THE MUSICAL SCORE for 'Sucker Punch' is provided by JJ Burnel and Baz Warne, the singer/songwriting duo from the legendary group 'The Stranglers', who had their critically acclaimed new album 'Suite 16' released at the end of September 2006 by EMI. JJ Burnel is no stranger to writing for mixed media, as he provided the highly acclaimed musical score for the cult Japanese anime 'Gankutsuou".

JJ BURNEL

Jean-Jacques Burnel was one of punk's bad boys. The karate-loving bass player was the most belligerent member of the Stranglers, a band renowned for its sardonic wit, all-black wardrobe and acts of unprovoked aggression. Burnel enjoyed a hate-hate relationship with the press and took criticism badly. Journalists ran the risk of being thumped, kidnapped or gaffer-taped to the nearest building.

Still, Burnel (or J.J., as he likes to be known) is the real deal. A former classical guitarist, his prodigious basslines helped define a string of punk/new wave anthems such as Hanging Around, (Get a) Grip (on Yourself) and Peaches - one of the few pop songs to say "clitoris". JJ, teaches his beloved Karate and still fronts 'The Stranglers', now sharing singing duties once more, as he did in the past, whilst still proving an iconic bass player and superb songwriter.

BAZ WARNE

In 'Sucker Punch', Baz plays Coburn, the enigmatic ringer brought in from the North East to face Buchinsky (Gordon Alexander) at the end of the film but he will also play a key part in scoring the movie, given his musical background and talent.  Baz was born on ..:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />25th 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. Baz's first gig came at the age of 16 at 'The New Crown' in South Shields in the summer of 1980.

Since that time Baz has played in numerous bands, including 'Toy Dolls', 'Smalltown Heroes', 'The Troubleshooters', with 'Smalltown Heroes' supporting 'The Stranglers' in 1995. After forming covers band 'Sun Devils', 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! 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.

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.

THE STRANGLERS

It has often been said that the Stranglers are probably the most enduring band of the UK punk/new wave era, while at the same time being the least celebrated. The original Stranglers line-up jelled during 1974/75 and brought together four individuals, Hugh Cornwell, Jet Black, Jean-Jacques (JJ) Burnel and Dave Greenfield. At this time, an American serial killer known as the "Boston Strangler" was grabbing headlines around the world, which, given the menacing atmosphere projected by the band, eventually led to the name "The Stranglers".

August 11th 1990 saw the last performance with Hugh Cornwall. JJ, Jet and Dave decided to continue, adding John Ellis and vocalist Paul Roberts and the Stranglers MK II were born, producing four albums: "Stranglers in the Night", "About Time", "Written in Red" and "Coup de Grace". In March 2000, John Ellis left to pursue other interests. He was replaced by "Small Town Heroes" guitarist Baz Warne. With Baz securely in place, 2004 saw the release of the much acclaimed fifteenth studio album "Norfolk Coast. May 2006 saw the departure of Paul Roberts, after sixteen years service with the band. This was an amicable split, with Paul moving on to pursue other musical interests. The band was now a four piece for the first time since Hugh's departure in 1990, with Baz sharing vocal duties alongside JJ. The first gig in the new format was at the Midsummer Buzz Festival in Weston Super Mare in June 2006, with a new album -- Suite XVI --following in September of the same year.