John Hawken

John Hawken

John Christopher Hawken (born 9 May 1940, at Christchurch General Hospital, Bournemouth, Dorset) is a British keyboard player. He studied classical piano between the ages of four and eighteen at which point he succumbed to the lure of rock and roll.

Bands

John's first band was the Cruisers Rock Combo (1960 to 1962) but he is possibly best known for his contributions to various versions of The Nashville Teens (1962 to 1968). He was then a founder member of Renaissance in 1969.

He also played in Spooky Tooth, Third World War, Vinegar Joe, Strawbs and Illusion, as well as being a regular session player.

quick background

From a brief interview in 2005; "In 1960, I was living with my parents in Weybridge, Surrey, in the South of England when I joined my first rock band -- the Cruisers Rock Combo. The personnel consisted of Dave Maine (drums), Pete Harris (bass), Mick Dunford (lead guitar), myself on piano and three singers, Tony Gallagher, Kenny King and Chris Wing. We rehearsed (and occasionally played) at the Addlestone Youth Club (in the town next to mine)."

Nashville Teens

At the same time, Ray Phillips and Arthur Sharp were the singers in a band called The Nashville Teens (who also rehearsed and played around the Addlestone area). Phillips and Sharp split with their band at about the same time the Cruisers split from their singers and the new Nashville Teens were born. A little later, Roger Groome joined on drums, John Allen on lead guitar and Terry Crowe became the third singer. This was the line-up that turned professional in 1963 and went to Germany (as most English bands did at that time) to play very long hours in the clubs (including Hamburg's Star-Club).

Touring

In 1964 (now minus Terry Crowe and with Barry Jenkins on drums) The Nashville Teens signed a management contract and recorded "Tobacco Road," at the same time touring with Chuck Berry and Carl Perkins on their very first tour of England. "I was delighted to be playing piano for both of them, in addition to playing the Nashvile Teens set", said Hawken. They went to the U.S. in late 1964 to play the "Murray the K" Christmas show at the Fox theater in Brooklyn and subsequently toured extensively in England and Europe.

Peter Harris left the group in 1966 and was replaced on bass by Neil Korner, formerly of the New Vaudeville Band (of "Winchester Cathedral" fame). Neil and John Hawken also worked together from time to time in a very popular London pick-up band, Frankie Reid & The Powerhouse which also featured Dana Gillespie on vocals and occasionally, the sax section from Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers -- John Knightsbridge on guitar (later of Illusion), and many others.

Although subsequent records failed to equal the success of "Tobacco Road," the band was a terrific "live" band and work came fairly steady until Hawken moved on late in 1968.

Renaissance

In early 1969 Hawken got a telephone call from Jim McCarty (ex-Yardbirds drummer) asking if he was interested in a new project McCarty and Keith Relf (ex-Yardbirds vocalist) were putting together. Hawken turned up at McCartys' house in Thames Ditton. Present was Louis Cennamo (ex-The Herd, James Taylor) and a steel player named Brian (B.J.) Cole. The five jammed for several hours. Brian (a brilliant player) didn't make the cut but he later heard went on to become a top session player and his work is found on many projects from the 70s.

A short time later, Jane Relf joined on vocals and Renaissance was born. Live gigs included a tour of the States and work in Europe. Renaissance recorded two albums produced by Paul Samwell-Smith (ex-Yardbirds, whose career as a producer included many of Cat Stevens top projects).

Renaissance, Mark 2

Circumstances brought about huge changes in the band. The "Mark 2" version of Renaissance (as it's come to be known), which existed during the Summer of 1970 consisted of John Hawken on keyboards, Neil Korner (the Teens' second bass player) bass, Michael Dunford (Cruisers and Teens) guitar, Terry Crowe (from the early Teens) sang alongside Annemarie "Binky" Cullum, the new female singer -- and pinning it all down was Terry Slade on drums.

Hawken was ready for a change when Spooky Tooth contacted him in October 1970 for a three month tour of Europe on the strength of their hit record "I Am the Walrus" from their "Last Puff" album. But before he left Renaissance, he helped his successor -- John Tout -- to integrate with the band. He and Michael went on to record many albums with their new line-up which included vocalist Annie Haslam.

Third World War

In 1971, Hawken joined Third World War (Britain's first punk band?). Their singer/songwriter, Terry Stamp, wrote amazing lyrics and bass player Jim Avery supplied the music. The group survived long enough to put down one album (the band's 2nd release). The group also included John Knightsbridge (lead guitar) and Craig Collinge (drums). It seemed that every minority faction in London loved the band (the Black Panthers, White Panthers, Gay Lib, etc., etc.) but this never translated into sufficient financial support to keep them going. Hawken has recently started collaborating with Stamp and Avery. After a brief spell with the Vinegar Joe (with singers Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer), Hawken joined the Strawbs in 1973.

Strawbs

At his audition for the Strawbs, Dave Cousins introduced Hawken to the Mellotron, an instrument he later learned to love in spite of its quirky reliability. The band consisted of Dave Cousins (singer/songwriter), Dave Lambert (guitar), Chas Cronk (bass), Rod Coombes (drums) and John Hawken on keyboards. Tours included the U.S., Japan and Europe. During Hawken's tenure with the band (1973-1975) they produced two albums, "Hero and Heroine" and "Ghosts."

Illusion

In 1977, the original Renaissance re-formed with Jim McCarty, Keith and Jane Relf, Louis Cennamo and Hawken. Unable, for legal reasons, to use the name Renaissance, they chose "Illusion" -- which had been the title of their second album as Renaissance.

Tragically, Keith Relf was electrocuted at home while working on their music. The band was re-shuffled, bringing in John Knightsbridge (lead guitar) and Eddie McNeill (drums), with Jim stepping up to the mike to share vocal duties with Jane and also playing rhythm guitar. The group produced two albums "Out of the Mist" and "Illusion" before things wound down in 1979.

U.S.

In November, 1979, the Hawken family moved to the U.S.and Hawken began playing with "The Rocketmen" in central New Jersey.

In 2001, the surviving members of the original Renaissance - Jim McCarty, Jane Relf, Louis Cennamo and John Hawken - recorded and released another album, entitled "Through the Fire" under the band name "Renaissance Illusion".

In 2004 the "Hero and Heroine" Strawbs line-up reunited and did a number of tours both in the US and Europe, recording a new album "Deja Fou".

Retirement

On June 26, 2008, John Hawken announced his retirement from Strawbs.

A near-death experience

Fellow Nashville Teen Ray Phillips related a tale from the band's involvement with manager Don Arden. Arden was notoriously reluctant to part with money owed to his clients, and Hawken decided that things had gone too far. According to Phillips, John had arranged to collect £120 from Arden’s Carnaby Street office, but was given a cheque for only £20. Hawken, indignant, demanded the full sum, but Arden leapt from his chair, seized Hawken by the throat, pinned him against the wall and screamed: ‘I have the strength of 10 men in these hands’. The pressure of Arden’s fingers on his neck persuaded Hawken that this was no idle boast. Within seconds, Arden had dragged Hawken towards his second floor window and said: ‘You’re going over, John, you’re going over’. Hawken managed to free himself from Arden’s grip and fled from the office, having learned the hard way that Arden demanded respect.

Screen Appearances

John Hawken appeared briefly in the David Essex movie That'll Be The Day (1973) as the keyboard player in the band led by Stormy Tempest (Billy Fury), which also featured Keith Moon on drums.

External links

• http://www.johnhawken.com/ John's website
• http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk/ Strawbs website
• http://www.nlightsweb.com/ Northern Lights Renaissance website
• John Hawken at IMDb