JJ Burnel - Punk Rock Pt2

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 Pt 1 - Intro | Pt 3 - Journalists & Rock Against Racism | Pt4  Hugh Cornwell | Pt5 -The Name & The New Album | The Stranglers

"I would like to think we were more
punk plus and then some."

Your original demos were quite slow. How much of an influence did punk rock have on your sound?  
JJ:It was a combination of things. We originally described the Stranglers as soft rock. I only contributed Bouncing Man and Go Buddy Go. I didn't know a lot – blues, rock’n'roll, The Who, The Doors and classical music. Jet and Hugh loved The Beatles but I didn’t. I was spending all my time trying to master the bass. When Dave joined he brought a darker side into the mix with his gothic organ and I could identify more with that and we began to get a direction.  Our management were involved with the Ramones and we ended up being the first band in Europe to support the Ramones and previously we had supported Patti Smith. So we started listening to what we were told were our contemporaries and they were playing a damn site faster.

The seminal first Ramones LP

At the same time we were doing gigs and they fucking hated us and we were starting to get aggressive. Pubs would pull the plug on us and we’d put it back in again. In January 1976 We met the Pistols and Chrissy Hynde and we were friends with Joe Strummer of the 101ers and it was faster than what we were doing. Bands like Wilko &  Dr Feelgood who we played the same places as were were faster. So with a process of osmosis we upped the tempo. But listening to Rattus Norvegicus today it is quite slow. Compared to live its very slow. When we play live its really hard to play slow. Even Golden Brown. Sometimes Jet is so racing it I have to say Jet 'slow down'!
You were perceived in the press as being punk but not perhaps by your peers

JJ. I thought of myself as part of it at the time because we were inhabiting the same flora and fauna. We were going to the same The few pubs that would let us play were attracting a certain kind of public and the girls that we were shagging were young punkettes. I was definitely after girls with fishnet tights ands stilettos and leather jackets and lots of heavy makeup. Hugh was mixing with postgrad girls round Kensington. I wasn’t so fussy and I identified with that scene. I also got into a lot of fights and looked for trouble. I soon considered the punks a bit wimpy. We were a crossover. More hardcore punks definitely didn’t like us and the kids 17/18 adopted us as their punk band. 

A punky looking JJ


You played the Roxy?
JJ: Yes and I used to go there too. 		 I remember Joe Strummer crying on my shoulder when Stranglers supported Patti Smith saying he wanted a band like ours. (Interestingly this recollection is also recounted by Hugh but he has 'his' shoulder as the one being cried on).

The Stranglers were more like American punk than English punk. The others in the band found it a restrictive moniker because we very eclectic in our tastes. Fucks sake I love a lot of classical music and jazz. I’m not going to restrict my influences and write a punk song. People lumped us in with it and we were playing the same venues and a lot of the audience was a crossover. Its not a thing that has kept me awake at night. I would like to think we were more punk plus and then some.

 Pt 1 - Intro | Pt 3 - Journalists & Rock Against Racism | Pt4  Hugh Cornwell | Pt5 -The Name & The New Album | The Stranglers

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