- For the article on the U.S. Air Force general, see
Richard E. Hawley
Richard Hawley portrait by Gareth James.
Richard Hawley, (born January 17 1967 in Sheffield, England) is a
critically acclaimed
guitarist,
singer, songwriter
and producer. Hawley initially found
success as a member of Britpop band The
Longpigs in the 1990s.
When a drug-filled torpor after an
extensive tour of America
brought the band to the brink of extinction
in 1997,
Hawley was asked to play with Pulp by his close friend and
Pulp frontman
Jarvis
Cocker. "They saved my life," Hawley later recalled, "I was
going mental with drink and drugs." The subsequent world tour in
support of Pulp's album
This Is Hardcore
left Hawley emotionally and physically drained on his return to his
home city.
During this time, he even considered leaving the music
industry altogether.
It was an encounter at Hawley's Sheffield home that led the
longtime collaborator out of the shadows.
Impressed by a home demo of his songs, both Pulp's Jarvis
Cocker and Steve Mackey urged Hawley to head into the studio and begin
work on his first solo release. 2000s eponymous mini
album encouraged Hawley to return to the studio once more. In 2001 Late
Night Final, named after the cry of vendors selling the Sheffield
Star evening newspaper on the streets of the city, was
released to positive reviews from the press, if unspectacular sales. Two years later
Hawley released Lowedges, another Sheffield reference,
this time to the curiously named suburb of the city that had so entranced the
young Hawley when he had seen it on the destination board of a bus. NME called Lowedges
the "first great album of 2003" and it topped an end of year poll
held by Virgin
Radio. Critical praise was widespread, leading many big names such as Coldplay,
Radiohead
and R.E.M.
to enthuse about Hawley's work.
After the demise of Setanta Records in 2004 Hawley eventually
signed to Mute Records, a division of the giant EMI. Legal wrangling
delayed Coles Corner,
Hawley's fourth release, until September 2005. Again Hawley mines the theme of his
beloved home city, this time referencing the location where courting lovers meet. Coles
Corner eventually gained a nomination for the acclaimed Mercury
Prize in 2006.
Hawley's work as a session musician and producer remains in
high demand. After contributing towards her eponymous 2004 release,
Hawley also supported Nancy Sinatra on her European tour
in 2005. Praise from R.E.M.'s Mike Mills
led to him being approached to support the Georgia
group on several concert dates that year. In the past, Hawley has also
worked with artists as diverse as Hank
Marvin of whom he is a big fanNew York's A
Girl Called Eddy, All Saints, for Nellee Hooper's soundtrack
for Baz
Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet, with Jarvis
Cocker's Relaxed Muscle project and on
Cocker's 2006 solo album. He played the guitar solo on the cover of
"Under the Bridge" by pop group All
Saints. He has also contributed guitar work on the Gwen
Stefani song Wonderful Life. The track was produced by Nellee
Hooper and also features guitars by Martin
L. Gore. The song is on her second solo album, The
Sweet Escape.
Hawley's new album Lady's
Bridge will be released in the UK on August 20,
2007. The first single from the album is Tonight The Streets
Are Ours. He has announced also 15-date UK tour.
Aside from his solo and session work, Hawley occasionally gigs
with The Feral Cats, a
side project that enables him to explore his interest in rockabilly
music.
Possibly due to his aforementioned rockabilly
interest, Hawley once auditioned for the role as guitarist in the
rockabilly-inclined Morrissey's band.
Fiercely proud of his working class upbringing, Hawley once
described himself as "jurassic labour" in response to a question about
the New
Labour project. He lives in Sheffield, with his wife and children and
is an avid Sheffield Wednesday supporter.
Discography
- Richard Hawley
(Setanta)
(2000)
- Late Night Final
(Setanta) (2002)
- Lowedges
(Setanta) (2003)
- Coles Corner
(Mute)
(2005)
- Lady's Bridge
(Mute) (2007)
External links
