Richard Hawley Live Review by Rob Johnson
Sheffield doesn’t have a president, but if it did, it would probably be Richard Hawley. The former Pulp and Longpigs guitarist has been lamenting, romanticising and chronicling the city his entire life, and the 20th anniversary of his third album, Coles Corner, feels like the perfect opportunity to pause and take stock of his achievements with three sold-out gigs at Sheffield City Hall.
Set against the backdrop of a huge screen projecting old, black-and-white photographs of Sheffield, and complete with a 10-piece band, it is clear that Hawley has levelled up for these shows in keeping with the majesty of Sheffield City Hall – a truly beautiful venue.
Hawley takes to the stage with his trademark quiff resplendent in the cold, December air and flanked by two massive ‘Welcome to Sheffield’ signs on either side of him. The title track to Coles Corner kicks things off, and what a beautiful song it is. When Hawley croons, ‘I’m going downtown where there’s music’, the adoring Sheffield crowd can only agree. Loneliness hangs in the air, but at least we are lonely together.
Hawley and his talented band then run through the album with an utterly spellbinding version of ‘The Ocean’, the highlight. It’s easy to forget in the face of his trademark croon and natural charisma as a frontman that Hawley is first and foremost a guitarist. I’ve seen a lot of guitar players over a lot of years, but I don’t think I’ve ever seen a solo as incredible as the one that Sheffield’s favourite son busts out here. The timeless and haunting ‘Born Under a Bad Sign’ forces a collective sigh from the adoring crowd, before ‘I Sleep Alone’, written when Hawley was 16, confirms, as he puts it, that he’s always been a ‘miserable bastard’, before a string-laden rendition of ‘Tonight’ has a few Yorkshiremen reluctantly wiping their eyes. The Coles Corner section of the evening closes out with a cover of Woody Guthrie’s ‘Who’s Gonna Shoe Your Pretty Little Feet?’ – a song that Hawley’s godfather Joe Cocker (yes, that one) used to use as a lullaby to sing him to sleep. It is, of course, enchanting.
The second part of the set is a run-through of greatest hits and winter warmers. Too grumpy to actually include a Christmas song (and rightly so), it doesn’t matter, because this is winter music – best enjoyed with night pressing down on the windows, and the sound of the wind howling against the doors. ‘Tonight the Streets Are Ours’ kicks off the second part of the set and is rapturously received, before the one-two punch of ‘Don’t Stare at the Sun’ and ‘Standing at the Sky’s Edge’ really open the evening up. The latter song is proof (if any were needed) that Hawley’s music is more than just a throwback. This is gut-churning, vital music that would be filling arenas had it been written by Queens of the Stone Age or someone else of their ilk. It sounds incredible here.
‘Open Up Your Door’, a truly beautiful song, builds to an unforgettable crescendo, with the string section (excellent all night), ensuring that the song really soars, before the band closes things out with ‘For Your Lover Give Some Time’ (dedicated to Hawley’s wife), and traditional set closer, ‘Heart of Oak’. The latter is one of those songs that every serious music fan should see live at least once before they die. It’s life-affirming. It’s unforgettable. It’s pure pop-perfection. It’s also the perfect set closer.
As the delighted Sheffield crowd pile out of Sheffield City Hall into the bitter cold, we are all grateful that Richard Willis Hawley keeps finding new ways to redefine longing, heartbreak and nostalgia – a magical evening.
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