So what exactly are you saying goodbye to?

Well, the, um, the, uh, the, the song title says it all, Never Say Goodbye, you know.

So, um, uh, the thing is that, uh, doing acoustic shows is, um, is very demanding and, um, physically.

I mean, you're actually pounding, uh, uh, the, the physical guitar to get the sound out of it.

You're not helped with an, with an amplifier on stage.

So, um, it, it's very demanding and, and being by yourself is, is an extra, um, an extra difficulty.

So it's, it's hard work [laughs] really.

[laughs]

... yeah.

We, yeah, we just wanted to move on and, um, and experiment and, uh, musically and, um, that's what we did.

And, and our audience went with us, which was very pleasing, you know, very comforting.

And, uh, they liked us to take chances.

There's some very odd, very odd s- uh, songs, you know, on, um, even Sha Sha Go Go on, which was one of the last ones we put on, uh, No More Heroes album.

I mean, that's very, uh, very, uh, I mean, it's very apt with what's happening now.

Uh, but, but, um, it's very odd.

And when you enter the studio to make a new album, are the songs already formed and written, or do you go in with sketches?

... you went to uni, right?

Exactly, exactly.

I prolonged the agony by going to Sweden to do a PhD, and it was while I was over there that I bumped into all these bad influences, you know, some American draft dodgers and some Swedes, and we formed a rock band.

And ag- of course, I neglected my studies, and after about two or three years, uh, music won out and, uh, I gave up the studies and d- d- brought the most of the band over to the UK to try and make it.

I went off and recruited Jean Banel to play bass, and in the first line up of The Stranglers was, uh, Jet, John, me, and Hans.

And Hans wrote, uh, the music to Strange Little Girl on piano his first day arrived in, uh, England, and I wrote the lyrics to it in about five minutes.

[singing] One day see a strange little girl look at you.

Who did the band The Stranglers take their inspiration from? What did you set out to be? Who did you set out to be?