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.[2]
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Dave Cousins | |
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![]() Cousins onstage with Strawbs at B.B. King's, New York City, 2008 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | David Joseph Hindson |
Born | (1945-01-07) 7 January 1945 (age 77)[1] Hounslow, Middlesex, England |
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Years active | 1960s–present |
Labels | A&M |
Member of | Strawbs |
Cousins is a founder member of the Strawbs, which started out as the Strawberry Hill Boys, playing bluegrass music, then moved on to folk, folk rock, and progressive rock. He also performs as an acoustic duo with Strawbs guitarist Brian Willoughby, and as Acoustic Strawbs with Willoughby (until August 2004), Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk (since September 2004).
Cousins grew up in Chiswick, and in the 1970s returned to live there, rehearsing in Chiswick's Mawson Arms pub.[3] He holds a degree in statistics and pure mathematics from the University of Leicester, 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 (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), Radio Victory (Portsmouth) and XFM in London. He runs Witchwood Records, an independent record label. Cousins tours 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.[4]
In December 2021, Cousins announced a withdrawal from live performance due to his health. [5]
In 1980, Cousins made a guest appearance on On Through the Night, the debut album by British heavy metal group Def Leppard. 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.[6]
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Acoustic Strawbs albums |
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