1999
Hugh's album *Black Hair Black Eyes Black Suit* was released in the US by Velvel Records on 23 February (catalogue P321 79766). The US edition of the European album *Guilty* had a new cover and added Jesus Will Weep and Not Hungry Enough, while omitting Five Miles High. The live album *Mayday* was also released this year (recorded at the 1 May 1998 Manchester show). Hugh spent much of the year playing plugged-and-unplugged solo shows, including his first US appearances as a solo artist. In November he returned to the US East Coast for roughly 25 acoustic shows tied to Velvel's American reworking of *Wired* as *First Bus To Babylon*. Its packaging was changed because the original UK artwork could not be located; Make It With You was dropped, while Hugh's previously unreleased version of Jimi Hendrix's Stone Free and the first release of the 12-inch mix of My Kind Of Loving were added. US releases of *Nosferatu* and *Wolf* were under negotiation but not confirmed. Other dates included UK club shows and a Norwegian festival appearance.
🎙️ = a recording of this show exists
- 03 Mar 1999Merlin TheatreFrome, England
- 05 Mar 1999Robin 2Bilston, EnglandMount Pleasant. Per Wolverhampton Express and Star, Birmingham Daily Post and Birmingham Mail listings on the British Newspaper Archive
- 06 Mar 1999 (Sat)The StablesWavendon, Milton Keynes, EnglandPer a Bedfordshire Times and Independent listing (5 Mar 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive: "SATURDAY: The Stables, Wavendon, Milton Keynes... Hugh Cornwell (+ support), 8pm... a dance space gig, £12"
- 10 Mar 1999Assembly RoomsTamworth, EnglandPer Burton Daily Mail (15 and 26 Feb 1999) and Tamworth Herald (5 Mar 1999) listings on the British Newspaper Archive, billed as a sell-out one-off show
- 11 Mar 1999ARC Stockton Arts CentreStockton-on-Tees, England
- 15 Mar 1999 🎙️*Open Mike with Mike Bullard*CanadaLive acoustic performance of One Burning Desire on Canadian national television
- 17 Mar 1999 🎙️Mercury LoungeNew York, NY, USA
- 19 Mar 1999 🎙️Schubas TavernChicago, IL, USASetlist: Long Dead Train; Nerves Of Steel; Torture Garden; Snapper; Goodbye Toulouse; Hanging Around; Tramp; Gingerbread Girl; All The Colours Of The Rainbow; Mothra; Midnight Summer Dream; Ships That Pass In The Night; Never Say Goodbye; House Of Sorrow; One Burning Desire; Strange Little Girl; Black Hair Black Eyes Black Suit; Always The Sun; Wired; Grip. Recording notes: a few crackles, otherwise excellent
- 23 Mar 1999Birkenhead Town HallBirkenhead, EnglandPer a Flint & Holywell Chronicle listing (5 Mar 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive
- 24 Mar 1999 🎙️The WitchwoodAshton-under-Lyne, EnglandTwo independent bootleg archives list only this date for a Witchwood show (acoustic, 24 songs); neither lists a second October date, which leans toward the 27 Oct entry below being a duplicate/mis-transcription — not conclusively resolved. A contemporary Manchester Evening News listing (19 Mar 1999, same-day) instead names Thursday/Friday 18-19 March for a Witchwood show — a third possible date for the same booking, also not resolved
- 29 Mar 1999 🎙️The MintLos Angeles, CA, USARecording exists; setlist not supplied
- 30 Mar 1999 🎙️CocodrieSan Francisco, CA, USA
- 03 Apr 1999Deep Ellum Center for the Arts (DECA)Dallas, TX, USA
- 29 Apr 1999 🎙️GarageBergen, NorwaySolo “Plugged & Unplugged” concert at the Bergen Blues & Roots Festival; the complete performance was broadcast live over the internet
- 05 May 1999The CavernExeter, EnglandPer a Western Evening Herald listing (5 May 1999, same-day) on the British Newspaper Archive
- 09 May 1999 🎙️The FoundryBirmingham, EnglandCorroborated by a Sandwell Evening Mail ad (6 May 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive: "Sun 9th May HUGH CORNWELL ex-Stranglers Solo Acoustic Show, Upstairs Bar, £8 adv"
- 12 May 1999 (Wed)Axiom CentreCheltenham, EnglandWinchcombe Street. Part of the 73rd Cheltenham Competitive Festival. Corrected from an initially-assumed 13 May: a Gloucester Citizen listing (27 Apr 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive explicitly states "Wed May 12 Hugh Cornwell Axiom Cheltenham," and 12 May 1999 was a Wednesday
- 14 May 1999 🎙️FibbersYork, EnglandSetlist: Long Dead Train; Nerves Of Steel; Snapper; Torture Garden; Hanging Around; Goodbye Toulouse; Tramp; Gingerbread Girl; Big Sleep; Dead Loss Angeles; Mothra; Midnight Summer Dream; Ships That Pass In The Night (cut); Never Say Goodbye; House Of Sorrow; One Burning Desire; Strange Little Girl; All The Colours Of The Rainbow; Black Hair Black Eyes Black Suit; Always The Sun; Wasted Tears; Wired; Grip; First Bus To Babylon; Decadence
- 20 May 1999Spilsby TheatreSpilsby, Lincolnshire, EnglandPer Grimsby Daily Telegraph (20 May 1999, same-day) and Lincolnshire Echo (13 May 1999) listings on the British Newspaper Archive
- 21 May 1999Golden LionSeaham, EnglandGreen Street. Confirmed by three separate British Newspaper Archive listings (Sunderland Daily Echo, and two Hartlepool Northern Daily Mail gig-guide entries). A single conflicting source (Mansfield & Sutton Recorder) separately billed a "Hugh Cornwell" as a local festival closer the same night — likely a mistaken or unrelated booking, not treated as a serious conflict given the weight of evidence for Seaham
- 22 May 1999Hucknall Leisure CentreHucknall, EnglandConfirmed as Hucknall (not Nottingham) via two independent bootleg-trading archives
- 27 May 1999Invernairne HotelNairn, ScotlandPer Aberdeen Evening Express (27 May 1999) and Highland News (29 May 1999) listings on the British Newspaper Archive, as part of that year's Highland Festival
- 28 May 1999 🎙️G2Glasgow, Scotland
- 29 May 1999 (Sat)West Port BarDundee, ScotlandPer a Daily Record listing (28 May 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive: "HUGH CORNWELL: West Port Bar Dundee May 29"
- 10 Jul 1999The Torture Garden web chatOnlineLive hour-long web chat with Hugh
- Summer 1999 (date unknown)HIS Information LineUnited KingdomService restored after a temporary outage following a change of provider; number 0891 603030, charged at 50p per minute
- 15 Jul 1999Dusk til DawnRochester, EnglandHigh Street. Per a Chatham Standard listing (13 Jul 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive
- 16 Jul 1999(venue unspecified)Salisbury, EnglandOne-off solo gig; per a Portsmouth Evening News listing (5 Jul 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive
- 24 Jul 1999Stoke ParkGuildford, England
- 31 Jul 1999 🎙️Richmond Festival (Mr Smith's)Bournemouth, EnglandTwo sets recorded, daytime and evening
- 26 Sep 1999 (Sun)Shepherd's Bush EmpireLondon, EnglandCharity/tribute bill; per a Harrow Informer listing (20 Aug 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive, which named Hugh Cornwell as the only artist confirmed for the gig at that point
- Sep 1999 (date unknown)The Barbican, English OriginalsLondon, EnglandHugh performed “Copsacombe Fair” and duetted with Eddi Reader on “Golden Brown.” Reader's suggestion prompted Hugh to devise the flamenco/Spanish-style acoustic arrangement of “Golden Brown” that became part of his solo repertoire
- 09 Oct 1999 (Sat)The PavilionsPlymouth, EnglandPer Western Evening Herald listings (9 and 10 Sep 1999) on the British Newspaper Archive, among a run of autumn bookings alongside The Buzzcocks, Dr Feelgood and Nine Below Zero
- 15 Oct 1999The StudioHartlepool, England
- 27 Oct 1999The WitchwoodAshton-under-Lyne, EnglandPossible duplicate/mis-transcription of the 24 Mar Witchwood date above — see note there; kept as a separate entry since no source positively rules it out
- 28 Oct 1999 🎙️The LeopardDoncaster, England
- 29 Oct 1999 🎙️BrewhouseBurton upon Trent, England
- 27 Nov 1999 🎙️Mercury LoungeNew York, NY, USASecond Mercury Lounge show this year; part of an approximately 25-date November acoustic tour of the US East Coast supporting Velvel's American reworking of *Wired* as *First Bus To Babylon*