Alan Hawkshaw,

Although the Shads were a guitar band, keyboards have played an important part too. Alan Hawkshaw was the first official keyboard player and toured Japan recording a live album and also the "Shades of Rock" album. He was the keyboard player on one of their great 45's, "Slaughter on 10th Avenue". He has carved out a very successful career as a composer and arranger, recording a number of solo albums.

Acknowledged as one of the 80's top session players, Alan was the writer of The Grange Hill Theme. You have probably heard it for years behind the TV program without really listening to it. Joe BENNETT writing in "TOTAL GUITAR"(*) says the original is a brilliant piece of music with a "fast funk shuffle feel". It was written as library music and recorded by a line-up that sounded like a who's who of session men. Alan Hawkshaw (keyboards) constucted the chord sequence and a rough melody line which the other musicians extemporised around. These included :- Alan Parker (guitar), Mike Moran (2nd keyboard), Herbie Flowers (bass), Frank Riccotti (playing percussion on a guiro) and Barry Morgan (drums).
The track was apparently recorded in about 5 minutes, including all the overdubs, about par for the course for library sessions where a whole album would have been written, recorded and mixed in less than a day !

*From an item by Joe Bennett in "TOTAL GUITAR", June issue 1997.

ALAN HAWKSHAW'S Music from ARTHUR C CLARKE'S MYSTERIOUS UNIVERSE

The above article makes it all seem so easy.... but it obviously depends on the talents of the musicians. Alan shows how good a musician he is with this CD of wonderfully evocative music from the TV series. As the cover notes say...."The listener is urged to allow the music to stimulate and lead the imagination". If you like ambient music, do not miss this one.

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