I’ve also just completed my first ever acting role in an independent British movie called Suckerpunch…I play a heavy (what else!) and had a blast doing it….should be out next year…..

All in all….a busy time, but you won’t find me complaining…..

Which other bands rock your world at the minute?

Listen to all kinds of stuff…I’m never too far away from Neil Young who I’ve worshipped since I can remember….I recently bought some stuff by Doves who can really write a cracking tune…I like the Magic Numbers who I think have that retro thing down to a t…nice songs…

Kings of Leon…loved the first album but had to grow into the 2 nd one…like it now

Who are your heroes?

Musically I respect a great many people…From Neil Young, John Lennon, The Band, Hendrix, to Kraftwerk, The Chili Peppers ,Warren Zevon,John Hiatt….

I learned to play the guitar listening to Angus Young , James Honeyman Scott, Roy Buchanan , Danny Gatton, Brian Setzer…so I’d have to say those good folks…

Other heroes would have to be Oliver Hardy and Winston Churchill….nothing much out there in the modern world inspires me anymore I’m afraid……

What’s your favourite way to relax?

When I’m home I’ll read or watch a movie….have a few beers with mates and generally try not to do too much…

When I’m on the road I relax by sleeping!!

What’s your favourite bevy and how often do you indulge?

Well at the moment, and because I live in the west country, I’d have to say the cider at Tucker’s Grave…lethal stuff…after 4 pints it’s curtains…! I go there a couple of times a week, but as I’m trying to cut down , and that stuff is fattening as f**k , I’m trying to get it down to once a week…it’s hard though…especially in the sunshine in the garden…..lovely…!

As far as spirits are concerned it’s probably one of the Scots malts….Balvennie or McCallen….got totally sick of Jack Daniels as I had it on my rider for 5 years! Needed a change…

What’s your ever lasting memory of you time with the Toy Dolls? Walking out onto the stage at the Olympic Auditorium in Pasadena to 8,000 rabid American punks, and absolutely slaying them…they couldn’t believe their eyes…we were invited back 4 months later to repeat it all….fantastic !

Do you have a message for the world?

Aye….life’s too short…

Baz was born on 25^th March 1964 in Sunderland, the North East of England.

He started playing guitar at age of 10 when living in Vancouver, Canada with an acoustic guitar which was actually given to younger brother Chris as a birthday present. After returning to England he was able to buy his first electric guitar at the age of 13 with money saved up from a paper round. Whilst still at school Baz was in various ‘scratch’ bands with his schoolmates. Baz’s first gig came at the age of 16 at ‘The New Crown’ in South Shields in the summer of 1980 with mates Tony Watson (vocals), Tony Murray (bass), Bob Tyler (guitar) and Kevin Cooper (drums). Got bitten big style! He played one gig with metal band Spartan Warrior at the now flattened ‘Old 29’ pub in Sunderland after two years messing about, and finally joined Sunderland punks Toy Dolls in May 1983…playing bass. The first Toy Dolls gig was at Feltham Football Club, Middlesex in June 1983. He played endless U.K toilet tours, two German/Dutch tours and two great U.S. tours before quitting in Sept. 1984. Also made his recording debut with the Toy Dolls with the singles ‘Cheerio Toodle Pip’ (which he co-wrote), ‘Alfie from the Bronx’ and ‘We're Mad’ (all on Tyneside-based label Volume Records).

That same September, after leaving the Toy Dolls he immediately formed what would later become Smalltown Heroes - after a chance meeting with bass player Tony Roffe in a Sunderland pub. Tony was a mate from another Sunderland group Zulu and the Heartaches (with now T.V. chef Pete Zulu as front man). They started rehearsing in his girlfriend's bed sit playing Ramones and Undertones covers and messing with half-formed original ideas. Original Toy Dolls drummer Colin (Mr) Scott joined them on drums and they became known as The Troubleshooters. They rehearsed the music end of things for months as a three piece getting tighter and concentrating on two-and-a-half minute pop/punk ditties (which in 1985 were deeply unfashionable!). Finally, they decided a singer was needed and so younger brother Chris was drafted in, although not immediately….Brothers being what they are, after Chris was given a list of songs to learn, he thought he wouldn't have to learn the stuff, but would get the gig anyway, on account of being Baz's younger brother….he didn't!

There was much mud slinging in the Warne household until the following week's rehearsal when somehow, without his big brother knowing, Chris learned the songs perfectly and got the gig on merit. "I knew he could sing really well 'cos he had his own band", Baz remembers, "but I didn’t want him just thinking he could get in anyway 'cos we were brothers, I wanted him to get in properly y'know, and he did". Gigging began in earnest in the summer of 1985 with their debut at ‘Annabel's Nightclub’ in Sunderland. They gigged constantly for five months before recording their first demo (and Chris's recording debut) at ‘The Studio’ recording studios in Gosforth, Newcastle-upon-Tyne in October of that year. Got various reactions from record companies ranging from enthusiastic to lukewarm, but continued to gig, building up a large local following and specializing in noisy, sweaty packed pub gigs. Kept it up for another year before packing in due to lack of interest from London (the times being what they were).

Baz then joined a local covers group for a year to keep going (and earning…) before getting The Troubleshooters back together again for another bash. This time the group wrote like mad and recorded several demos before changing drummers in 1988 to the much admired local lad Kevin Scott. This line up lasted for ten years. Early in 1989 the band recruited Mancunian Harvey Lee as manager, who'd been a fan since running into the band at a gig in late 1988. With his help and enthusiasm a team was formed which secured a publishing deal with Global, London in 1990.The band slogged their guts up and down the U.K. for 4 more years before signing their management and record deals within months of each other. Management came in the shape of E.G. Management (Killing Joke, King Crimson, Roxy Music) and recording wise the band signed to Global, Munich. During this time the name was changed to Smalltown Heroes (1992) and Baz and Kevin played in another band, The Picture Show with Southend born musician Jon Palmer. This group recorded too, as well as playing 40 odd shows in and around the North East.1993 was a gigging year also, and was most notable for the bands gig at Newcastle City Hall supporting Little Angels. Angels' asked for bands to send in demos to support them on select dates in the U.K. and picked Smalltown Heroes as the best tape of all from 950 entries…an accolade which sees them voted by Kerrang (music magazine) readers as one of the top 5 unsigned bands in their end of year polls! April 1995 saw the 'Heroes head out on their first major tour supporting Canadian guitarist Jeff Healy on a ten date British jaunt. The band wins many friends and release debut single ' Moral Judgment' on 1st May. Kerrang magazine votes it single of the week, and it's also the world's first ever interactive C.D. Rom single, featuring a band history, video for 'Moral', and gig footage etc. It gets a gold award for the most innovative release of it's time…The band enter Battery Studios, London, to record debut album 'Human Soup ' on August 1st. It takes a month to do and receives critical acclaim on its release. The rest of the year is spent gigging and another U.K. tour is undertaken in the winter, this time supporting The Stranglers…

1996 is another gigging year, with the group headlining their first ever 'proper' U.K. tour. They play Chelmsford, Leicester, Basildon, Stockton, Newcastle, Manchester, Leeds, Cambridge, Norwich, Northampton, London, Canterbury, Southampton and finish in Portsmouth, playing the Heineken Big Top Festival to 5,000 people with The Damned. 1997 starts with their first foreign gigs, in Germany and Holland, once more supporting The Stranglers. A German t.v. cop show theme is recorded during a 4 day session at Arco Studios in Munich in April. A short 8 date U.K. tour is done, and then the band head back to Germany to support German singer/songwriter Stoppok on a 10 date tour playing to 3,000 capacity venues. The band encore for 8 of these gigs, unheard of for a support band…1998 sees the band relocate to Munich for two months in Jan/Feb with Wildhearts/Paradise Lost/Pantera producer Simon Efemy and respected engineer Rusty Russell. They record what they consider to be their best music ever, in a brilliant atmosphere, and exploit Munich's nightlife to the full…

A regular haunt is the Atomic Café nightclub, a scruffy vinyl-only club, and the band love it so much they name their album after it! They also meet up with old mates The Stereophonics here and get shitfaced with a fledgling Travis. They return home triumphant and are convinced this is the one. This is when it all turns to shit for Smalltown Heroes……. During mixing at Jacobs' Farm in Surrey, they part company with manager Harvey Lee. The new manager Rudy Reed is a feisty southerner who doesn't suffer fools gladly. Together with the band, a more aggressive approach is taken. Record company policies and management company plans dictate an altogether softer tack, and things quickly fall to pieces. The album never comes out, and after (altogether) 14 years, and very nearly 1,000 gigs, the band is over. Getting Baz to talk about this is still difficult…

It takes until Summer 1998 before another group is even contemplated, and not wishing to go through all that nonsense again, it’s a covers band.

The Sun Devils are born, formed purely for their own enjoyment. After 300+ gigs and a massive live following, they recorded their first original song demos, aptly titled ‘Sun Devils’. Also Baz's love for acoustic music (first started with his old pal Dave Taggart years ago), came back to the fore, and acoustic gigs still form a very big part of what he does, playing well over 300 solo shows up to now.

April 2000 saw old mates The Stranglers call, they needed a new guitarist (and songwriter!) and after successfully auditioning for the position in London on Wednesday 5th April, Baz found himself in Kosovo 10 days later playing for the troops of the peace keeping force! One of the highlights of his career so far. Stepping on stage with a band he's long admired was a thrill, and he hopes it will continue for years to come…

February 2004 saw another significant and special moment as The Stranglers released the album Norfolk Coast…Baz’s first studio album with the band. Baz wrote some of the tracks as well as playing lead guitar on them all. Baz’s other recordings with The Stranglers so far are the CD’s "5Live01" (live) and "Laidblack" (acoustic) and there’s a video of a concert in Poland, both on VHS and DVD.

On 3rd June 2006 The Stranglers performed at Weston-super-Mare as a four-piece once again, with Baz taking over joint lead vocals (JJ Burnel reverting back to singing his share of songs too), this following the recent departure of Paul Roberts. Baz has been extremely busy lately, finishing off the eagerly anticipated Stranglers album 'Suite XVI', which will be released on 18th September 2006…

www.bazwarne.com