Hawken was born 9 May 1940 in Bournemouth, England. He trained in classical piano from the age of 5 until 18, prompted by his mother Dorothy Constance Hawken, who was formally trained as both a pianist and painter from an early age. He took an interest in rock and roll and, in 1960, joined his first rock band – the Cruisers Rock Combo. The band included future Renaissance guitarist Michael Dunford.[1]
Nashville Teens
In 1962, The Cruisers Rock Combo were joined by singers Ray Phillips and Arthur Sharp to form The Nashville Teens. John Allen soon joined on lead guitar after Dunford's departure, and Terry Crowe joined as a third singer. This line-up turned professional in 1963 and went to Germany to play in the clubs (including Hamburg's Star-Club).
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 first tour of England. "I was delighted to be playing piano for both of them, in addition to playing the Nashville Teens set",[2] said Hawken. The band went to the US 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. Neil and John Hawken also worked together from time to time in a popular London pick-up band, Frankie Reid & The Powerhouse, which also featured Dana Gillespie on vocals and occasionally, the saxophone section from Cliff Bennett's Rebel Rousers, plus John Knightsbridge on guitar (later of Illusion).[citation needed]
Although subsequent records failed to equal the success of "Tobacco Road", the band worked steadily until Hawken moved on late in 1968.
Renaissance
In late 1968 former YardbirdChris Dreja, John Hawken and pedal steel guitaristBrian (B.J.) Cole were going to form a country-rock band, to be managed by Peter Grant and produced by Mickey Most, but they never got beyond the rehearsal stage. Dreja, aware that his former Yardbirds colleagues Jim McCarty and Keith Relf were putting together a new band, suggested Hawken as a possible member. In early 1969 Hawken got a telephone call from McCarty asking if he was interested in the new project. Hawken turned up at McCarty's house in Thames Ditton, along with bass player Louis Cennamo, Dreja and Cole. Cole and Dreja subsequently dropped out of the project.[3]
A short time later Jane Relf joined on vocals and Renaissance was born, with a line-up of Keith and Jane Relf, McCarty, Hawken and Cennamo. The band's self-titled debut album was released in October 1969, followed by an American tour in early 1970. During the recording of the band's second album, Keith Relf, McCarty, and Cennamo departed. Hawken formed a new lineup of the band with former Nashville Teens members Terry Crowe, Michael Dunford, and Neil Korner, as well as session drummer Terry Slade. After a European tour, Jane Relf left to be replaced by American singer Binky Cullom.
Hawken was contacted by Spooky Tooth (an English rock band) in October 1970 with an offer to join the band. Hawken accepted, helping his successor in Renaissance, John Tout, to integrate with the band before leaving.
After Renaissance
Hawken joined Spooky Tooth for a three-month European tour in support of their album The Last Puff. After the tour was complete, Spooky Tooth disbanded.
In 1971, Hawken joined Third World War, with whom he recorded one album (the band's second release). The group also included John Knightsbridge on lead guitar, who would later join Hawken in Illusion.[4]
After a brief spell with Vinegar Joe, whom he left in September 1972, Hawken joined the Strawbs in 1973. At his audition, Dave Cousins introduced Hawken to the mellotron.[5] During Hawken's tenure with the band they released two albums, Hero and Heroine and Ghosts. Tours included the US, Japan and Europe. In late 1975, Hawken left the band after disagreements over the more commercial direction that the other members wanted to go in.[6]
Illusion
In 1976, Hawken and the other original Renaissance members began to work on a reunion. After Keith Relf's death, the band was re-shuffled, bringing in John Knightsbridge on lead guitar and Eddie McNeill on drums, with McCarty sharing vocals with Jane Relf and also playing rhythm guitar. Unable, for legal reasons, to use the name Renaissance, they chose "Illusion" – which had been the title of their second album as Renaissance. The group recorded two albums, Out of the Mist and Illusion, before disbanding in 1979. In 1990, a further album of unreleased material was released under the name Enchanted Caress.
United States
On 29 October 1979, John, his wife Alexandra and their sons Barnaby and Jody moved to the United States from the UK, and Hawken went into a temporary retirement from music.
In 2001, the surviving members of the original Renaissance – Jim McCarty, Jane Relf, Louis Cennamo and John Hawken – recorded and released the album Through the Fire under the band name 'Renaissance Illusion'.
In 2004 the Hero and Heroine Strawbs line-up reunited, and undertook a number of tours both in the US and Europe, recording two new albums: Deja Fou and The Broken Hearted Bride.
On 26 June 2008, Hawken announced his retirement from touring.
In October 2011, Hawken came out of retirement to perform with Jim McCarty and Jann Klose at Hugh's Room and This Ain't Hollywood, Ontario, for two Chamber Pop Summits. In 2019, he joined the Strawbs for their 50th anniversary show.[7]
Renaissance are an English progressive rock band, best known for their 1978 UK top 10 hit "Northern Lights" and progressive rock classics like "Carpet of the Sun", "Mother Russia", and "Ashes Are Burning". They developed a unique sound, combining a female lead vocal with a fusion of classical, folk, rock, and jazz influences. Characteristic elements of the Renaissance sound are Annie Haslam's wide vocal range, prominent piano accompaniment, orchestral arrangements and vocal harmonies.
William Keith Relf was an English musician, best known as the lead vocalist and harmonica player for rock band the Yardbirds. He then formed the band Renaissance with his sister Jane Relf, the Yardbirds ex-drummer Jim McCarty and ex-The Nashville Teens keyboardist John Hawken.
Armageddon were an English hard rock band formed in 1974. Their self-titled debut, Armageddon, was recorded in England and released in the United States on A&M Records. The albums' original liner notes use the term "supergroup", as their personnel were drummer Bobby Caldwell, singer Keith Relf, guitarist Martin Pugh, and bassist Louis Cennamo.
Paul Granville Samwell-Smith is an English musician and record producer. He was a founding member and the bassist of the 1960s English rock band the Yardbirds, which launched leading guitarists Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page to fame.
Illusion were a British progressive rock band formed in 1977. They released two albums, Out of the Mist (1977) and Illusion (1978) on Island Records, before folding in 1979. A third release titled Enchanted Caress was released in 1990.
James Stanley McCarty is an English musician, best known as the drummer for the Yardbirds and Renaissance. Following Chris Dreja's departure from the Yardbirds in 2013, McCarty became the only founding member to still tour in the band. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 as a member of the Yardbirds.
Jane Relf is a British singer, best known as the original vocalist for the progressive rock band Renaissance. She is the younger sister of Keith Relf of the Yardbirds.
Louis David Cennamo is an English bass guitarist, who has recorded and/or toured with a number of important British rock/blues/progressive bands, including The Herd, Renaissance and Colosseum.
Steamhammer are an English rock band from Worthing, England, that were formed in 1968 by vocalist Kieran White, guitarists Martin Quittenton and Martin Pugh, bassist Steve Davy, and drummer Michael Rushton.
Armageddon was the only album released by British/American progressive rock group Armageddon in 1975. It features vocalist Keith Relf, Martin Pugh, Louis Cennamo, and Bobby Caldwell.
Renaissance is the debut album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in November 1969.
Illusion is the second studio album by the English progressive rock band Renaissance, released in 1971. It was originally released only in Germany and did not receive a wider release until 1973. It was first released in the UK in 1977, with a cover that had the original front and rear cover artwork swapped.
Hero and Heroine is the seventh studio album by English band Strawbs.
Betty Thatcher was an English lyricist who wrote many of the lyrics for the progressive rock band Renaissance.
Speech is the fourth album by the British rock band Steamhammer.
The Yardbirds are an English rock band, formed in London in 1963. The band started the careers of three of rock's most famous guitarists: Eric Clapton (1963–1965), Jeff Beck (1965–1966) and Jimmy Page (1966–1968), all of whom ranked in the top five of Rolling Stone magazine's list of 100 greatest guitarists. The band's other members during 1963–1968 were vocalist/harmonica player Keith Relf, drummer Jim McCarty, rhythm guitarist Chris Dreja, and bassist Paul Samwell-Smith, with Dreja switching to bass when Samwell-Smith departed in 1966. The band had a string of hits throughout the mid-1960s, including "For Your Love", "Heart Full of Soul", "Shapes of Things", and "Over Under Sideways Down".
Michael Dunford was an English rock guitarist and songwriter. He was best known for being the guitarist for Renaissance from 1970 until his death in 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
