Alan Hawkshaw is a composer and performer, particularly of themes for movies and television programmes. He is also the father of
danceThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
artist
Kirsty HawkshawKirsty Hawkshaw is a British female dance/electronica/house/trance musician and songwriter who is known for her participation as lead vocalist for the group Opus III.-Career:...
, who famously appeared on TV quiz Blockbusters before joining
Opus IIIOpus III were a techno and house music group from England who had success on the UK Singles Chart and on the U.S. Dance charts. The group consisted of vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw and producers/musicians Kevin 'The Fly' Dodds, Ian Munro and Nigel 'Spider' Walton...
.
In the 1960s, he was a member of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
group Emile Ford and the Checkmates. He also formed the Mohawks band and Rumplestiltskin with some
session musicianSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
s. At that time Alan was the outstanding exponent of the
Hammond OrganThe Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard...
in the UK, heard to good effect in the Mohawks' music and also on the UK recording of the musical
HairHair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
.
Alan Hawkshaw is also featured playing with David Bowie on the "Bowie At The Beeb" CD, in a performance recorded for the "John Peel in Top Gear" show on May 13, 1968, in which he plays a solo on "In The Heat Of The Morning".
In the 1970s, he played in
The ShadowsThe Shadows are Britain's most successful instrumental and vocal group with a grand total of 69 UK hit singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and The Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s...
; he worked for
Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a British-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 albums...
,
Jane BirkinJane Mallory Birkin OBE is an English actress, model, singer and film director who lives in France. She is best known for her duet "Je t'aime... moi non plus" with Serge Gainsbourg....
and
Serge GainsbourgSerge Gainsbourg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality made him difficult to categorize...
as a musical director, arranger and pianist; and he was a keyboard player for
Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard OBE is a British singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts...
.
Alan Hawkshaw is a composer and performer, particularly of themes for movies and television programmes. He is also the father of
danceThis article is about dance music in general. You may also be looking for electronic dance music or dance-pop.Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
artist
Kirsty HawkshawKirsty Hawkshaw is a British female dance/electronica/house/trance musician and songwriter who is known for her participation as lead vocalist for the group Opus III.-Career:...
, who famously appeared on TV quiz Blockbusters before joining
Opus IIIOpus III were a techno and house music group from England who had success on the UK Singles Chart and on the U.S. Dance charts. The group consisted of vocalist Kirsty Hawkshaw and producers/musicians Kevin 'The Fly' Dodds, Ian Munro and Nigel 'Spider' Walton...
.
In the 1960s, he was a member of
rock and rollRock and roll is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States after World War II in the late 1940s, from a combination of the rhythms of the blues, from the African American culture, and from America's country music and gospel music scenes...
group Emile Ford and the Checkmates. He also formed the Mohawks band and Rumplestiltskin with some
session musicianSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
s. At that time Alan was the outstanding exponent of the
Hammond OrganThe Hammond organ is an electric organ which was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1934 and manufactured by the Hammond Organ Company. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, in the 1960s and 1970s, it became a standard...
in the UK, heard to good effect in the Mohawks' music and also on the UK recording of the musical
HairHair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
.
Alan Hawkshaw is also featured playing with David Bowie on the "Bowie At The Beeb" CD, in a performance recorded for the "John Peel in Top Gear" show on May 13, 1968, in which he plays a solo on "In The Heat Of The Morning".
In the 1970s, he played in
The ShadowsThe Shadows are Britain's most successful instrumental and vocal group with a grand total of 69 UK hit singles: 35 as 'The Shadows' and 34 as 'Cliff Richard and The Shadows', from the 1950s to the 2000s...
; he worked for
Olivia Newton-JohnOlivia Newton-John AO, OBE is a British-born, Australian-raised singer and actress. She is a four-time Grammy award winner who has amassed five No. 1 and ten other Top Ten Billboard Hot 100 singles and two No. 1 Billboard 200 albums...
,
Jane BirkinJane Mallory Birkin OBE is an English actress, model, singer and film director who lives in France. She is best known for her duet "Je t'aime... moi non plus" with Serge Gainsbourg....
and
Serge GainsbourgSerge Gainsbourg was a French singer-songwriter, actor and director. Gainsbourg's varied musical style and individuality made him difficult to categorize...
as a musical director, arranger and pianist; and he was a keyboard player for
Cliff RichardSir Cliff Richard OBE is a British singer-songwriter and entrepreneur.With his backing group The Shadows, Richard dominated the British popular music scene in the late 1950s and early 1960s, before and during The Beatles' first year in the charts...
. He wrote "Blarney Stoned", the theme tune for
Dave AllenDavid Tynan O'Mahoney , better known as Dave Allen, was an Irish comedian, popular in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada in the 1960s, 1970s and also in the 1990s; he became known in America through reruns of his shows on public television.Allen's act was typified by a very relaxed, intimate...
's television shows
The Dave Allen Show and
Dave Allen At Large. He composed all the music for the Mysterious World series by
Arthur C. ClarkeSri Lankabhimanya Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE, FRAS was a British science fiction author, inventor, and futurist, most famous for the novel 2001: A Space Odyssey, written in collaboration with director Stanley Kubrick, a collaboration which also produced the film of the same name; and as a...
. Hawkshaw also composed 'Best Endeavours', which has been the theme for
Channel 4Channel 4 is a UK public-service television broadcaster which began working on November 2, 1982. Although commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station owned now and operated by the Channel Four Television...
NewsChannel 4 News is the news division of British TV broadcaster Channel 4. It is produced by ITN, and has been in operation since the broadcaster's launch in 1982.-News programmes:As of 2008, Channel 4 News has three programmes:...
since 1982, and
Chicken ManChicken Man may refer to:* "Chicken Man", the original theme tune of the British TV series Grange Hill and also the theme tune of Give Us a Clue* Chicken Man, the stage name of Fred Staten, nightclub performer...
, which was used as the theme for
Grange Hill from its start in 1978 until 1989, and revived for the final series of Grange Hill in 2008. Another recording of
Chicken Man was used contemporaneously with the original Grange Hill version for the
ITVITV is a public service network of British commercial television broadcasters, set up under the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC. ITV is the oldest commercial television network in the UK...
quiz show
Give Us A ClueGive Us a Clue is a televised game show version of charades that was first broadcast on ITV from 1979 to 1992. It was first hosted by Michael Aspel from 1979 to 1983 then Michael Parkinson from 1984 to 1992, with two teams: one captained by Lionel Blair and the other by Una Stubbs. Later versions...
. The
Countdown "Chimes" jingle used on Channel 4's
CountdownCountdown is a British game show made by ITV Studios and broadcast on Channel 4. Since 2009 it has been presented by Jeff Stelling and Rachel Riley, with regular lexicographer Susie Dent. It was the first programme aired on Channel 4, and over fifty series have been broadcast since its debut on 2...
game show was also composed by Hawkshaw. He also performed the music
The Night Rider (the theme for Cadbury's
Milk TrayCadbury Milk Tray is a selection of milk chocolates with various fillingsproduced in the United Kingdom by Cadbury UK.Launched by the Cadbury company in 1915, it is one of the longestrunning brands in the confectioner's portfolio....
adverts.)
In the
United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, he also scored a number 1 single on the Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart with
"Here Comes That Sound Again" as part of
Love De-Luxe With Hawkshaw's DiscophoniaLove De-Luxe was a disco studio group assembled by British producer Alan Hawkshaw . They had one chart entry: "Here Comes That Sound Again", which spent a week at #1 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in 1979...
in 1979.
The Mohawks
The Mohawks were a band formed from
session musicianSession musicians are instrumental performers or vocalists who are available for hire for live performances or recording sessions, as opposed to musicians who are either permanent members of a musical ensemble or who have acquired fame in their own right as bandleaders...
s and fronted by the undisputed king of Library music composers, Alan Hawkshaw. Possibly The Mohawks were never actually a 'touring' band, but rather it was just a clever idea of some guy at
KPM musicKPM is an acronym or abbreviation for:* The King's Police Medal for Gallantry* The Knuth-Pratt-Morris algorithm* Königliche Porzellan-Manufaktur * A Kelvin probe microscope is an important variety of AFM for surfaces...
in the 60's who decided to release an LP of incredibly groovy and funky library music tracks and package it under the name "The Champ".
Track listing
1. The Champ
2. Hip Juggler
3. Sweet Soul Music
4. Dr Jekyll and Hyde Park
5. Señor Thump
6. Landscape
7. Baby Hold On
8. Funky Broadway
9. Rocky Mountain Roundabout
10. Sound of the Witchdoctors
11. Beat Me Til I'm Blue
12. Can You Hear Me?
Tracks 4, 5, 9 and 11 also appear on Alan Hawkshaw's album Mo'Hawk.
Samples
The title track ("The Champ") has been widely sampled and emulated in
hip hop musicHip hop music is a musical genre which developed alongside hip hop culture, and is commonly based on concepts of loop, rapping, freestyle, DJing, scratching, sampling and beatboxing. The music is used to express concerns of political, social, and personal issues...
, appearing, amongst other tracks, in:
- Onyx
For the 1960s Cornish band, see The Onyx.Onyx is a hip hop group from New York City. Originally formed in 1988 by Fredro Starr, Sonsee, the late Big DS, the group later added Sticky Fingaz, Starr's cousin, in 1991, managed by Diamond Cut Entertainment's Milton Lynch.-Early career:The group was...
- Slam
- Maestro Fresh Wes
Maestro is the stage name of Wesley Williams, a Canadian hip hop artist and actor. His pioneering status and outstanding achievements have led to him being referred to as the "Godfather of Canadian hip hop". Originally known as Melody MC, he changed his moniker to Maestro Fresh Wes by 1989...
- Let Your Backbone Slide"Let Your Backbone Slide" is the debut single by Maestro Fresh Wes, released in 1989, from his album Symphony in Effect.It was the first hip hop song by a Canadian rapper to reach #1 on The Record Singles Chart, in April 1990. In the United States, 25,000 copies of the single were sold in its first...
(Symphony in Effect)
- Redman - Da Funk (Whut? Thee Album
Whut? Thee Album is the debut album from New Jersey Hip Hop artist Redman. Redman had only rapped on record prior to this album on EPMD's Business As Usual and Business Never Personal...
)
- Eric B. & Rakim
Eric B. & Rakim were a hip-hop duo composed of DJ Eric Barrier and MC Rakim Allah .Hailing from Long Island, New York, the pair is generally considered by hip hop enthusiasts to be one of the most influential and innovative groups in the genre...
- Eric B. Is President"Eric B. Is President" is the debut single released by hip-hop duo Eric B. & Rakim. The single has become one of the most memorable songs in hip hop, and Rakim's opening salvo of "I came in the door/I said it before" is one of rap's most oft-quoted lines...
(Paid in Full)
- KRS-One
Lawrence Parker , better known by his stage name KRS-One, is an American MC and producer. Over his career, he has been known by several pseudonyms including "Kris Parker", "The Blastmaster", "The Teacha", and "The Philosopher"...
- Step Into A World (I Got NextI Got Next is emcee KRS-One's third official solo album. It remains his best-selling album to date, receiving the RIAA certification for Gold-level sales....
)
- EPMD
EPMD is an American hip hop group from Brentwood, New York. The group's name is a concatenation of the members' name "E" and "PMD" or an acronym for "Erick and Parrish Making Dollars" , referencing its members, emcees Erick Sermon and Parrish Smith...
- The Big Payback (Unfinished BusinessUnfinished Business is the second album from Hip Hop duo EPMD. Released in 1989, the album built upon the success of the previous year's debut Strictly Business...
)
- Cut Chemist
Cut Chemist is a former member of the funk Latin band Ozomatli, and of hip hop group Jurassic 5. He has collaborated with fellow turntablist DJ Shadow on a number of projects.-Career:...
& DJ ShadowDJ Shadow is an American music producer, DJ and songwriter. He is considered a prominent figure in the development of instrumental hip hop and first gained notice with the release of his highly acclaimed debut album Endtroducing....., which was constructed entirely from samples...
- Mohawks Champ (BrainfreezeBrainfreeze is a 1999 live mix album by DJ Shadow and Cut Chemist. The two tracks of the album are uninterrupted recordings from a live performance where they sampled hit funk, soul, rock and jazz singles from 45 rpm vinyl records...
)
- Erick Sermon
Erick Sermon, also known as Erick Onassis, is an American rapper, musician, and producer. Sermon is best known as half of late-1980s/1990s hip hop group EPMD and for production work. He currently resides in Hauppauge, New York. - Career :"The Green Eyed Bandit" has also made multiple solo...
- Stay Real (No PressureNo Pressure is the debut solo album by hip hop artist Erick Sermon. It was the first album that the former EPMD member released after 1992's Hot & Chunky. It was well-received and is the most popular Sermon album in terms of The Billboard 200 chart. It featured two charting singles, "Hittin'...
)
- Guy
Guy or guys may refer to:* Guy in Leiden* Man, in slang * Guy In places:* Guy, Arkansas* Guy, Indiana* Guy, Texas* Guys, TennesseeIn characters...
- Groove Me
- Breakestra
Breakestra is a ten-piece funk "orchestra" from Los Angeles, California, formed by Miles Tackett in 1996.Miles Tackett, also known as "Musicman", plays bass, guitar, keyboards and drums. He also sings along with Mix Master Wolf...
- Champ (The Live Mix, Part 2The Live Mix, Part 2 is an album by Breakestra, an American hip hop band. The album is a combination of breaks and funk covers performed with real instruments, and featuring the vocals of band member Mixmaster Wolf.-Track listing:...
)
- Main Source
Main Source was an innovative, acclaimed Toronto and New York-based hip hop group comprising Toronto natives Sir Scratch, K-Cut, and Queens native Large Professor...
- Large Professor (Breaking AtomsBreaking Atoms is the debut album of hip hop group Main Source, released July 23, 1991 on Wild Pitch Records. It is widely thought of as a very influential album and is notable for the debut of rapper Nas...
)
- Keith Murray
Keith Murray is a rapper and a member of the rap trio Def Squad, which includes fellow rappers Redman and Erick Sermon.-Music career:...
- Get Lifted (The Most Beautifullest Thing in This WorldThe Most Beautifullest Thing In This World is the debut album from New York rapper Keith Murray. Murray made his rapping debut on Erick Sermon's album No Pressure, on the song "Hostile". He joined Sermon and Redman to form the supergroup the Def Squad...
)
- King Tee
Roger McBride, , Mostly known as King Tee , is an American West coast rapper from Compton, California.-Career:...
- At Your Own RiskAt Your Own Risk is the second album by West Coast hip hop artist King Tee. It is mainly produced by King Tee himself and DJ Pooh as was his debut, but it also contains production from Bilal Bashir, E-Swift, DJ Aladdin, Bronick Wrobleski and J.R. Coes. Also like King Tee's debut album, there are...
- Ini Kamoze
Cecil Campbell , better known by his stage name Ini Kamoze is a Jamaican reggae singer. He is best known for his signature song, "Here Comes the Hotstepper", which was released in 1994, and subsequently topped the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart...
- Here Comes The Hotstepper
- Ice Cube - Friday
- De La Soul
De La Soul is an American hip hop group formed in 1987 in Long Island, New York. They are best known for their eclectic sampling, quirky lyrics, and their contributions to the evolution of the jazz rap and alternative hip hop subgenres...
- Keepin' the Faith
- Edan
Edan aka Edan Portnoy is an American alternative hip hop artist. He is an emcee, DJ and record producer.Edan is known for his unique/unlikely take on hip hop culture, where traditional rap songs are often skewed by 60's rock samples, tape echoes, and foreign language choruses, not to mention the...
- Funky Rhyming
- Looptroop Rockers - Four Elements
Four elements may refer to:* Classical elements, such as air, fire, earth and water* 4 Elements, an album by Chronic Future* Group 4 element, one of the chemical elements in Group 4 of the periodic table...