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.

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.

A 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).

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. They split with their band at about the same time we split from our singers and the new Nashville Teens were born. A little later, Roger Groome joined us on drums, John Allen on lead guitar and Terry Crowe became our 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).

In 1964 (now minus Terry Crowe and with Barry Jenkins on drums) we 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. We 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 in 1966 and was then replaced on bass by Neil Korner, formerly of the New Vaudeville Band (of "Winchester Cathedral" fame). Neil and I 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 our subsequent records failed to equal the success of "Tobacco Road," the band was a terrific "live" band and work came fairly steady until I left late in 1968.

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

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

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

I was ready for a change when Spooky Tooth contacted me 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 I left Renaissance, I helped my successor -- John Tout -- to integrate with the band. He and Mick went on to record many albums with their new line-up which included vocalist Annie Haslam.

In 1971, I joined Third World War (Britain's first punk band?). Their singer/songwriter, Terry Stamp, wrote amazing lyrics (he still does) and bass player Jim Avery supplied the music. We 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 us going. I've recently started collaborating with Terry and Jim once again -- but that's another story.

A brief spell with Vinegar Joe (with singers Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer) and then on to the Strawbs in 1973.

At my audition for the Strawbs, Dave Cousins introduced me to the Mellotron, an instrument I 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 me on keyboards. Our tours included the U.S., Japan and Europe. During my tenure (1973-1975) we produced two albums, "Hero and Heroine" as well as "Ghosts."

In 1977, the original Renaissance re-formed with Jim, Keith, Jane, Louis and me. Unable, for legal reasons, to use the name Renaissance, we chose "Illusion" -- which had been the title of our second album as Renaissance. A tad confusing...

Tragically, Keith Relf was electrocuted at home while working on our music. We re-shuffled the band, 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. We produced two albums "Out of the Mist" and "Illusion" before things wound down in 1979.

In November 1979 my family and I moved to the U.S.

In 2001, Jim McCarty, Jane, Louis and I also recently released another album, entitled "Through the Fire" -- this time the band's name was "Renaissance Illusion" -- with songs written and produced by Jim."

John appeared briefly in the David Essex movie That'll Be The Day (1973).

In 2004 he got back together with Strawbs and has been touring on and off with them ever since both in the US and Europe. On June 26, 2008, John announced his retirement from Strawbs.

John moved to the US in 1979 and plays with "The Rocketmen" in central New Jersey.

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.

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