Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 9/10
Few bands are afforded the kind of renaissance that The Stranglers underwent when guitarist Baz Warne had second thoughts after being asked to make his way down south from his native northeast and show exactly what he could do, what he could bring to the group that been on a downward trend in the previous few years.
That renaissance came from a change of mind, but not a change in heart, for as the musician shows in his incredibly candid, forthright, and inspiring autobiography/tour diary/interviews collection, No grass Grows On A Busy Street, he absolutely wanted to play for them,; it just took a revaluation in the company of his daughter to give the band’s fans what they had been yearning for…an aggressive stance of cool that fitted undeniably with the ethos of Jet Black, Dave Greenfield and perhaps most importantly J. J. Burnel.
No grass Grows On A Busy Street is almost as unique a read in rock circles as the band is sound wise, one arguably rubbing off the other in terms in setting out direction and passionate debate, a band with a story to tell, and a guitarist who came along at the right time to invigorate and help shape what would be the next five albums…and from Norfolk Coast in 2004 to 2021’s Dark Matters, and every gig, every insight, the trips to Somerset to write songs for each release, drinking local cider in Tucker’s Grave Inn, the highs, the frustrations, the truths all flood into view with a mindset of one man who understands, and has lived, the moment of serendipity.
It’s not all plain sailing, in any band, there are fallouts and disagreements, and the book, whilst concentrating mostly on the twenty-five years he has been involved with The Stranglers, does touch and explore moments rightly upon his other endeavours with the early incarnations of The Toy Dolls and Small Town Heroes for example; always though in the back of the mind of the reader it becomes a foreshadowing of what was to be arguably the best change of mind in the history of old punk and modern rock.
Baz Warne has always come across as genial, ask any fan and they smile when his name his mentioned, it is an unmistakable respect, and that cuts into the music as well, his writing partnership with J. J. is incredible, his friendship with both the much-missed legendary drummer and keyboard player was glorious, and it is a proof positive just how one man, given the right circumstances, given the energy, can relight the fires underneath a group to whom were still loved but could be seen towards the end of the 90’s as having, if not lost their way, then losing sight of the path that had walked with style.
No grass Grows On A Busy Street is a sublime piece of insightful remembrance, of the accessibility of the band through the eyes of one who was not only a fan, but a co-creator of what came after The Gospels According To The Meninblack.
Ian D. Hall