"Totally underrated, the Rah Band should be put next to artists as Human League, Simple Minds, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet."
"The Rah band were fantastic, and still are to this day"
"There’s an ear to detail, melody and arrangement which you often don’t find in these new “disco"releases."
""I like RAH Band because the music is unique, it's sounds like aerospace, everything regarding future sophisticated technology."
Country:
UK
Genre:
Electronic Rock, Funk / Soul
Style:
Synth-pop, Space Rock, Disco
VIDEO:
"Clouds Across The Moon"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHGkTP3G7Z8
THE CRUNCH & BEYOND (1978)
Credits:
Photography - Alan Messer (http://www.alanmesser.com/)
Artwork By [Art Direction] - Gregory Lynn/ Artwork By [Cover Painting] - John Holmes (http://www.artmasters.co.uk/index.php?s=John%20Holmes%20-%20Surreal)
Artwork By [Design] - Splash Design For Andrew Archer Assoc.
Drums - Barry de Souza (died in sept. 2009, http://www.rwcc.com/notice_barrydesouza.asp) Percussion - Tony Carr, Harold McNair Quartet http://www.cduniverse.com/sresult.asp?artistid=0&HT_Search=artist&HT_Search_Info=Tony+Carr&seeall=1)
Saxophone - Peter King (http://jazzmasters.nl/king.htm)
Engineer - Nick Sykes (http://www.myspace.com/nicholas.sykes)
Engineer [Assisted By] - John Madden (http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wnfexq8gld0e~T4)
Engineer [Interruptions] - Robin Jones
Mastered By - Dave Tucker
Producer, Composed By, Keyboards, Synthesizer, Guitar, Bass - Richard Hewson
Notes:
Recorded mainly in the RAH room
Drums, percussion and brass recorded and the whole thing mixed at R.G. Jones Studio
VIDEO:
"The Crunch"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9qAcV4dFbQ
Tracklist:
01 The Crunch
02 Electric Fling
03 Concrete
04 Is Anybody There?
05 Beyond
06 Spacerace
07 Turkey Roll
08 Vampire Vamp
09 Woogie Boogie
10 The Crunch (Reprise)
Bonus:
JIGGERY POKERY (7") (1977)
11 Jiggery Pokery
12 Porridge
13 Electric Fling (Re-edit)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376870598/rhb78.rar
In 1977, the UK charts welcomed a really weird dance cut into their top 10: The Crunch, by the Rah Band. When the single's success propelled the "band" into the pop TV circuit, they were forced to improvise their appearance.
Perhaps the masks were employed because "Rah" simply stands for Richard Anthony Hewsen and there was no band at all. Just one very talented veteran session composer who knew his way around a stack of vintage synths well enough to pull off a album's worth of material by himself.
Hewson had made his first big musical mark in an ignominious fashion: he arranged the strings that broke up The Beatles. Phil Specter tapped him for those legendary Long and Winding Road overdub sessions and one can imagine him motioning towards the strings with an expensive handgun held to his head.
The Rah Band went on to produce a few more dance hits in the decade to follow, but none with such brilliant timbral wrongness as The Crunch. In a stroke of sonic self-flagellation it says, "I'm sorry for what I did."
(http://blog.wfmu.org/freeform/2008/07/the-rah-band.html)
" The RAH Band (RAH for Richard Anthony Hewson), which would by 1977, spawn a big hit in Britain with "The Crunch". "It's basically a very simple dance record. Dance music is very big over here, Techno by now. America is way behind when it comes to dance music." Hewson's last charting hit was in 1994, called "Looks Like I'm In Love Again," another dance track by another of his "bedroom bands," Key West."
(http://www.mcbeatle.de/macca/a/thrillington_gds.html)
"The Crunch + Beyond by the RAH Band who were the brainchild of arranger Richard Hewson. His career dates back to arranging the Long and Winding Road for the Beatles, followed by arrangements for almost every top
UK artist of the early 1970's. The Crunch + Beyond features the influential analogue synth classic track The Crunch, a top 10 UK hit in 1977, which has heavily influenced such contemporary artists as Goldfrapp (check out recent hit single Strict Machine/We are Glitter) and producer Richard X (Girls Aloud, Rachel Stevens). Close your eyes and you could be back in. . .er. . January 2006. The album features such other retro futurist instrumentals as Concrete /Electric Flag /Turkey Roll and Is Anybody There ?. Asa bonus we present the non LP single Jiggery Pokery / Porridge.Richard and his motley crew of synth glam space cadets beamed down to Top Of The Pops in the summer of 1977 with an unforgettable jaw dropping rendition of The Crunch, that was as shocking as the Sex Pistols first appearance on Granada TV's So It Goes. Hewson wearing a bin liner with accessorised PVC balaclava prodded out his primitive analogue synth sounds, his finger protruding from Steptoe fingerless gloves, whilst his band wearing thigh length boots and Kimonos lurched behind him. And he was nearly forty at the time!!"(http://www.freakemporium.com/archive/artist/Rah%20Band/artistpage.html)
"Though he had the help of a few musicians, the Rah Band's first album was pretty much the project of multi-instrumentalist Richard Hewson, most famous as an arranger of noted recordings on the Apple label by the Beatles, James Taylor, and Mary Hopkin. In a limited sense, The Crunch and Beyond was ahead of its time, presenting instrumentals with dance rhythms centered around synthesizers. But while the title track got to #6 in the UK (and was also a hit in several other countries, though not the US), in other ways, the record sounds horribly dated at a few decades' remove. Much of the album presents basic early synth-pop riffs set to elementary dance rhythms, and these are often unmemorably cheesy, sometimes sounding like backing tracks that are missing the vocalist. Jazz fusion and disco influences criss-cross, as well as a slight layer of the kind of novelty associated with earlier electronic-based instrumentals done in hopes of cracking the pop market by the likes of Jean-Jacques Perrey. Some traces of reggae and dub (and, in "Woogie Boogie," rockabilly) are found in some of the more creative tracks, and this is a more serious and artistic endeavor than those by artists such as Perrey. Still, the material's not too substantial, and indeed enervating over in full-album dosage. The 2006 CD reissue on Repressed two bonus tracks and historical liner notes featuring an interview with Hewson." ~ Richie Unterberger, AllMusic Guide
"I first heard this album in 1986 - nearly 10 years after its release. It sounded amazing, like nothing I had heard before. This was the start of my RAH BAND campaign, after first hearing CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON - I set about obtaining the lengthy back catalogue of RAH BAND 12" singles, 7" singles and vinyl albums - now mainly obsolete except for those few that still have record players!!
So, it is fantastic that this album has been re-issued, re-mastered and re-supported. Great album, nice new packaging, including an interview with elusive RIchard HEwson - gold!
All Rah BAnd fans should buy this album, it may not be their favourite hybrid of versions Rah Band - but if you don't buy this then they won't do the rest ... and we are all waiting for GOING UP & MYSTERY!"
"I bought this as an LP when it was first released in the 1970's, a great retro electronic sound. Good news that is now available on CD. Highly recommended for anyone into electronic sounds"
"The RAH Band was a fictitious studio based group (fictitious in that it was no group, it was the creation of musician & producer Richard Anthony Hewson, his initials RAH giving the name.) In 1977 Hewson wrote "The Crunch", which climbed to number 6 in the UK Singles Chart, with Hewson playing all the musical instruments himself. It is a catchy little number & was very popular in clubs. Worth a listen."
"Moogy, fuzzy, and a little bit funky -- the great standout album from The Rah Band -- really just the brainchild of synthesizer whiz Richard Hewson! The Rah sound is almost like that of Hot Butter, but with a few more glam touches -- lots of flanged-out production on both the rhythms and the keys -- so that the whole thing sounds a bit like Gary Glitter meeting up with Perry & Kingsley -- hitting the dancefloor with rhythms that merge together the best of their styles! The instrumental tracks here are all short, tight, and very heavy on the hooks -- a late entry in the moog pop generation that first started in the late 60s -- but one that's equally deserving of attention."
(http://www.dustygroove.com/item.php?id=s67dyd92qd)
"The RAH Band - Electric Fling:
The RAH band is super-producer Richard Hewson. Yes, after producing and arranging work by The Beatles, Herbie Hancock, James Taylor, Supertramp, Leo Sayer... he decided to put out music of his own. This song is so weird and perfect. It's all about scales in the bridge section. Then there's that dorky guitar/synth line through the whole song. And bongos. Cosmic is putting it mildly."
(http://terrysmusicallife.blogspot.com/2007_09_01_archive.html)
RAH BAND (1981)
Credits:
Bass, Guitar, Keyboards, Producer, Synthesizer, Written-By - Richard Hewson
Drums - Barry De Souza (see first album)
Engineer - Nicholas Sykes (see first album), Gerry Kitchingham (track 01)
Mastered By - Tim Young (http://www.imastering.co.uk/engineers/tim_young)
Saxophone - Ray Warleigh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Warleigh)
Notes:
Recorded at the RAH ROOM and RG Jones Studios
Pressed and distributed in Italy by CGD Messaggerie Musicali spa
VIDEO:
"Downside Up"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0zpP8hG3Wms
Tracklist:
01 Falcon
02 Downside Up
03 Dream On
04 Slide
05 Blue Horizon Drifter
06 Dancing On The Moon
07 Ride
Bonus:
TOKYO FLYER (12") (1980)08 Tokyo Flyer (4:10)
09 Tokyo Flyer (Instrumental) (5:17)
10 Tokyo Flyer (Long Tailed Mix by John Bice)
11 Downside Up (12")(1981)
12 Rock Me Down To Rio (12")(1981)
MESSAGES FROM THE STARS (12") (1983)
13 Messages From The Stars (Long Wave)
14 Messages From The Stars (Astro Mix)
15 Messages From The Stars (Short Wave)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/377933261/rhbst.rar
I couldn't find any reviews belong to this LP, so i wote a short one.
The sound is almost the same as on the first album , so you can expect here again an instrumental Lp. Perhaps the style is slightly diverged from the former album's progressive jazz (glam) rock sound and went closer to the so-called disco style, but all of this comes in a very enjoyable, high-standard form. It is a kind of jazz-funk fusion music a-la Mezzoforte, but the Rah's sound is much better to me. So if you enjoyed their former album, you will like this as well. Good, danceable rhythms and catchy jazzy funk melodies...don't ask me for my favourite songs, as i really like all:)(salty)
GOING UP (1983)
Credits:
Arranged By, Programmed By, Producer, Written-By, Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Richard Hewson
Drums - Barry De Souza (see first album), Barry Morgan, Peter Boita
Saxophone - Ray Warleigh (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_Warleigh)
The ...Brass section - Henry Lowther (http://www.jazztrumpet.co.uk/henrylowther/henrylowther.html and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Lowther_(musician)), Alan Downey (died in 2005, see: http://www.myspace.com/alandowney), Alan Skidmore (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alan_Skidmore), Chris Smith (http://www.stringofpearls.co.uk/About-Chris-Smith.asp and http://www.pkorecords.com/members/csmith.htm), Chris Pyne (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Pyne), Cliff Hardy (http://www.myspace.com/hungrywolffunk and http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/credits/cliff-hardie/441014), Stan Sulzmann (http://www.stansulzmann.co.uk/ and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stan_Sulzmann)
Leader of The Strings - Tony Gilbert (http://www.anthonygilbert.net/biography.html)
Vocals - Liz Hewson, Sylvia, Carmen, Sonja
Recorded and Mixed By Gerry Kitchingham (http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/credits/gerry-kitchingham/453842 and http://www.rgjones.co.uk/)
Mastered By Tim Young (http://www.imastering.co.uk/engineers/tim_young)
VIDEO:
"Messages Fom The Stars"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e1XUnOSxAs
Tracklist:
01 Messages From The Stars
02 Roll Me Down To Rio
03 Perfumed Garden (With Scented Strings)
04 Hunger For Your Jungle Love
05 Sam The Samba Man
06 Winter Love
07 Tears And Rain
08 Two Bodies
09 Party Games
10 Riding On A Fantasy
Bonus:
11 Messages From The Stars (12" Version)
12 Funk Me Down To Rio '82 (12" version)
13 Questions (What You Gonna Do)
14 Questions (Trasers Mix)
15 Funk Me Down To Rio '82 (7" version)
16 Rising Star (7" 1984)
17 Rising Star (Re-mix)
18 Sam The Samba Man (Scratch Me If You Can) (extended)
19 Sam the samba man (12" mix)
Links to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376901147/rhbgu.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/376902358/rhbgub.rar (bonus)
There is a dramatic change on this album: it is loadaed with beautiful, romantic songs presented by Liz Hewson's wonderful, sensitive (shiny?) and lovely voice. If you are still looking for the instrumental side of Rah Band, of course, there are some awesome songs here with vocoder, i suppose you will like them.
The horns are really brilliant, they exhibit the high level of professionalism.
They all are famous jazz musicians who worked many times together in different lineups and you can hear them on lot of albums from pop/rock to jazz. Check the links i added for further info.
In some parts i had such a feeling as if i would listen to Tulio De Piscopo - Primavera (1984) and some slow themes from two albums of Cameo (She's Strange 1984/ Single Life 1985). And even here is the masterpiece "Messages From the Stars"!! I think that i needn't tell more to you to love this album:) (salty)
"Rah Band should sound familiar for those who has listened to music around 80s. Even if you forget the name, think of Clouds Across The Moon, their megahits that raised their career right away. This song was a big radio hits, and still appearing on radios until now. Or Sam the Samba Man, the song that was really popular on its heyday, and now became a rare stuff that really hard to find. They offered jazz dance/disco, a form that became the beginning of acid jazz. Their songs are just easy to listen, and would be perfect for you who like 80s music."
Reviews on "Messages From The Stars":
"'Messages from the Stars' from about 1982(ish)
This track is by no means a rare track and i assume is fairly well known (well the group are), they had many numerous other hits during the late 70's/early 80's, but this one track i suppose is one of their songs they were least remembered for!
I have to say though that this track in my opinion in just a wonderful,superb song-the whole feel of the track is just amazing, the vocals/words of the song just amazing!
"I got messages from the stars when your making love to me,i got messages from the stars-you must be from another galaxy"
With a haunting/catchy rhythm and a stunning female vocal, this song is another of those tracks i could just play over & over again!"
"Released in 1983, "Messages From the Stars" is his true masterpiece. Unleashing one of the fiercest boogie synth basslines ever committed to tape on top of heavy drum machines, "Messages From the Stars" is tough to beat on the dancefloor. And yet the wistful female vocals and cosmic subject matter give it a softer edge that is irresistible.
On the b-side Hewson really lets loose and gives us just the hook of the vocals lovingly dubbed out while the drums delay and flange all over the mix. It's called the "astro mix" and it really takes you to outer space!"
(http://thetokemonster.blogspot.com/)
MYSTERY (1985)
Credits:
Arranged By, Programmed By, Producer, Written-By, Guitar, Keyboards, Synthesizer - Richard Hewson
Artwork By [Cover Illustration And Design] - Shoot That Tiger!
Brass - The Mat Roule Horns
Drums - Tiya "Nye" Nohnyen
Lead Vocals, Backing Vocals - 'Dizzy' Lizzy* (Liz Hewson) , The Rah La Las
Leader [Strings] - Irvine Arditti (http://www.ownvoice.com/ardittiquartet/biogirv.htm and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irvine_Arditti)
Percussion - Kitchen Sync., Inc.
Recorded By [Strings] - Murray Harris
Saxophone - Pete King (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_King_(saxophonist)???)
Synthesizer [Simmons Toms] - Peter Boita (tracks: 01, 02)
Wind Chimes - Daniel J. Hewson, Jr. (son of Richard Hewson)
VIDEO:
"Are You Satisfied"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28aGbir_VVk
Tracklist:
01 Clouds Across The Moon (6:49)
02 Night Wind (7:42)
03 Sorry Doesn't Make It Anymore (4:23)
04 Float (5:38)
05 Mystery Boy (7:14)
06 Are You Satisfied (Funka Nova) (6:02)
07 Shadow Of Your Love (6:27)
08 Out On The Edge (5:24)
Bonus:
09 Clouds Across The Moon (Super Nova Mix) (1985)
10 Clouds Across The Moon (Solar Horizon Mix) (1985)
11 Sorry Doesn't Make It Anymore (Stretch Mix)(1985)
12 Star Dance (1985)
13 Sweet Forbidden (Extended 1986)
14 Perfect Stranger (1986)
15 Nice Easy Money (Intruders In The House)(1988)
16 Dream Street(Extended)(1984)
17 Sweet Forbidden (Single Version 1986)
Links to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376862100/rhbm.rar
Richard Hewson once again made a fantastic album with some timeless great tunes to offer you a very romantic, relaxing mood in an uplifting way: sweet like the honey and is spreading like cat purrs and cuddle up to you on a war
m quilt...sometimes slightly twee, but frankly, it is not disturbing at all.And there are again these deep and very driving swinging strings....and they stay always in the backround discreetly, in a very fine way. And to heighten your satisfaction, there are again very unique and catchy female vocals like on the former album.....i love this music: "tracks that keeps turning in your head after a long night in the club, and you catch yourself whistling the theme over and over. The perfect way to send people out in the morning with a good feeling." (salty)
"Simmonds drums, synth brass, saxophones, philly strings and a voice (Hewson's wife Liz) that recalls Karen Carpenter at her gutwrenching best. "Clouds Across The Moon" is of course the standout, a track so unique in that it manages to sound retro and futuristic in equal measures, a balance that hasn't quite been matched in pop music since. The two failed singles "Sorry Doesn't Make It Anymore" and "Are You Satisfied" are almost as good, and the rest of the album, a lively jazz/funk/pop fusion including two instrumentals, still comes pretty close in terms of quality, even though a little editing wouldn't have gone amiss, most of the tracks are too long, some excruciatingly so."
"I might be a bit mental, but I find Clouds Across The Moon to be one of the most moving songs ever written. When the chord change happens, I want to either burst into tears or jump up in the air, depending on my gin consumption."
(http://www.rllmukforum.com/index.php?showtopic=188853)
German review:
"Bei der Rah-Band sehe ich immer Sterne (...uns zwar 5 für dieses Album!)
Ihre Mucke ist einfach himmlich, wie von einem anderen Stern, als ob man sich in den unendlichen Weiten befindet...
Äh, bevor ich noch weiter abschweife wie eine Sternschnuppe, hier meine Bewertung:
Auf den regulär letzten Album Mystery von 85" bietet die Rah-Band wieder eine schöne Mischung aus 80s Disco, Synthpop und Jazz-funk mit einer Prise südlichen Flair. Hier befindet sich ihr einziger Top Ten Titel; Clouds across the Moon drauf. Wobei Songs wie Float oder Mystery Boy schlagen auch ein wie ein Meteorit.
Schade ist nur das die Lp ziemlich rar!!! auf CD-Format ist, aber die Vinylversion tut's übergangsweise auch. Immer noch besser als sich eines der vielen The Best of Alben zukaufen.
Das hören der Platte wird garantiert zu einer Sternstunde werden und das Geld für diese Investition verschwindet auch nicht in einem schwarzen Loch!
Ps. kauft euch unbedingt das 83er Album Going up mit dazu, gleicher Musikstil und mein Lieblingssong; Messages from the Stars!!! "
Tracklist:
01 What'll Become Of The Children?
02 Star Dance
03 Perfumed Garden
04 Rock Me Down To Rio
05 Are You Satisfied?
06 Clouds Across The Moon
07 Messages From The Stars
08 Falcon
09 Sam The Samba Man
10 The Crunch
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376864461/rhbppf.rar
This is a 10-track compilation LP, effectively a 'greatest hits' collection, which contains two brilliant new songs "What'll Become Of The Children?" and "Stardance".
It is all true, but i have to add that why i love this album. This is not a simple greatest hits, but contains such mixes are all my favourite. These mixes are simply sensational as they are more jazzy and dreamy here (for example here can you find the best version of Perfumed Garden, Rock Me Down To Rio, Messages From The Stars and Sam The Samba Man.)
Anyway "What'll Become Of The Children?" is one of their best songs. It is beautiful and sad a the same time. It is a prophetic view of the future of our planet.
We are in 2045 when "...increasing violence of the food riots there is no great concern for the fututre on this planet...nothing last forever...the earth is getting older and a little colder then before.....we are running out of time, just too many people in the world who doesen't see the warning signs...there was a great earthcake and the Sun became black ...(there are sounds of air-alerts here).... will there be an answer in the end?...."
(salty)
CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON...
Clouds Across the Moon (original video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V4R97AeM6IE&a=758Nz0kBHz4&playnext_from=ML
Clouds Across the Moon Part 2 -The Homecoming
Answer to "Couds Across the Moon" Astronaut returns 15 years later!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vE00vk1ClG8
Lyrics of Clouds Across The Moon:
"INTRO
"Good evening. This is the intergalactic operator. Can I help you?"
"Yes. I'm trying to reach flight commander P.R. Johnson, on Mars, flight 2-4-7"
"Very well, hold on please [beeping] you're through!"
"Thank you operator!"
VERSE 1 :
Hi darlin' ! How are you doing ?
Hey baby, where're your sleeping ?
Oh I'm sorry, but I've been really missing you !
Hi darlin' ! How's the weather?
Say baby, is that cold better now ?
Oh I'm sorry, is there someone there with you??
BRIDGE:
Ooooh...since you went away, there's nothing goin' right !
I just can't sleep alone at night... I'm not ashamed to say
I badly need a friend...or it's the end.
CHORUS:
Now, when I look at the cloud's across the moon.
Here in the night I just hope and pray that soon.
Oh baby, you'll hurry home to me.
VERSE 2 :
Hi darlin', the kids say they love you.
Hey baby, is everything fine with you?
Please forgive me, but I'm trying not to cry...
BRIDGE :
Ooooh...I've had a million different lovers on the phone.
But I just stayed right here at home.
I don't think that I can take it anymore this crazy war.
CHORUS
"I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but we are
experiencing violent storm conditions in the asteriod belt at this
time. We may lose this valuable deep space communication link.
Please, be as brief as possible.
Thank you."
BRIDGE
or it's...or it's..."Hello?" "Hello operator?"
" Yes, we've lost the connection! Could you try again please?"
-"I'm sorry, but I'm afraid we've lost contact with Mars 2-4-7
at this time."
CHORUS repeat 3 times WHILE SAYING:
"Ok. Thank you very much...
I'll...I'll try again next year...next year...next year...next year..."
CHORUS INTERMEZZO
SOLO BASS-GUITAR
BRIDGE INTERMEZZO
CHORUS repeat 3 times WHILE FADING OUT"
Some reviews of "Clouds Across the Moon":
"Clouds Across the Moon was one of the greatest pop songs of all time."
"This song was huge in Brazil and still today it is aired by our Adult Radios. I think this song is now my favourite song of all times. It took me years to get to its title and who played it but finally a british neighbour told me the name of the song/band and I could find it in a compilation here. I see that this was #6 in the UK back in 1985, but it should've gone 1 for it's really a melancholic, kitsch and melodious song. It reminds me of Love Unlimited's "So Glad That I'm Woman" (don't know why) and even of some of ABBA's harmonies. I'd love to know more about Rah Band."
"It is an apocalyptic vision of the future. A woman tries to contact her husband who's in Mars, fighting who knows who, and she has few minutes to tell him that she misses him. The fact that Mars is close enough to the Earth in order to establish a clear communication makes the song scientificly accurate. It breaks my heart when the operator tells the woman there are cosmic storms in the asteroid belt and she has to hurry. When the communication is lost and she says she'll try to contact him next year, we realize not only her sadness but the limits of technology in the future, and the elliptic orbit of the planets, following Kepler's law.
"Clouds Across The Moon" is one of the most complete songs of the eighties. Reaches a perfect circle at the coda, and is melancholic and sad but danceable. Totally underrated, the Rah Band should be put next to artists as Human League, Simple Minds, Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet."
"Like most people, i heard this song and never forgot it, but the song like the group, was never really known about (Not enough credit given to them). This only added to the beauty and mystery of the song and the group (UK act). I remember searching for teh record high and low and when i finally got the song , i was elated. The Rah band are so underated and this song will alway remind me of "1985", and the bitter sweet beauty of being in love.
If you like the "Moments in Love" by the "Art of Noise" then you will adore this song.
A classic love song 10/10"
"This song deserves far greater recognition than it gets. Definitely my Song of the Millenium."
"Cannot stop thinking of the environment as displayed in "2001 - A Space Odyssey" and similar when hearing this song. A classic."
"whenever i listen to this song im starting to cry. It is so beautiful but sad and nostalgic at the same time. One of the greatest song of pop history"
"This single when it came out was good because if you like the sort of music that has a good chorus with a mystic womans voice and then reverts back to the song, you will enjoy this record."
"More cheesy intergalactic dance music in the grand tradition of "Spacer" and "I Lost My Heart To A Starship Trooper." As you can see from the photo above The Rah Band were the first pop group in history to have a robot in their line-up, but he eventually left the group citing "musical differences" and joined Kraftwerk's touring band. Rah Band were an English studio act put together by arranger/producer Richard A. Hewson (R.A.H. - geddit?) who arranged The Beatles "The Long And Winding Road' and Mary Hopkins' "Those Were The Days" back in the 60s before turning his hand to homemade dance music in the late 70s. His first hits were the instrumentals "The Crunch" and "Falcon" which he plays all the instruments on and then he brought his wife Liz in to sing vocals which produced "Perfumed Garden" and their biggest hit "Clouds Across The Moon" in 1985.
It's very endearing how this record goes for the big, glam production but somehow ends up sounding quaintly low budget and suburban English. Maybe it's the homely, Blue-Peter-presenter vocals of wife Liz who sounds exactly like someone who just brought her husband tea and sandwiches one afternoon and got roped into singing rather than some intergalatic disco siren.
This extended version was originally on their album Mystery which isn't available anymore, and The Best of The Rah Band looks hard to get too. They weren't the sort of band you'd admit to your mates to liking but I thought they put out a few good singles so I'm going to risk my street cred and recommend it."
(http://www.londonlee.com/2005_05_01_londonlee_archive.html)
GREATEST HITS (1995)
VIDEO:
"Sam The Samba Man"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0BJzSc2qMM
Tracklist:
01 Clouds Across The Moon (6:45)
02 Messages From The Stars (6:46)
03 Falcon (6:46)
04 Perfume Garden (3:38)
05 Winter Love (7:13)
06 Beyond (5:22)
07 Are You Satisfied (6:03)
08 Rock Me Down To Rio (7:14)
09 Sam The Samba Man (4:17)
10 Run 4 The Sun (7:12)
11 Electric Fling (4:06)
12 Across The Bay (3:31)
13 The Crunch (3:39)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376906800/rhbgh.rar
BEST OF THE RAH BAND (1995)
Tracklist:
01 Clouds Across the Moon (6:45)
02 Messages From The Stars (6:43)
03 Are You satisfied (5:15)
04 Sam The Samba Man (4:17)
05 Perfumed Garden (3:39)
06 Mystery Boy (3:55)
07 Winter Love (3:45)
08 Rock Me Down To Rio (7:11)
09 Out On The Edge (4:45)
10 Float (4:15)
11 Slide (6:35)
12 Riding On A Fantasy (5:15)
13 Ride (4:15)
14 Falcon (6:43)
15 The Crunch (3:36)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376871114/rhb95.rar
"In 1985, a kid was listening to the radio and hear a song that make him delight. He wanted to hear it more times, but he couldn't find the song, as he doesn't knews either its tittle nor the artist... The years passed and that -only_one_time_listened- song was always on his head. But one day, in 1997, in a disco, where that kid (not as kid as in 1985) was working as a DJ, exploring old vinyls, he found a carpet whith some kind of familiar words... He put the disk on the technics, he adjusted his Sennheiser Headphones, and plenty of happiness, he started to listen, for the second time in his life, the song: Clouds Across The Moon, Rah Band. The kid, obiously, was me."
""Run 4 The Sun" was indeed a hit for Bucks Fizz - however - strangely RAH BAND also had a song called "Run 4 The Sun" - they are NOT the same song.
An extended club mix of the track by Rah Band "Run 4 The Sun" can be found on the CD "Greatest Hits" which is available on the Connoissuer Record Label.
Strangely, also and without any explanation this Music Club "Best Of" includes far too many instrumentals, giving an impression that Rah Band were more famous for these, when in fact only 3 years of their 25 year career consisted of no-vocal tracks. (1977-1980)."
"I like RAH Band because the music is unique, it's sounds like aerospace, everything regarding future sophisticated technology. And most of all because is my first record that my boyfriend give it to me!"
"If you've forgotten about the Rah Band - they were massive in the 1980's - all over the world!
People forget that the dance music chart until the late 80's was separate, and therefore 12" singles did not count towards chart sales.
Rah Band were essentially a 12" single band, loved the world over by DJ's and the public (who probably had no idea who they were listening to)!
As an introduction to Rah Band this is perfect. THe only disappointment of the album is that it contains too many instrumentals. Rah Band were an instrumental band 77-81 and then from 82 to present most songs were vocal.
Rah Band still write and record, sometimes under the pseudonum Key West, and indeed have had some success the last few years with re-issues of Clouds Across The Moon and The Crunch both faring well on the dance charts.
Enjoy!"
PERFUMED GARDEN: THE BEST OF THE RAH BAND (1996)
Tracklist:
01 Clouds Across The Moon (6:38)
02 Perfumed Garden ('85 Version) (6:52)
03 Something About The Music (5:46)
04 Sam The Samba Man (4:18)
05 What'll Become Of The Children (7:26)
06 The Shadow Of Your Love (6:24)
07 Woogie Boogie (4:55)
08 Sweet Forbidden (6:28)
09 Nice Easy Money (6:50)
10 Sorry Doesn't Make It Anymore (4:20)
11 Perfumed Garden (3:40)
12 Clouds Across The Moon (Super Nova Mix) (8:18)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376913130/rhbperf.rar
"The Rah band were fantastic, and still are to this day.Both my Girls love "clouds accross the moon". Although this is not their greatest hits there are still a good few clasics on the disc. The greatest hits is available but will cost you over L100.00? This is the cheaper alternative."
"The RAH Band was originated by writer / producer Richard Anthony Hewson in the late 1970's. Hewson's CV reads like a Who's Who of music having worked with The Beatles, Herbie Hancock, Art Garfunkel and Diana Ross before concentrating on The RAH Band project.
The RAH Band's first hit was THE CRUNCH which was a hit in many parts of Europe as well as Great Britain in 1977.
The RAH BAnd were very rarely out of the British Dance Charts in the early 1980's with tracks such as FALCON and SLIDE.
In 1985, The RAH Band had their greatest International hit with CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON.
This collection showcases all the RAH Band's best known tracks that delighted our airwaves over the past 30 years."
"i have been trying to buy this cd fo years,you cant get it in the uk!.I was not disappointed the songs are as good today as the were when i was a young man out clubbing in london.The songs would not be out of place in todays music charts.If you like all sorts of dance music give this cd a go,you wont be disappointed"
"Auf diesem Japan-Import wird noch einmal die Schaffenskraft von Richard Hewson in aller Kompaktheit dargestellt, auch wenn ich vorher noch nicht alle Tracks kannte. Viele 12" Versionen sind darauf versammelt. Sogar der Super Nova Mix von "Clouds across...", obwohl dieser mir nicht so zusagt. Alles in allem doch einen Kauf wert, schon wegen der auf diesem Album veröffentlichten `85er Version von "Perfumed Garden" vom "Past, Present & Future" Album und natürlich wegen der wunderschönen Stimme von Dizzy Lizzy. Nach der Wiederveröffentlichung des Albums "The Crunch" kann man ja hoffen, auch die anderen Alben noch mal sein eigen nennen zu können. Hier sind auf jeden Fall 5 Sterne zu vergeben."
Tracklist:
01 Perfumed Garden (Rix Remix)
02 Clouds Across The Moon (Johnny Solar Answer Mix)
03 Are You Satisfied? (Andre Schild & Michael Dierks Orgasmix)
04 Messages From The Stars (Michael Dierks & Oliver Rockstedt Spaced Out Mix)
05 Rock Me Down To Rio (Dan Dare Cruisin' Mix)
06 Slide (Dan Dare Slippy Mix)
07 Beyond (Beyond The Flame Mix)
08 Crunch (Mulu & Babyshaker Liverpool Nights Mix)
09 Clouds Across The Moon (Tiefschwartz Number One German Dj Mix)
10 Homecoming (2nd Part Of Clouds Across The Moon Trilogy)
11 Silverbird (3rd & Final Part Of Clouds Across The Moon Trilogy)
12 Falcon (Sun Of The Falcon Beach Mix)
Bonus:
LIVING FOR THE NIGHTLIFE (12") (1996)
13 Living For The Nightlife (Main Disco Mix)
14 Living For The Nightlife (Rumpus Ruff Cookie Mix)
15 Living For The Nightlife (Beat Foundation Mix)
16 Living For The Nightlife (SNCL Club Mix)
CLOUDS ACROSS THE MOON MIXES (1999)
17 Clouds Across The Moon (Original Extended Mix)
18 Clouds Across The Moon (Tiefschwarz Cloudly Radio Edit)
19 Clouds Across The Moon (Kick Ass Radio Edit)
20 Clouds Across The Moon (Original Mix)
21 Clouds Across The Moon (Tiefschwarz Cloudly Vocal Mix)
22 Clouds Across The Moon (Moonboots Kick Ass Mix)
23 Clouds Across The Moon (Tiefschwarz Cloudy Vocal Mix)
24 Rah Band Feat. Emma Charles - Clouds Across The Moon 07 (Sola Powa Mix) (2007)
25 Rah Band Feat. Emma Charles - Clouds Across The Moon 07 (Sola Powa Mix) (2007)
26 Turn my love around (Jilted Jacks Original Mix) (2008)
27 No Way (Main Vocal Mix)
Links to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/376884413/rbcr.rar
http://rapidshare.com/files/376886214/rbcrb.rar
"Clouds Across The Moon 07" is a remixed version of the 1985 single of the same name. The vocals have been totally re-recorded by vocalist Emma Charles to bring the track up to date and it was released by Shocking Music in July 2007. Producer Richard Hewson states that the single was remixed and released due to "the phenomenal demand by fans and DJs, for a modern mix of the 1985 'classic'". As well as new vocals, the new version has a more Jazz Funk feel than the original but still retaining the original synthesizer score and drum machine sequence"
"Classic RAH BAND tracks, remixed for modern ears, with some excellent mixes and a lovely new vocalist. Close your eyes and drift away ....! Buy it and get this back in the charts!"
ALBUMS
The Crunch & Beyond (1978)
The RAH Band (1981)
Upper Cuts (mini album)(1984)
Mystery (1985) - UK #60
Past,Present & Future (compilation) (1985)
Greatest Hits (1995)
Perfumed Garden: The Best Of Rah Band (1996)
The Best Of Rah Band (1995)
21st Century Remixes (2004)
The Very Best of... (2005)
The Definitive RAH Band Collection (2009)
12 Inch Remixes (2009)
Unreleased Trax From The 70s To The 2000s (2010)
Biography of RICHARD ANTHONY HEWSON & RAH BAND
Rah Band formed by Richard Anthony Hewson from Stockton-On-Tees, the Rah Band (in effect a one man band, although vocals were added to some of their later material) scored a top 10 hit with their first release, ‘The Crunch’, which went as high as number 6 in the UK.
Hewson, who’d also re
cord as the Richard Hewson Orchestra and, later, Key West, was an arranger, conductor and multi-instrumentalist. A long established figure in the British music industry, he’d previously worked with some of the major acts of the late 60’s - mid 70’s, having received his break when Paul McCartney asked him to arrange the strings on the Mary Hopkin chart topper, ‘Those Were The Days’ in 1968.
Hewson studied at the Guildhall School of Music, of which George Martin was also an alumnus from the previous generation. Although his education was in classical music, Hewson also had a strong love for jazz and big-band swing, and played guitar in a trio that included Peter Asher, one half of the duo of Peter & Gordon and also the brother of actress Jane Asher, who was romantically associated with Beatles bassist/singer Paul Mccartney for most of the 1960s; it was on the occasions when the trio practiced at the Asher family home that Hewson first met McCartney socially.
Later on, when the Beatles' bassist was recording Mary Hopkin's single "Those Were the Days," he decided that the song required orchestral accompaniment and on McCartney's instructions to get an arranger, Asher (by then an executive at the Beatles' Apple Records label) brought Hewson in to finish the record, in what he admits was his very first job after graduating from music school.
The record was a huge success, with a simple but distinctive arrangement that included the cembalon, a dulcimer-like instrument of Hungarian origin. Hewson later orchestrated Hopkin's debut album, Post Card, and her single "Goodbye," for which he utilized a string orchestra of a dozen violas and also arranged the orchestra for James Taylor's debut album on Apple.
It was before going on to record with The Beatles (Let It Be and including, ironically, the controversial orchestra and choral arrangements on McCartney’s ‘The Long And Winding Road’), and Wings:
In 1970, he was engaged to orchestrate several of the songs on The Beatles' Let It Be album, including "The Long and Winding Road" and "I Me Mine." As related by Hewson to Matt Hurwitz in an interview for Good Day Sunshine magazine, it was under the prodding of producer Phil Spector that he engaged the vast, outsized orchestra that completed "The Long and Winding Road" in a manner that The Beatles hated but which the public loved.
By this time, Hewson's burgeoning experience as an arranger and conductor, coupled with a list of clients that included The Beatles, and with a handful of huge hit recordings to his credit, was getting him work outside of the orbit of Apple Records. His first engagement to score a movie came with the David Puttnam production Melody (also known as S.W.A.L.K.), starring Mark Lester, Tracy Hyde, and Jack Wild, in which he composed incidental background music and arranged orchestral versions of the three Bee Gees songs used in the film.
Hewson was contacted by Mccartney during the spring of 1971 and engaged to prepare an instrumental version of the Ram album, which had not yet been released, for orchestra and chorus. That project, recorded in June of 1971 -- and held in the tape library under Hewson's name -- would eventually see the light of day as the Thillington (http://www.mcbeatle.de/macca/a/thrillington_gds.html) album six years later, credited to Percy Thrillington.
In 1972, he was brought in once more by McCartney, now leading the group Wings, to arrange the orchestral accompaniment on the single "My Love."
By the middle of the 1970s, Hewson was working regularly as a conductor/arranger on projects involving various rock groups, including the Island Records band Bronco, Supertramp (beginning with Crime Of The Century), James Taylor ("Carolina in My Mind"), Pilot (Pilot (From the Album of the Same Name)),Al Stewart (Past, Present & Future), Renaissance (Ashes Are Burning, Scheherazade & Other Stories), Carly Simon ("Nobody Does It Better"), Ray Thomas (From Mighty Oaks), Herbie Hancock, Leo Sayer, Chris DeBurgh, Chris Rea, Fleetwood Mac, Art Garfunkle, and Diana Ross (Baby, It's Me).
He also began home recordings of his own under various aliases, including the RAH Band and Key West, through which he had hit dance singles with "The Crunch" and "Looks Like I'm in Love Again," respectively. In the decades since his first plunge into pop music arranging, Hewson has kept busy working with artists including Nick Drake, Clifford T. Ward, Hank Marvin, ex-Renaissance vocalist Annie Haslam, Colm Wilkinson, Cliff Richard, and Elliott Murphy; he was also the arranger and conductor on the soundtrack to the 1980 movie Xanadu, starring Olivia Newton-john and Gene Kelly. Along with George Martin and Paul Buckmaster (of "You Can't Always Get What You Want" fame), he remains one of the most visible of classically trained participants in the pop and rock music fields. In the 80's he was a producer for Toyah Willcox, Five Star, and Shakin' Stevens.
His song "Pearly" was recorded by The Pearls. His string arrangements were used on Cliff Richard's, "Devil Woman", and has production credits for Richard's 2007 album, Love... The Album. Hewson's work was used extensively on the film soundtrack for Melody.
In 1993 Richard headed straight into the charts once again with yet an other number 1 hit, with Key West "Looks Like I'm In Love Again" this track managed to stay at number 1 for six weeks.
Hewson, who now concentrates on writing and producing music for UK television shows and advertisements, continuing to produce dance tracks and assisted by his musician son Dan:
Dan Hewson:
He is a composer, pianist and trombonist., he is the son of Richrd Hewson and appeared on Rah Band's Mystery album.
At Oxford University he won the Osgood Composition Prize for his String Quartet, which was premiered by the Allegri Quartet.
After moving to London, he co-founded dance act The Beat Foundation, writing a series of underground progressive house tracks that were championed in the UK and Ibiza by the likes of Sasha and Digweed. He remixed tracks for a number of artists including Bizarre Inc, D’Lacy and the Art of Noise. He then began a series of collaborations with the band Groove Armada.
He released several nice jazz albums since 2007.
More info:
http://www.myspace.com/danhewson
RICHARD HEWSON & DAN HEWSON together:
"Father and Son production team Richard & Dan Hewson (AKA Lux'x). "
http://www.traxsource.com/index.php?act=show&fc=tpage&cr=titles&cv=2207
Richard Hewson (guitar, arranger/producer, songwriter, poached egg cook) and Dan Hewson play amazing jazz (Nu-Jazz / Acoustic / Soul) with Kitty Drake. Their music is kind of music where Rah Band shows its jazz side, really worth to listen, i like it very much:
http://www.myspace.com/kittydrake
THE RICHARD HEWSON ORCHESTRA (Pre Rah Band)
He released several classic disco single and an LP under the name THE RICHARD HEWSON ORCHESTRA since the early 70's until 1978 before launched Rah Band:
"The RAH Band already have their roots in 'our' music. Richard Anthony Hewson, whom you may have gathered by now is what the intials stand for, cut some great disco choons over the years even before The RAH Band project came to light. WHAT SHALL WE DO WHEN THE DISCO'S OVER and TOUCH MY LOVE, are a couple cut under THE RICHARD HEWSON ORCHESTRA back in 1978, for example."
(http://www.facebook.com/topic.php?uid=5867020158&topic=6154)
The Richard Hewson Orchestra first apperaed on a soundtrack album "Melody" (1971) where most of the songs was played by Bee Gees. Richard Hewson contributed on only few songs here (wrote and played on tracks 02,04-06 and 11-13, see: http://www.amazon.com/Melody-Original-Soundtrack/dp/B0000695M8)
In the meantime, in 1974 he released an album under the name "The Orchestrah" with the same title. He was the arranger, producer and played on guitars, bass and keyboards on this instrumental Lp. (http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?release=1797977). It is still missing so i can't present you now.
Hewson used again the name "The Richard Hewson Orchestra" after 1975 when he released the next few singles:
Shark Bite / Hammerhead (7") (1976)
Love Bite / Hammerhead (7")(1976)
Love For Hire (10", Promo)(1976)
What Shall We Do When The Disco's Over ? (7"/12")(1977)
Love Without End (ep) (1977)
And in 1977 or 1978 there was even an album called "Love Is" (but label states 'Sundance'). Info here:
http://wax.fm/release/richard_hewson_orchestra_sundance/NR+155/d/1880379
I don't have the LP, but i made a compilation for the sake if you are interested in to know more about what else he made during his career.
My sources were (check them for detailed info):
http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:wnfrxqt5ld0e~T4
http://www.45cat.com/45_search.php?searchid=Richard+Hewson&searchmode=All&searchadvanced=yes
http://www.artistdirect.com/artist/credits/richard-hewson/443772
http://www.discogs.com/artist/Richard+Hewson
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0382136/
VARIOUS- SOME SONGS OF THE RICHARD HEWSON ORCHESTRA
Genre:
Funk / Soul
Style:
Disco
Tracklist:
from "Melody" Soundtrack (1971)
01 In The Morning (Instrumental)
02 Melody Fair (Instrumental)
03 Spicks And Specks
04 Romance Theme In F
05 Working On It Night And Day
06 First Of May
07 Seaside Banjo
08 Teachers Chase
Some other singles:
09 Love Bite (Long Version)(1976, from Love Is Lp)
10 Love For Hire (1976, from Love Is Lp)
11 Shark Bite (1976)
12 What Shall We Do When The Disco's Over?(1977)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/378469555/rho7177.rar
VARIOUS - RICHARD HEWSON WORKS SINCE 1968
Notes:
Most of the songs here were arranged by Richard Hewson. I added if not or not only, but you should check the sources above for exact info)
There are singles only, and full albums (i added there "whole LP") as well he contributed on. I added such songs from the albums are closer to my taste, hope you will also like them.
Tracklist:
01 Michel Polnareff - Miss Blue Jeans (1967) (as Conductor)
02 Michel Polnareff - Dame Dame (1967)(as Conductor)
03 Mike Batt - Mr.Poem (1968)
from James Taylor - James Taylor (1968) (Hewson played on Strings, Bassoon, Oboe)
04 Brighten Your Night With My Day
05 Circle Round The Sun
06 Mary Hopkin - Those Were The Days (1968)
07 Mary Hopkin - Goodbye (1969)
08 Mary Hopkin - Sparrow (1969)
09 Barry Ryan - The Hunt (1969)(Arranged By, Directed By [Music])
10 Nick Drake - I Was Made To Love Magic (1969) (Arranged By [Orchestra], Conductor)
11 Nick Drake - Thoughts Of Mary Jane (1969)(Arranged By [Orchestra], Conductor)
12 Nick Drake - The Day Is Done (1969)(Arranged By [Orchestra], Conductor)
13 Jon Plum - Alice (1969)
14 Jon Plum - Sunshine (1969)
from Billie Davis - Bille Davis (1969)
15 I Want You My Baby
16 Make The Feeling Go Away
17 Nights In White Satin
18 Until It's Time For You To Go
19 Angel Of The Morning
20 Daliah Lavi - Drei Schwarze Rosen (1970)
21 The Beatles - Let It Be (1970)
22 The Beatles - The Long and Winding Road (1970)
from Hunter Muskett - Every Time You Move (1970)
23 Midsummer Night's Dream
24 Press Gang
25 Snow
26 Linda Hatchard - Bicycle Song (1971)
27 Linda Hatchard - Nobody Loves You (1971)
from Colin Scot - Colin Scot (1971) (whole LP)
28 Take Me Away
29 Nite People
30 Do The Dance Now Davy
31 Here We Are In Progress
32 Claire Hamill - Where Are Your Smiles (1972)
33 Claire Hamill - River Song (1972)
34 Hollywood Crestas - Don't Boogaloo The Night Away (1973)
Link to download (tracks 01-34):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378367544/hew67.rar
from Renaissance - Ashes Are Burning (1973) (whole LP)
35 Can You Understand
36 Let It Grow
37 On The Frontier
from Gypsy - Brenda The Rattlesnake (1973) (whole LP)
38 Who's Cheating
39 Shame
40 Universe
41 Comes A Time
42 Hank Marvin & John Farrar (The Shadows) - You Never Call (1973)
43 Hank Marvin & John Farrar (The Shadows) - Galadriel (1973)
44 Candlewick Green - Who Do You Think You Are ? (1973)
Link to download (tracks 35-44):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378365344/hew73a.rar
from Clifford T. Ward - Mantle Pieces (1973) (whole LP)
45 Scullery
46 Not Waving Drawning
47 A Sad Cliché
48 To An Air Hostess
from Fleetwood Mac - Mystery To Me (1973) (whole LP)
49 Emerald Eyes
50 Hypnotized
51 Keep On Going
52 Miles Away
53 For Your Love
from Stealers Wheel - Ferguslie Park (1973) (whole LP)
54 Good Businessman
55 Star
56 Over My Head
57 Blind Faith
58 Who cares
59 Wheelin'
from Bronco - Smokin' Mixture (1973) (whole LP)
60 Steal That Gold
61 Tenesse Saturday Night
62 Tell Me Why
63 Strabge Awakening
Link to download (tracks 45-63):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378369364/Hew73b.rar
from Pilot - Pilot (whole LP, 1974)
64 Just Smile
65 Magic
66 Lucky For Some
67 Lovely Lady Smile
68 Sky Blue
from Supertramp - Crime Of The Century (1974) (whole LP)
69 School
70 Hide In Your Shell
71 Dreamer
72 Rudy
73 Chris de Burgh - The Key (1974)
74 Chris de Burgh - Turning Round (1974)
75 The Kiki Dee Band - I've Got The Music In Me (1974)
76 Nigel Olsson - Only One Woman (1974)
from Al Stewart - Past, Present and Future Al Stewart (1974) (whole LP)
77 Old Admirals
78 The Last Day Of June 1934
79 Terminal Eyes
Link to download (tracks 64-79):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378371651/Hew74.rar
from Ray Thomas - From Mighty Oaks (1975) (whole LP, Orchestral Arranger, Conductor)
80 From Mighty Oaks
81 Hey Mama Life
82 Play It Again
83 I Wish We Could Fly
from Jigsaw - Sky High (1975) (whole LP)
84 Sky High
85 Listen To The Joker
86 Love Fire
87 Baby Don't Do It
from Cliff Richard - Im Nearly Famous (1975) (whole LP)
88 I Wish You'd Change Your Mind
89 Devil Woman
90 If You Walked Away
91 Miss You Nights
92 Love Is Enough
93 Love On
94 Whiskey Mac - Lost And Found (1975)
95 R. And J. Stone - We Do It (1975)
96 Art Garfunkel - Rag Doll (1975)
97 Art Garfunkel - Disney Girl (1975)
98 Art Garfunkel - Looking For The Right One(1975)
99 Carly Simon - Nobody Does It Better (1975) (Arranged By, Conductor)
Link to download (tracks 88-99):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378373736/Hew75a.rar
from Supertramp - Crisis? What Crisis? (1975) (whole LP)
100 Sisiter Moonshine
101 Aint Nobody But Me
102 Another Man's Woman
103 Lady
104 The Meaning
from Clifford T. Ward - Escalator (1975) (whole LP)
105 The Way Of Love
106 Escalator
107 Cellophane
108 A Sad Affair
from Clifford T. Ward - No More Rock 'N' Roll (1975) (whole LP)
109 Gentle
110 Birmingham
111 Jayne From Andromeda Spiral
112 Tomorrow Night
113 For Emily
from Howard Werth & the Moonbeams - King Brilliant (1975) (whole LP)
114 Ugly Water
115 Cocktail Shake
116 Roulette
117 The Embezzler
118 Mechanical Dream
119 The Aleph
Link to download (tracks 99-119):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378379127/Hew75b.rar
120 Chris de Burgh - Spanish Train (1976)
121 Chris de Burgh - Just Another Poor Boy (1976)
122 Elliott Murphy - Diamonds by the Yard (1976)
123 The Pearls' Orchestra - Pearly (1976) (Arranged By, Conductor, Producer)
124 The Pearls - I'll See You In My Dreams (1976)(Arranged By, Conductor, Producer)
125 The Rubettes - Don't Do It Baby (1976)
126 Honeybees - Dream Express (1976) (Arranged By , Conductor, Producer)
from Jorge Ben - Tropical (whole LP, 1976) (Arranged By, Conductor)
127 Taj Mahal
128 Chove Chuva
129 My Lady
130 Georgia
131 O Namorado Da Viuva
Link to download (tracks 120-131):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378378424/Hew76.rar
from Diana Ross - Baby Its Me (1977) (whole LP)
132 Gettin' Ready For Love
133 Too Shy To Say
134 Your Love Is So Good For Me
135 Baby It's Me
136 The Same Love That Made Me Laugh
from Cliff Richard - Every Face Tells A Story (1977) (whole LP)
137 My Kinda Life
138 Give Me Love Your Way
139 Spiderman
140 It'll Be Me Babe
141 You Got Me Wondering
142 Try A Smile
143 Jigsaw - If I Have To Go Away (1977)
144 Jigsaw - Only When I'm Lonely (1977)
from Renaissance - Novella (1977) (whole LP)
145 Can You Hear Me
146 Midas Man
147 Touching Once
from Leo Sayer - Thunder in My Heart (1977) (whole LP)
148 Thunder In My Heart
149 Easy To Love
150 Leave Well Enough Alone
151 It's Over
152 Alain Chamfort - Joujou A La Casse(1977)(Producer)
153 Alain Chamfort - Baby Lou (1977)(Producer)
from Percy Thrillington(aka Paul McCartney w/ Orchestral versions of songs from his 'Ram' album) - Thrillington (whole LP, 1977) (Arranged By, Conductor)
154 Smile Away
155 Too Many People
156 Monkberry Moon Delight
Link to download (tracks 132-156):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378383944/Hew77.rar
157 Herb Alpert - Beyond (1978) (Written by!!!!!)
158 Albert Hammond - Espinita (1978)
159 Chris Rea - Fool (If You Think It's Over) (1978)
from Cliff Richard - Green Light (1978) (whole LP)
160 Green Light
161 Under Lock & Key
162 Start All Over Again
163 While She's Young
164 Cliff Richard - Sci-Fi (from Rock 'N' Roll Juvenile 1979) (Strings [Arranged And Conducted By)
165 Steve Jerome - If You Walk Out That Door (1980)
166 Steve Jerome - Token (1980)
167 Olivia Newton-John With Gene Kelly - Whenever You're Away From Me (from Xandau ost 1980)(Arranged By [Xanadu Big Band], Conductor [Xanadu Big Band])
168 Olivia Newton-John With The Tubes - Dancin' (from Xandau ost 1980) (Arranged By [Xanadu Big Band], Conductor [Xanadu Big Band])
from John Miles - Miles High (1981) (he worked only on 3 songs here) Arranged By)
169 Don't Want The Same Things
170 Out Of The Cradle (But Still Rockin')
171 Peaceful Waters
172 Kate Robbins And Beyond - More Than In Love (1981)
173 Supertramp - Know Who You Are (1982)
174 Cliff Richard With London Philharmonic Orchestra, The - True Love Ways (1983)(Arranged By , Conductor, Producer)
175 Cliff Richard With London Philharmonic Orchestra, The - Galadriel (Spirit Of Starlight) (1983)
176 West End - If You Walk Out That Door (1983) (Producer)
177 Shakin' Stevens - A Love Worth Waiting For (1983) (Producer)
178 Shakin' Stevens - Teardrops (1984) (Co-Producer)
179 Five Star - Say Goodbye (1985) (Producer)
180 Toyah - Sympathy (1985)
from Colm Wilkinson - Stage Heroes (1989) (whole LP)
181 Pity The Child
182 The Phantom Of The Opera
183 Summertime
184 It Ain't Necessarily So
185 Wood Allen - Airport 89 («Airport 89» Medley With: Electric Fling )(1989)
Link to download (tracks 157-185):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378384076/Hew89.rar
188 Key West feat Erica - Looks Like I'm in Love Again (Ultimix Mix )(1993) (Written By,Producer)
189 Cliff Richard - I Still Believe In You (1993)
190 Cliff Richard - Bulange Downpour (1993)
from Chris de Burgh - Beautiful Dreams (1995) (whole LP)
191 Carry Me
192 Discovery
193 In Love Forever
from Mica Paris - Black Angel (1998) (whole LP)
194 Stay
195 Carefree
196 Black Angel
197 Don't Say Goodnight
198 Baby Angel
199 Should've Known Better
from Chris De Burgh - Quiet Revolution (1999) (whole LP)
200 When I Think Of You
201 The Same Sun
202 San Peter's Gate
203 You Look Beautiful
204 I Wan't It
205 Natasha Dance
from Tahiti 80 - Wallpaper For The Soul (2002) (whole LP, Arranged By [Strings, Woodwinds & Horns],Conductor)
206 1000 Times
207 Separate Ways
208 Happy End
209 Soul Deep
210 The Train
211 Robin Williams - The Grim Rapper (2002)
212 Lange Featuring Kirsty Hawkshaw - Sincere For You (2004) (Co-Written by)
from Ebony Alleyne - Never Look Back (2007) (whole LP)
213 You Caught Me Off Guard
214 Walk Away And Never Look Back
215 Every Lonely Street
216 Love Is Not A Game
Link to download(tracks 186-215):
http://rapidshare.com/files/378476260/Hew90.rar
Some cover versions of Clouds Across The Moon:
217 Yoshinori Sunahara - Clouds Across The Moon (1995) (from Crossover CD)
218 Frost - Clouds Across The Moon (1998) (from Bedsit Theories CD)
219 Nashira – Clouds Across The Moon (2008) (from va-Lounge Of Love CD)
Link to download:
http://rapidshare.com/files/378467626/cson.rar
Missing songs are (im not sure all of them are here):
The Penny Peeps - Curly, The Knight Of The Road (1968)
Gerry Marsden - In The Year Of April (1968)
White Rabbit - Ain't That Something/I'll Do The Rest (1969)
Vera Maria - Martha My Dear (1969)
Tapestry - Heart And Soul (1969)
Tammy Jones - Lai Lai Lai/ Willow Tree (1969)
Elkie Brooks - Come September (1969)
Cheep Boots - Baby Do I Need You (1970)
Miki Antony - Cinnamon/ (1970)
Hank Marvin - Boggatoo (1971) (Co-Written by)
The Angel And The Stranger - Angel/ Pay Your Dues (7" 1973) (Arranger)
Richard Kerr - A Universal Song/The Family Way (1973)
Mick Greenwood - Midnight Dreamer (1974)LP
Lindy Lovelace - Be My Baby (1974)
R.&J. Stone - We Love Each Other/ One Chance/ I Just Can't Get It Right (1975/1976)
Horace Faith - I Can't Understand It / Gimme Good Lovin'
Paul Maxwell - Joey/ Joey Part Two(1976) (Producer)
Abigail Browne - Guava Jelly/ Slow Motion Pictures (7" 1976)(Producer)
Colin Blunstone - When You Close Your Eyes (1976)
Wild Honey - Why Didn't I Think Of That (1976)
Abigail Browne - The Woman In Me/ Thoughts In Passing (7") (1977) (Arranger, Composer)
Sunfire - Ma Ma Ma Mexico (1979)
Catherine Howe - Dragonfly Days (1979) LP
Harding & Browne - Working In A Coalmine (1980) EP
Hollywood Follies - Beyond The Blue Horizon (1981)
Alan David - Alan David (1981) LP
Grace Kennedy - I'm Starting Again (1981) LP
If you happen to have any of them - and The Orchestrah 1974/ Richard Hewitt Orchestra 1978 album - please let me know!!
Biography of THE RAH BAND:
The RAH Band was a fictitious studio based group (fictitious in that it was no group, it contained only him); RAH being the initials for Richard Anthony Hewson. In 1977 Hewson wrote an instrumental called "The Crunch", which climbed to number 6 in the UK Singles Chart. Hewson played all the musical instruments himself. A number of jazz funk releases followed.
Following ‘The Crunch’, subsequent Rah Band releases failed to take off, and ‘they’ were pretty much written off as a one hit wonder. However, in 1980, a single called ‘Falcon’ took off in a big way on the Jazz-Funk scene and took the Rah Band back into the top 40. Further chart singles followed, including ‘Slide’, ‘Perfumed Garden’ and ‘Message From The Stars’, all of which made the top 50. Then, in 1985, the Rah Band emulated the success of ‘The Crunch’, 8 years on, reaching number 6 on the chart with ‘Clouds Across The Moon’, which featured Hewson’s wife, Liz, on vocals. It was their second big hit single.
The drummer on "Clouds Across The Moon" was Peter Boita. The Simmons SDS7 drums that were featured were recorded at Hewson's home studio, and plugged directly into the recording desk. The RAH band's releases were issued under a variety of record labels, including Good Earth Records, DJM, KR Records, TMT Records and RCA.
In July 2007, Hewson released a remixed "Clouds Across the Moon '07", now featuring vocalist Emma Charles.
"Turn My Love Around" is one of Rah Bands' latest single which is currently (in 2008) storming the Dance charts in the UK.
The newest song is "No Way To Treat Your Lover" released in 2009 on Va-Hed Kandi - Beach House.
More good news for fans is that Japanese record company BounDEE have recently (in 2010)released (for the first time) CD copies of 'Mystery', 'Going Up' & RAH. All of them in a remastered form!!
(http://www.sixmillionsteps.com/drupal/node/242 and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Anthony_Hewson and http://www.answers.com/topic/richard-hewson)
Liz Hewson
is classical pianist as her son Dan Hewson told on his Myspace page. She is the wife of Richard Hewson and vocalist of Rah Band. Some info i found (not 100% all of this belong to her):
"Studied at Royal Academy with Alan Richardson and currently work in the field of classical ballet as accompanist/composer covering most areas of England. Over 30 yrs' experience accompanying singers, ballet students at all levels and instrumentalists up to and including LRAM. Good sightreader."
(http://www.pianoaccompanists.com/profile-liz-hewson-winning)
"Mabel Ryan & Barbara Geoghegan Awards, London 2004: Liz Hewson was at the piano throughout the Mabel Ryan Awards. To hold this competition without her is unthinkable, so unstinting and sympathetic is her playing."
(http://www.istd.org/cecchettiballet/facultynews/july2004/mabelryanawards.html)
"Congratulations should also go to the amazing Liz Hewson, who played the piano for all the awards and every dance."
(http://www.istd.org/cecchettiballet/facultynews/2006/july2006/mabelryan2006.html)
More Rah Band info:
http://www.therahband.com/
http://www.myspace.com/therahband
http://www.youtube.com/user/therahbanddotcom
http://www.youtube.com/user/serinatu
http://www.britfunkheaven.org.uk/rah-band.htm
http://www.toolboxx-records.de/veroeffentlichungen/the_rah_band.htm
http://www.chartstats.com/songinfo.php?id=7443
http://araglin.nl/?e=878 (Dutch)
http://www.musicabase.com/2008_10_01_archive.html (Portugese)
http://mineforlife.blogspot.com/2009/09/its-all-geek-to-me.html
http://www.discomusic.com/forums/disco-music-70s-80s/4868-richard-hewson.htm
