Ray Cooper, also known as Chopper, is a British singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist living in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Initial musical collaborations and session work

Cooper's first professional band (1975–1978) was

Amazorblades Amazorblades were one of the early British punk rock groups, as chronicled in Henrik Poulsen's book '' 77: The Year of Punk and New Wave'', from Brighton, England. They released a single, "Common Truth" c/w "Mess Around" on Chiswick Records ...

together with Rob Keyloch (engineer/producer/remixer) and

Ben Mandelson Ben Mandelson (born 6 October 1953, in Everton, Liverpool in England) is an English musician. In addition he is a manager and producer. Punk and new wave years In the mid-1970s, Mandelson was a student at Bolton Institute of Technology (now the ...

. They were a punk/jazz outfit who toured extensively and recorded the single "Common Truth" in 1977 for

Chiswick Records Chiswick Records was a British independent record label. Established in 1975, Chiswick was the "first true ' indie' label to be established in Britain for nearly a decade". The label has been described as "significant" in the "punk era". It rel ...

. Between 1981 and 1982 Cooper played with the London-based band OK Jive, who signed to

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

in 1981. In 1983, he played bass guitar and bugle with The Mighty Clouds of Dust on their single release ''Flowers on the Wall / Champion (The Wonder Horse) / Mr.Custer''. In 1983, Cooper joined the

World Music "World music" is an English phrase for styles of music from non-English speaking countries, including quasi-traditional, Cross-cultural communication, intercultural, and traditional music. World music's broad nature and elasticity as a musical ...

group

3 Mustaphas 3 3 Mustaphas 3 is a British world music band formed in 1982. Its core members are Ben Mandelson (under the name Hijaz Mustapha), Tim Fienburgh (1954–2008) (under the name Niaveti III), Colin Bass (under the name Sabah Habas Mustapha), and Nige ...

where he played cello and sang under the name of Oussack Mustapha, alias ''The Nightingale of Szegerely''. He recorded two albums with them for Globe Style Records. They also recorded a single with

Agnes Bernelle Agnes Bernelle (born Agnes Elisabeth Bernauer; 7 March 1923 – 15 February 1999) was a Berlin-born actress and singer, who lived in England for many years, then Ireland. She appeared in over 20 films and also made stage and television appearanc ...

produced by Phil Chevron and

Elvis Costello Declan Patrick MacManus (born 25 August 1954), known professionally as Elvis Costello, is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, author and television host. According to ''Rolling Stone'', Costello "reinvigorated the literate, lyrical ...

. Cooper left the group in 1986. He performed in a reunion of six group members at the 30th Anniversary concert for fRoots magazine at the Roundhouse in London on 22 January 2010.

Member of Oysterband

Cooper was a member of

Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to Fiddler's Dram, and under the name "Oyster Ceilidh Band" played purely as ...

between 1989 and 2013.

Discography

With Amazorblades

* ''Common Truth'' (Single) 1977

With Yachts

* ''Without Radar'' (1980)

With OK Jive

* ''To You'' 1982 (Single produced by Rob Keyloch) * ''On Route'' 1982 (Single produced by Joe Jackson)

The Mighty Clouds of Dust

* "Flowers on the Wall" / "Champion (The Wonder Horse)" / "Mr.Custer" 1983 (Single produced by Phil Chevron)

With 3 Mustaphas 3

* ''Bam! Mustaphas Play Stereo'', 1985 * ''From the Balkans to Your Heart: The Radio Years'', 1986

With Oysterband

As Oyster Band * ''

Ride Ride may refer to: People * MC Ride, a member of Death Grips * Sally Ride (1951–2012), American astronaut * William Ride (19262011), Australian zoologist Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Ride'' (1998 film), a comedy film by Millicen ...

'' (1989) * ''

Freedom and Rain ''Freedom and Rain'' is a 1990 album by British folk rock band Oysterband and singer June Tabor. The album features a mixture of traditional material and contemporary covers including "Lullaby of London" by Shane MacGowan, " All Tomorrow's Part ...

'' (1990) (collaboration with

June Tabor June Tabor (born 31 December 1947 in Warwick, England) is an English folk singer known for her solo work and her earlier collaborations with Maddy Prior and with Oysterband. Early life June Tabor was born and grew up in Warwick, England. ...

) As Oysterband * ''

Deserters Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or Military base, post without permission (a Pass (military), pass, Shore leave, liberty or Leave (U.S. military), leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with u ...

'' (1992) * ''

Holy Bandits ''Holy Bandits'' is a 1993 album by British folk rock band Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to F ...

'' (1993) * ''Trawler'' (1994) * ''

The Shouting End of Life ''The Shouting End of Life'' is an album by the British folk rock group Oysterband, released in 1995. The album was vehemently political, and showed a much harder, punkier side than previous albums. The album peaked at No. 96 on the UK Albums Ch ...

'' (1995) * ''

Deep Dark Ocean Deep Dark Ocean is a 1997 album by British folk rock band Oysterband Oysterband (originally The Oyster Band) is a British folk rock and folk punk band formed in Canterbury around 1976. History Early history The band formed in parallel to ...

'' (1997) * '' Here I Stand'' (1999) * '' Rise Above'' (2002) * ''25'' (2003) * '' Meet You There'' (2007) * '' The Oxford Girl and Other Stories'' (2008) * ''

Ragged Kingdom ''Ragged Kingdom'' is a 2011 album by June Tabor and Oysterband. Tabor and Oysterband had collaborated previously on the 1990 album ''Freedom and Rain''. The majority of the tracks are interpretations of traditional folk songs but also includes co ...

'' (2011) (collaboration with

) Live albums * '' Little Rock to Leipzig'' (1990) (partially live) * ''Alive and Shouting'' (1996) * ''Alive and Acoustic'' (1998) * ''25th Anniversary Concert'' (2004) DVD * ''Northern Light'' (2006) Compilation albums * ''

The Rough Guide to World Music ''The Rough Guide to World Music'' is a world music compilation album originally released in the United Kingdom in 1994. The first of the World Music Network Rough Guides World Music series, it was co-released with an eponymous reference book. The ...

'' (1994) (contributing the track ''"When I'm Up I Can't Get Down"'') * ''

The Rough Guide to English Roots Music ''The Rough Guide to English Roots Music'' is a world music compilation album originally released in 1998. Part of the World Music Network Rough Guides series, the album features mainly English folk, with some tracks covering other cultures from ...

'' (1998) (contributing the track ''"Sail on By"'') * ''Pearls from the Oysters'' (1998) (taking tracks from ''Step Outside'', ''Wide Blue Yonder'', ''Ride'' and ''Little Rock to Leipzig'') * ''This House Will Stand (The Best of Oysterband 1998–2015)'' (2016), double album containing alternate versions and demos

Solo

* ''Tales of Love War and Death by Hanging'' (2010) CD * ''Palace of Tears'' (2014) CD * ''Between The Golden Age & The Promised Land'' (2018) CD and LP * ''Land of Heroes'' (2021) CD and LP

Other published material

* ''Ray Cooper Songs'' (2015) songbook

Awards

* 2003 Good Tradition Award, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (with Oysterband) * 2005 Best Group, Oysterband Big Session, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards * 2009 Best group, Spiral Earth Award (with Oysterband) * 2012 Best album, Spiral Earth Award (with June Tabor & Oysterband) * 2012 Best Traditional Track, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (with June Tabor & Oysterband) * 2012 Best Album, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (with June Tabor & Oysterband) * 2012 Best Group, BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards (with June Tabor & Oysterband)

References

External links

Official Website

Ray Cooper Discogs entry

Ray Cooper on AllMusic
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Ray 1954 births Living people English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters English folk singers People educated at Charterhouse School Alumni of the University of Brighton Oysterband members