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NEW STRAWBS ALBUM DUE 26 FEB 2021
![]() This album is being released both on 180gm vinyl and on CD (the CD release has three extra tracks). For track details, see the Settlement album page. Preview review to follow. Esoteric Records press release Settlement is the latest album produced by Strawbs, more than 50 years on from the band's first major label release. The album comes at a time of political and social upheaval, which the lyrics and melodies of the songs reflect. Undeterred by the fact that "business as usual" was not possible because of the global COVID-19 pandemic - working remote from one another, from their own home studios - Settlement is a remarkable achievement. Pre-ordering CD: https://www.cherryred.co.uk/product/strawbs-settlement-cd-edition |
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TONY HOOPER, DIED 18 NOV 2020
![]() Dave Cousins wrote (and supplied this photo - right): Hud writes: Tony, my friend, you will be sorely missed. You were the gentlest of men, kind and humorous, modest and unassuming. You were also amazingly talented, your voice unequalled for its purity, with its beauty enriching the lives of so many people who, like me, hold you in high esteem. I will treasure your memory. Hud Dick Greener writes: I am extremely sad to have to pass on news of the passing of the co-founder of the Strawbs, Tony Hooper, who died on 18 Nov 2020. He had had an operation for oral cancer a few months ago, and returned home, but was later admitted to a hospice and I heard this morning that he died yesterday Dave Cousins and met back at school at Thames Valley Grammar, quickly becoming firm friends and musical partners. They collaborated in an early group, the Gin Bottle Four, which made second place in the Ealing Skiffle festival that year, after which the pair moved on from skiffle (on one occasion they appeared as "David and Anthony") but mainly as the Strawberry Hill Boys, named after the area of West London in which they rehearsed. Starting out with predominantly bluegrass material, they progressed through a traditional folk phase till eventually the bulk of their material was self-penned. In parallel, the band's name gradually shortened to become the Strawbs, gigging pretty constantly in clubs and colleges from 1963 onwards, until the band's breakthrough with "Just A Collection Of Antiques And Curios" in 1970. ![]() The purity of Tony's angelic voice – and its combination with Cousins' vocals for many was a key element in the appeal of the Strawbs in those early years. According to Dave who spoke to me the other day, it was the main reason the Strawbs were signed to A&M, and many of the songs on the albums up to Tony's departure from the band in 1972 amply demonstrate that perfect synergy. He and Cousins had already dabbled with producing other artists – Paper Bubble's first album was their work, and they collaborated on a second, which remained unreleased until 2018. After leaving the Strawbs, he spent more time producing other artists – The Settlers (he had shared a flat with a member of the Settlers in North London) and the Settlers' Cindy Kent's album. He also notched up production credits, mainly for the York Records or Myrrh labels - Wooden Horse's 2nd album (featuring Noosha Fox, later of pop band Fox), and albums by Garth Hewitt, Ian Page, Narnia, Davey & Morris and various others. He then left the music business altogether, working at book and journal publishers Macmillan for many years, but returned to the stage with Strawbs in 1983 till the 30th anniversary celebrations in 1998 (and again briefly for their triumphant return to the QEH in 2000, 30 yearson from that first fateful concert). Outside of the Strawbs he collaborated with Elaine Charlson in Misalliance (who produced three albums in the 1990s) and Pitchfork, a popular barn dance and ceilidh band. I've had the pleasure of knowing Tony for a good number of years socially now – Hud and I and various others fell into the habit of meeting up reasonably regularly for drinks in Central London in the past few years. A true gentleman, always interesting to listen to and interested in what others have to say, and with a wicked sense of humour, combined with a glint in his eye and an innocent impish smile. I couldn't agree more with Elaine's description – "a lovely man", and I will certainly miss him. My thoughts are with his family and friends. To celebrate his life, I'll shortly be adding some pictures to Strawbsweb, which he let me have a long time ago, but which have never made it online before now, whilst listening to some of the Strawbs tracks which underline his undoubtedly key contribution to the Strawbs. There's a kind tribute from Rick Wakeman on his website and a Strawbsweb interview with Tony, conducted by Lindsay Sorrell back in 2007. His funeral took place on 4 Dec at 12.00 and was streamed online. Lindsay Sorrell wrote in last night:
I can't actually remember how it came about, but I somehow talked Tony into letting me interview him in my amateur roving reporter way. I spent the most wonderful afternoon interviewing (aka" interrogating") him at The Cabbage Patch pub in Twickenham. Although it doesn't seem that long ago it was actually in 2007. We talked about all manner of things for several hours, and it was obvious he was extremely happy away from the spotlight and the less palatable aspects of the music business, though he also recounted many happy memories of the good times. He still loved making music with a local band called Pitchfork, and continued to enjoy his day job designing book covers for Palgrave Macmillan. There I was, chatting away with one of my earliest heroes, who turned out to be one of the humblest people I can ever remember meeting. My sincere condolences go to all Tony's family and friends, and in particular to his beloved Colette and Nick (Tony's son, who released a couple of fine CDs a while back under the name Nick Eliot. Nick also creates some wonderful artwork which I believe he still displays on the Saatchi Art website). Tony was very much the proud father and frequently mentioned his children with great fondness. Sincere condolences also to Elaine Charlson, Tony's good friend and ex-band mate in Misalliance. I'm not certain when we first met, but it was lovely to see Elaine and Tony when they came along to see the Strawberry Fools play some years ago. Elaine has been incredibly kind, and I will always be extremely grateful to her. It's nearly 3 a.m., but I can't sleep. I've played countless songs which feature Tony and shed a few tears while doing so. RIP Tony, you'll be so sadly missed by more people than you'll ever know, but you'll remain in all our hearts. Forever. Obituaries have now appeared in the Times and the Telegraph - click to see full size images |
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NEW TIMELINE FEATURE ON STRAWBSWEB
![]() This is a collection of nearly 4000 dates in the Strawbs' history, which I hope will be of interest to Strawbs fans, particularly for those with a bit more time on their hands than they expected to have over Christmas. Check it out at the Timeline page. The project started when I researched the British Library's archive of music papers, held at the then-new BL in Euston Road. I went across to Kensington, behind the Royal Albert Hall, where I thought the archive was based. However, it had moved to the new British Library building in Euston Road, so I headed off there and queued for a reader's ticket. Several people in front of me were rejected because they could find the material they wanted elsewhere. I stepped forward and said "I want to read old copies of the Melody Maker, Sounds and NME" and was immediately accepted as a serious academic! There followed months of happy Saturdays spent at the BL (a nice place to work), turning the fragile pages of real copies of those papers, many of which I had bought, owned and foolishly disposed of – a real treat. I came away with a timeline of the Strawbs' history, finding the earliest mention I could of the Strawberry Hill Boys in the MM's gig pages (24 Sep 1963), and many things besides, with the intention of using them to write a book about the band. I did some preliminary work, about 120,000 words, and several interviews with band members, but somehow it never seemed to come together. Maybe one day …. Step forward many years, when Dave started writing his autobiography, I sent him my timeline research. It then turned out that he had kept many of his diaries over the years, and they included a huge amount of info about gigs and his activities, which complemented my research. He produced a combined timeline, which we originally thought we'd include as an appendix to the book "Exorcising Ghosts" - however it became clear that the book was already a substantial tome, and the timeline material would be far too bulky, so it could not be included. A little while back, I did some pages for Strawbsweb to cover a few early years, using some of Dave's work and mine, but stalled after I covered 1971, thinking something more was needed (also there was a lot of stuff not covered by either of us which needed inclusion from various other sources which had emerged, for which many thanks are due - see below). As we headed into lockdown in March 2020 during the current Covid-19 crisis, I started a new project – a database which would hold all this information and spit out pages for inclusion on the website. There's lots of other date info been added from Strawbsweb itself, from the old Strawbs Info Service newsletters and elsewhere. After months of work, the Timeline is now ready to be made public. Starting out as a list of just gigs it's now become something bigger, with the inclusion of release dates, recording dates and TV and radio dates, as well as seminal events in the Strawbs' history (eg the meeting where A&M rejected the first album). I think it is a true timeline feature, with nearly 4000 pieces of information, some just bare details of a show, others with commentary, and a selection of images to embellish what would otherwise be a very text-heavy page. It'll never be finished, and I'll keep adding to it over the months to come, but you can’t wait for these things to be complete or they'll never see the light of day. I hope Strawbs fans enjoy reliving things they recall (vaguely - or maybe with crystal clarity), and if they aren't there, please let me know. Corrections and additions always welcome. Please note however – this compilation of information is © Strawbsweb and represents a huge investment of my time and energy – previously published timeline info included on Strawbsweb has been lifted and included elsewhere online without permission. This material should not be reproduced elsewhere – please include a link to these pages instead. Thank you.
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