On a tour of his home city that begins ‘at the crack of midday’, the singer discusses his new album, how his musical, Standing at the Sky’s Edge, has hit a nerve, and his main hope for Keir Starmer
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As anyone who’s seen
Richard Hawley in concert can tell you, he’s a bit of a talker. Gigs can often feel more like stand-up shows with musical interludes, as Hawley talks us through the stories behind the songs in anecdotes that are often too blue to put down in print. It’s the same off stage as well. Ostensibly agreeing to chat to mark the re-release of his first three albums, the conversation veers off topic almost as soon as it’s begun. ‘There’s a Memphis in Egypt, you know?’ Hawley suggests at one point, my first name taking us from Elvis to the parting of the Red Sea within seconds. For the rest of our conversation, all manner of diversions pop-up, not least the man himself having to pop inside to put a jacket on as he’s ‘freezing his bollocks off’ sat on the front step taking the call. Like those diversions mid-concert, you don’t mind Hawley striding off on a tangent though – if anything it’s part of what makes him such a fascinating character and a