Jean Jacques Burnel
It may come as a surprise that one of the strangest post-punk albums is a solo effort by Strangler Jean Jacques Burnel called Euroman Cometh. It’s not mentioned in any books like Simon Reynold’s Rip It Up probably because it doesn’t fit their narrative.
The Stranglers had just gone through an unbelievable period of productivity. In 1977 releasing Rattus Norvegicus and No More Heroes and Black & White and Live X Certs in 1978. All of these were hit albums and the band could do no wrong (in the eyes of their fans)
While doing Black & White, Burnel was left alone in the studio and started creating little riffs and bass lines. With no drummer he started using an early drum machine that had basic rhythms (normally bossanova etc) could either be sped up or down. Burnel and The Stranglers have always had a this weird combination of early sixties/pub rock rock – think Pretty Face and Go Buddy Go and experimentation liking bands like Can, Neu! Devo and Kraftwerk. – Toiler on the sea, The Raven have that motoric quality about them
The Stranglers were developing and had started to move away from punk – Black & White was way ahead of its time – and Burnel was starting to find his own identity. He mentions in his book about suppressing his Frenchness to fit it. Being in The Stranglers and touring in Europe had started to change his view of himself. This was also the period that he and Hugh had started to dabble in heroin which was to last around 3 years.
Before long he found himself with enough material for an album and called in some friends like Pete Howells from The Drones who had toured with The Stranglers and the two bands had got on well, Carey Fortune (ex Chelsea) who JJ used to share a flat with and a major Stranglers fan on drums, Brian James (The Damned|) on guitar and Lew Lewis on harmonica.
UA didn’t skimp to be fair (though remember Burnel would be paying for all this from royalties). They did a video for the single Freddie Laker and full promo ads in the music papers. A tour was pulled together with a touring band of John Ellis (ex-Vibrators), Brian James had pulled out on the advice of manager Miles Copeland that it would be bad for his career. The Drones’s Peter Howells was on drums (the 2 bands had toured together and got on really well) and on keyboards the great Penny Tobin (Wreckless Eric and Nick Lowe) who went on to play with the Passions and Eurthymics and millions of other bands.
John Ellis, JJ Burnel, Peter Howells and Penny Tobin
The album made the top 40 but the single went nowhere. A tour was arranged that was over ambitious in venue size leading to a number of cancellations.
A disparaging review by Ronnie Gurr (previously befriended by JJ and the band) in Record Mirror saw an elaborate kidnap of the hapless journalist who managed to escape, and alerted the police but Burnel hid from them!
That was it and 6 months later The Stranglers released their 5th album The Raven which pushed the boundaries even more.
Freddie Laker / Ozymandias
(United Artists April 1979)
An absolute insane choice for a single. Bass driven (of course) hyperspeed romp with treated unintelligible vocals and synths about how America screwed over Freddie Laker. The B side is equally strange with Burnel intoning the words to Shelley’s Ozymandias poem (last mentioned in Ugly) in his best Richard III voice!
An equally bonkers promo video was done that featured the touring band and to round the whole thing off a cover featuring a prettified JJ with eyeliner and whitened-out face!
JJ Burnel … it was filmed in Carnaby Street – I think the director chose that – and that it was a spoof on Bob Dylan where we improvised on the day with the lyrics printed out on a sheet and that there was cardboard and rubbish in the street. Burning Up Times Ode To Joy PDF
This green bass was the one JJ bought from Hugh Cornwell for £35. It had a unique sound until he karate chopped it at the Paradiso Club, and it splintered into pieces. It was repaired and still gets used, but has lost its sonic qualities that made that sound so special in the first albums. YouTube
Euroman Cometh
(United Artists April 1979)
First off fantastic cover. JJ looking very cool with his iconic look of motorcycle jacket, Campbells Black jeans monkey boots and spiky punky hair.
Then you have the iconic Pompidou centre designed by Richard Rogers who also did the Gherkin. Back in the seventies this (like a lot of architecture at first) was absolutely hated by Parisians and seen as destroying classic Paris – a bit like Punk if you think about it. So very French, but designed by an Englishman; so again very Burnel!
OK JJ’s concept if I can understand it is we’re stronger together than apart and we’re in between the evils of Russia and the US who both wanted to dominate and interfere. The together part wasn’t one homogenous entity but the states all having their own identity, to gain and learn from other countries while still being independent. He also recognised that the current setup was prone to bureaucracy and not ideal.
There’s a lot to take in there and it should come as no surprise that the music critics were lining up to slate this.
Music wise it’s deep speaker shaking almost dub bass, songs sung in three languages, drum machines, synthesizers, dissonant guitars, an idling motorbike as percussion and treated vocals.
You can’t categorise the music because there are so many speeds and styles but its very listenable to, very musical and well produced but also provocative. Picks would have to be Do The European which should have been the single IMHO; Euroman with a floor vibrating bass and delicious speed of delivery; Freddie Laker for its off the wall punky bonkiness. Triumph Of The Good City a Stranglersish tune underpinned by his Triumph Bonneville motorbike ticking over.
A few tracks don’t fit the concept lyrically but their sound does. Jellyfish is a bossanova Devo sounding piece of discordant punk. Crabs is a paean to a sexually transmitted crustaceans and Pretty Face is an obscure sixties cover that to be fair JJ again punks up with Lew Lewis on harmonica and Brian James on guitar.
Overall an album ahead of its time with its sound JJ’s bass and vocals making it I suppose Punk Electronica. JJ really stuck his neck out here making the album, so all credit to him.
Point to note. Cabaret Voltaire would release their epic Nag Nag Nag at roughly the same time, which is pretty much the same music, to never-ending plaudits.
You can download a superb fan-written fanzine PDF on the album here
TalkPunk
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