Rosemary "Rosie" Hardman (born 26 February 1945) is a British folk singer-songwriter, musician and performer, best known for such recordings as ''Lady For Today'', ''Pride of the River'', ''Song to the Evening Sky'', and ''Tongue Tied''. Hardman was one of the mainstays of the Manchester folk scene in the 1960s,''Guinness Who's Who of Folk Music'' (1993) by

Colin Larkin Colin Larkin (born 1949) is a British music writer. He founded and was the editor-in-chief of ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Along with the ten-volume encyclopedia, Larkin also wrote the book ''All Time Top 1000 Albums'', and edited th ...

, ''A Gathering of Folk'' (2003) by Mark Leightley, and performed extensively in both the UK and internationally until 1991.

Career

Early life

Rosemary Hardman was born in and grew up in Manchester, England. She was educated at the nearby Urmston Grammar School for Girls. Before turning professional as a singer in 1968, she worked at a variety of jobs in her early career, including as a horse riding instructor, assistant in a bookstore, hairdresser, and secretary for the MSG artiste booking agency. She began writing songs at the age of 13 and made her first folk club appearance in 1965, at the Manchester Sports Guild. Over the next three years, she established herself as resident singer and organiser of a number of folk clubs.

1960s: Early years

After three years of playing amateur and semi-professional gigs on the folk scene, Hardman turned professional in December 1968. That month she released her first album, ''Queen of Hearts'', on the Folk Heritage label. It contained a mixture of traditional and contemporary material. The album was recorded live on 29 December 1968 at the Bate Hall Hotel,

Macclesfield Macclesfield () is a market town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire East, Cheshire, England. It is sited on the River Bollin and the edge of the Cheshire Plain, with Macclesfield Forest to its east; the town lies south of Ma ...

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

, UK. Six months later she teamed up with south London guitarist Bob Axford, and they performed mainly original material.

1970s: Success

Rosie Hardman and Bob Axford released a joint album, ''Second Season Came''(1970), on the '' Trailer Records'' label. This album included her most popular and covered song "Lady for Today". They released a second album together (her third) ''

Firebird Firebird and fire bird may refer to: Mythical birds * Phoenix (mythology), sacred firebird found in the mythologies of many cultures ** Fenghuang, sometimes called Chinese phoenix * Vermilion bird, one of the four symbols of the Chinese constella ...

'' in 1971, also on the Trailer Records label. In 1971 Hardman married Rob Ixer on 17 April. Many of their friends from the music scene attended. Her matron of honor was

Toni Arthur Toni Arthur-Hay (born Antoinette Alice Priscilla Wilson; 27 December 1940) is an English theatre director, former folk singer and television presenter. Early life and education Arthur was born in Oxford, England. At the age of nine, she won ...

(a folk singer who later became known on children's TV). For their informal evening reception, they gathered at the Manchester Sports Guild, where Hardman had been a compere and guest artist. That night the hall had already booked

Barbara Dickson Barbara Ruth Dickson (born 27 September 1947) is a Scottish singer and actress whose hits include " I Know Him So Well" (a chart-topping duet with Elaine Paige), " Answer Me" and " January February". Dickson has placed fifteen albums on the UK ...

. In the early/mid 1970s, Hardman toured with singer/songwriter Andy Caven as her road manager/sound engineer. They recorded a version of her song "Fiddler Man" together before Caven followed his independent career. In 1974, Hardman played the

Cambridge Folk Festival The Cambridge Folk Festival is an annual music festival, established in 1965, held in the grounds of Cherry Hinton Hall in Cherry Hinton, one of the villages subsumed by the city of Cambridge, England. The festival is known for its eclectic mix ...

and in 1975 she released her next album, ''Jerseyburger'' and also a cassette of a live recording – ''For My Part''. In 1978, Hardman signed to the

Plant Life Plant Life Records was a record label that existed from 1977 until 1984. It was formed by Nigel Pegrum, at that time drummer for Steeleye Span. Maddy Prior recorded one album for the label, as did Magical Flight, Wizz Jones in 1977. Its most s ...

label, with which she made three albums (see Discography). The backing musicians on these recordings included

Dave Cousins 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, since 1967. Cousins is a founding member of Strawbs, which started out as the Strawberry H ...

Maddy Prior Madeleine Edith Prior MBE (born 14 August 1947) is an English folk rock singer, best known as the lead vocalist of Steeleye Span. She was born in Blackpool and moved to St Albans in her teens. Her father, Allan Prior, was co-creator of the p ...

Nigel Pegrum Nigel John Pegrum (born 22 January 1949) is a music producer and former drummer, most known for playing on many albums by Steeleye Span. Biography Nigel Pegrum played drums with an early line-up of the Small Faces, then with Lee Grant And The ...

Rick Kemp Frederick Stanley 'Rick' Kemp (born 15 November 1941) is an English bass player, guitarist, songwriter, vocalist and record producer, best known for his work with the British folk rock band Steeleye Span. Projects In the 1960s, he shot to prom ...

Brian Willoughby Brian Willoughby (born 20 September 1949) is a British guitarist. He has worked with many musicians, notably Dave Cousins and The Strawbs, Mary Hopkin, as well as releasing solo work. Discography (UK releases unless stated otherwise) Albums ...

, Jon Gillaspie, Mike Silver and B. J. Cole. In 1977 she performed a series of gigs with Bristol-based guitarist Steve Payne. From 1979, she toured briefly with a band which comprised

(drums), Jon Gillaspie (Keyboards), Pat Tate (guitar/vocals) and

(bass). This tour was notable for its finale, in which an eagle (one of a trained pair known as Wally and Pegasus) flew over the heads of the audience to land on Hardman's arm. Wally had a penchant for beer and at times would detour and land on the table of an unsuspecting audience member. Hardman and Gillaspie performed together regularly as a duo over the next few years, collaborating on albums as well as gigs.

1980s: More success and awards

In 1981, Hardman recorded "The Man From Brooklyn" and "Just One Time", two songs about American popular singer

Barry Manilow Barry Manilow ( ; born Barry Alan Pincus on June 17, 1943) is an American singer, songwriter and record producer with a career that spans over sixty years. His hit recordings include "Could It Be Magic", "Looks Like We Made It", "Brandy (Scott ...

. She led the Birmingham branch of his British fan club. Hardman's support for his music was controversial in some folk clubs, but she has always supported him and said that he was a major influence on her music. In 1984, Hardman took over running the

Whitesnake Whitesnake are an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1978. The group were originally put together as the backing band for singer David Coverdale, who had recently left Deep Purple. Though the band quickly developed into their ow ...

Fan Club for the heavy rock band of that name. (She worked with

Mel Galley Melville John Galley (8 March 1948 – 1 July 2008) was an English guitarist, best known for his work with Whitesnake, Trapeze, Finders Keepers and Phenomena. Biography Galley was born in Cannock, Staffordshire on 8 March 1948. While a membe ...

, the lead guitarist of the band, for a series of gigs in 1985–86). In 1985, Hardman co-wrote the theme music for the children's television programme '' Talk, Write and Read''. The programme won the

Royal Television Society The Royal Television Society (RTS) is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present, and future. It is the oldest television society in the world. It currently has fourteen r ...

award for the best primary school television programme of 1986/87. Around that time, she joined up with

Isaac Guillory Isaac Guillory (February 27, 1947 – December 31, 2000) was an American folk guitarist. Career Guillory's first band was The Continentals in Gainesville, Florida in 1960 at age 13. This band, which later changed its name to Maundy Quintet, in ...

for a number of concerts; they would each perform solo sets and then a set together. Hardman suffered from a variety of throat problems during the mid-1980s, requiring a long course of hospital treatment. The clubs were full of secondhand smoke and she had strained her voice with inadequate sound systems. While some clubs agreed to ban smoking for her performances, others did not. Due to these conditions, she retired in 1991. But the following year she played one-off farewell gigs in Germany and Jersey.

1990s: New directions

Hardman learned to swim in 1986. Finding she was good at teaching nervous adult beginners, she took the Preliminary and Full Teachers' Examinations with the Amateur Swimming Association in 1988. She taught part-time from that date. Following her retirement from music, she followed teaching full-time.

2000s: Comeback concerts

Hardman released ''Lost Leader'' (2000) and established an official website (RosieHardman.com). This helped revive interest among her long-term fans and the media, and to attract new fans. In 2006, 2007, and 2009, Hardman was supported by Graham Cooper in three comeback concerts.

Discography

Albums

*1969: '' Queen of Hearts''. Folk Heritage. FHR 002M. *1970: '' Second Season Came'' (with Bob Axford) Trailer Records. LER 3018. *1970: '' The Folk Trailer'' (Sampler album – including ''Strangely Moved'' from ''Second Season Came''). Trailer Records. LER 2019. *1971: ''

''. Trailer Records. LER 2075. *1974: '' The First Folk Review Record''. (Sampler album – including 'Latin Lady' and 'Spare Rib Rag'). Folksound Records. FS 100. *1975: '' For My Part''. (Cassette only) Mount Recordings. MRS 3 WH. *1975: '' Jerseyburger''. Alida Star Records. ASC 7754. *1978: ''

Eagle Over Blue Mountain Eagle is the common name for the golden eagle, bald eagle, and other birds of prey in the family of the Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. True eagles comprise the genus '' Aquila''. Most ...

''. Plant Life Records. PLR 014. Re-released as VAMP2 by Rosie *1980: '' Stopped in My Tracks''. Plant Life Records. PLR 023. Re-released as VAMP3 by Rosie *1983: '' The Weakness of Eve''. Plant Life Records. PLR 053. Re-released as VAMP4 by Rosie *2000: '' The Lost Leader''. VAMP1. Details. *2006: '' Rosie Bytes!'' (Compilation CD of Live MP3 tracks – mainly previously unrecorded material) *2007: '' The Lady For Today Concert''. Limited Edition CD of the Live Concert with Graham Cooper in October 2006.

Singles

*1981: "' The Man From Brooklyn" / " Just One Time", Burlington/ Plant Life Records. BURLS 002.

Cover versions

A number of Rosie's songs have been covered by other artists. These include: *"Andrew" covered by Geoff Smedley (Album: ''Love is Mine'' (1972)) and Tranby Croft (Album: ''Timeline'' (1996)) *"Child of Merseyside" covered by Jacqui and Bridie (Album: ''Next Time Round'' (1972)) *"Will Taylor" covered by Paul and Glen (Album: Paul and Glen (1972))and Jacqui and Bridie (Album: ''Next Time Round'' (1972)) *"Dark Side of the Moon" covered by Miriam Backhouse (Album: ''Gypsy Without a Road'' (1977)) *"England" covered by Triple H (Album: ''Christchurch Acoustic'' (1998)) *"Fiddler Man" covered by Andy Caven (Album: ''Early Days'' (1980)) *"Gypsy Without a Road" covered by Miriam Backhouse (Album: ''Gypsy Without a Road'' (1977)) *"Lady For Today" covered by: The Fabulous Mid Life Crisis Band (1995); Doreen Lewis (1988)); Contraband (1974); Harewood Magna (1974); Jacqui and Bridie (1972); Geoff Smedley (1972); Mae McKenna (1976) and Graham Cooper (1977). *"Pride of The River" covered by Graham Cooper (Album: ''Graham Cooper''(1997). *"Song to the Evening Sky" covered by The Lonesome Travellers (Album: ''The Lonesome Travellers'' (1970)) *"Tongue Tied" covered by Pat Tate (1973) *"Will Taylor" covered by Paul and Glen (Album: ''Paul and Glen'' (1972)) *"Mosaic" covered by John & Rosy Goacher (Album: ''Begone Dull Care!'' (1977))

Notes and references

External links

Rosie Hardman official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hardman, Rosie 1945 births Living people British composers British women singer-songwriters People educated at Urmston Grammar