THE HAWKS, the Birmingham band that Stephen Duffy fronted between Duran Duran and embarking on a pop career with the hit single ‘Kiss Me’ and then The Lilac Time, are to have their original recordings made officially available for the first time.
The band, who also featured guitarist Dave Kusworth, best known for his work alongside Nikki Sudden, as well as various other bands including Dogs D’Amour, and current Black Bombers drummer Dave Twist, released one single, ‘Words Of Hope’, but also recorded several other songs with local producer Bob Lamb which never got beyond the DIY cassette EP stage.
Now, with the help of Seventeen Records and LA-based Grammy-winning producer John Paterno, the tracks have been cleaned up and will be released on vinyl and CD on 27 August under the name Obviously 5 Believers, the band’s original name.
The tapes having rested in Duffy’s care for forty years, Kusworth had asked his former bandmate if it would be possible to make the tracks available the last time they met in 2019, to which Duffy agreed. Sadly, Kusworth’s sudden death in September 2020 gave the project a new poignancy. The release is dedicated to Kusworth’s memory.
“We didn’t make demo’s, blue prints for future singles or albums, we played live and I sang over the top, just to see what we sounded like,” says Duffy today. “These are like field recordings from a much simpler time. Simple in that we had no lust for fame and fortune, we had no manifestos beyond our fringes. We wanted to sign to a small label and play some shows but somehow we couldn’t fulfil even those modest ambitions.”
The release is heralded by a rare period video for the song ‘Bullfighter’, originally earmarked as the band’s second single…
Obviously 5 Believers is available to pre-order on vinyl and CD through Easy Action Records.
