Punk bands, like punk songs, don't generally last very long.
Whether it's Sid & Nancy or the dramatic implosion of The Clash, the script tends to be dramatic break-up and then a reunion tour somewhere down the line if enough of you are still upright and sniffing the air.
Not so for The Stranglers, who have battled through death, rancour line-up changes to celebrate their 50th anniversary as a band next year.
Famed for songs like 'Peaches', 'No More Heroes', 'Hanging Around' and, of course, 'Golden Brown' they may have only one founding member left but they continue to draw crowds across the country, and their most recent album 2021's Dark Matters reached number four in the chart.
Original singer Hugh Cornwell departed in 1990, keyboardist Hans Wärmling died in a boating accident five years later, while drummer Jet Black passed away late last year having retired in 2018 due to health issues. Dave Greenfield, who joined in 1975, died of complications relating to Covid in 2020.
Despite it all though The Stranglers are still going strong and will tour the UK to celebrate their fifth decade next year.
Guitarist and singer Baz Warne, who first joined the group in 2000, tells The Herald: "Most of our contemporaries, with the possible exception of The Damned, have split up and got back together again.
“That’s not true of The Stranglers. It’s been nearly 25 years for me, so I’ve managed to do half of it. It’s 50 years for JJ (Jean-Jacques Burnel).
“To be honest, it’s not something you really think about, you just get on with it. The 40th came and went, we marked it with a tour and it was like, ‘ok, 40 years’.
“I recall at the time somebody saying, ‘I wonder if we’ll make another 10’. We’ve only got one original member left but here we are.
"I'd put it down to the quality of the songs first and foremost.
“Those songs, I think you would agree, are timeless. I’m nearly 60 and I remember growing up hearing those songs on the radio so it was just otherworldly for me.
Read More: The history of punk told through the music
“In my day you could never really see these bands unless you watched Top of the Pops, I wasn’t ever allowed to stay up late enough to watch the Old Grey Whistle Test.
“You’d see them miming on Top of the Pops or hear them on the radio and that was about it.
“Ultimately it’s just the quality of the music. Over a 50 year period everything you release isn’t going to be stellar, and there have been some blips here and there, but I think ultimately those old records and certainly the newer ones are just quality music and that’s what people come to hear.”
Through various line-ups across five decades, the band is sure never to miss Scotland from their touring schedule.
One particularly memorable jaunt north of the border came in 2010 as The Stranglers performed at a notably damp T in the Park festival.
After a weekend of rain though the sun broke through the clouds just as the band reached the chorus of 1986 hit 'Always The Sun'.
Mr Warne says: "The sun came out, yes! I do remember that!
“I think we went on relatively early in the day, so from where I could see it looked like little columns of ants coming over the hill – people in long trails heading down toward the area where we were.
“It was LASHING down, absolutely lashing down. We were getting on with it and you could see… it’s a great thing playing to crowds like that because they’re not your fans, they’re music fans.
“You look across and you see the recognition dawning on people’s faces like, ‘oh I’ve always loved this tune but I didn’t know who it was’.
“So we get to ‘Always The Sun’ and there’s a crack in the crowds, a shaft of light comes through like God and everyone cheered and whooped and hollered.
Read More: My generation? Why we still flock to see those septuagenarian Sixties rockers
“I’m pleased you remember that because that was a treasured moment.
“We talk about that often, because we went on to do T in the Park a few times in quick succession and I think that was our first appearance.
“We weren’t really sure how many people would come, because of the weather and I think Paolo Nutini or some Scots guy was on at the same time.
“We did do T in the Park three times and I’m pretty sure that was the first one.
"I do remember that day with great fondness.
“We went back into the dressing room and even though we were under cover we were saturated so God knows what you lot were like out there!”
For their 50th anniversary tour the group will play both in Edinburgh and Glasgow, and there's a genuine affinity for the Scottish crowds.
Mr Warne says: "I’m married to a Scots lassie actually, my wife is a Scot. So I’m no stranger to the Scots way of life, if you like. I’m from the North-East of England so we used to have three holidays a year in Scotland, fishing and stuff when we were bairns.
“The Scots crowds… I’ve been asked many times over the years ‘where’s your favourite place to play?’ and when the dates are announced for a British tour there are three gigs you always look at: you want to know when you’re playing in London because it’s a high-pressure gig, I always want to know when we’re playing in Newcastle even though I’m from Sunderland, and the other one is Glasgow.
“That’s why when we did the tour last year we did two nights in Glasgow. Walking out onto that stage it’s just a sea of black leather and smiling faces.
“You can smell the alcohol too! It’s like someone puts a fan on at the back and blows everybody’s breath toward the stage and you can smell beer and whisky – it’s magnificent.
“Some of the nights we’ve had are magnificent. Scotland is always much-anticipated, so we’re really looking forward to it.
“I, personally, have never done the Usher Hall, famous as it is, so I’ve been really looking forward to it. I don’t think we’ve done the Clyde Auditorium either.
“Even though it’s Scotland which we make sure we never miss, it’s two venues we’ve never done. It’s going to be cool, I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Stranglers will play Glasgow's Clyde Auditorium on March 8, 2024 and Edinburgh's Usher Hall the following day
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