| Richard Anthony Hewson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Richard Anthony Hewson |
| Born | 17 November 1943 Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside, England |
| Genres | Jazz funk, Electronica |
| Occupations | Record producer, arranger, conductor, multi-instrumentalist |
| Instruments | Various |
| Years active | 1966–present |
| Labels | DJM, RCA, various |
| Associated acts | The RAH Band |
| Website | The RAH Band homepage |
Richard Anthony Hewson (born 17 November 1943, Stockton-on-Tees, Teesside)[1] is an English producer, arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist, who is best recognized for his studio group The RAH Band.
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Hewson began in the late 1960s as an arranger, and has worked with musicians such as The Beatles (Let It Be and "The Long and Winding Road"), The Bee Gees (Melody), James Taylor ("Carolina in My Mind"), Herbie Hancock, Clifford T. Ward, Supertramp, Pilot (Pilot (From the Album of the Same Name)), 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.[2] Apart from his own RAH Band project, he was a producer in the 1980s for Toyah Willcox, Five Star, and Shakin' Stevens. In the recent years he has written music for television shows and advertising spots.[2] His song "Pearly" was recorded by The Pearls. His string arrangements were used on Cliff Richard's, "Devil Woman", and has production credits for Richard's 2007 album, Love... The Album.
Hewson founded the The RAH Band - of which he was the sole member and which took its name from his initials - in 1977 in order to release an instrumental called "The Crunch". The piece climbed to number 6 in the UK Singles Chart.[3] Hewson played all the musical instruments himself. 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.[3] This single was recorded in conjunction with his then wife, Liz, on vocals.[2]
In July 2007, Hewson released a remixed "Clouds Across the Moon '07", now featuring vocalist Emma Charles.[4]
The drummer on "Clouds Across The Moon" was Peter Boita. The Simmons SDS7 drums that were featured were recorded at Hewson's home studio, and plugged directly into the recording desk. Boita also played drums on other RAH Band's tracks: "Falcon", "Perfumed Garden", "Messages from the Stars", "Are You Satisfied? (Funka Nova)" and "Sorry Doesn't Make it Anymore". The RAH band's releases were issued under a variety of record labels, including Good Earth Records, DJM, KR Records, TMT Records and RCA.[3]