Hugh Cornwell, the original guitarist, singer and main songwriter in The Stranglers, enjoyed himself so much the last time he played the venue he could not wait to come back. He will perform on Friday, February 3, at 7.30pm.

He said: “When asked where I would like to perform on tour the Palace was the top choice on my list. The audiences are always welcoming and friendly, the theatre is lovely and historic, has great acoustics and all the staff are great and helpful.

“There will be just me hiding behind my acoustic guitar again. Over the years I have developed quite a bit of a catalogue so I will perform a mixture of songs.

“The show will be in two sets and feature a mix of stuff from The Stranglers, other stuff off my ten solo albums and a few cover versions of songs I grew up listening to.

“I have just spent some time in Chicago recording my new album called Totem And Taboo. It is pinched from a Sigmund Freud book and I always thought it would make a good title.”

He said that from an early age he was interested in music from America in the 1960s — The Everly Brothers, Ricky Nelson, Bobby V and Elvis Presley.

“I like songs you can sing along to and play easily. Simplicity is what makes a good song. If you can just play the tune on an acoustic guitar and it still sounds good then it is a good tune.”

Hugh said he always wanted to play the acoustic guitar because his older brother had one and would never let him touch it.

“It became an object of desire and I was determined to get my hands on it,” he said. “My parents wanted me to play the clarinet but I didn’t think it was very sexy. When my brother left to work away he left his guitar behind and I taught myself how to play it.”

He then joined school bands, having Richard Thompson of Fairport Convention as a friend.

“He taught me to play bass but then left to find fame and fortune. I then became a member of The Stranglers but left in 1990.”

Once his UK tour is over, Hugh will join former Sex Pistol Glenn Matlock on a tour of the west coast of America.

MEMBERS of the Lincoln-based Chapterhouse Theatre Company return to the Palace Theatre, Newark, on Wednesday, February 1, at 7.30pm for another instalment of Cranford.

Written by Laura Turner and adapted from the novel by Elizabeth Gaskell, the show is part of a national tour to mark Gaskell’s bicentenary.

THE latest concert by Newark Music Club at the Palace Theatre on Saturday, February 4, at 7.30pm sees a performance by Mark Kesel on trumpet and Ian Wesley on piano.

Called The Square On The Hippopotamus, this is a family concert. The musicians explore the world of the trumpet from Pythagoras to the present day and include all sorts of items that can be blown; not all of them made of brass.