The Stranglers – The Black & Blue tour

The Stranglers are often labelled as one of the godfathers of punk. To classify them this way is doing them a huge injustice. Their attitude’s certainly punk-orientated, however the music is too diverse, elaborate and complicated to be just punk. Attacking all their hits including; Golden Brown, No More Heroes and Peaches with gusto and verve, they whipped up an audience of balding middle-aged hardened moshers into a frenzy, feeding off the energy the audience were generating. The vibe was always on the cusp of anarchy and excitable danger. It was intense but hugely impressive and reminded everyone there just why the band is so respected.

Concert Hall, Brighton Dome, 18 March
4/5
Lee Stevens