Career
He has played drums professionally since he was 17, when he joined singer Lulu's backing band The Luvvers. He played with the Jeff Beck Group at the time of the release of the single "Hi Ho Silver Lining" and then joined soul band Trifle, with whom he stayed for about 18 months. He moved on to raunchy blues rock band Juicy Lucy before joining Stealers Wheel for their eponymous first album (which spawned the million seller "Stuck in the Middle With You"). In 1973, he left the increasingly dysfunctional band and joined Strawbs, with whom he stayed until after the release of the 1977 album Burning for You .
After spending some time on the studio side learning to engineer and produce, he lived in Malaysia for a period, returning to obtain his master's degree. He rejoined The Strawbs in 1998 for their 30th anniversary concert at Chiswick House and played on subsequent tours in the US, Canada, UK and Europe. Rod also works with his jazz group 'Ming Hat' and with Mark Horwood (The Mummers) and bassist Matt Gray in the fusion group E.V.A. Rod and Yardbirds guitarist Top Topham are working on a blues-jazz Hammond organ trio project.
From 2005 to 2007 he mentored and taught Curt Lawrence, ex-Last Letter Read, who went on tour with MC Lars in England. Curt attributes his hard hitting style and double kick drum technique to Coombes' tuition. Coombes can also play guitar and bass guitar. He played some bass for Stealers Wheel and some guitar for Strawbs. Coombes composed three tracks for Strawbs: "Sad Young Man", "A Mind of my Own" and "Changes Arrange Us", on which he also sang lead vocals.
Stealers Wheel were a Scottish folk rock/rock band formed in 1972 in Paisley, Scotland, by former school friends Joe Egan and Gerry Rafferty. Their best-known hit is "Stuck in the Middle with You". The band broke up in 1975 and re-formed briefly in 2008.
The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock.
John Christopher Hawken is an English keyboard player, best known as a member of The Nashville Teens, Renaissance, and the Strawbs. He also played in Spooky Tooth, Third World War, Vinegar Joe, Illusion, as well as being a session musician.
Hero and Heroine is the seventh studio album by English band Strawbs.
Ghosts is the eighth studio album by English band Strawbs.
Richard William Stafford Hudson is an English musician who played drums and sitar for the Strawbs. He later joined forces with bassist John Ford to form a duo, Hudson Ford, in which he played guitar and sang.
Dave Lambert is an English guitarist and singer-songwriter, who has been a member of the Strawbs at various stages of the band's career, beginning in the 1970s.
Chas Cronk is an English musician, best known as the bass player and acoustic guitarist for the Strawbs from 1973 to 1980 and again from 2004 to the present. Chas also toured and recorded with Steve Hackett and Rick Wakeman in the 1980s and Cry No More in the 1980/90s. He released a solo album, Liberty, in March 2022 on Renaissance Records (USA).
The Best of Strawbs is a compilation album of songs by Strawbs, with one track from the Dave Cousins solo album Two Weeks Last Summer.
"Shine on Silver Sun" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1974 album Hero and Heroine. It is written by Dave Cousins and was intended as a "come-back" single after the post-"Part of the Union" band split. The single was a minor success peaking at number 34 in the UK Singles Chart.
Strawbs in Concert is a live album by English band Strawbs. The tracks are taken from recordings of two BBC In Concert programmes from 1973 and 1974.
The Very Best of the Strawbs: Halcyon Days is a compilation album by English band Strawbs. Although credited to Strawbs it does contain three Hudson Ford tracks and a Dave Cousins solo track. The album was released as a 2-CD set in the UK and US. The US release has a slightly different title and a different track listing.
Live at NEARFest is a live album by Strawbs. It was recorded at NEARFest in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania on July 11, 2004 and featured the line-up which played together on the albums Hero and Heroine (1974), Ghosts (1975), and Déjà Fou (2004).
"Hero and Heroine" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1974 album of the same name. It is written by Dave Cousins and has obvious drug allusions, the main reason it didn't get much airplay on BBC radio. The song is in a similar vein to an earlier track "Witchwood" but with rather more obvious allegory.
"Autumn" is a three-part song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1974 album Hero and Heroine. The final part "The Winter Long" was released as a single in 1974 under the title "Hold on to Me ".
"Grace Darling" is a song by English band Strawbs, featured on their 1975 album Ghosts.
"I Only Want My Love to Grow in You" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1976 album Deep Cuts.
"Charmer" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1976 album Deep Cuts.
Lay Down with the Strawbs is a live album by English band Strawbs. It was recorded at Robin 2 in Bilston and features the "Hero and Heroine line-up" of the band with a guest appearance of former member John Ford.
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