Kevin Hewick

Infobox musical artist
Name = Kevin Hewick


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Origin = Leicester, England
Genre = Singer-songwriter
Years_active = 1979– present
Label = Factory, Cherry Red, Sorted, Burning Shed, Pink Box Records
Associated_acts = New Order
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Kevin Hewick is a Leicester based singer-songwriter who was an early member of the Factory Records roster. In the present day he is known for his epic career and 3-4 hour length live sets.

The Factory Years

Following the death of Ian Curtis (lead singer of Joy Division) it is alleged by certain sources Fact|date=February 2007 that Factory owner Tony Wilson suggested the remaining members of Joy Division (Peter Hook, Bernard Sumner, and Stephen Morris) try out Hewick as lead singer in their proposed new band. No more came of it other than a session in June 1980 with producer Martin Hannett in Graveyard Studios where they recorded the track "Haystack."

Other Factory releases included the controversial live side of the "A Factory Quartet" double album (FACT 24) in 1981 - live tracks picked against Hewick's wishes by Tony Wilson of a confrontation between him and a very aggressive audience - and the single "Ophelia's Drinking Song" (FAC 48) which featured producer Donald Johnson of A Certain Ratio on percussion and was mixed by Peter Hook of New Order.

For a time Hewick was privy to many pivotal moments in Factory's early history, describing himself as a "gormless bystander" to those events. He often stayed at the famous Palatine Road flat of Alan Erasmus but as Alan became less involved with the label and Kevin's fraught working relationship with Tony Wilson rapidly worsened throughout 1982 (with Hewick even telling Wilson that the Hacienda was a bad idea as he "couldn't even run a record company properly never mind a club as well") an offer to "jump ship" to Cherry Red Records in London proved too tempting to resist.

Cherry Red

In 1982 he left Factory for a period on Cherry Red Records, releasing an album "Such Hunger For Love" and an EP in collaboration with the late Adrian Borland of The Sound, entitled "Reality/Unreal" (1983). These items, and much of the Factory era, have been compiled on 2003 Cherry Red release "Tender Bruises And Scars", which also features sleeve notes by Kevin about his experiences in the early '80s.

During 1982-83 Kevin was part of the poetry / music collective Ghosts of Individuals with Patrik Fitzgerald, Anne Clarkand John Hollingsworth, touring in both the UK and Sweden.

After being dropped by Cherry Red by 1984, constantly savaged and ridiculed by the music press, and developing total writer's block, Hewick hit rock bottom in his musical and personal life.Fact|date=February 2007

Present Day

After a 5-year self-confessed "black hole period" Fact|date=February 2007 in the mid-late 80's, since 1989 Hewick has returned to the Leicester music scene, and can be found at frequent gigs within the city both as performer and/or event organiser, including when he booked acts and hosted the monthly Firebug Comfort Zone Sunday afternoon acoustic sessions between September 2005 - October 2006.

Kevin's support slots over the years have included Roy Harper, The Fall, Joy Division, Showaddywaddy, Durutti Column, New Order, Section 25, PJ Harvey, Martin Carthy, Kevin Coyne, Fairport Convention, Dr.Robert, BJ Cole and Bobby Valentino, Eyeless In Gaza, Sonja Kristina, Clive Gregson, Ben Watt, Tim Rose, Sophie Barker, Tina Dico and Jackie Leven, with whom he has also performed in "The Stornoway Girls". He also appeared on Leven's live albums "Greetings from Milford" (2001) and "Only The Ocean Can Forgive" (2003). He has also guested on guitar and/or vocals on albums by The Freed Unit, Steve Cartwright, Meta-Tekki and recently on ist 's "King Martha" (2005) and has contributed both lyrics and vocals for Soul Sonic Sauce's forthcoming self-titled first album.

Kevin has also recently returned to the London acoustic circuit after an absence of nearly five years. His 90s work, including the album "Helpline" (1999), was issued by Leicester maverick label Sorted Records. More recently he has appeared on the Pink Box Records roster.

Kevin can be found as a regular on the forum part of Pineapster - an online music community of the East Midlands.

Between late 2004 to Spring of 2005 he managed all girl band Firebrand.

He has twice paid tribute to his old friend the late Adrian Borland at concerts in his memory in Holland at the Patronaat Haarlem (2001) and Amsterdam Paradiso (2006) and also toured Germany with The Convent in 2001.

He also contributes occasional album and live reviews to Planet Sound, the Channel 4 teletext music pages, and has written material for The Leicester Mercury, BBC Radio Leicester, "Tight But Loose" (The Official Led Zeppelin magazine), "Wears The Trousers", and a chapter for "(The Book Of) Happy Memories", an appreciation of the life of The Sound's Adrian Borland, which was published in English and Dutch editions.

June 21st 2006 saw the debut of The Soar Valley Wayfarers at Leicester's Attik Club, SVW is an on going folk/avant-garde skiffle group with Mr Plow on guitar and vocals ,Flash of ist on percusssion and Kevin.

2007 saw the re-issue on LTM Records of the 1980 Crepsecule compilation "From Brussels With Love" which features "Haystack" from the 1980 session with New Order and "Whispers in the Offing" a tribute album to Kevin Coyne on which Hewick contributes a version of Coyne's song "Raindrops on the Window". He has also co-written the song "A Scotsman in A Church" with Kenton Hall, singer and songwriter with UK band, ist for inclusion on their forthcoming album Toothpick Bridge.

Kevin was also involved in the development of a musical "School of Hard Rocks" with playwright Jez Simons of Hathi Productions that was staged at Leicester's Phoenix Arts Centre in September 2007 and The Shed in Leicester in February 2008.

Hewick wrote and performed 11 original songs for the production which came out as an album entitled "Keep Your Flipped Wigs On" on Leicester's Pink Box Records in January 2008.

Also on Pink Box was a ltd. edition 7" single on yellow vinyl - "Something to Do On The Bus" - and 4 track downloadable EP - "That Side of You" which came out in July 2007.

December 15th 2007 saw Kevin take part in a performance entitled "A Factory Night (Once Again)" at Brussels Plan K with Section 25, Crispy Ambulance, The Names and DJ's Peter Hook and Martin Moscrop. This event was filmed and was released as a DVD featuring 5 of the songs Kevin performed by LTM records in May 2008.

Further European dates with Section 25 and Peter Hook are planned in Paris, Brussels, Os and Krefeld in November 2008. Hewick also took part the 24 hour Tony Wilson Experience in Manchester on June 21st/22nd 2008 including playing with Peter Hook in an improvisational accompaniment to an action painting by artist Phil Diggle in the foyer of Urbis

On August 23rd 2008 Hewick debuted on guitar and vocals with a band line up called No Junk Promise also featuring Gemma Warne drums, Simon Ball bass and Neil Johnston on guitar at Leicester Firebug.Warne and Ball had previously performed a one off show with Kevin as The Kevin Hewick Sexperience in May 2008.

External links

* [http://www.kevinhewick.co.uk Kevin Hewick Official Website]
* [http://www.myspace.com/kevinhewickuk Kevin Hewick on Myspace]
* [http://www.sorted-records.org.uk Sorted Records]
* [http://www.cherryred.co.uk Cherry Red Records]
* [http://www.pineapster.com Pineapster]
* [http://www.cerysmaticfactory.info Factory Records history]
*MusicBrainz artist|id=d16a2769-654b-42bc-a469-2254a113c3cc|name=Kevin Hewick
*http://www.myspace.com/druidicbritskiffle My Space of The Soar Valley Wayfarers
*http://www.myspace.com/nojunkpromise My Space of No Junk Promise