Richard Hawley

All Music Guide:

With a melodic baritone anguish that falls somewhere in the neighborhood of Scott Walker, Pulp touring guitarist and former Longpigs member Richard Hawley began his solo career with a self-titled debut in 2001. The son of a steel worker, Hawley was raised in Sheffield, England, and grew up listening to folks such as Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley. He learned guitar at an early age from his father and uncle. During the '90s he built up a reputation as an ace guitarist and, besides his stints in Pulp and Longpigs, did session work for U.K. artists such as Robbie Williams, Beth Orton, and All Saints. He released his self-titled debut in April 2001. Hawley's sophomore effort, Late Night Final, which cloaked his sweet baritone and heartworn songs in lush arrangements, followed in 2002 on Bar-None Records. Hawley toured behind the album, opening for the likes of Coldplay and Pulp. Also in 2002, Hawley and Pulp leader Jarvis Cocker recorded a track for the tribute album Total Lee! The Songs of Lee Hazlewood. The next year, Hawley returned with the personal Lowedges, which was named for a place just outside his native Sheffield. In September 2005, Hawley released his first album for Mute, the bittersweet Coles Corner. He followed it in 2007 with Lady's Bridge. Hawley was approached by Mute label boss Daniel Miller, who asked him if he had an album in him he'd always wanted to make regardless of commercial concerns. Hawley responded in the affirmative and underscored his remark with: "There won't be any singles on it." Miller told him to go ahead and record it anyway. That album, Truelove's Gutter, was released by the label in 2009. He followed it with a four-track EP in 2010 entitled False Lights from the Land, featuring two originals and two covers. In the spring of 2012, Hawley released Standing at the Sky's Edge, an aggressive, two-guitar, bass, drums -- and rocket noises -- rock & roll album, which stood in stark contrast to his previous two full-lengths.

Wikipedia:

Richard Willis Hawley (born 17 January 1967 in Sheffield) is an English guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer. After his first band Treebound Story (formed while he was still at school) broke up, Hawley found success as a member of Britpop band Longpigs in the 1990s. After that group broke up in 2000, he later joined the band Pulp, led by his friend Jarvis Cocker, for a short time. As a solo musician, Hawley has released seven studio albums.

Solo career [edit]

Impressed by a home demo of his songs, both Pulp's Jarvis Cocker and Steve Mackey (a former classmate from Hucklow Middle School) urged Hawley to record his first eponymous mini-album, released in 2000. 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, named after a suburb of the city that the young Hawley had seen on the destination board of a bus. The NME called Lowedges the "first great album of 2003" and it topped an end-of-the-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 EMI. Legal wrangling delayed Coles Corner, Hawley's fourth release, until September 2005. Again, Hawley mined the theme of his beloved home city, this time referencing the location where courting lovers meet. Coles Corner eventually gained a nomination for the Mercury Prize in 2006. Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, whose debut album won the prize, famously exclaimed "Someone call 999, Richard Hawley's been robbed!"

Hawley's 2007 album Lady's Bridge (again named with a Sheffield reference, for a bridge in the centre of the city) was released in the United Kingdom on 20 August 2007. He performed a 16-date tour during September 2007 to promote the album. Merchandising on the tour included the usual t-shirts and posters, but also special edition bottles of Sheffield-made Henderson's Relish. The bottles featured the album's artwork, and a note that it gave extra flavour to meat, fish, soups, pies, casseroles and vegetables. Hawley previously used the relish to promote Coles Corner.

On 14 January 2008, Hawley was nominated for his first solo Brit Award for Best British Male Performer. Hawley was a headlining act at the 2008 Festival Internacional de Benicàssim in Spain. Hawley claimed that it was the best festival audience he had ever played to. Hawley recently produced, with Colin Elliot, and contributed two songs to the album Made in Sheffield, a compilation of songs by Sheffield-based songwriters for Tony Christie.

Truelove's Gutter, Richard's sixth studio album, was released on Mute Records on 21 September 2009. The album was nominated for, and won the Mojo record of the year.

His song "Don't Get Hung Up In Your Soul" was chosen as the Starbucks iTunes Pick of the Week for 17 November 2009. and "Open Up Your Door" currently features as the soundtrack song to the Häagen-Dazs ice cream TV commercial in the UK.

Hawley's track "Tonight The Streets Are Ours" was chosen as the title track for the Oscar nominated 2010 Banksy film Exit Through the Gift Shop which premièred at the Sundance Film Festival on 24 January 2010.

"You And I" by Richard Hawley and The Death Ramps (AKA The Arctic Monkeys), has been released as the B-Side of The Arctic Monkeys' single "Black Treacle" on 23 January 2012.

"Standing at the Sky's Edge" the 7th Hawley album was released in the UK on 7 May 2012 on the Parlophone record label. The first single, "Leave Your Body Behind You" is also available for download and will form part of the Singles Club releases Hawley intends for the coming months.

In September 2012 Standing at the Sky's Edge was nominated for the 2012 Mercury Awards. Hawley was also featured in a BBC6 Music live broadcast with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra which took place at the Magna Science Park, Rotherham.Hawley was also nominated for another Brit award in 2012 but refused to attend.

Session work [edit]

Hawley has also worked with several musicians, including Hank Marvin, A Girl Called Eddy, and Jarvis Cocker (and his Relaxed Muscle project). He played the guitar solo on All Saints' cover version of "Under the Bridge," and co-wrote Robbie Williams' song "Clean" from his debut album Life thru a Lens.

In 2002 Hawley produced the debut single "So Young" by Sheffield band Hoggboy, co-produced the band's two albums "Or 8?" and "Seven Miles Of Love", co-wrote second album track "Hello" and also played on a cover version of Little Walter's "Come Back Baby", which was released as a b-side to the single "Believe". Hawley also produced material by lead singer Tom Hogg's next band The Hosts.

Praise from R.E.M.'s Mike Mills led to him being approached to support the group on several concert dates in 2005. After contributing to Nancy Sinatra's 2004 self-titled album, Hawley supported her on a European tour in 2005 and duetted with her on several of the tours concerts.

In 1991, Hawley auditioned to be a guitarist in Morrissey's live band, but was rejected after he started singing "One Night" by Elvis Presley during his audition.

Hawley provided vocals for "Bad Woman", a B-side to Arctic Monkeys' single "Teddy Picker", released on 3 December 2007. He also co-wrote and provided vocals and guitar to the song "The Fix" on Elbow's Mercury Prize-winning 2008 album The Seldom Seen Kid. Hawley also performed the song with the band at the Glastonbury Festival in June 2008, on The Culture Show in June 2008, at Elbow's homecoming gigs in Manchester in 2008, Wembley Arena in March 2009, Blackpool's Empress Ballroom in March 2009 and at the MEN Arena in September 2009. He reprised his collaboration with Elbow on 17 January 2009 for a special recording of The Seldom Seen Kid with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, which was subsequently released as a special edition CD and DVD set titled The Seldom Seen Kid Live at Abbey Road in March 2009. He appeared with Elbow on 19 March 2011 while the band were in Sheffield to perform "The Fix" as a bonus song on their UK Arena Tour.

Hawley's song "Baby, You're My Light" was included on the CD soundtrack for the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. Hawley himself made an appearance in the 2007 film Flick.

The song "Roll River Roll" from the Lady's Bridge album was used as the theme tune to the TV show Getting On.

Hawley occasionally gigs with The Feral Cats, a side project that enables him to explore his interest in rockabilly music.

October 2009, Hawley was joined on stage by Lisa Marie Presley in London for an encore, she sang vocals on a song the pair have been working on called 'Weary'. Hawley wants to help Presley relaunch her music career, and the two have embarked on a songwriting partnership in which Lisa Marie writes the lyrics and Hawley the music. In a new interview Presley said that she is currently recording a new album in London.

Lisa Marie's album Storm and Grace was released in 2012, the track Weary features Hawley.

Hawley worked again with Arctic Monkeys in January 2012, providing vocals for the "Black Treacle"'s B-side, "You And I", released on 23 January.