listen to.
What motivates you to continue writing and performing? What motivates me to keep going is fear of boredom as my boredom threshold is very low and I sometime have problems with attention span and focussing on something for a long period of time. If I had nothing and I stopped doing stuff, I would get bored and when I get bored, I get depressed, so I wouldn't be a happy bunny, so I'm going to do my darnedest to make sure I'm healthy enough to do what I do.
NEW TOUR FEATURING LOCAL COVENTRY INDIE ROCK BAND 66 TALKING TO HUGH AHEAD OF HIS LATEST TOUR...
What do you consider your greatest strength as a musician? Over the years, you get to know what your strengths are and what people appreciate, and my voice has held up very well, so it's very much something I put to the front.
What is the most challenging aspect of your music, and how do you overcome it? I can't understand those people who make records where you can't hear what's being sung and you have to read the lyrics to understand what is going on, which I think is a waste of time. If the lyrics are good enough, you should be able to hear it when you're listening to the music, and a lot of producers bury the vocals, treating it as just another instrument. As a writer, I prefer to have people be able to understand what I'm singing about, rather than just have it be just another sound effect."
How do you approach writing new songs? The inspiration and sense for writing a lyric has remained the same and getting ideas for writing a song still remains for me that it can be about anything and, as time has gone on, it seems to get simpler to me, maybe because the music has gotten simpler.
What are some of the challenges you face when writing songs? It's always felt very natural and I don't have any difficulty writing or recording songs and, thank god, I don't have any mental blocks either, so it's more satisfying because I'm getting closer to what I want quicker than I did before due to it being just me and my studio engineer.
I like the days when I go in with an initial idea, then work to end up with something, which is when the best moments happen,
LIVE24-SEVEN.COM How did you feel filming Diana’s ‘ghost’ scenes for the show?
Hugh’s new tour kicks off this month and features special guests, The Primitives. The Primitives are an English indie rock band from Coventry, best known for their 1988 international hit single "Crash". Formed in 1984, disbanded in 1992 and reformed in 2009, the band's two constant members throughout their recording career have been vocalist Tracy Tracy and guitarist Paul Court. Drummer Tig Williams has been a constant member since 1987. The Primitives' musical style can also be seen as straddling power pop, new wave and post-punk.
Hugh and The Primitives will be performing locally at The Assembly, Leamington Spa, on January 26.
For more about Hugh, go to:
hughcornwell.com
For tickets to Leamington, visit:
thegigcartel.com/Artists-profiles/Hugh-Cornwell
CE L EBRI T Y INTERVI EW HUGH CORNWE L L
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