Richard Hawley - Singer-songwriter, Guitarist, and Producer

In this episode, acclaimed Sheffield singer-songwriter, guitarist
and producer Richard Hawley talks about his
long-standing friendship and creative kinship with Paul Weller.


Richard takes us back to his working-class upbringing in
Pitsmoor, Sheffield, where he was raised on a strict diet of '50s
rock and roll, rockabilly, and R&B - until his two younger
sisters took over the household’s three-watt portable record
player. It was through their relentless, non-stop playing of
Setting Sons, All Mod Cons, and Sound Affects that The Jam became
permanently ingrained in his psyche, sparking a lifelong
appreciation for Paul Weller's distinctive guitar playing and
raw, uncompromising energy.


He shares the hilarious story of their first proper meeting at a
festival in Spain, where he mistakenly geared up for a classic
"Mods vs. Rockers" confrontation as Weller and Steve Cradock came
charging across a hotel dining room. Richard reflects on their
subsequent decades-long friendship, discussing the parallel
experiences of losing their fathers, their shared refusal to
compromise with the music industry, and their mutual respect as
songwriters. He also offers a peek into his phone’s highly
classified archive of raw Weller voice-note demos, explains why
they've never quite managed to finish a song together in the same
room, and recounts playing lap steel on the beautiful track 'I
Woke Up' from Paul’s album 66.


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