Richard Hudson is an English

English people

The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...

 singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriter

Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...

 and musician

Musician

A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....

.

Career

Richard Hudson was a member of Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera

Elmer Gantry’s Velvet Opera

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, at various times also known as "Velvet Opera", was a British rock band active in the late 1960s. Members of the band would later become members of The Strawbs, Hudson Ford and Stretch.-History:...

, in which he played drums and sitar and sang. In 1970, he and band-mate John Ford joined Strawbs. Hudson and Ford began to co-write material which appeared to be aiming in a slightly different direction to the compositions of Strawbs' main writer, Dave Cousins

Dave Cousins

Dave Cousins has been the leader, singer and most active songwriter of Strawbs since 1967.-Career:...

. In 1973 after a 52-date tour to promote the album Bursting at the Seams

Bursting at the Seams

Bursting at the Seams is a studio album by English band Strawbs. It contains their two most successful singles and reached number 2 in the UK Album Chart.-Side one:#"Flying" – 4:49#"Lady Fuchsia" – 3:59...

, there were acrimonious exchanges (which both parties now regret). Hudson and Ford left to form Hudson Ford

Hudson Ford

Hudson Ford were a UK rock band-style duo, formed when John Ford and Richard Hudson left Strawbs in 1973. The original lineup featured Hudson and Ford along with Chris Parren on keyboards, Mickey Keen on guitars, and Gerry Conway on drums. Conway left in May 1974 prior to the recording of "Free...

. Hudson at this point switched from playing drums to guitar and sang more lead vocals.

The punk

Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...

 era sounded the death knell of many progressive rock

Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...

 acts, including Hudson Ford. Hudson, Ford and Terry Cassidy founded the mock punk group The Monks and, more strangely, High Society, which performed a pastiche of 1930's music.

Hudson rejoined Strawbs for their 1987 album Don't Say Goodbye

Don't Say Goodbye (album)

Don't Say Goodbye is a studio album by English band Strawbs.-Side one:#"A Boy and his Dog" – 5:06#"Let it Rain" – 4:55#"We Can Make it Together" – 3:33...

and stayed on for 1991's Ringing Down the Years

Ringing Down the Years

Ringing Down the Years is a studio album by English band Strawbs. The album was only released initially in Canada. Because of the requirement to have a Canadian song on the album, the track "Might as Well Be on Mars" by the Pukka Orchestra was included...

on which he co-wrote two tracks with bass player Rod Demick and guitarist Brian Willoughby

Brian Willoughby

Brian Willoughby is a British guitarist. He has worked with many musicians , as well as releasing solo work.-With other artists:...

.

In recent years he has played live gigs with Strawbs and continues to play with The Good Old Boys, alongside original Deep Purple bassist Nick Simper. In July 2009 The Good Old Boys released the CD Live At The Deep Purple Convention.

Discography

This is a list of recordings on which Richard Hudson appears as a full-time band member.

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera

• Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera (1968)
• Ride a Hustler's Dream (1969)

Strawbs

• Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios
  Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios
  Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios is a live album by English band Strawbs recorded at the Queen Elizabeth Hall London on . The album reached number 27 in the UK Album Charts....
  
  (1970)
• From the Witchwood
  From the Witchwood
  From the Witchwood is a studio album by English band Strawbs.It was recorded at Air Studios, London during February and March 1971 and reached number 39 in the UK Album Charts....
  
  (1971)
• Grave New World
  Grave New World
  Grave New World is a studio album by English band Strawbs. It was the first album to be released after the departure of Rick Wakeman, under circumstances about which band leader Dave Cousins was very bitter. Cousins has admitted that the track "Tomorrow" was written about Wakeman...
  
  (1972)
• Bursting at the Seams
  Bursting at the Seams
  Bursting at the Seams is a studio album by English band Strawbs. It contains their two most successful singles and reached number 2 in the UK Album Chart.-Side one:#"Flying" – 4:49#"Lady Fuchsia" – 3:59...
  
  (1973)
• Don't Say Goodbye (album)
  Don't Say Goodbye (album)
  Don't Say Goodbye is a studio album by English band Strawbs.-Side one:#"A Boy and his Dog" – 5:06#"Let it Rain" – 4:55#"We Can Make it Together" – 3:33...
  
  (1987)
• Ringing Down the Years
  Ringing Down the Years
  Ringing Down the Years is a studio album by English band Strawbs. The album was only released initially in Canada. Because of the requirement to have a Canadian song on the album, the track "Might as Well Be on Mars" by the Pukka Orchestra was included...
  
  (1991)
• Blue Angel
  Blue Angel (Strawbs album)
  Blue Angel is a studio album by English band Strawbs. It was the first Strawbs album to contain new material for 12 years and featured several different line-ups of musicians from past Strawbs eras...
  
  (2003)

Hudson Ford

• Nickelodeon (1973)
• Free Spirit (1974)
• When Worlds Collide (1975)
• Daylight (1977)

Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera

• "Flames"/"Salisbury Plain" (1967)
• "Mary Jane"/"Dreamy" (1968)
• "Volcano"/"A Quick B" (1969)
• "Anna Dance Square"/"Don't You Realise" (1969)
• "Black Jack Davy"/"Statesboro Blues" (1970)
• "She Keeps Giving Me These Feelings"/"There's a Hole in My Pocket" (1970)

Strawbs

• "Where is This Dream of Your Youth"/"Fingertips" (1970)
• "Benedictus
  Benedictus (Strawbs song)
  "Benedictus" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1972 album Grave New World.After the departure of Rick Wakeman, band leader Dave Cousins consulted the I Ching asking what to do next...
  
  "/"Keep the Devil Outside" (1972)
• "Keep the Devil Outside"/"Tomorrow" (1972)
• "New World"/"Benedictus" (1972)
• "Here it Comes
  Here It Comes
  Here It Comes may refer to:* Here It Comes , and the title song* Here It Comes , and the title song* "Here It Comes" , a song by Strawbs...
  
  "/"Tomorrow" (1972)
• "Going Home"/"Ways and Means" (1972)
• "Lay Down
  Lay Down
  "Lay Down" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1973 album Bursting at the Seams. It peaked at number 12 in the UK Singles Chart....
  
  "/"Backside" (1972)
• "Part of the Union
  Part of the Union
  "Part of the Union" is a song by English band Strawbs featured on their 1973 album Bursting at the Seams and was the band's most successful single, peaking at number 2 in the UK Singles Chart. The writing credits are given to Richard Hudson and John Ford, but the song may be an adaptation of the...
  
  "/"Will You Go
  Wild Mountain Thyme
  "Wild Mountain Thyme", also known as "Purple Heather" and "Will You Go Lassie, Go", is a folk song, rewritten by Francis McPeake, a native of Belfast, Northern Ireland...
  
  " (1973)

Hudson Ford

• "Pick Up the Pieces"/"This is Not the Way to End a War (or Die)" (1973)
• "Take it Back"/Make No Mistake" (1973)
• "Burn Baby Burn"/"Angels" (1974)
• "Floating in the Wind"/"Revelations" (1974)
• "Free Spirit"/"Dark Lord" (1974)
• "When Love Has Overgrown"/What is a Day Without Love" (1975)
• "Waterfall"/"Daylight" (1976)
• "95 in the Shade"/"Lost in a World" (1976)
• "Sold on Love"/"Daylight" (1976)
• "Are You Dancing"/"Out of Your Shadow" (1977)
• "Just Say No" (2001)

The Monks

• "Nice Legs Shame About the Face"/"You'll be the Death of Me" (1979)
• "I Ain't Gettin Any"/"Inter-City Kitty" (1979)
• "Johnny B. Rotten"/"Drugs in My Pocket" (1979)
• "I Can Do Anything You Like"/"Monks Medley" (1981)

High Society

• "I Never Go Out in the Rain"/"I Could Never Live Without You" (1980)
• "Gotta Get Out of This Rut"/"Powder Blue" (1981)

External links

• http://www.strawbsweb.co.uk Strawbs website
• http://www.highsocietyband.co.uk High Society website