Review: The Stranglers @ Academy, Manchester (From The Bolton News)

Review: The Stranglers @ Academy, Manchester

11:15pm Sunday 21st March 2010

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AS soon as they took to the stage during ‘Waltzinblack’, the four members of this iconic band, held the packed Manchester Academy in awe.

The trio of string openers: ‘Time To Die’, ‘Go Buddy Go’ and ‘Get A Grip On Yourself’, set the scene for the rest of the night.

All four Stranglers were in top form, after recording their new DVD the night before.

Baz Warne was in fine voice and his guitar work has rarely been bettered, especially in the solos.

Dave Greenfield’s swirling keyboards proved beyond all possible doubt, that the band were by far and away, better than all their contemporaries.

Jet Black belied his age as he drummed up a storm, and J J Burnel prowled the stage with his growling bass.

The lengthy version of ‘Walk On By’ showed off the band’s musical finesse, and ‘Peaches’ had all the edge as it had over 30 years ago when it was first unleashed on the airwaves.

Even the new ‘Retro Rockets’ had all the ingredients of a Strangler classic.

Still powerful, still relevant, and still putting out a live set that leaves everyone else in their wake.

The Stranglers are still the real deal.

Also, the image of an inflatable woman crowd surfing will stay with me for quite some time.