Richard Anthony Hewson

Richard Anthony Hewson (born 17 November 1943, Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham) is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who created the studio group RAH Band.

"Rah Band" redirects here. For the village in Hemmatabad Rural District, see Rah Band-e Olya.

Richard Anthony Hewson
Birth nameRichard Anthony Hewson
Born (1943-11-17) 17 November 1943
Stockton-on-Tees, County Durham, England
GenresJazz-funk, synthpop, electronic
Occupation(s)Record producer, arranger, conductor, multi-instrumentalist
InstrumentsVarious
Years active1966–present
LabelsDJM, RCA, various
Associated actsThe RAH Band
Websitewww.therahband.com

Career

Hewson began in the late 1960s as an arranger, and has worked with musicians such as the Beatles ("I Me Mine" and "The Long and Winding Road"), the Bee Gees (Melody), James Taylor ("Carolina in My Mind"), Herbie Hancock, Clifford T. Ward, Supertramp, Pilot (Pilot), Diana Ross, Carly Simon, Art Garfunkel, Leo Sayer, Paul McCartney (Thrillington), Mary Hopkin ("Those Were The Days"), Al Stewart, Chris de Burgh, Fleetwood Mac and Chris Rea. He also arranged strings on several Cliff Richard albums, I'm Nearly Famous (1976),[1] Every Face Tells a Story (1977) and Green Light (1978).[2] Hewson also worked with the British band Jigsaw, including arrangements for their hit single, "Sky High".[3]

Apart from his own RAH Band project, he was a producer in the 1980s for Toyah Willcox, Five Star, and Shakin' Stevens. He was and co-producer and conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra on Cliff Richard's 1983 live album Dressed for the Occasion (which included the UK hit single "True Love Ways").[2] In recent years, he has written music for television shows and advertising spots. His song "Pearly" was recorded by The Pearls.

The RAH Band

Hewson founded The RAH Band – of which he was the sole member and which took its name from his initials – in 1977 – to release an instrumental called "The Crunch". The piece climbed to number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.[4] The song also peaked at number 16 in Australia.[5] Hewson played all the musical instruments himself. The arrangement involved the use of no synthesisers, only conventional guitar and keyboards with pedal effects. He was later featured on Top of the Pops.[6] A number of jazz funk releases followed. The second big hit single for the RAH Band was in 1985 when the soul ballad, "Clouds Across the Moon", also reached number 6 in the UK chart.[4] Vocals were provided by his wife Liz, also known as "Dizzy Lizzy".

In July 2007, Hewson released a remixed "Clouds Across the Moon '07", which featured vocalist Emma Charles.[7]

The RAH band's releases were issued under a variety of record labels, including Good Earth Records, DJM, KR Records, TMT Records and RCA.[4]

Discography

Singles
  • "Love For Hire" (1976) (as Richard Hewson Orchestra)
  • "The Crunch" (1977) – UK No. 6, AUS No. 16[5]
  • "Jiggery Pokery" / "Porride" (1977)
  • "Is Anybody There (Vampire Vamp)" (1978)
  • "Electric Fling" (1978)
  • "Tokyo Flyer" (1979)
  • "Falcon" (1980) – UK No. 35
  • "Slide" (1981) – UK No. 50
  • "Downside Up" (1981)
  • "Rock Me Down To Rio" / "Riding on a Fantasy" (1981)
  • "Perfumed Garden" (1982) – UK No. 45
  • "Tears & Rain" / "Hunger 4 Your Jungle Love" (1982)
  • "Sam The Samba Man" (1983)
  • "Messages from the Stars" (1983) – UK No. 42
  • "Questions (What'cha Gonna Do?)" (1983)
  • "Rising Star" / "Winter Love '84" (1984)
  • "Sam The Samba Man '84" / "Dream Street" (1984)
  • "Are You Satisfied? (Funka Nova)" (1985) – UK No. 70
  • "Clouds Across the Moon" (1985) – UK No. 6
  • "Sorry Doesn't Make it Anymore" (1985)
  • "What'll Become of the Children?" (1985)
  • "The Crunch '85" (1985)
  • "Sweet Forbidden" (1986)
  • "Across The Bay" (1987)
  • "Run 4 The Sun" (1987)
  • "A Woman's Life" (1987)
  • "Nice Easy Money" (1988)
  • "Time Keeps Tearing Us Apart" (1988)
  • "Looks Like I'm in Love Again" (1993) (as Key West featuring Erik) – UK No. 46[8]
  • "Living for the Nightlife" (1996)
  • "Clouds Across The Moon (Tiefschwarz Remix) (1999)
  • "The Crunch-Eye in the Sky" (2005)[9]
  • "Clouds Across the Moon '07" (2007)
  • "Living for the Nitelife" (2008, only available as online download) (as The Rah Band featuring Susanna)
  • "Turn My Love Around" (2008)
  • "No Way (To Treat Your Lover)" (2009)
  • "Vapour Trails" (2010)[4]
  • "Nothing In This World" (2015)[10][11]

Albums
  • The Orchestrah (1974)
  • Love Is (Richard Hewson Orchestra) (1976)
  • The Crunch & Beyond (1978)
  • RAH Band (1981)
  • Going Up (1983)
  • Upper Cuts (1984)
  • Mystery (1985)
  • Past, Present & Future (1985)
  • Something About The Music (1987)
  • The Best of Rah Band (1995)
  • RAH Band remixed by Richard Hewson (2004)
  • The Very Best of... (2005)
  • 12 Inch Remixes (2009)[4][12]

References
  1. Three songs were arranged by Richard Hewson on the I'm Nearly Famous album: "Lovers", "Such is the Mystery", "If You Walked Away" - I'm Nearly Famous (LP) (liner notes). Cliff Richard. EMI Records. 1976. EMC3122.CS1 maint: others (link)
  2. Lewry, Peter; Goodall, Nigel (1991). Cliff Richard The Complete Recording Sessions 1958–1990. London: Blandford. pp. 107–122, 131. ISBN 0-7137-2242-8.
  3. "45cat - Jigsaw - Sky High / Sky High - Splash - UK - CPI 1". 45cat.com. Retrieved 28 January 2016.
  4. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 448. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  5. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992 (illustrated ed.). St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. p. 245. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  6. "Only one in RAH Band" (PDF). Billboard. 89 (37). 17 September 1977. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  7. Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  8. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 300. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  9. Clouds Across The Moon (Tiefschwarz Remix)
  10. "nothing in this world - mandy & the rah band". YouTube. 16 January 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  11. "Download Nothing In This World by mandy & the rah band". eMusic. 26 January 2015. Retrieved 8 April 2016.
  12. "The Rah Band | Music Biography, Credits and Discography". AllMusic. 17 November 1943. Retrieved 15 October 2013.
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