Гордон Хэскелл: Жизнь и музыка английского музыканта

English musician and songwriter (1946–2020)

Gordon Haskell (27 April 1946 – 15 October 2020) was an English musician and songwriter. A pop, rock, jazz, country and blues vocalist, guitarist, and bassist, he was a school friend of King Crimson guitarist Robert Fripp. The two first worked together in Fripp's mid 1960s teenage group the League of Gentlemen (not to be confused with Fripp's later new wave band). Haskell gained recognition as bass player for the Fleur de Lys in 1966, and subsequently spent a short period in King Crimson. He sang on the album In the Wake of Poseidon (1970), and sang and played bass on Lizard (1971). After leaving King Crimson, Haskell continued as a solo musician, reaching international fame in 2001 with his hit "How Wonderful You Are" and the platinum selling album Harry's Bar.

During the late 1960s Haskell moved from Dorset to London (for a brief period, sharing a flat with Jimi Hendrix). While playing bass in the psychedelic pop band the Fleur De Lys, who were hired by Atlantic Records as a full time session band, Haskell recorded a few singles with the group to minimal success but achieving a No 1 and No 3 in South Africa and Australia as a songwriter with his song "Lazy Life". During the two years at Atlantic he worked with Isaac Hayes and David Porter (who wrote many songs for the Atlantic stable, including Sam and Dave) and worked with a variety of producers namely Glyn Johns, Donnie Elbert, Arif Mardin and George Martin. His debut solo album Sail in My Boat was recorded for the U. K. division of CBS Records in 1969 but the album did not chart. A song from the album, Zanzibar, was covered by Wanda Arletti, and reached No 2 on the singles chart in South Africa on January 1st, 1971.

When King Crimson parted company with original singer Greg Lake, Haskell was asked to be the bassist and vocalist in the transitional King Crimson line up of 1970. He appeared on the albums In the Wake of Poseidon (although just for one song, Cadence and Cascade) and Lizard. However, Haskell's preference for Nat King Cole and Ray Charles songs led to frustration in Fripp's band, and his folk and blues oriented interests were in conflict with Crimson's more complicated progressive rock musical style. Haskell left the band acrimoniously following the recording of Lizard, during rehearsals for planned live work. He objected to his vocal contributions being manipulated, using distortion and by being sped up, feeling it would damage his reputation. Haskell subsequently auditioned for Atlantic Records head Ahmet Ertegün, who had signed Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin which led to Arif Mardin producing Haskell's 1971 solo album It Is and It Isn’t. The album has guest appearances from top session musicians, notably John Wetton, who would join King Crimson in late 1972. Again, the album was not a commercial success. As the 1970s progressed, Haskell found himself playing supporting stints with Cliff Richard and Tim Hardin. For a short time in 1974 he rehearsed with the group Stackridge. Though Haskell decided not to join the group, Stackridge did record a song from It Is and It Isn’t. Originally called "Worms", the version on the 1975 album Extravaganza was re titled, "No One's More Important Than the Earthworm".

Haskell arrived at the doorstep of the 1980s deeply in debt and dissatisfied with the music business. He left for Denmark in 1984, playing "seven nights a week to drunks in bars." During this time his voice became a lot stronger. His debt eventually eliminated, he returned to England and continued playing solo and small band gigs in tiny pubs and clubs. "I was trapped," Haskell recalls, "but the time wasn't wasted. I was practising. I was in the wilderness for a long time. But I met a lot of really interesting characters in bars, and that's where my songs tend to come from. I was self contained, self supporting, and I didn't really have anything to do with the recording industry." His single "Almost Certainly" Covered by Judy Boucher reached number one in South Africa in 1990. An album called Hambledon Hill followed. It did well on airplay with BBC Radio 1's DJ, Bob Harris saying he "loved it" and become record of the week in BBC radio Scotland A single of the same name was planned but the distributor went bankrupt and the deal fell through. However, in 1994, the Voiceprint record label re issued the album.

After releasing the album Butterfly in China in (1996), he then did a small tour of America which delighted King Crimson fans even though he was only there to do solo material and see if he could get a record deal. This never happened and he went back to England to continue performing in bars. He then became introduced to Robbie McIntosh by Ken Watkins about performing together. This is where he released All in The Scheme of Things (2000). Seeing an opportunity, he was approached by manager of Robbie McIntosh, Ian Brown about recording opportunities. Haskell accepted, but specified that he wanted to make his record the old fashioned way: live, no overdubs, and grounded in solid songwriting and classically styled performances. The album that was made in February 2001, called Look Out contained a jazz tinged ballad entitled "How Wonderful You Are". After being sent on tour with Hamish Stuart & Robbie Mcintosh to Germany in June 2001. Look Out was released to no or little press. Gordon thought otherwise and so the song "How Wonderful You Are" was given to Johnnie Walker of BBC Radio 2 the day before 9/11. Even before its release as a single in late 2001, Haskell's song surpassed the Beatles' "Hey Jude" and Frank Sinatra's "My Way" to become the most requested song on BBC Radio 2. Despite limited promotion, it charted as the Christmas number two in the UK Singles Chart. Although appearing on Top of the Pops that week, the broadcast was delayed for 14 months due to pressure from EMI Records, Robbie Williams' Management (David Enthoven who had managed him in King Crimson) and the City of London Bank who were arranging a 42 million pound deal with Williams. It is generally accepted that had he been broadcast he would have taken the No 1 from Williams and no explanation or apology was ever given by the BBC Executive Producer. It went on, however, to sell more than 400,000 copies. As "How Wonderful You Are" scaled the UK Singles Chart, the British press began to pay attention to the story of its unsung creator. Haskell was quoted as saying, "Suddenly, after all these years, there's all this attention. But I've been living on skid row for so long that if I make a million now, it's back pay." As a result of the success of the single Haskell was offered a multimillion dollar recording contract from the UK label East West Records, distributed by Warner Bros. Records. The album Harry's Bar was released on 7 January 2002. It peaked at number 2 in the UK Albums Chart,

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications UKPLD HUNALBUM"Boat Trip" 1969 Sail in my Boat "Oo La Di Doo Da Day"1970"Sitting by the Fire" 1972 — —It is It's isn't "I Need Your Love So Much" 1980 — —Serve at Room Temperature"Castles in the Sky" — —"5 10 15"1981 — —non album single "Hambledon Hill"1990 — —Hambeldon Hill "The Right Time"1991"More Yin Than Yang"1996Butterfly in China"How Wonderful You Are"2001 2 901Harry's BarSilver"There Goes My Heart Again"2002 133 —"All the Time in the World" 200215"The Music Played"(Gordon Haskell & Maarit)2003 — —Shadows on the Wall (Finnish Edition)"Whole Wide World"200338Shadows on the Wall "The Lady Wants To Know"2004 — —The Lady Wants To Know"All in the Scheme of Things"(Kasia Skrzynecka & Gordon Haskell)2005 — —Koa"Everybody Wants To Go To Heaven"2006 — —non album single"Take My Breath Away"2008 — —non album single"Forevermore"2010 — —One Day SoonMy Bike Featuring Gordon Haskell "tiger"2013My Bike"I'm Letting Everybody Know"2015 — —I'm Letting Everybody Know"W Rio" with Pitor Salata2016PS"it's Me and You and Them and Us "2018The Cat who's got the Cream "I'm Still Mad about You"201919"How Wonderful You Are 2019"2019"I'm Still Trying to Figure Out"2020 "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

1991 : Ophelia's Shadow by Toyah Willcox – keyboards on the title track. Robert Fripp also played guitar on the album.