One of the UK’s finest song-writing talents and leading live performers is set for a Northeast gig this month. Hugh Cornwell, the original guitarist, singer and main songwriter in the Stranglers, has enjoyed massive success with ten hit albums and twenty-one top forty singles in the 17-year period that he was in the band. But he has revelled in his musical freedom ever since he stepped off the stage after a Stranglers’ sold out gig in the summer of 1990 to announce that it was the last time he would be fronting the group.

Hugh reckons that leaving the Stranglers was “a bit like having a noose” around his creative neck and that it was time to do something different. “To leave a band you’ve been with for seventeen years is an emotional decision and you feel it internally. The hard thing was not being able to talk to anyone about it." Hugh told the Informer, "But I wanted to do it and that was that. With the Stranglers no chances were being taken any more. Although we continued to experiment with our music, the band had become an institution which meant that all the danger and risk had gone"

Risk is clearly something Hugh Cornwell relishes: “I love venturing into the unknown. It is the only way to get emotional feedback and it drives the creative focus. If you carry on along the same safe and familiar route, you’ll never experience anything at a new level and you begin to lose the ability to judge what’s good around you."

The Stranglers etched themselves into the nation's musical psyche with many hit singles, including 'Peaches', 'No More Heroes', 'Golden Brown', 'Always The Sun', 'Grip', 'Nice N’ Sleazy', 'Duchess', 'Walk On By', 'Strange Little Girl' and 'Skin Deep', all of which were written against a background of spectacular success, dismal failure, drug dependency, infighting, misfortune and financial ruin.

The band’s most successful song, 'Golden Brown', was featured on the soundtrack to Guy Ritchie’s Hollywood blockbuster 'Snatch'; whilst 'Peaches' appeared in its entirety in the opening sequence of the hit film 'Sexy Beast', as well as in the Nike TV ad for 2002’s Football World Cup. Hugh’s songs maintained their association with cups when Wonderbra used ‘Hanging Around’ in their Winter TV campaign in the same year. HSBC bank are currently utilising ‘Peaches’ in an extensive television campaign and Vodafone have chosen ‘Waltz In Black’ for another.

Back in March 2004 Cornwell completed his new album ‘Beyond Elysian Fields’ and also last year performed to a capacity house on the Field stage at Glastonbury.

Catch the enigmatic musician in a solo gig at Sunderland’s Quayside Exchange on Tuesday 6^th December.

A special limited edition live album has just been released and consists of superb rearrangements of Stranglers classics plus his excellent solo work and very similar to the set he will perform live at this gig.

Tickets for this Acoustic Evening with Hugh Cornwell are £10.00 and available from 07760 400 226, or Hot Rats in Stockton Road, Sunderland or online from www.cannygigs.com