Hugh Cornwell: 'Keith Floyd was a rebel'

Hugh Cornwell has said that his former band The Stranglers appealed to late TV chef Keith Floyd because of his rebellious nature.

Floyd was known to be a fan of the group and versions of their tracks 'Waltzinblack', 'Peaches' and 'Viva Vlad!' often featured on his cookery programmes.

Cornwell told The Quietus: "The Stranglers probably appealed to Keith because he was a bit of a rebel. I hadn't really been in touch with Keith recently. But for a few years we were quite close. I got news of him through a friend who is a food writer.

"But even he said he found it difficult to see him, because he'd been so ill, he cut himself off from people, which was a shame. He probably didn't want people to see himself in that way, in pain. But he’s a lovely bloke, and we go back a long, long way."

He added: "Back in the early '70s he was opening a new restaurant in Bristol. And he asked me if I could play at the opening party. I said, 'Well, Keith, I’ve got my finals the next day, it's going to be tough'.

"So he said, 'I'll really make it worth your while'. So I'm playing away, and down the steps comes my biochemistry professor. Not with his wife - but with his secretary!

"He clocked me, I clocked him, and neither of us said anything. You're here but I didn't see you, and you're here and I didn't see you."