We sent The stranglers some questions via e-mail and front man Baz Warne came back with the below answers and spoke about their new album 'Giants' their forthcoming tour.

When you first started out as a band, did you ever think you would be as successful as you are and still releasing albums and touring more than 35 years on?
Well it’s difficult for me to answer that question as I’ve only been in the band for 12 years, but if I equate it to my experiences in the last long term band I was in, the Smalltown Heroes, which lasted 15 years, I’d say that you never look beyond the next bend in the road…to have any success in this business can be difficult at the best of times…especially in the current climate where there is so much unmitigated shit around and to contend with that sometimes you wonder why you started in the 1st place…We never dreamed it would last 15 years, so 35 years?…woah…

You are due to release your new album ‘Giants’ on the 5th March what can we expect from it?
The unexpected…we’ve worked long and hard on it and are extremely proud of it…all the twists and turns are there for you to work out…or not as the case may be…

How did you find making ‘Giants’ compared to your previous albums?
It took a very long time to make…we went out on tour twice and there were personal issues that arose within the band during the course of writing it, which all goes to interrupt the flow but are unavoidable…so in that sense it was very different…we’re used to devoting an amount of time to a record and sticking to it…this time we had no constraints time or anything else wise so we just went about it at a steady pace to get it right…and it is…

What themes and stories are featured within the album?
People will make their own assumptions about what the songs are about…they always do…ask me after it’s come out and I’ll tell you what I know…and remember…

What would you say your favourite tracks from ‘Giants’ are and why?
Well I’ve been listening to it constantly in the car and stuff, and my favourites change from day to day…there’s a song called 15 Steps which I’m into at the moment…it’ll change tomorrow though…the cop out answer would be that I like it all…heheh…

You have a headline tour throughout March to coincide with the release of ‘Giants’, how much are you looking forward to getting back out on the road?
If I’m honest it’s my favourite part of what we do…I can’t wait to get out there and play the new stuff…and the old stuff too…raring to go!

It may still be early days to figure out a set list for the tour but do you have a rough idea of how many new songs you will be playing on the tour?
Probably half a dozen or so…that’s about as much as people can take…it’s too self indulgent to play the whole thing I think, so we’ll figure out which ones work best in rehearsals and take it from there…that’s what we usually do.

You are playing pretty much all over the UK are there certain towns/cities that you are looking forward to playing more than others?
There are definite different vibes depending on where you play…and you go with it from night to night you know? There are faves yeah, but at the risk of offending anyone I’ll keep schtum as to where they are…ha…

Who do you have on the road supporting you this time around?
Well on last years’ tour we had a guy called Mike Marlin who’s an oddball singer songwriter with a great quirky style and a shit hot band behind him…we enjoyed him so much that we asked him back again this year, and he’s supporting us out in Europe in April too….The other band we have is The Popes, sometime backing band of Shane McGowan, but a shit kicking rock band in their own right…with a Celtic feel to some of the stuff….haven’t seen them for years, so looking forward to that too…

Over the past couple of years you have been high demand on the festival circuit so can we expect to see you at any of the festivals across the UK this summer?
Yeah but it is far to early for anything to be confirmed.

What do you think about the digital revelation killing off the music business?
Don’t get me started on that…how long have you got? There are so many negative aspects I couldn’t go into them all here…From what we’ve seen the 2 positives we can take from it is that it’s finally gone some way to releasing the stranglehold the majors have had on this business for years, and has enabled people to do a lot more for themselves in terms of control and quality…and also a lot more bands are taking to the road again, playing live, and sticking 2 fucking fingers up to it all…which can only be a good thing…as with all massive movements and leaps in technology there are pros and cons…1 man’s meat as they say…

Where do you hope to see The Stranglers in a year’s time?
Still breathing would be a good start haha! We’ll just do what we do and hope we’re still about…it seems to have worked well so far…

Interview by Trigger