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LAST UPDATED 15 MAY 2024
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JOHN HAWKEN RIP

JOHN HAWKEN PASSES - DAVE COUSINS WRITES

It is with deep sadness that I must tell you that John Hawken passed away peacefully with his family at his side at 2pm US Eastern Standard Time today (15 May).

John Hawken joined Strawbs in late 1973. His contribution to the Strawbs legacy was immense and with John on board Strawbs played consistently to the band’s biggest audiences. The breakthrough for Strawbs in the US and Canada was the 1974 album ‘Hero and Heroine’. The following 1975 album ‘Ghosts’ charted even higher in the Billboard charts. John’s keyboard work contributed greatly to our success.

John was renowned for his sensitive touch on the piano, most notably on ‘The Winter Long’ from ‘Autumn’. John became highly adept on Mellotron and Moog synthesizer, defining the backbone of the Strawbs sound.

John, I will miss you so much. Not only for your playing, but also for your sense of humour, which brought tears to my eyes every time we met up.

Gone, but never to be forgotten. Much love.

Photo Credit: Jon Connolly

MEMORY OF CROPREDY – LIMITED EDITION FULLY SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH OF THE CROPREDY FINALE LINE-UP

L-R: Mauritz Lotz (el gtr), Kevin Gibson (drms), Schalk Joubert (bs), Dave Cousins (vcls, dulcimer, banjo)
Brian Willoughby (el gtr), Cathryn Craig (vcls), John Ford (vcls, ac gtr), Bleaver (kbds)

As winter approaches in the UK, one memory that lingers for many of us is Dave Cousins' farewell stage performance at Cropredy. As a ‘one and only opportunity’ the Commonwealth Medical Trust (Commat) arranged for a photo of the line-up to mark the occasion.

This is a limited edition of only 50 photos, each signed by those who played at Cropredy – a tribute to Dave Cousins' amazing work as singer and song writer. Dave, as a trustee of Commat, asked that this photo be made available to support the organisation’s work in providing water tanks to improve the health and lives of women and children in poor and marginalised communities in Uganda.

If you would like to have your own signed copy of this souvenir (whilst stocks last!) you can make a donation of a minimum of

£32 (including UK second class postage)

£35 (including European postage)

or £37 (including rest of the world postage).

Should the postal service in your country not be reliable, please contact Commat at cropredy@commat.org to discuss other options.

All funds raised, after sending the photos to you, will go towards supporting this worthwhile project, to which Dave is deeply committed.

The form to buy the photo is at: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeICc9Si8FwfPm2c-GhqsvP5AA8Wm314IILyIpTN_Z6NpHN1A/viewform. The system accepts various credit cards.

LIVE REVIEWS AND PHOTO GALLERIES - 2016 TO 2023 REINSTATED

after a lengthy absence from the site, work has recommenced on reformatting tHe live reviews and photo galleries pages. Just uploaded Jan 2016 to date, more to come. Check out the main Live Reviews page to see the new pages.

STRAWBS SMASH CROPREDY

Strawbs wowed the crowd at Cropredy with their final live performance, a tour de force which had the crowd giving a whole-field standing ovation at the end. There's a review and setlist on the Cropredy page and an initial raft of photos. Some more photo galleries added.

Photo: Seth Zworestine

NEW STRAWBS ALBUM - THE MAGIC OF IT ALL

There's a review on Strawbsweb by Dick Greener on the Magic reviews page - feel free to send any reviews comments to Dick Greener

You can read the Cherry Red press release and see the track listing and other info on Strawbsweb on the main Magic page

Singles

Two singles have been released as downloads - you can listen to them online at the Cherry Red website via various streaming services (including Spotify and YouTube Music):

Ready (We Are Ready)

Everybody Means Something To Someone

Interviews and reviews UPDATED

Best Ever - Garry Stoller interviews Dave Cousins

American Songwriter review of Magic

Progarchives review of Magic

Dave Cousins interview

John Ford interview

Video clips

And there are still videos online of Dave's solo living room performance of two of the new songs on the album, intended to promote the 2022 Chiswick show

Video 1 - The Magic Of It All
Video 2 - The Time Has Come For Giving Back

NEW MONKS 2CD COMPILATION "NO SHAME" RELEASED 15 SEP 2023

A compilation of the two Monks albums Bad Habits and Suspended Animation, together with bonus tracks many of which have never been released. Whilst a stark departure from Strawbs music, following the hit single "Nice Legs, Never Mind The Face" Hud and John together with vocalist Terry Cassidy produced two commercially successful albums - the first for EMI, and the second for Polydor Canada, which went platinum in that territory.

You can order at: from the Cherry Red website.

CD1 - Bad Habits

Johnny B Rotten
Drugs In My Pocket
Love In Stereo
Bad Habits
Spotty Face
Dear Jerry, Don’t Try To Kill Me With Your Love, Norman
Nice Legs Shame About Her Face
Inner-City Kitty
Out Of Work Musician
Ain’t Gettin’ Any
No Shame
Skylab (Theme From Monks)
Drugs In My Pocket (Alternate Version)
You’ll Be The Death Of Me (B-side of single ‘Nice Legs Shame About Her Face’)
No Shame (Demo Version)
Monks Medley (B-side of single ‘I Can Do Anything You Like’)
I Can Dub Anything You Like (Disco Mix)
Beat About The Bush (Previously Unreleased)
Stop & We Go (Previously Unreleased)
Heap Of Junk (Previously Unreleased)

CD2 - Suspended Animation

Don’t Want No Reds
Suspended Animation
Don’t Bother Me – I’m Christian
James Bondage
Grown Ups
Cool Way To Live
Oxford Street
Go
I Can Do Anything You Like
Plastic Max
King Dong
Space Fruit
Gold And Silver (Bonus Track)
Cybernetic Sister (Bonus Track)
Ann Orexia (Bonus Track)
Beasts In Cages (Bonus Track)
Slimy Gash (Bonus Track)
Lost In Romance (Bonus Track)
Space Noises (Previously Unreleased)
Electric Shivers (Previously Unreleased)

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