Tony Hazzard may not be a household name, but I bet some of the songs he wrote are in your music library. Hazzard has written hits for The Hollies, The Yardbirds. Manfred Mann, and Herman's Hermits for starters.
I was unaware of a 2022 release called "Demonstration" until I received some files from a friend this past Monday. Tony Hazzard's "Demonstration" collects songs he recorded between 1966-1969, demos of the songs that became hits for those artists mentioned above. It is essentially a recreation of his 1969 album "Tony Hazzard Sings Tony Hazzard." My friend thought I would like this and he was right. As he said, "These songs don't sound like demos at all. It's a solid record much like 'The Graham Gouldman Thing.'"
"Demonstration" is a blast from head to tail, a lost gem of swinging sounds from London's Regent Studios.
Great artist. His "Fox on the Run" has become a bluegrass standard (akin to Mark Lindsay and Keith Allison's "Freeborn Man").
ReplyDeleteDavid Bash's (International Pop Overthrow fest) podcast Material Issues did a nice interview with him.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=material+issues+tony+hazzard
Bob in IL
I was unaware of Tony until this very moment. Guess I’ve been remiss in reading some of my record sleeves. These certainly don’t sound like demos at all. Really nice listen in a Thursday morning.
ReplyDeleteThat stuff is fantastic -- wow....😎
ReplyDeleteHave you heard the albums he recorded for Bronze Records in seventies?
ReplyDeleteHe didn't tell me either, so you're in good company!
ReplyDeleteNever heard of him before this, great songs, at least two hit singles there!
"Goodnight, Sweet Josephine" is a favorite of mine. I didn't know he wrote it and I've never heard of him. He's a three sweet gems
ReplyDeleteSuch fun! Thanks Sal
ReplyDeleteHe should've called the album Hazzardous
ReplyDeleteHis "demo" of Ha! Ha! Said the Clown is better than Manfred Mann's. And, that other one by Keith Relf fronting a bunch of session guys with a gun pointed to his head.
ReplyDeleteSame goes for "Hello World, which surpasses the Trems cover.
I always loved Lulu's cover of Me, the Peaceful Heart. It was a huge hit in San Bernardino. But, once again, Hazzard's "demo" is superior.
VR
Real songs sounding timeless.
ReplyDeleteAn awesome discovery for me. Just ordered. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteA couple of the musicians on Demonstration have Bonzo Dog Band connections. Bassist Dave Clague played on parts of Gorilla and the first season of Do Not Adjust Your Set. And guitarist Roger McKew played on Lucky Planet by The World, alongside Neil Innes and Dennis Cowan.
ReplyDeleteyup, great stuff, sounds like a lost Hollies record from these two songs.
ReplyDeleteGave the album a full listen this morning. So good. Would never have guessed that any of these were demos.
ReplyDeleteA blast, indeed! And he never told me either, the bastid!
ReplyDelete