Dave Cousins (born David Joseph Hindson; 7 January 1945) is an English musician who has been the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of

Strawbs The Strawbs are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known for their hi ...

, since 1967. Cousins is a founding member of Strawbs, which started out as the Strawberry Hill Boys, playing

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Bluegrass has roots in African America ...

, then moved on to

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

folk rock Folk rock is a fusion genre of rock music with heavy influences from pop, English and American folk music. It arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music re ...

, and

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

. He has also performed as an acoustic duo with Strawbs guitarist Brian Willoughby, and as Acoustic Strawbs with Willoughby (until August 2004), Dave Lambert and

Chas Cronk Chas Cronk is an English musician, best known as the bass player and acoustic guitarist for the Strawbs from 1973 to 1980 and again from 2004 to 2023. Chas also toured and recorded with Steve Hackett and Rick Wakeman in the 1980s and Cry No Mo ...

(since September 2004).

Biography

Cousins was born

Hounslow Hounslow ( ) is a large suburban district of West London, England, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 14 metropolitan cen ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...

. He grew up in

Chiswick Chiswick ( ) is a district in West London, split between the London Borough of Hounslow, London Boroughs of Hounslow and London Borough of Ealing, Ealing. It contains Hogarth's House, the former residence of the 18th-century English artist Wi ...

, and in the 1970s returned to live there, rehearsing in Chiswick's Mawson Arms pub. He holds a degree in Statistics and

Pure Mathematics Pure mathematics is the study of mathematical concepts independently of any application outside mathematics. These concepts may originate in real-world concerns, and the results obtained may later turn out to be useful for practical applications ...

from the

University of Leicester The University of Leicester ( ) is a public university, public research university based in Leicester, England. The main campus is south of the city centre, adjacent to Victoria Park, Leicester, Victoria Park. The university's predecessor, Univ ...

, and has also followed a career in radio. He was a producer for Denmark's Radio 1969–1979, was programme controller for Radio Tees (1980–1982), and the managing director of Devon Air in

Devon Devon ( ; historically also known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is bordered by the Bristol Channel to the north, Somerset and Dorset to the east, the English Channel to the south, and Cornwall to the west ...

(1982–1990). Since 1991, Cousins has been in charge of St. David's Research, and has been instrumental in many successful franchise applications business ventures involving local radio stations in the UK; stations such as Thames Radio (

Kingston-upon-Thames Kingston upon Thames, colloquially known as Kingston, is a town in the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, south-west London, England. It is situated on the River Thames, south-west of Charing Cross. It is an ancient market town, notable as ...

), Radio Victory (

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

) and XFM in London. He ran Witchwood Media Limited, an independent record and publishing company, until the company's catalogue was sold to Cherry Red Limited. Cousins once toured North America and Europe with Acoustic Strawbs, several months every year. In February 2012, a new venture with producer Chris Tsangarides was announced, the Dark Lord Records label; the first release was by band Spit Like This on 21 May. In 2014 Cousins' autobiography ''Exorcising Ghosts: Strawbs and Other Lives'' was published by Witchwood Media Limited. In December 2021, Cousins announced his withdrawal from live performance for health reasons, but played a one-off charity gig at the Boston Room at the George IV pub on Chiswick High Road on 21 November 2022. The event was in aid of the Commonwealth Medical Trust, of which Cousins is a trustee, to support its joint project with Safe Hands, to provide water tanks in remote parts of Africa, a project being carried out in conjunction with the

and

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda. The

awarded Cousins an honorary Doctor of Music (D. Mus) degree on 20 January. On 11 August 2023 Dave Cousins and Strawbs gave their final live show and farewell gig at

Fairport's Cropredy Convention Fairport's Cropredy Convention (formerly Cropredy Festival) is an annual festival of folk and rock music, headed by British folk-rock band Fairport Convention and held on the edge of the village of Cropredy in Oxfordshire, England. The festi ...

Personal life

Cousins has been married three times. In 2003 he moved, with his third wife Geraldine, from

Teddington Teddington is an affluent suburb of London in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Historically an Civil parish#ancient parishes, ancient parish in the county of Middlesex and situated close to the border with Surrey, the district became ...

in London to Deal in Kent, so they could be nearer his house in France. Cousins lives at Sandgate, near

Folkestone Folkestone ( ) is a coastal town on the English Channel, in Kent, south-east England. The town lies on the southern edge of the North Downs at a valley between two cliffs. It was an important harbour, shipping port, and fashionable coastal res ...

in Kent. He has faced a number of health issues including a major cancer operation, stent replacements and a full knee replacement.

Special appearances

In 1980, Cousins made a guest appearance on '' On Through the Night'', the debut album by British heavy metal group

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drummer), Rick Allen (drums), Phil Collen (guitar, ...

. Cousins' speaking voice can be heard at the beginning of "When the Walls Came Tumblin' Down", reciting a melancholy tale that serves as the track's intro.

Albums

* '' Two Weeks Last Summer'' (1972) (with Roger Glover,

Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...

, Dave Lambert, etc) * '' Old School Songs'' (1980) (with Brian Willoughby) * ''The Bridge'' (1994) (with Brian Willoughby) * ''

Hummingbird Hummingbirds are birds native to the Americas and comprise the Family (biology), biological family Trochilidae. With approximately 366 species and 113 genus, genera, they occur from Alaska to Tierra del Fuego, but most species are found in Cen ...

'' (2002) (with Rick Wakeman) * ''Wakeman and Cousins "Live 1988"'' (2005) (with Rick Wakeman) * ''High Seas'' (2005) (with Conny Conrad) * '' The Boy in the Sailor Suit'' (2007) * '' Secret Paths'' (2008) * '' Duochrome'' (2008) (with Ian Cutler) live recordings from the US tour in March 2008 * '' Moving Pictures'' (2015) solo acoustic live recording from The Kent Stage, Kent, Ohio US 15 March 2008

References

External links