Career
Cornwell grew up in Tufnell Park and Kentish Town and attended William Ellis School in Highgate, where he played bass in a band with Richard Thompson, later a member of Fairport Convention. In the late 1960s, after earning a bachelor's degree in biochemistry from Bristol University, he embarked on post-graduate research at Lund University (Sweden). Not long after his arrival he formed the band Johnny Sox.
Cornwell returned to the UK in 1974 with Johnny Sox (minus Hans Wärmling). Jet Black then joined the band. At one stage it was just Cornwell and Black, who were then joined by Jean Jacques Burnel. Hans Wärmling, on holiday from Sweden, joined the line-up towards the end of 1974. The Johnny Sox name was then dropped and the band toured under the name The Guildford Stranglers and eventually The Stranglers.
Wärmling was soon replaced by Dave Greenfield, who joined in 1975 after answering an advertisement placed in the Melody Maker. Cornwell was the lead guitarist in the group, and he also sang the majority of songs.
By 1977 the group had secured a contract with the United Artists Records; they went on to become the highest selling band to emerge from the UK punk scene, with numerous hit singles and record album.
By the time Cornwell reached his thirties, the British punk scene had started to fade, and this was instrumental in prompting him to begin a solo career. He recorded his first album away from the group, Nosferatu, in collaboration with the Captain Beefheart's Magic Band's drummer, Robert Williams, in 1979.
In 1990 he decided that the band could go no further artistically. He recorded the album 10 with the band before leaving after sixteen years.
Since leaving The Stranglers, Cornwell has released several solo albums including Wolf (1988) produced by Ian Ritchie, Wired (1993), Guilty (1997), Hi Fi (2000), Footprints in the Desert (2002), Mayday (2002), In the Dock (2003), and Beyond Elysian Fields (2004). Wired, Guilty and Hi Fi were released under different names, and with slightly different track listings, in the United States. Beyond Elysian Fields was initially released by Track Records in the UK, followed by Invisible Hands Music in the rest of the world, with expanded artwork. In 2006 a live album in two forms appeared: People Places Pieces, a triple CD box set, accompanied by a simultaneously released mass-market highlights disc, Dirty Dozen. The 12-track highlights disc, Live It and Breathe It, was released in 2005 in advance of the box set.
In December 2006, Cornwell toured with Blondie in the UK, and in September 2007 with Robert Williams. Three new songs were previewed, "Bangin' On", "Please Don't Put Me On A Slow Boat To Trowbridge" and "Delightful Nightmare". After this tour, the drum stool was taken over by Chris Bell, with bassist Caroline Campbell completing the current trio.
In June 2008, Cornwell followed in the footsteps of Radiohead and Nine Inch Nails by offering his new album Hooverdam as a free download on his website. Hooverdam was recorded at Toe Rag Studios with record producer, Liam Watson. The album was accompanied by a film, Blueprint, which depicted the recording process of the album. Cornwell explained that the film was partly motivated by the risible quality of DVDs accompanying contemporary CD releases. Blueprint was described as "an engrossing film that borrows from Godard's "Sympathy For The Devil" and Jewison's The Thomas Crown Affair". The film had a limited theatre release in June 2008, with Cornwell attending each screening and taking part in a Q&A session at the end of the film. In February and March 2009, with the rhythm section of Campbell and Bell, Cornwell took Hooverdam on a tour of the UK and France, playing the whole album in order, followed by a mix of older solo and Stranglers material. On 26 June 2009 they played at the Glastonbury Festival.
In late 2009, Cornwell and his band toured the US and the UK playing Hooverdam and Rattus Norvegicus (album) albums back to back.
In an interview with www.ExclusiveMagazine.com conducted on 19 February 2010, Cornwell said that his upcoming new album will be titled 'Totem & Taboo', but no release date is yet agreed.
In October and November 2010, Cornwell toured the US with Steve Fishman on bass and vocals and Clem Burke from Blondie on drums. At the Mercury Lounge they were also joined onstage with Tim Wheeler.
On 23 September 2011, Cornwell announced details of a new album, Totem & Taboo, via the direct-to-fan platform Pledgemusic, which is available to pre-order along with a number of other exclusive, signed and unique items and experiences, many of which are designed by Cornwell. The album is scheduled for a full release in early 2012.
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