Strawbs

The Strawbs started life in London as a bluegrass duo called the Strawberry Hill Boys, with Dave Cousins and Tony Hooper picking and singing, and they grew into one of British rock's most restless shape-shifters. Cousins was the constant, their leader, main songwriter and longest-serving member, handling vocals, guitar, banjo, mandolin and dulcimer while more than 25 musicians passed through the ranks, Rick Wakeman on keyboards among them.

After recording with singer Sandy Denny, they became, in 1968, the first act to sign with the American label A&M Records, and a five-piece lineup broke into the UK charts in 1970 with the live album Just a Collection of Antiques and Curios. From there they leaned hard into progressive rock, and Grave New World and Bursting at the Seams marked their commercial high point. The latter carried "Part of the Union", which went to number two in Britain, and the swelling, hymn-like "Lay Down", which reached 12. Hero and Heroine and Ghosts followed, along with long tours of the US and Canada, before the band split in 1980.

Cousins brought them back in 1983 and kept them going in one form or another for four decades, until a final show at Fairport's Cropredy Convention in August 2023. He died in July 2025, aged 85, and the Strawbs ended with him.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.