Part 6: Albert Lee, Mick Clarke, Tres Geezers
Country Wine - Paul Mac Bonvin
FlyGuitars (FG) Another guitar legend you've played with is Albert Lee?
Mick Hawksworth (MH) I played two tracks on an album with a Swiss guy called Paul Mac Bonvin in 1989, on the M.A.X record label. The album was called Country Wine. I don't know if it was issued over here, (doubtful) but Paul does pretty well in his part of the world, and is actually, a very good player / singer. Albert Lee later overdubbed guitar on both tracks. Though we weren't in the studio together, we'd played together at the Tunnel Club at The Mitre by the Blackwall tunnel more than once or twice.
FlyGuitars This was with Mickey Jones from the Flying Pigs?
MH Yes, we had a jam band called Corporal Henshaw, and we played every Tuesday night, and Albert turned up quite a few times. Plus Mickey and I also were in a little band backing Dominic Levack and we did a tour supporting Albert with Hogan's Heroes. Coincidentally, Dominic also played on both of the Paul Mac Bonvin tracks. Corporal Henshaw must have had about a hundred different players with us over the few years it was going.
FlyGuitars The next album you played on was Roll Again with Mick Clarke, who you first played with in Killing Floor in 1971.
MH Killing Floor and Andromeda often met on the road: we were both South London bands, so it wasn't unusual. Then we did quite a few gigs together and at one point in Andromeda's death throes, we did some gigs with their keyboard player; Lou Martin, who became a good friend and that's how I got to know Mick better. Then around 1971, Mick called to ask if I'd like to join their revised band with Ray Owen on guitar and vocals, which I did. It was a good band, but doomed, as there was no manager or agent. Somehow, a year or two later, Mick, Lou, Tony Fernandes and I became Cliff Bennet's Mk 2 “Toefat” for a couple of years. We stayed in touch via the South London scene, playing at The Half Moon pub at Herne Hill in jams and so on, mostly with Steve Smith, a harmonica player / singer. Sometime in the early 80's, I met Chris Sharley, who came and played quite a few sessions at The Tunnel Club. He had a real nice feel to his playing and I got on really well with him. When Mick Clarke asked me if I knew a good drummer, I instantly recommended Chris and he stayed with Mick for years. In 96/7, Mick's bass player left and he asked if I'd like to replace him, which was pretty welcome, as work had been falling off quite a bit. I was probably in the band for about four or five years, touring all over Europe mostly, and all done in a Transit van! This seems to be the standard of living a lot of bands now enjoy: late 60's standards... This hard core touring was made a lot easier by Chris's constant clowning, wisecracking and general lunacy and it probably explains why we're still good mates.
FlyGuitars Which brings us up to date: Tres Geezers
MH Tres Geezers. My current band. Rick Mead guitar, Chris Sharley drums. A little while after parting company with Mick Clarke, I bumped into Rick (an old guitar player friend) at a jam session and I really liked the style he'd adopted since I last played with him in a band called Hit And Run; with Phil Little drums and Phil Hunt guitar. Rick and I put “Tres Geezers” together, which eventually wound up with Chris on the kit; a very natural choice, not just for his playing, but his voice as well. We play our favourite obscure covers, like Joe Walsh, Todd Rungren, Steely Dan, Cream and so on, plus a good few of our own songs. The fact that Chris can manage to play and sing, means we can venture into three part harmony, which is great. I really love the band, but I'm sick of the jerks that play at being pub governors: they all seem to be bigger stars than any guitar-toter I've ever met and consequently, gigs are real hard to come by.
FlyGuitars So another three-piece. Is that the line-up that suits you most?
MH Absolutely. A player who can adapt to a bass player like myself, is a very rare animal: they seem to miss the positive side, like the fact that my style would allow them to embellish, rather than have to play rhythm or chords and they generally play over and across whatever I'm doing. I hope this doesn't make me sound like an ego tripper playing in every available space, 'cos that's not what I do, I often drop out for a bar or two at the end of a sequence, to allow the drums to fill in. In fact, I drop out more than any player I've ever heard: especially when it's really cooking. You wouldn't believe the difference in sound and dynamics when an instrument drops out. So yes, a three piece is the ideal vehicle for my style: as long as the guitar player has the ability to hear!
FlyGuitars The footage below shows Mick in action on the Cherry RD Artist bass with Tres Geezers, and demonstrates his playing style.
Video Clips
Mick Hawksworth with Tres Geezers (Rick Mead, guitar; Chris Sharley, drum ), February 2009 - click the images to view clips
Top left: Dixie Lullaby [with bass solo]. Bottom right: Everyday I have the Blues.
Thanks to Mick Hawksworth for taking the time to talk. Additional thanks to Richard Barefoot (photography), Phil Little and Uwe Hornung
Further reading: more bassplayer interviews
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