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Dave Hawley
David Hawley, better known as Dave Hawley, was an English prominent guitarist who was part of the late 1950s and 1960s Sheffield rock music scene. On his death, he was described as being "a leading light" and "an outstanding guitarist"; the Sheffield Star called him a "Sheffield music legend". Thom Jurek described him as "a lifelong Teddy Boy from the first generation of the Edwardian youth subculture in the '50, was a gone rockabilly cat who worshipped Gene Vincent (smart man) and played music his entire life".
He was the father of English singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Hawley.
Hawley grew up in Sheffield; his father was a music-hall musician and performer who had an act where he used to play the violin behind his back while he stood on his head. As a blues and country guitarist, Hawley first played in working men's clubs in the city whilst still under-age. His contemporaries while learning their trade in the clubs were Joe Cocker and Dave Berry.
As described by his son Richard, Hawley "had this three-finger claw-hammer style he learned from watching Earl Scruggs. He combined that with an R&B influence and came up with something really original".
Hawley later joined the Sheffield bands the Hillbilly Cats, the Black Cats, the Scott William Combo and the Cargills; the latter group, The Guardian described as being "years ahead of their time in their fusion of rock, country and blues".
Hawley met his future wife, Lynne, when he joined the Whirlwinds, another local band; Lynne and her sister Jean sang with the band. (Jean was subsequently to become the wife of guitarist Frank White, who, in the words of Hawley's son Richard, "in the '60s, was one of the best blues guitarists Sheffield had ever seen"). However, Hawley subsequently left when the other band members wanted a more commercial sound (replaced by ex Joe Cocker lead, Phil Crookes, they were to join Dave Berry's backing band The Cruisers), and he formed his own rockabilly band, called the Dave Hawley Combo; they were the resident group at The Esquire (now The Leadmill).[citation needed] In the book "Not Like a Proper Job: The Story of Popular Music in Sheffield 1955-1975 as Told by Those Who Made it", Hawley states, "I stuck rigidly to what I wanted to do".
Friend and fellow musician John Firminger (who in the 1970s was to play with Hawley in the Cargills) recounted how he first saw Hawley at the Esquire Club, when he walked in with Dave Berry: "I first met Dave [Hawley] when he was with the Scott William Combo... He had come through the skiffle group era, like a lot at that time. He had a real feel for bluegrass and rockabilly that few English musicians had... We were impressed with Dave straight away. In those days we could be a bit dismissive of musicians we didn't rate, but Dave stood out a mile. He had class".
In 1968, after seeing an advertisement in NME, Hawley left Sheffield for London and joined the Lorne Gibson Trio. After travelling down early on the milk train, the band left that same evening for a gig in an American air base. Hawley remained with the band for a year, earning £12 a night, during which time they toured Germany, Malta and the Middle East, and appeared on BBC Radio's Country Meets Folk.
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Dave Hawley
David Hawley, better known as Dave Hawley, was an English prominent guitarist who was part of the late 1950s and 1960s Sheffield rock music scene. On his death, he was described as being "a leading light" and "an outstanding guitarist"; the Sheffield Star called him a "Sheffield music legend". Thom Jurek described him as "a lifelong Teddy Boy from the first generation of the Edwardian youth subculture in the '50, was a gone rockabilly cat who worshipped Gene Vincent (smart man) and played music his entire life".
He was the father of English singer-songwriter and guitarist Richard Hawley.
Hawley grew up in Sheffield; his father was a music-hall musician and performer who had an act where he used to play the violin behind his back while he stood on his head. As a blues and country guitarist, Hawley first played in working men's clubs in the city whilst still under-age. His contemporaries while learning their trade in the clubs were Joe Cocker and Dave Berry.
As described by his son Richard, Hawley "had this three-finger claw-hammer style he learned from watching Earl Scruggs. He combined that with an R&B influence and came up with something really original".
Hawley later joined the Sheffield bands the Hillbilly Cats, the Black Cats, the Scott William Combo and the Cargills; the latter group, The Guardian described as being "years ahead of their time in their fusion of rock, country and blues".
Hawley met his future wife, Lynne, when he joined the Whirlwinds, another local band; Lynne and her sister Jean sang with the band. (Jean was subsequently to become the wife of guitarist Frank White, who, in the words of Hawley's son Richard, "in the '60s, was one of the best blues guitarists Sheffield had ever seen"). However, Hawley subsequently left when the other band members wanted a more commercial sound (replaced by ex Joe Cocker lead, Phil Crookes, they were to join Dave Berry's backing band The Cruisers), and he formed his own rockabilly band, called the Dave Hawley Combo; they were the resident group at The Esquire (now The Leadmill).[citation needed] In the book "Not Like a Proper Job: The Story of Popular Music in Sheffield 1955-1975 as Told by Those Who Made it", Hawley states, "I stuck rigidly to what I wanted to do".
Friend and fellow musician John Firminger (who in the 1970s was to play with Hawley in the Cargills) recounted how he first saw Hawley at the Esquire Club, when he walked in with Dave Berry: "I first met Dave [Hawley] when he was with the Scott William Combo... He had come through the skiffle group era, like a lot at that time. He had a real feel for bluegrass and rockabilly that few English musicians had... We were impressed with Dave straight away. In those days we could be a bit dismissive of musicians we didn't rate, but Dave stood out a mile. He had class".
In 1968, after seeing an advertisement in NME, Hawley left Sheffield for London and joined the Lorne Gibson Trio. After travelling down early on the milk train, the band left that same evening for a gig in an American air base. Hawley remained with the band for a year, earning £12 a night, during which time they toured Germany, Malta and the Middle East, and appeared on BBC Radio's Country Meets Folk.