Hugh Cornwell
Best known as frontman of the Stranglers, one of the most long-lived and internationally popular bands from the original wave of British punk, Hugh Cornwell also enjoyed a moderately successful solo career, beginning with his debut solo album, Nosferatu, in 1979 and continuing long after he left the group in 1990.
Born in 1949 and brought up in Tufnell Park in North London, Cornwell began making music in high school, where he played in a band with Richard Thompson (later of Fairport Convention). After graduating from Bristol University with a B.Sc. in biochemistry, he moved to Stockholm to do postgrad research. There he formed the band Johnny Sox, which would later become the Stranglers. The band, initially grouped with punk rock, was much more ironic and cerebral than most of its contemporaries. They went on to greatly expand their sound, morphing into new wave and later, relatively mainstream pop; they are probably best remembered for their smooth, almost baroque ballad "Golden Brown."
Cornwell released his debut solo album, Nosferatu, in 1979; a collaboration with Magic Band drummer Robert Williams, it was conceived as an imaginary soundtrack to the classic F.W. Murnau silent film. The follow-up album, Wolf, did not arrive until nine years later. In 1990, feeling the band was artistically spent, Cornwell left the Stranglers. Thereafter, he only grew ever more prolific, issuing two solo albums in the '90s and four in the 2000s, along with several live and compilation albums -- notably the three-CD live box set People, Places, Pieces (2006) -- and the collaborative efforts CCW (1992) with Roger Cook and Andy West and Sons of Shiva (1999) with Irish poet John W. Sexton. He also wrote five books, including two novels. Mostly recorded in a stripped-back power trio format, Cornwell's solo music is heavily influenced by blues and rock & roll and is characterized by his erudite and sardonic lyrics. The second decade of the 21st century saw 2013's Steve Albini-recorded Totem and Tattoo; the career-spanning 2015 compilation The Fall and Rise of Hugh Cornwell; and his 2016 collaboration with legendary punk poet John Cooper Clarke, This Time It's Personal. This last disc appeared on Sony and led to a solo deal for Cornwell with the major label, which released his ninth album, Monster, in 2018.
© John D. Buchanan /TiVo
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Discography
17 album(s) • Sorted by Bestseller
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Moments of Madness
Rock - Released by HIS Records on Oct 21, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Nosferatu
Hugh Cornwell, Robert Williams
Rock - Released by EMI Catalogue on Jan 1, 1979
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Hooverdam
Punk / New Wave - Released by Invisible Hands Music on Jun 6, 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Live And Kickin' - [The Dave Cash Collection]
Rock - Released by The Dave Cash Collection - OMP on May 9, 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Hi Fi
Rock - Released by Red River Entertainment on May 22, 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Black Hair, Black Eyes, Black Suit
Pop/Rock - Released by Koch Records on Nov 18, 1997
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
First Bus to Babylon
Rock - Released by Red River Entertainment on Jan 1, 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Coming Out Of The Wilderness
Rock - Released by HIS Records on Sep 28, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Totem & Taboo
Rock - Released by Red River Entertainment on Jun 25, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Fall and Rise of Hugh Cornwell
Rock - Released by Invisible Hands Music Limited on Sep 18, 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
God Is a Woman EP
Rock - Released by Red River Entertainment on Oct 21, 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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When I Was A Young Man
Alternative & Indie - Released by HIS Records on Jun 8, 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo