Connections: H is for ...

Dick Hanson (1+) Connecting in 1979. Trumpet.

Trumpet player on Desperate Character, and part of Graham Parker's Rumour Brass, along with Ray Beavis on tenor sax, Chris Gower on trombone and "Irish" John Earle on sax. They featured as a unit on several albums by Shakin' Stevens and on albums by Dave Edmunds and Wreckless Eric from the Stiff scene. In the early eighties with John Earle he was part of the Climax Blues Band and guested for Swedish boogie-blues outfit Sky High. Paul Brady used the whole Rumour Brass on his 1983 album True for you, as did Liam Sternberg on Rachel Sweet's 1979 album Fool Around. Dick also played with Ray and John on Rory Gallagher's 1990 album Fresh Evidence . He also connects via the Rumour with guitarist Martin Belmont.

Happy Mondays (1) Connecting in 1984. Rock Band.

Happy Gang Kirsty sang backing vocals on Hallelujah - the MacColl Mix, which Steve Lillywhite produced. Happy Mondays were a seminal Manchester band, formed in the early 80s. Few debut albums have caused such a stir or had a longer title than Squirrel and G-Man Twenty Four Hour Party People Plastic Face Carnt Smile. Led by the substance inquisitive Shaun Ryder (later of Black Grape), they were " full of urban folk and drawled lyrics." They were produced by one of the visionaries behind the Velvet Underground, John Cale. In 1990 they covered John Kongos' Step On. They were embraced by British music rags NME and Melody Maker but their celebrity was somewhat dampened by news of Ryder as a heroin addict and undergoing constant detoxification treatment, and they broke up in 1993 after a debauched Caribbean debacle. The resultant album Yes Please was widely regarded as pretty hopeless.

John Wesley Harding (1) Connecting in 1990. Singer.

Wes Kirsty sang backing vocals on the album Here comes the Groom. John Wesley Harding, who prefers to be called simply Wes, was born in Hastings, England in 1965 and curtailed his Ph.D. at Cambridge University in favour of a musical career that began in 1988 opening for The Hothouse Flowers and John Hiatt. His first U.S. record deal took him to San Francisco, where he has lived ever since. In November 1995, Bruce Springsteen handpicked Harding to open the San Francisco leg of his solo acoustic tour, his first official opening act in more than 20 years.

"I try to say some frank and honest things about life today from my point of view. There's humour but less irony; I guess it's that and the more stripped down sound of the album that makes it a new deal for me. And it seems like we need a way out of a depression just like the New Deal offered back then -- except nowadays it's more psychotic self-deception than depression," Harding says. He collects old Books of Folk Songs and Ballads and books on Bob Dylan. He still sounds like Elvis Costello to us only in many cases better, and his "Groom" album features Pete Thomas of the Attractions. John is the only tenuous way for me to include the magnificent Kelly Hogan on this site due to several duets, and hence I can also mention the dreamlike Neko Case who has sung with Kelly.

Glyn Havard (1+) Connecting in 1979. Bass guitar.

Glyn Back in 1973, Glyn was "the wonderful bass player" and singer with Jade Warrior (as pictured). According to a press release from Red Hot Records, Jade Warrior was a Japanese term for a samurai warrior who was also a poet and scholar. They were a "really creative band". Stevie Winwood had heard Jade Warrior's music, and had been quite impressed with it. He urged Chris Blackwell of Island Records to give Jade Warrior a hearing, and consider signing them up to do some instrumental albums once they were available. Blackwell did so, signing Jade Warrior to a contract for three albums (later expanded to four) "as an ornament to my label". He was interested in a primarily instrumental sound (possibly as an Island label equivalent to the music of Virgin Records' new artist Mike Oldfield), and the new contract did not include Glyn Havard. As a member of the Edge/Belvederes with Lu, Gavin Povey and Jon Moss, he played on the Jane Aire record, and also on Kirsty's debut album Desperate Character. He also played with the Yachts.

Oscar Hernandez (4) Connecting in 1991. Piano.

Oscar Oscar Hernandez has long been considered one of the most gifted and prominent pianist/arrangers on the contemporary Latin and salsa music scene. Since the early 1980's Oscar has been responsible for charting the musical course of the Ruben Blades band since its inception. Increasingly in demand as a pianist, arranger and producer the Bronx native has recently produced such artists as Carabali, Daniel Ponce and Seis Del Solar. Hernandez has enjoyed a prolific musical career recording and performing with such artists as Tito Puente, Celia Cruz, Julio Iglesias, Juan Luis Guerra, Ray Barreto, Earl Klugh, Dave Valentine, Johnny Pacheco, Ismael Miranda and Willie Colon as well as his role as Musical Director and producer for Paul Simon's ill fated Capeman musical, where of course he linked again with Marc Anthony, Robby Ameen and Milton Cardona. In addition to having firmly established his reputation as an excellent musician and producer, Oscar has been recently expanding his horizons into composing music for film.

Of his career he says "We were raised in the South Bronx. I started playing trumpet at the local Boy's Club when I was about twelve. I played for a couple of years; however, I didn't have the physical chops to play the trumpet. At first the teacher thought that I could be a good trumpet player, but he later told me that I should probably switch to piano or sax. At that time my oldest brother was the super of the building we lived in. Someone gave him a piano that we put in the basement with which we started jamming little by little. After about a year I started playing with the local bands from the neighborhood. That's how I got my start. I think that the band I probably got the most out of was Ray Barretto's. He was a lot older and had a lot more experience as a band leader. He also gave me my first opportunities as an arranger."

"I stayed with Barretto for about five or six years. It was during that period that I met Ruben Blades. I had known him for a couple of years. He had been real popular as a result of playing with Willie Colon. He called me up and said that he wanted to form his own group and that he wanted me to be a part of it. I believe that I was the first guy he called. I feel that I have a good concept for the Latin stuff because it's something in me. It's been ingrained in me. I'm not a jazz player per se because I don't play it all the time, but I feel I have a good grasp on that concept and I feel I can play in that mode."

One of his songs is featured on Omara Portuondo's recent Buena Vista solo album, while for Kirsty he played piano on All I ever wanted, My Affair, He never mentioned love and We'll never pass this way again. Photo: www.congahead.com

Boo Hewerdine Connecting in 2002. Singer.

Performed Free world in the live tribute concert.

Jools Holland (4) Connecting in 1981. Piano.

Jools Jools rose to fame as keyboard player with Squeeze, but in recent times he splits himself between TV presenter (including three appearances for Kirsty on Later) and pursuit of his R&B roots with his Rhythm & Blues Orchestra, including Guy Barker. Back in the early eighties, Jools played on the unreleased Real sessions for Kirsty along with Lu Edmonds, Pino Palladino, Jamaican Rico and Dick Cuthell (both played with the Specials). Rico is also in Jools' current band. One of those songs, Shutting the door, appeared on an R&B Orch album in 2003, bringing the backing track up to swinging date and using Kirsty's demo vocal.

Gary Holton Connecting in 1981. Singer.

Gary Heavy Metal Kids singer and later actor. His tenuous link is that he sang backing vocals on an unreleased Alan Lee Shaw track co-written with Kirsty called A boy like that, and he was a colourful character so we put him in!

Darryl Hunt (1+) Connecting in 1991. Bass guitar.

Darryl Darryl was bass player with the Pogues. He started out with a Nottingham band called Plummet Airline, moved to London, became chummy with the Damned, and formed The Lemons, a doo wop punk band (now there's a thought). After they in turn split, he and his art college friend Dave Scott were about to form a band called Baby Lotion but decided to form a cover band, christened Pride Of The Cross, instead. Darryl was going to ask Wendy May of The Boothill Foot-Tappers to become their singer. When he told Cait O'Riorden what he was going to do, she laughed at him and said she ought to do it instead. At the audition the band told her that she couldn't sing, but on the other hand they couldn't play, so they should get along just fine. Pride Of The Cross performed mostly jazz standards and recorded the single Tommy's Blue Valentine, written by Phil Gaston as a tribute to Tom Waits.

Unfortunately the band had to split up because The Pogues took too much of Cait's time. Darryl, who also knew Jem Finer, became a driver, sound technician and stand-in musician for The Pogues. He played drums in 1985 when Andrew Ranken broke a finger, and later filled in on bass for Cait during the 1986 US tour. When Cait left the band, Darryl become the official bass player for The Pogues (his first official album with the group was If I Should Fall From Grace with God). Darryl lives with his girlfriend Germany, where she is studying. He is doing DJ work in Munich and is also involved with Jem's band the Heironymous Monk Octet. He is credited with bass on The one and only in addition to the other obvious Pogues links.

Connections: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W

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