Jean-Jacques Burnel (born 21
February 1952
in London)
also known as J J Burnel, is an Anglo-French
musician
and songwriter,
best known as the bass
guitarist with the British rock band, The
Stranglers.
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Contents
- 1 Life
and career
- 2 Leisure
- 3 Discography
- 4 Reference
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Life and career
Burnel was born in London, to French parents on 21
February 1952.
He moved with his parents to Godalming in Surrey when he was about twelve and attended
the Royal Grammar
School, Guildford. Burnel originally trained as a classical
guitarist, but adopted the bass guitar as his instrument
within the Stranglers. He has also sung lead vocals on approximately 25% of
their songs.
Burnel has been with The Stranglers since their inception in 1974, but has also
made two solo albums Euroman
Cometh in 1979, and Un Jour Parfait
in 1988, as well as a collaborative album with fellow Strangler Dave
Greenfield, Fire & Water
in 1983.
Burnel is noted for his distinctive bass guitar sound, which
is particularly prominent on earlier Stranglers recordings produced by Martin
Rushent, such as the hit singles
"No More Heroes" and "Peaches".
The sound is aggressive and trebly, was created using a Fender
Precision Bass with RotoSound roundwound strings
played with a plectrum
very close to the bridge, through a Hiwatt 200w amplifier with 2 Hiwatt
4*12 speaker cabinets. Such a cabinet was intended for electric
guitar, and the speaker cones on Burnel's unit were damaged. He now
uses an Ashdown rig as can be seen in the picture. J J Burnel has been
a RotoSound endorsee since the early 1980s, and has featured in their advertising.
Despite only having lived there for a short period, Burnel
received his call-up papers for National service in France. He avoided
this service due to the argument that his absence would indirectly
damage the Stranglers as a band, and therefore the careers of the other
members.
He has also composed and performed some music for the anime, Gankutsuou:
The Count of Monte Cristo, including both the
opening and ending themes, "We Were Lovers", and "You Won't See Me
Coming" respectively.
Leisure
- Burnel is a karate expert and was reported to be running
a dojo in Cambridgeshire,
England.
In May 1991 when Burnel returned from Japan, he was graded by Master Soeno of Shidokan as
2nd Dan.
He is currently a 6th Dan and plans to spend six months in Japan to win
his 7th Dan.
- He is also a motorcyclist, and a fan of the Triumph
Bonneville.
Discography
Albums
- Euroman Cometh
(1979) #40 (UK Albums Chart)
- Fire & Water
(with Dave Greenfield)
(1983) #94 (UK Albums Chart)
- Un Jour Parfait
(1988)
Singles
- "Freddie Laker (Concorde & Eurobus)" (1979)
- "They'll Never Know" (with Simon
Gallup et al as Fools Dance)
(1987)
Reference
- Rice,
Tim; Gambaccini, Paul; Rice,
Jonathan (7
June 1996). British
Hit Albums (7th Edition). Guinness World Records ltd. ISBN 0-85112-619-7.
