French Version

Interview Jet BLACK Sint Niklass (Belgium)
November 24th 2007
Cultuurcentrum of SINT NIKLAAS

1. On November 4th 2007 you played a gig at the Roundhouse in London to celebrate the 30th anniversary to the day of your first appearance at this venue. The set was the same as in 1977. Could you give me your impressions, was is like a feeling of déjà-vu ?

   Almost, we have played the Roundhouse so many times in those early years of our career, that it became like a second home. Not having done it actually for an intervening 20-25 years, part of which the place was closed and not used as a rock venue, coming back again all the memories of what a good gig it was, came flooding back, it's a good venue for the audience and for the band alike.




2. Did this gig remind you memories or an anecdote ?

   An anecdote, you've caught me there, I can't think of...ah...a funny anecdote.

   AM : maybe a good memory or a bad one

   I think it was the Roundhouse that was the point in our career when audiences suddenly changed from hating and loathing us, to actually liking us, and it happened mid-show, I don't think it was that actual one 30 years ago, but it was one of those early shows at the Roundhouse that we were playing along and people hated us, and they booed us, and that sort of thing, and we thought we are not going to be phased by this, and we launched into what for us has almost been a bit of a comedy song, and we did it and the audience was highly amused and suddenly they saw something in us they hadn't seen before, and that was an element of humour, because they had always seen us as pretentious, and dark and witless, so I suppose that is the one anecdote I can think of....

3. We saw a man who was going out of the Roundhouse and he said : "it was a great gig, I was there in 77"....I think it is great to hear that !

   Yeah, it's because so many people are suddenly rediscovering us now, a lot of people left music after the late seventies and had to earn a living and forgot about the Stranglers, a lot of people have come back and discovered that we're still been going all these 30 years and we're still fun.

   AM : do you think you are a "punk" rocker survivor ?

   Oh definitely, yeah. I don't think punk is really appropriate for us...

   AM : Yes, you're right...

   But certainly, we are survivors, because we've been written off every year we've existed, the media has said : "that's the last hear of them", we are still here and a lot of the media isn't !