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Gordon Haskell

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Gordon Haskell

Gordon Haskell (born Gordon Hionidies, 27 April 1946, in Bournemouth, Dorset, England) is a Pop music vocalist, songwriter, and bassist.

A school friend of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp, they first worked together in an amateur version of League of Gentlemen in the mid 1960's. Since the late 1960s Gordon Haskell has been on the fringes of the English music scene. He shared a flat with Jimi Hendrix, and played bass in the cult psychedelic band the Fleur De Lys. Haskell's first album Sail in My Boat was recorded for the U.K. division of CBS Records in 1969. It was not a success and today is a rare collectible.

Haskell was asked to be the bassist and vocalist in the transitional King Crimson line-up of 1970. He appeared on the albums In the Wake of Poseidon and Lizard, but quit the group during rehearsals for live work. Unfortunately, Haskell’s love for classic Nat King Cole and Ray Charles songs soon found him unhappy and frustrated in Fripp’s band. Haskell's more folk oriented interests were in conflict with Crimson's Progressive rock sound.

He auditioned for Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegün, which led to Arif Mardin producing Haskell’s 1971 solo album It Is and It Isn’t. The album has guest appearances from top session musicians, notably John Wetton, who would later join King Crimson himself. Again, the album was not a commercial success and remains a rare collectible to fans. As the seventies progressed Haskell found himself playing supporting stints with Cliff Richard and Tim Hardin. For a short time in 1974 he rehearsed with the group Stackridge. Though he decided not to join the group, Stackridge recorded a song from It Is and It Isn’t. Originally called Worms, the version on the album Extravaganza was re-titled, No One's More Important Than the Earthworm.

Haskell arrived at the doorstep of the 1980s deeply in debt and dissatisfied with the music business. He left for Denmark in 1984, playing "seven nights a week to drunks in bars." During this time his voice became a lot stronger. His debt eventually eliminated, he returned to England and continued playing solo and small-band gigs in tiny pubs and clubs. "I was trapped," Haskell recalls, "but the time wasn't wasted. I was practicing. I was in the wilderness for a long time. But I met a lot of really interesting characters in bars, and that's where my songs tend to come from. I was self-contained, self-supporting, and I didn't really have anything to do with the recording industry."

In the 1990s he continued to record, and released some singles. The "Almost Certainly" single, released in 1990, went to number one in South Africa. An album called Hambledon Hill followed. It did well on airplay with BBC Radio 1's DJ, Bob Harris saying "he loved it". A single of the same name was planned but the distributor went bankrupt, and the deal fell through. However in 1994, the Voiceprint record label re-issued the album.

Look Out contained a song entitled "How Wonderful You Are". This was given to Johnnie Walker of BBC Radio 2 the day before 9/11, and he liked the song, so he played it to listeners, who made it the most requested song in the radio station's history. Due to public demand, this was released as a single for the UK Christmas number one chase.[1][2] Despite only 25% TV & radio publicity, it still crashed in to the Christmas number two spot in the UK Singles Chart, selling 400,000 copies. It was narrowly beaten by Robbie Williams & Nicole Kidman's cover of "Somethin' Stupid", which had 95% publicity.

Even before its commercial release in the UK in late 2001, Gordon Haskell’s eloquent, jazz-tinged ballad "How Wonderful You Are" surpassed the Beatles’ "Hey Jude" and Frank Sinatra’s "My Way" to become the single most-requested song on BBC Radio 2. The song, which was recorded live in the studio, enchanted listeners with its powerful message and sparse, dynamic production. "Lyrically," says Haskell, "it's about the hidden potential of every human being on the planet." Musically, the song is distinguished by the elegant, understated backdrop of guitar, bass, brushed drums, and sax supporting Haskell’s resonant, soulful vocals.

As "How Wonderful You Are" scaled the UK charts, the British press gravitated towards the beguiling story of its unsung creator. Gordon Haskell’s interprets his recent, hard-won success with the measured credence of an old pro. "Suddenly, after all these years, there's all this attention. But I've been living on skid row for so long that if I make a million now, it's back pay." Instead of fretting about fortune and chasing celebrity, Haskell is still more concerned with perfecting his craft as a guitarist, singer and songwriter. "Look at someone like James Taylor, who just continues to get better and better," he says. "If I keep on practicing for the next 20 years, I'm going to be fantastic."

Eventually, Haskell was approached by manager Ian Brown about possible recording opportunities. Haskell accepted, but with a key reservation. He wanted to make his record the old-fashioned way: live, no overdubs, and grounded in solid songwriting and classically styled performances. His refreshingly honest attitude, coupled with the worn grace of his voice and the poignancy of his songs made "How Wonderful You Are" a surprise Christmas-time hit throughout the United Kingdom. As a result, Haskell was offered a multi-million dollar recording contract from the UK label East/West Records.

Warner Bros. signed Gordon for a long-term album deal, and Harry's Bar was released under the East West record label on 7 January 2002. It also crashed into number 2 in the UK Albums Chart, making Haskell's comeback a great success. European audiences also embraced Harry's Bar and it became more successful. Later on that year Shadows On The Wall was released, but only made Number 44 in the UK Albums Chart.

Then Haskell decided to write his autobiography with David Nobbs author of The Fall and Rise of Reginald Perrin. His next album reached Number 14 in the Polish album charts. Called The Lady Wants To Know it covers eleven tracks, was produced by Hamish Stuart and featured Tony O'Malley and Robbie McIntosh. A DVD came out in 2005 called "The Road To Harry's Bar", the same name as his forthcoming autobiography. His next album will be out soon, with accompanying single.

Discography

  • Sail in My Boat (1969) CBS Records (UK)
  • It Is And It Isn't (1971) Atlantic Records, No.8 Radio Luxembourg chart
  • Serve At Room Temperature (1979) RCA Records (un-released until 1997)
  • Hambledon Hill (1991)
  • It's Just A Plot To Drive You Crazy (1994) Voiceprint Records
  • Butterfly In China (1996) Wilderness Records (A single from Butterfly In China was planned called "More Yin Than Yang", but only promo copies were available).
  • All In The Scheme Of Things (1999) Wilderness Records
  • Look Out (2001) Flying Sparks
  • Harry's Bar (2002) East West Records
  • All My Life (2002)
  • Shadows On The Wall (2002)
  • The Lady Wants To Know (2004)
  • The Road To Harry's Bar (DVD) (2005

References

Specific
  1. ^ Eden, Richard (24 December 2001). "And then they go and spoil it all for Gordon Haskell". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
  2. ^ "Haskell's 'old school' rules". BBC News. 13 January 2002. Retrieved 19 December 2009.
General
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/enwiki/w/index.php?title=Gordon_Haskell&oldid=342048238"