Interview: Richard Hawley

Sheffield’s Under the Big Top Festival will see some home-grown talent headlining this year. After the Levellers provide Friday night’s entertainment, Saturday will see guitar hero Richard Hawley take the stage for a one-off performance in his home town.

Formerly a member of Britpop band Longpigs, the 46-year-old singer/songwriter has also been a touring member of Pulp. He struck out on his own in 2001, and has since released seven critically acclaimed studio albums, which marry the vocal style of Jim Reeves’s mellow and soulful ballads with a harder modern edge.

Open Up Your Door, from Truelove’s Gutter, has been featured on several television adverts to add a classic feel and the 2009 album was also the winner of Mojo’s Record of the Year.

As a session player, 
Hawley has worked with the likes of Lisa Marie Presley, Nancy Sinatra and Arctic Monkeys and his latest album, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, was released last year to huge critical acclaim. Peaking at number three on the UK charts, it was shortlisted for the Mercury Music Prize and also received a BRIT Award nomination.

A significant departure from 
his earlier releases, the 
album really showcases Hawley’s ability as a guitarist and is much more raw in sound.

“It was obvious to me that it was time to shake away from those moorings, it was getting too comfortable. I wanted to just see if a guitar could handle the same dynamic as an orchestra, which I think it can,” he says.

Despite all his achievements, Hawley is extremely modest and almost indifferent to his success. We are speaking in his local pub in Sheffield. He has his two dogs with him and aside from the slicked back hair and dark red-tinted glasses, he looks like just another regular enjoying a late afternoon pint.

Some of the songs on Standing at the Sky’s Edge 
are more politically charged 
than Hawley’s previous work. He says that this is a result of the events surrounding the recording of the album.

“When I started recording, the Tory government got in. You have to have a heart of stone to not react to some of the things they were doing immediately.

“One of the first things they wanted to do was sell the woodland off, and that was something that appalled me. Having lived through this before with Margaret Thatcher, I knew what was coming. I guess the title song was a warning.

“The three verses are all stories about people I knew back then, and that could be now. It was a kind of rallying cry, really, that it’s time all good people get together and stand their ground.” Hawley completed a UK tour in February and says with a little sense of relief that the new material went down just as well as his earlier works.

“It was awesome to play on this tour, I really enjoyed the whole thing. The reaction from crowds equalled the music. At the end, we often get a standing ovation, which is something amazing. However, this time we’d get that after a first song,” he laughs. “I’ve been playing live since I was 12. It still excites me.”

While the bulk of his touring is complete, Richard has not yet started thinking about his next album.

“I’ve got loads of songs, but I’ve only just finished touring and I don’t want to really think about that for a while. When you’ve been doing something for a long time 
it’s very important to know when to take your foot off 
the gas and just live your 
life.

“I’m not even in the car, let alone [taking my] foot off the gas. I’m enjoying walking and exploring – I do it all year round. There’s no such thing as bad weather, kid, just wrong clothes!”

When not on tour, Hawley finds enjoyment through more peaceful pastimes.

“I walk the dogs; I’ve gone miles with these two,” he begins, nodding to his two dogs lying faithfully beside him.

“I don’t really have hobbies. I’m too conscious of the 
fact that I’d be having a hobby. I guess my life’s my hobby, I like tinkering around with guitars and being creative.”

Evidence of Hawley’s 
love of playing was perhaps best represented when he played a tour in 2012 in a wheelchair when he broke his leg slipping down steps in Barcelona.

“We had got months of touring booked ahead of us, and that was the beginning of the whole album,” he says. “We’d waited two years to go out on the road and I really love my time with the musicians and all our 
road crew. We have a lot 
of love and respect for each other.”

Waking up in hospital a few hours before he was due to be on stage, Hawley’s professionalism never wavered.

“I said ‘get me a wheelchair and a drum stool and I’ll do the gig – I’ll just try my best to do it.’ I just didn’t want to let anyone down. Literally, I’d have to have a severed head to cancel a concert.”

While Hawley has changed little since he first started out in music, one thing is noticeably different – he recently quit smoking to save his voice.

“I’ve not had a cigarette since January 2, because I wanted to keep going,” he admits. “I’m not interested in anything else – it’s just the music. That’s all I really care about.”

The Under the Big 
Top Festival, Sheffield, 
July 12 and 13. Richard Hawley will be appearing at Graves Park on the final evening.

For a full programme of bands or to book tickets call the box office on 0114 234 9979 or online at www.underthebigtop.co.uk

From Britpop to solo acclaim

Guitarist, singer-songwriter and producer, Richard Hawley was born in Sheffield in 1967.

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.

When the 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, the most recent being the hugely acclaimed Standing at the Sky’s Edge.