The Stranglers / The Skids – Waford Colosseum 13th September 2025

The Stranglers celebrate making it to 51 years on the 51 tour, with worthy support from Skids. We went along to see if the bad men of punk are still just that!

THE SKIDS

My first visit to the newly renovated Watford Colosseum which looks pretty swish, probably a bit too swish for this evenings gig if truth be told where we have the Stranglers and the Skids bringing some punk sensibility to Watford. Feels like it would be better if this was a dark, slightly unloved venue rather than a freshly painted and clinically clean venue but, no matter, it is what happens on the stage that matters!

Opening tonight we have a re-invigorated Skids, fronted by the ever present Richard Jobson. Playing to a growing crowd, they literally burst onto the stage. Jobson bouncing around the stage like a teenager, indeed after a couple of songs he says it is great to be playing live and feeling like a 16 year old again but not so good as to how much of a toll the bouncing around takes!

Fair play to him, despite being tired, he maintains a boundless level of energy throughout the set and is clearly enjoying the live experience 100%. The set mainly comprises a set of songs covering the Skids earlier period with nothing of the later material. Starting with Charade the crowd are immediately onside, singing along with the chorus.

SHOUT ALONG IF YOU KNOW IT

Of One Skin is an interesting inclusion closely followed by The Saints Are Coming which gives the crowd another chance to shout along with Jobson, who, at times, looks like he is about to explode!

Connor Whyte on guitar does a cracking job, note perfect and re-creating the lines of the late, great Stuart Adamson perfectly. The band are completed by Peter Byrchmore (ex of The Membranes and Goldblade) on bass and Nick Hernandez on drums. They sound very solid and tight, well rehearsed a great foundation for Jobson to just enjoy himself!

Working For The Yankee Dollar echoes around the venue, so relevant for the current world stage. Circus Games sounds pretty different when stripped down without any keyboards, Masquerade & Into The Valley both go down very well, lots of audience participation (amazing how the lyrics to these songs just come back to you as if you’d listened to them just before the gig).

“ALBERT TATLOCK!”

Jobson encourages the audience to sing along at the end of each song, indulging himself to the amusement of the rest of the band. He muses on the fact that no one has shouted Albert Tatlock at him so far, a reference to TV Stars, a great cue to launch into this song where there is, once again much audience singalong opportunities! Jobson notes at the end of the song “…worst song ever written!“. He’s probably not wrong but good to see it making an appearance in the set all the same!

Finishing with a cover of the Complete Control by the Clash brings the set to an end. Personally, I’d have preferred another Skids song, there are no shortage of strong songs that could have been included but the crowd don’t seem to mind, the band leave the stage to much applause. An excellent set and a fine performance.

THE STRANGLERS

An incongruous set of songs bridges the gap between The Skids to The Stranglers, finishing with “Non, je ne regrette rien”, then the lights go down and The Stranglers take to the stage, all dressed in black. This is the 51 tour, celebrating them making it past the big 5-0 and sees the band making a stop in a variety of UK towns, this evening playing to a mix of mostly die-hards with a few curious newcomers thrown into the mix.

The unmistakable growling bass sound of JJ Burnel characterises so much of the Stranglers sound, along with the exuberant keyboards and this evident from the first notes of Toiler On The Sea. The audience laps it up and guitarist Baz Warne looks like he is very much prepared to have a good evening. There is some nice interplay between him and Burnel, a blend of playful banter and tight musicianship.

LET US OBLIGE…

Duchess provides another opportunity for a good sing-a-long, closely followed by Get A Grip On Yourself. Nice to see the older songs matched with the not so older songs, sitting side by side very comfortably. Looking around the crowd, it is clear that this is not a young audience so, as expected, the older songs are what they would really like to hear and each one is greeted like an old friend. And The Stranglers oblige with a set that is mostly comprised of old favourites with the odd newer track thrown in for good measure.

Skin Deep is one of those (if you can call 1984 newer) – this slows things down a little and shows the more refined side of the band, along with hits like Strange Little Girl and Golden Brown. Toby Hounsham on keyboards fits in admirably along with Jim Macaulay bashing away on the drums. Sometimes the drums are actually lost a little on these softer tracks which is a shame as the sound overall is pretty much top notch.

VICARAGE ROAD

Warne asks if anyone went to Vicarage Road this afternoon, referring to the home ground of Watford FC. This leads onto a set of Elton John jokes around roads that have been named after him, like Johns Passage etc. You get the gist and this line of joking continues at intervals throughout the set! Burnel rarely comes to the front of the stage, letting his bass do the talking and allowing Warne to take the limelight.

Another nice touch are the amps and cabs used by Warne, in a nod to Blackstar amps and cabs, Warne’s amps and cabs are adorned with the logo Bazstar in the same style. Indeed, Baz doesn’t put a finger wrong all evening, his guitar playing and singing is excellent. Burnel rarely gets to sing, leaving the vocal duties almost entirely focused on Warne.

5 Minutes with JJ on vocals is another classic that is received with cheers, followed by Peaches with the amended lyric “….I can think of a lot worse places to be, like down in the streets or down in the sewer, or even on the end of a skewer” changed to “….I can think of a lot worse places to be, like down in the streets or down in the sewer, or anywhere in the United States of America.” Too right, some of the stuff going on in the US at the moment is pretty scary.

MORE CLASSICS

A trio of classic songs gets the audience into fine voice – Nice ‘n’ Sleazy, Walk On By and Hanging Around. Classic Stranglers and some of the reasons while this band is still a force to be contended with even after 51 years. In an era of disposable culture, the performance is a masterclass in endurance, artistry, and unapologetic authenticity.

Warne teases the punters seated at the back of the venue, saying they should be ashamed of themselves and did they have their thermos flasks at the ready. There’s a little bit of booing and Baz thinks he may have overstepped the mark, apologising with a smile. Tank takes us back to Black And White territory, an excellent album which I’d be more than happy to have taking up the whole set if I’m honest.

Something Better Change, another classic and then the rather brave inclusion of Genetix which breaks up the flow a little and shows another side to the band. Sadly, Toby Hounsham’s vocals on this are rather lost in the mix. This is followed by a couple of songs from the current album,Breathe and White Stallion, it’s good to see that they are not just relying on the old standards (albeit, classic old standards). White Stallion signals the end of the set and they leave the stage admidst applause and cries for more.

ENCORE!

After a minute or so, they’re back to finish off the evening with Go Buddy Go, introduced by Burnel as the first song the Stranglers wrote and the ever present No More Heroes. Cracking stuff, while The Stranglers delivered as expected, I was most surprised by how much I enjoyed the Skids set, looking forward to seeing them again in January next year.

All concert photography by Graham Hilling. You can check out more of his work on his website, here.

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The Skids online: Website / Facebook / Instagram

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