"Rock 'n' roll is about cocks and jiving and the odd bloody nose...and about people like us talking seriously about the social order." - JJ Burnel, NME (1979).
Jean Jaques Burnel was born 21st February 1952 in Notting Hill, London. . He moved to Chiddington at 12 and attended the all boys Royal Grammar School in Guildford. At school JJ was often singled out because he was different and because of his French parentage. Something he would later try to disguise by adopting the English version of his name – John. As a teenager JJ craved the feeling of belonging yet was an outsider and a bit of a loner. On leaving school he gained a degree place at Bradford Uni and Huddersfield Poly studying Economic and Social History. JJ was, and still is, a talented classical guitarist but at the time had no intention of this becoming his trade. His interests lie elsewhere in karate and motorcycles – both of which still play a major role in his life today. That was until a chance meeting with Hugh Cornwell. The two became good friends, JJ was recruited to the band that was soon to become the Stranglers and the rest is almost history.Although grouped in with the punk explosion of 1977, the Stranglers have been active since 1974 when they were working the pubs of their local town Guildford - as The Guildford Stranglers. At the time JJ lived with the rest of the band in Jet’s off licence and by 1974 they had left there and moved to a house in Chiddingford, Surrey. By now they were known as simply the Stranglers. This name change perhaps reflected the fact they were no longer a local band and were building up a following around the country working their arses off.When punk exploded onto the scene in 1977 the Stranglers appeared to fit well into this genre, especially JJ, and this angered other bands who accused them of jumping on the bandwagon. Yet the Stranglers had an attitude and often embarked on behaviour that was, even by punk standards, shocking! A lot of this was down to the antics and short fuse of their bass player JJ Burnel, who soon gained quite a reputation. JJ believed in meeting verbal aggression with physical aggression. His passion for baiting journalists was legendary and earned the band the title of most hated act among the music press. JJ was said to have hunted down Jon Savage following a not so complimentary review of the band. Judging by Savage's determination to continually ignore the Stranglers contribution to punk in his more recent punk projects would suggest he still holds a grudge. JJ also famously kidnapped French journo Philippe Manoeuvre, removed his trousers and strapped him to the Eiffel Tower. JJ's explosive temper and lack of self-control would also lead to attacks on, not only single audience members or other bass players (Paul Simonon), but also once a whole flippin’ audience!! Fantastic!! Yet JJ had another side to him that was full of charm and mystery. He was a big hit with the ladies and was even voted "Stud of the Year" by NME readers in 1977.JJ’s caveman aggressiveness was also apparent in his lyrics, vocal style and in his distinctive bass guitar sound. A sound many have been influenced by and tried in vain to emulate. Apparently JJ's growling bass sound was attributed to the way he played, the strings he used and a tear in the speaker! As well as "Stud of the Year", JJ was also voted "Top Bass Player" by readers of NME in 1977. At the time JJ was singing around 25% of the Stranglers material. Their lyrics also gained them attention and objection from certain groups and individuals. They were labelled as misogynists for songs such as Princess of the Streets, Ugly and London Lady. A label the Stranglers insist was ill considered and in order to prove it they enlisted strippers, who were friends of JJ at the time, to join them on stage at Battersea Park in 1977. Despite their scandalous reputation, many argue that the Stranglers never gained the recognition they deserved for their contribution to music. Their alienation of the press and many of their peers early in their career may have contributed to this. Others believe dark forces were at work!! The band developed a strong relationship with the colour black and adopted this as their uniform. They were affectionately known as The Meninblack and even became known as Hughinblack, Jetinblack, Daveinblack and of course JJinblack. Many fans also applied this to their own names as a demontration of their loyalty. This "black phase" saw the start of two years of bizarre events, wrong decisions and misfortune that resulted in imprisonment, riots in Nice, threatened suicide, missing equipment and near bankruptcy.JJ also worked on various solo projects and these included Euroman Cometh (1979) and Un Jour Parfait (1988). Euroman was an experimental album and very different to anything he was doing with the Stranglers at the time. Sung in English, German and French and pieced together using recordings made while working on the Black and White album. Apparently JJ was living in the studio at the time as he had nowhere else to live and little else to do! The only single released was Freddie Laker which reached the top 40. Un Jour Parfait was released in France and Canada and was mostly sung in French. Two singles were released from this second solo album – Le Whiskey and Reves. JJ has also worked with various other artists both in the recording studio and on the road.After 10 years together, JJ and Hugh were growing further apart and finding it increasingly difficult to spend time together and write. JJ now lived in Camridgeshire and Hugh in the West Country. Hugh seemed to be growing tired of JJ's behaviour especially when his aggression became directed at him. Was it the final straw when JJ pushed Hugh through a wall for throwing a glass of bubbly in his face? Who knows, but in 1990 Hugh Cornwell left the Stranglers and this appeared to affect JJ more than any other member of the band. Hugh was unable to tell the band in person and chose instead to tell them by phone the morning after they had played what we now know was his last gig with the Stranglers – he told JJ last! The Stranglers chose to continue and enlisted ex Vibrator John Ellis as guitarist and shortly after Paul Roberts as vocalist. JJ has since spoken about this time in the band's history - he speaks of how John Ellis tried to change the band's direction and even the band's name. Thankfully they rejected the idea of dropping the L from their name and becoming the Strangers and continued as the Stranglers. Paul Roberts brought a new energy to the band that was to see a return to their Stranglers roots but many fans found it hard to accept him. A heckler at a Brixton gig spent the night staring at JJ and saying "It's not the same without Hugh" to which an angered JJ replied "Of course it's not the fuckin' same without Hugh, you fuckin' idiot. If you don't like it, fuck off!".When John Ellis left he was replaced by Baz Warne on guitar in 2000. JJ and Baz soon found they wrote well together and spent time in Cornwall writing new material. Norfolk Coast was released in 2004 and was described as new and contemporary but with classic Stranglers trademarks - Dave's swirling keyboard and JJ's powerful bass. The Stranglers were not only back in the charts but also back on mainstream tv again (see GMTV clip on left. JJ appeared in a film of the same name and was even approached to take part in I’m a Celebrity Get Me Outta Here!!After 16 years Paul Roberts was also to leave the Stranglers – coincidentally this was the same length of stay as Hugh. The Stranglers were back as a foursome with JJ and Baz sharing vocals. JJ and Baz were developing strong relationships, both personally and professionally, and again spent time together writing for the next album. A high standard had been set with Norfolk Coast and, in 2006, Suite XVI was released which delivered on all accounts. The album was full of classic and new Stranglers and best of all, JJ back on vocals. For a die hard JJ Burnel fan, was a dream come true – check out Summat Outanowt and I Hate You...
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