(Apologies if this has already been posted but I couldnt’ see it)
I just wanted to acknowledge the passing of Dave Cousins of the Strawbs at 85. I first heard “The Hangman and the Papist” as a small lad, probably on the Alan Freeman show, I thought it both very disturbing and rather marvellous.
… with some natty keyboard work from pre-YES Rick Wakeman.
Big fan of this album. We used to sit around in my mate’s bedroom thinking “How can anyone play so fast?!”
Love the Hangman and the Papist too.
I’ll be giving the Greatest Hits a spin, including this favourite:
https://youtu.be/GMKOO8C2NBg?si=zP3DNpN_Kz2IPmAB
Sorry to hear it.
I still have battered singles of Lay Down and Part of the Union, probably unplayable now…I started hoovering up some of the Strawbs’ back catalogue on CD a while back and I still enjoy them. Witchwood will be going on later today.
A bit of a side bar – I had an online conversation with a couple of people about his birth date. Some resources say 1940 and some 1945 – does anyone know definitively? 1940 seems a bit unlikely, but that’s what Wikipedia says.
I saw that too but according to here 1940.
https://strawbsweb.co.uk/index0.asp
Surely they’d get it right.
Initially everything on the internet said he was born in 1945 but within a few hours had changed to 1940. No wonder his voice had faded in recent years!
Bob Harris announced it on Sunday afternoon, as we were driving back from Norfolk, and played Part of the Union.
Ironically, a Hudson/Ford song, rather than a Cousins song.
I mentioned that to Mrs F. She didn’t seem that bothered.
I’m shocked…and stunned!
The b side of Lay Down was called”Backside” attributed to “Ciggy Barlust and the Whales from Venus”
Why do I still remember this and not the useful stuff I should have been revising for exams at the time?
I’m sure I’m not the only one on here who can sympathise.
I can still recall all of the lyrics from the first two Half Man Half Biscuit albums, but can’t remember any of my A-level Chemistry. Knowing who Peggy Mount and Una Stubbs were came as no use to science, hence my scraped-by grade E.
That B side wasn’t their finest moment by any means.
I’ve been playing Strawbs music regularly one of the great Prog Rock bands.
This is sad news R.I.P. Dave.
Witchwood, Antiques & Curios, Grave New World and Bursting are, for me, their glory period. Of those, the mighty Grave New World dominates my memory.
Benedictus ushers in a rich album full of great tunes, interesting lyrics and terrific individual (that bass! those horns!) and ensemble playing. And what about that cover? A glorious bi-fold gatefold sleeve. Fabulous artwork in the three-panel inside, a full lyric booklet and a William Blake on the front. An absolutely stonking LP record, the very epitome of why vinyl is the king of all formats. What a fine work it is.
Thanks for all the music Dave, you were a musical favourite of mine since schooldays a long, long time ago.
“There is blood in the dust where the city’s heart beats. The children play games that they learned from the streets….”
Side One particularly of Grave New World is an absolute belter.
Are you familiar with this LP, Foxy?
https://www.discogs.com/release/1880318-Dave-Cousins-and-Brian-Willoughby-Old-School-Songs
No, that’s a new one on me – I imagine you mention it because it has merit? I may take a punt on Discogs if you reckon so!
Merit? You’ve got me worried now…I’m not an expert like your good self, but I like it. “Unplugged” before that was a thing. It gets a mixed review online – ranging from excellent to less so.
I’ve punted. Sure it will have sufficient merit, don’t fret!
Shouldn’t you be taking a punnet?
Oh, well played, Fred!
Sad to hear about Dave Cousins, a giant of Folk Rock. I’ve followed the Strawbs for years, finally getting to see them live as The Acoustic Strawbs at the Edinburgh Festival a few years ago.
Their quality was evident from the start and their early albums with Rick Wakeman were sublime: Dragonfly (1970); Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios (1970 – live); and From the Witchwood (1971). They made a bigger impact with Grave New World (1972) and I recall seeing a film where the album was played live. Bursting at the Seams (1973), included the UK hit singles “Part of the Union” and “Lay Down”. Despite their more commercial approach, they had a string of excellent prog albums: Hero and Heroine (1974); Ghosts (1975); and Nomadness (1975). Their later albums were a more commercial, but there is good stuff to be had. Dave Cousins’ solo work is well worth exploring, particularly Two Weeks Last Summer (1972), Hummingbird (2002 – with Rick Wakeman), and The Boy in the Sailor Suit (2007). Dave had such a distinctive voice. He’ll be missed. RIP.
I’d forgotten about the “Grave New World” film. Your comment triggered a very distant memory of seeing the film as a ‘B-movie’ for another music film my mates and I had gone to see in the local cinema. A quick Google search suggests that this film would have been “Pictures at an Exhibition” or “Live at Pompeii” but I cant remember which it was. It was a very, very long time ago.
I saw Live at Pompeii and seem to recall it was a Fairport film in support. Maidenhead?