I was very lucky; I stand on the shoulders of giants
Above: Richard Hawley, Shepherds Bush Empire 2008
Of course, Richard had been there and not done it before. He was denied a Mercury victory in 2006 when his album Coles Corner was overlooked in favour of Arctic Monkeys’ debut set Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not. ‘Someone call 999, Richard Richard’s been robbed!’ quipped Alex Turner when collecting the award. It was a gracious nod to his Sheffield brethren that Richard remains grateful for to this day. ‘Coles Corner got nominated and that was more than enough for me somebody has got to win it and it was the Monkeys’ time. I was really glad for them. Alex said what he said in his speech and that didn’t exactly do me any harm,’ says Richard. When it comes to missing out on the Mercury prize for a second time, Richard says he was more than happy simply to ‘turn up for the buffet’. But it has meant him abandoning a plan to invest the winnings in a new shed. It was a suitably unpretentious intention for a man whose outlook and songwriting remain firmly focused on the nuts and bolts of reality. As with all Richard’s album titles, Standing At Sky’s Edge references his beloved Sheffield. Sky Edge is a hillside area, with views over the city, once blighted by crime-ridden council estates. When he was a boy Richard used to play at Sky Edge and the title track tells of desperation, prostitution, robbery and murder. Non-too happy with the current political situation, Richard says the song is a ‘metaphor for where we’re at as a society’ and that the album was heavily influenced by a fear of the things he loves being lost forever. ‘Things are being set in train by greedy politicians and irresponsible businessmen that will seriously fuck us up. These people are an evil cancer in our world; they are nearly as bad as arms dealers. A civilised society, by definition, cares for its sick and elderly,
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nourishes and cherishes the young but this isn’t happening on any level that I can see. The riots are the tip of the iceberg. If you don’t educate folks and give them a purpose they revert to pre-civilised behaviour. I see it everywhere I look; the petrol bombs are being lit all over the country,’ he explains. As for the album’s rockier sound, to the fore on singles Leave Your Body Behind You and Down In The Woods, Richard explains that it was driven by a desire to use his guitar playing as the main focus of the album. ‘Once that door was opened, the influence of a zillion guitar players I’d absorbed over the years came into being. It was really liberating and a shit load of fun to do,’ he says. The result is a far cry from the genteel charm of much of Richard’s back catalogue. But, amid the howling guitar solos and heaving riffs are lyrics laced with references amorous and arboreal, most apparent on The Wood Collier’s Grave and Down In The Woods. ‘I’ve always been a nature boy at heart as well as an inner-city dweller. My grandfather passed on a deep love of the Peak District and nature in general to me. You are never far away from the ancient greenwood in Sheffield,’ he enthuses. Richard admits that he often finds songwriting inspiration while taking his dog Fred for a stroll amongst the local flora and fauna. ‘Walking shuts off the pragmatic side of my mind and I drift off into a kind of dreaming. I don’t want to try and explain it further; don’t mess with the song genie she might go away,’ he says. While Richard enthusiastically experimented with a new guitarfueled sound on Standing At Sky’s Edge, lyrically it appears nothing will deter him from staying true to his native Sheffield and working class upbringing.