suffer no more

April 2, 2009 9:15 PM

Ted Hawkins.The hidden gem that is the man, the music, his story.
posted by ms.jones (15 comments total)

The opening of "There Stands The Glass" should be enough to make any number of soulless posers grab their balls and run back to their mommies.

I bought an old cassette of Ted's back in the early 90s after reading his story in RS, of all places. And quite a story it is. To hear so much magic come out of someone with such a tragic life was amazing. RIP, Ted. Emphasis on Peace.
posted by KevinSkomsvold at 9:25 PM on April 2

Wow thanks for this ms.jones I've never heard this guy before. Really enjoyed the post.
posted by nola at 9:41 PM on April 2

Bring it on home to me
posted by Mblue at 10:07 PM on April 2

Saw him live a couple of times while he was in the UK. Astounding stuff; incredible voice and style.
I see none of the links mention the nature of certain of his criminal convictions (sexual) and I hope to God I'm not remembering this wrong, but as I understood the story this was the main reason his career in the UK never truly took off even when things were beginning to look good (he offended again IIRC).
posted by Abiezer at 10:15 PM on April 2

i've been getting kind of sick of these "here's some musician you may've never heard of" post recently. but this is pretty nice. so thanks and god bless all those mefi music post about random artists.

I especially like his REALLY simple guitar work. Seems, he's a brilliant vocalist who learned just enough guitar to allow his talent to be realized. That's fucking punk rock.
posted by es_de_bah at 10:47 PM on April 2

You absolutely must check out his 1986 duet with Billy Bragg on "Cold and Bitter Tears." I listen to it almost everyday.
posted by Rangeboy at 12:01 AM on April 3

I see none of the links mention the nature of certain of his criminal convictions (sexual)

His WikiPedia page doesn't mention it, but it's not very well written. It suggests he was not very interested in the commercial music scene as a reason for his obscurity, but who knows. Not having much luck with The Google either.
posted by cj_ at 12:46 AM on April 3

I first heard his incredible voice on Andy Kershaw's BBC radio program back in the mid 8os. The album he had at the time, Watch Your Step, is freely streamable via lastFM in case people are interested (at least it is here in the UK). Thanks for the reminder.
posted by rongorongo at 3:12 AM on April 3

He was somebody who could make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up even when he was singing a commercial.
posted by rongorongo at 3:37 AM on April 3

A friend of mine introduced me to Ted Hawkins at one of our music nights. His cover of "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" is amazing, too.
posted by The Card Cheat at 3:57 AM on April 3

Who got my natural comb?!??!
posted by VicNebulous at 5:15 AM on April 3

I sat about four feet away from Ted Hawkins when he played at The Bottom Line with Pete Seeger, Roger McGuinn and Joe South. He seemed kind of bewildered to be up there and didn't score any high marks for audience banter compared to the others, but he totally stole that show with his performances.
posted by mikepop at 6:38 AM on April 3

I was cruising YT a while back for some Ted Hawkins footage and was impressed by this version of Sorry You're Sick.
posted by Paid In Full at 7:42 AM on April 3

Wow, thanks for this.
posted by lumpenprole at 9:46 AM on April 3

Seconding the kudos for the opening of "There Stands The Glass". I'm almost crying just thinking about it.
posted by ericthegardener at 11:23 AM on April 3