Strawbs - Discography (1968-2014)

Strawbs (or The Strawbs) are an English rock band founded in 1964. Although the band started out as a bluegrass group they eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock, progressive rock, and (briefly) glam rock.

They are best known for their hit, "Part of the Union", which reached number two in the UK charts in February 1973, as well as for "Lay Down" a popular Progressive Rock hit from the same LP. The Strawbs also toured with Supertramp in their "Crime of the Century" tour, doing their own "Hero and Heroine" tour, which drew musical similarities and themes.

They were originally known as the Strawberry Hill Boys — from St Mary's Teacher Training College, Strawberry Hill, Twickenham. Their long-time leader and most active songwriter is guitarist and singer Dave Cousins (guitar, dulcimer, banjo, vocals) (born David Joseph Hindson, 7 January 1945, in Hounslow, Middlesex). In the early days Strawbs played with Sandy Denny, (later lead singer of Fairport Convention and Fotheringay).

Although they started out in the sixties as a bluegrass band, the Strawberry Hill Boys' repertoire soon shifted to favour their own (mainly Cousins' ) material. While in Denmark in 1967, The Strawbs (Cousins, Tony Hooper and Ron Chesterman) with Sandy Denny recorded 13 songs for a proposed first album. It was apparently not issued in Denmark and the fledgling band could not get a UK record deal. (Meanwhile, Denny left to join Fairport Convention and the album was forgotten until it was issued on Pickwick Hallmark in the UK in the mid-1970s).

They were the first UK group signing to Herb Alpert's A&M Records and recorded their first single, "Oh How She Changed", b/w "Or Am I Dreaming" in 1968, which was produced and arranged by two highly influential seventies' producers, Gus Dudgeon and Tony Visconti, who also worked on their critically acclaimed first album, Strawbs, which was released in 1969. (Note: Although that first single was issued in the U.S. on A&M, neither of their first two A&M LPs were issued in the US until around 1975).

Between the first and second A&M albums, in 1969, a rare publishing sampler was recorded ("Strawberry Music Sampler No. 1" ). According to the 2001 CD reissue, only 99 copies of the original vinyl LP were ever pressed up, making it their rarest album.

After the folk-tinged Dragonfly, Cousins and Hooper added Rick Wakeman on keyboards, Richard Hudson on drums, and John Ford on bass. The new line-up had their London debut at the Queen Elizabeth Hall, where Wakeman was trumpeted as "tomorrow's superstar" by Melody Maker. Their third album, Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios, the first to have a US release, was taken from that concert.

Wakeman stayed with them for one further album, From the Witchwood, then departed to join Yes, remarking to the press that "I'm sure we'll all benefit from the split because we were beginning to compromise a lot on ideas — like we'd use half of my ideas and half of theirs — and I don't think it was helping what was eventually coming out. We ended up lacking challenge. Complacency set in, and for the last couple of months we just weren't working." He was replaced by Blue Weaver, who had previously been with Amen Corner and Fairweather.

This line-up produced what many feel to be the archetypal Strawbs album Grave New World, before yet another change, the departure of founding member Hooper, who was replaced by electric guitarist Dave Lambert, formerly of Fire and the King Earl Boogie Band.