Hugh Cornwell says Stranglers reunion never on the cards

“They just like what I do, which is very refreshing because not everybody has that attitude toward what I do."

The list of people who don't have that attitude would presumably include bassist Jean-Jacques 'JJ' Burnel, the only other living member of the original Stranglers line-up.

Drummer Jet Black died last year, with keyboardist of 45 years Dave Greenfield predeceasing him in 2020, leaving Burnel and Cornwell as the last men standing - if not talking.

The Stranglers are regarded as one of Britain's greatest punk bands, forming in 1974 and going on to score top 10 singles with the likes of 'No More Heroes', 'Peaches', and, of course, 'Golden Brown'.

Known for his snarling vocals and lyrics which run the gamut from sideways humour, through veiled drug references, to outright misanthropy, Cornwell decided in 1990 that the group had gone as far as it could.

By the frontman's telling, a sudden epiphany ahead of a gig at the Ally Pally was behind his decision. Burnel said he and Black felt "betrayed" by its abrupt nature and the surviving members remain estranged.

The singer-songwriter is musing on his Glasgow stronghold as he returns to the city for a gig at the QMU on January 19, in support of his 2022 album Moments of Madness.

He says: "The last couple of tours I’ve sort of excused myself a little bit by having two sets, one of my solo material and one of Stranglers. This time I’ve been emboldened by public demand and I’m doing a festival-mode set, which is just one set and a mix of Stranglers and my own songs.

“The accent will be on my songs, there will be a fair amount of Stranglers but there won’t be as much as a whole set.

“We’ve got this band The Primitives opening up for me, which is great, so it’s a proper concert situation. There will be plenty of encores, I’ll do some Stranglers tunes at the end as well. In content it won’t be that different, it’s just the way it’s presented.

“Whenever I play a festival the songs sit really well played next to each other, mine and Stranglers songs, so there’s no reason they have to be separated.”

Read More: So long, Shane MacGowan. You always were a chaotic spirit. But thanks for the music

Moments of Madness was produced by Cornwell himself, and he plays the instrumentals for every track.

His trademark lyrical style is in place, with musings on everything from environmental concerns to a paean to a lasagne served by two Italian friends from their gelateria in Mexico.

Expounding on his process Cornwell says: "It could be anything, it could even be the title first.

“'Lasagna' was just the title, it’s just what life presents to you and that’s a case in point.

“They don’t have a food licence but the authorities allow them to do it, and it was so good I said, ‘I’m just going to write a song about this, it’s too good not to pick up on’.

“You can start out with anything, just an idea, a title or a lyric, or a piece of music.

“The trick is to be on the lookout for any starting point. It could come in any form, the germ of the gem of the song could present itself to you in lots of different disguises and you’ve got to be able to recognise it when it crops up.

"The situation in the world influences me totally, I don’t live in a vacuum so I’m constantly being reminded of what a ridiculous world it is and all the terrible things that are going on in it, and trying to make sense of it all is very difficult.

“I try and put a lyrical twist on it, what I’m trying to do is make a song work on more than one level. It could reflect something in the world today, but also it could reflect something personal at the same time.

“My songs are like a hidden language, they betray a lot of my personal stuff - but it’s camouflaged.”

Cornwell is something of a polymath. He's written six books - one about his stint in HMP Pentonville for drug possession - and hosts a podcast, Mr Demille FM, about cinema.

His love of the silver screen can often be found in his music - 'The Big Sleep' was written about Robert Mitchum - but as one might expect he's not one for the tentpole, blockbuster pictures.

"I very much filter what I see these days as far as movies go," he says.

"I can’t watch any of this Marvel stuff and all that, it goes over my head and it’s not made for me.

“A lot of it I have to filter, but occasionally something interesting comes along.

“Then the past is a Pandora’s Box, that’s why I started the podcast. If you look back on the history of cinema there are so many great films which weren’t a success at the box office and nobody knows about and you think, ‘my God this stands up really well if you look at most of what’s being made now’. Yet no-one batted an eyelid when it came out in the 70s, 80s, 90s or whenever it was.

“That’s what completely surprises me, I’m constantly amazed by things that I find and thinking, ‘my God how did this escape?’.

“It’s the way of life, it’s the same with music: there’s a lot of great stuff that isn’t commercially successful, but does it have to be commercially successful to be good?

“I don’t think that’s the case.”

Cornwell's old band will also be hitting the road in the New Year, as they celebrate their 50th anniversary as a group - including their own Glasgow date in March.

Read More: The Stranglers on Scottish crowds, 50 years and the ultimate T in the Park moment

Relations have not been easy (read: non-existant) since his decision to leave, with the latest snafu over a documentary film Death + Night + Blood originally due for release in 2019. Burnel says it's on hold as Cornwell won't agree to allow the group's music to be used, Cornwell insists "a financial deal can be done, but they don’t want to do it" and that the picture "focuses on the wrong stuff".

With such a big anniversary on the horizon and Jet Black and Greenfield - both of whom received glowing tributes from Cornwell on their passing - having gone to the gig in the sky was there ever any chance of a rapprochement?

Cornwell replies immediately: "No, none at all.

“There’s only one of them left in the band now, isn’t there?

"My line-up is more bona fide Stranglers than theirs because I’m a trio, of which I’m a third, and they’re a quartet and he (Burnel) is a quarter of it.

“I’m more Stranglers than them.

“It’s… no. It’s done, it’s gone. I look back very fondly on the time I spent with the three guys and it can never be repeated.

“People should realise how unique that was, I think.”

When he walked away from the band close to 34 years ago, Cornwell didn't think The Stranglers had anywhere else to go - is he surprised they're still pulling in crowds after all this time?

"Not at all," he replies, and if there's any resentment it's undetectable.

"The songs that we made in that initial period are so strong that it doesn’t surprise me at all that people want to flock along to see somebody playing them – regardless of who it is.

“It doesn’t matter who is in the band, they want to go and see it – it could end up being a new bass player and people would still go and see them because the songs are so good.

“I’m, in a way, a tribute band to The Stranglers - and The Stranglers are their own tribute band, aren’t they?”

Well, he always did have a way with words.

Hugh Cornwell will play Glasgow's QMU on November 19. Tickets are available here.