Len Hawkes

Last updated

Len "Chip" Hawkes
Len Hawkes.png
Chip Hawkes in 1968
Born
Leonard Donald Stanley Hawkes

(1945-11-02) 2 November 1945 (age 79)
Other namesChip Hawkes
Spouse
Carol Dilworth
​
(m. 1969)​
Children3, including Chesney
Musical career
OccupationMusician
Instruments
  • Bass
  • vocals
Years active1960s–2021
Member of The Tremeloes
Formerly ofThe Horizons, Class of '64

Leonard Donald Stanley "Chip" Hawkes (born 2 November 1945) is an English retired musician. He is best known for being a member of the Tremeloes and for being the father of Chesney Hawkes. Hawkes joined the Tremeloes in August 1966, after singer Brian Poole and bassist Alan Howard departed (Mick Clarke had briefly been bassist [1] for three months before Chip). He was their bassist and co–lead vocalist from different points until 1988, when he left to help out with Chesney's career.

Contents

In 2015, he and Tremeloes member Rick Westwood were charged with sexual assault. They were acquitted in July 2016. [2] Hawkes owns the rights to the Tremeloes name and formed a new band in 2019 with his son Jodie. Chip retired in 2021 and the band continues with Jodie. With Golden Shot model Carol Dilworth (who he married in 1969), Hawkes has three children: Chesney, Jodie, and Keely, who all work in music.

Early life

Leonard Donald Stanley Hawkes [3] was born on 2 November 1945. [4] When he left school, he became a carpenter's apprentice, alongside which he would play local gigs; his nickname, Chip, was a consequence of him sometimes turning up to gigs still covered in wood shavings. [5]

He formed a band called The Horizons, that featured Rod Evans as their lead vocalist. Evans would go on to form and front the band Deep Purple in 1968. The Horizons toured Hamburg, Germany during the early to mid 1960s. [6]

Career

The Tremeloes in 1968, left to right: Dave Munden, Rick Westwood, Len Hawkes, Alan Blakley The Tremeloes.png
The Tremeloes in 1968, left to right: Dave Munden, Rick Westwood, Len Hawkes, Alan Blakley

In August 1966, he joined The Tremeloes, previously Brian Poole and The Tremeloes before Brian Poole's and bassist Alan Howard's departure earlier that year. Their first bassist was Mick Clarke, who was in The Symbols and later in The Rubettes; Clarke joined in May 1966, played on the first two songs published as "The Tremeloes", and was replaced by Hawkes in August 1966.

Chip was the group's bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist; [7] while he was a member, the band entered the UK Singles Chart with "Here Comes My Baby" (No. 4), "Silence Is Golden" (No. 1), "Even the Bad Times are Good" (No. 4), "Be Mine" (No. 39), "Suddenly You Love Me" (No. 6), "Helule Helule" (No. 14), "My Little Lady" (No. 6), "I Shall Be Released" (No. 29), "Hello World" (No. 14), "(Call Me) Number One" (No. 2), "By the Way" (No. 35), "Me and My Life" (No. 4), and "Hello Buddy" (No. 32). [8]

Being the youngest member of the band, Hawkes was seen as the "heart throb" of the group. [1]

Hawkes left the band in 1974 after being injured in a car crash, [9] before moving to Nashville, Tennessee, and releasing The Nashville Life in 1977, which flopped. [7] He returned to England in 1979, reformed The Tremeloes, [6] and entered the UK Singles Chart with "Words" (No. 90); [8] he left in 1988 to manage Chesney's career. [10] In 1992, he began touring as a solo artist. [6] He also led a small band called "The Chip Hawkes Band".

In April 2004, at the request of the Animals, who were about to undertake their 40th anniversary tour, Hawkes was asked to form a band to tour with the Animals. Hawkes would then form a supergroup including Mick Avory (The Kinks), and Eric Haydock (The Hollies), who teamed up to perform as the Class of '64, also featuring guitarists, Telecaster Ted Tomlin and Graham Pollock. [11] The band toured around the world and recorded an album of past band hits and a new single called "She's Not My Child". [12]

In 2006, he, Brian Poole, and The Tremeloes reunited for the band's 40th anniversary tour. [13] In 2017, Chip and Chesney undertook a joint tour. [14]

Hawkes reformed the Tremeloes in 2019 with Rick Westwood and Mick Clarke, as well as Hawkes' son Jodie. Len retired in 2021, and his son Chesney stepped in as lead for a while.

Personal life

Family

While promoting "Hello World" for the eleventh episode of The Golden Shot on 9 March 1969, [15] [16] he met the show's co-host Carol Dilworth, and married her later that year. Their relationship started poorly; Hawkes made an inane remark about Dilworth's mini-skirt, to which she responded by lecturing him on how popstars thought they could sleep with any women they wanted, and only agreed to a date several months later, following repeated phone calls to her from around the world, during the Tremeloes' hectic touring schedule. [17]

The pair have had three children, who are all in the music business:

Hawkes and his wife live in Chertsey. [21] An incident involving Chip and Piers Morgan occurred in 1992; while at the Ivor Novello Awards in London, Hawkes finally stood up to Morgan, who had continuously spoken badly about Chesney's solo career, by spilling a pint of lager over his head. [22]

Allegations

In December 2015, it was reported that Hawkes and Tremeloes associate Richard Westwood would stand trial for the April 1968 indecent assault of a fifteen-year-old girl [23] at a hotel in Chester. [24] The trial caused Hawkes to have to cancel a tour of Australia with Brian Poole, and caused Chesney to be taunted at his concerts. [25] In July 2016, it was reported that both parties had been acquitted after their accuser failed to enter evidence. [2] In December 2015, while leaving Chester Crown Court, both he and Richard Westwood were assaulted by an intoxicated photographer, who had to be restrained by their barrister. [25]

Health

In 2012, Hawkes was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a type of bone marrow cancer, [26] after complaining of severe backache during a family trip to Portugal. [21] According to his wife Carol: "He was sent to a specialist who did an X-ray which found he had a fractured spine. There was no reason for this so they did more checks and they found he had multiple myeloma, which is the cancer of the bone marrow." [21]

The cancer caused him to shrink six inches after six vertebrae collapsed and require the use of a wheelchair, [25] and for which he underwent a hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at the Royal Marsden Hospital, [26] which caused his hair to fall out. [21] He was treated with stem cell replacement at Royal Marsden Hospital. [21]

As a show of support for his hair falling out due to chemotherapy, Hawkes' son Jodie allowed brother Chesney to shave his hair off to raise money for charity. [21] Over £6,000 had been raised for the Macmillan Nurses based at Sam Beare Hospice in Weybridge. [21] The event took place at Len's Chertsey home.

His cancer relapsed during his assault trial, during which time he also suffered from depression. In November 2021, Chesney announced that due to Chip struggling with his health, he would be deputising for him during the Tremeloes' nationwide tour. [27]

Hawkes tested positive for Covid–19 in 2021.

Discography

The Tremeloes

(See The Tremeloes discography)

Solo

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References

  1. 1 2 "Parrot-face! About the Tremeloes". 19 December 2024.
  2. 1 2 "Ex-Tremeloes Leonard Hawkes and Richard Westwood acquitted of assault". BBC News. 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  3. ↑ "Me And My Life (Oh Mia Bambina)". ASCAP. American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  4. ↑ "Len "Chip" Hawkes Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  5. ↑ "Tremeloes comeback for Chip Hawkes and Brian Poole - Chip Hawkes Interview". South Wales Argus. 20 September 2013. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  6. 1 2 3 Chronicle, Evening (4 February 2004). "A host of top pop hitmakers". ChronicleLive. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  7. 1 2 "Brian Poole & the Tremeloes Biography, Songs, & Albums". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Tremeloes". The Official Charts Company . Archived from the original on 1 April 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  9. ↑ Talevski, Nick (2010). Knockin' On Heaven's Door. Omnibus Press. p. 37.
  10. ↑ "Chesney's dad hits the road". Northwich Guardian. 28 November 2007. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  11. ↑ "Back to the Sixties with all-star band". Lancashire Telegraph. 25 January 2007. Archived from the original on 11 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  12. ↑ Mead, Derek (11 September 2020). "Remember when... The Tremeloes". Beat Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  13. ↑ "Twist and shout with the Tremeloes". South Wales Guardian. 31 August 2006. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  14. ↑ "Chesney and Chip Hawkes to play Bilston". www.expressandstar.com. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  15. ↑ "Tremeloes Back" (PDF). Melody Maker : 4. 8 March 1969. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 April 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  16. ↑ "Carol Hawkes interview March 2012". 24 March 2013. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 17 December 2024.
  17. 1 2 Henson, Joaquin M. "Brit pop legends are loyal husbands". Philstar.com. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  18. ↑ Freeman, Hadley; @HadleyFreeman (22 March 2022). "'I'm very happy with where I am': the one and only Chesney Hawkes". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  19. ↑ "Letter: Fantastic theatre". SussexWorld. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  20. ↑ "Chesney Hawkes facts: 'One and Only' singer's age, wife, children and parents revealed". Smooth. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  21. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Talbot, Charlotte (16 October 2012). "Chesney Hawkes shaves brother's head for charity". SurreyLive. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  22. ↑ Baker, Marc; Woodcock, Zara (28 November 2024). "'Piers Morgan made my celeb son's life hell so I chucked a pint over his head'". The Mirror. Retrieved 28 December 2024.
  23. ↑ Barrett, Frances (2 December 2015). "Two former members of 1960s band The Tremeloes deny historic indecent assault". SurreyLive. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  24. ↑ "60s band stars deny carrying out Chester sex assault". Chester and District Standard. 2 December 2015. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  25. 1 2 3 "Tremeloes stars acquitted of indecently assaulting 15-year-old girl". The Independent. 22 July 2016. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  26. 1 2 Evans, Martin (5 April 2016). "Two members of 60s band in court accused of 50-year-old sex offences". The Telegraph. ISSN   0307-1235. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  27. ↑ Fort, Hugh (6 November 2021). "Chesney Hawkes filmed Buddy's Song scenes near gran's house". BerkshireLive. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
  28. ↑ "Chip Hawkes Nashville Album UK Vinyl LP". RareVinyl.com. 16 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
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