A Handstamp Interview with Richard Dawson

Hi. Handstamp is a weekly music newsletter created by me, Josh Coyne. In each edition, I talk to a creative person about live performances that have meant something to them. Previous guests include Anna B Savage, Cassandra Jenkins, Chastity Belt, Chet Faker, Christian Lee Hutson, Courtney Marie Andrews, Craig Finn, Gold Panda, Holy Fuck, Idlewild, Jasmine.4.t, Jason Stewart, Madi Diaz, Mat Baynton, NoSo, Public Service Broadcasting, Rio Kosta, Searows, Uwade and We Are Scientists.

A few years ago, my friend made one of the boldest moves possible - inviting somebody to a live show on a first date. Risk level may be low for some, but when you haven’t discussed personal music taste yet, you may be safer letting that spare ticket go to a friend.

Had they discussed their shared love of experimental art at length, it would have been much smoother sailing, but neither of them knew quite how out-there the show would be. The band made some bold choices and my friend found their date’s eyes burning a hole through their skull, until they left early to avoid additional awkwardness.

A few weeks ago, I told my friend’s story to British progressive folk musician Richard Dawson, who certainly knows a thing or two about both bending performance expectations and keeping an audience engaged. We explored the shows that shaped his solo output and that of his band, Hen Ogledd, but only after he revisited his first gig experience.

Richard Dawson: “I didn’t really go to concerts when I was a kid. My first gig was when I was maybe 16 or 17, which was Korn, supported by Incubus.”

Handstamp: How would you describe the energy in that room?

Richard Dawson: “Very young and very male. I didn’t really enjoy it, to be honest. Not my cup of tea. I loved the first album, but I don’t really love being in a crowd, which I learned at my first gig. I did crowd surf, but then I just sat down at the back of the room and took stock.”

Handstamp: You crowd surfed on your very first show? That’s pretty major.

Richard: “Yeah, but only once. I had seen videos and I was a daft young lad, so decided to do it. Then after I was deposited at the front and shooed away, I just had a little sit down, as it’s all very tiring.”

Handstamp: That dislike of crowds, has it persisted?

Richard: “Yeah, I love gigs but there’s something about being boxed in and not having control of your immediate environment, you know? I like having a sit down. I didn’t really get into going to gigs until after I was already playing them myself. I started playing when I was 15, but then started going to other people’s gigs when I was about 20. There was a good scene in Newcastle around that time. A lot of really good pub venues. It was really cooking at one point.”

Handstamp: Was that very much a DIY scene?

Richard: “It was. It’s ebbed and flowed over the years, but Newcastle has always had that kind of spirit, of just making it happen. It’s not always visited by touring bands and it’s so far removed from what’s happening in London. It’s always been a creative place and very supportive, it’s never really been a competitive scene like you’d maybe get in somewhere like Manchester, or Glasgow, from my limited experience. Newcastle is a centre of creativity in lots of areas and that shows through in the music that comes out of it. I live about a half mile away from George Stephenson’s birthplace, so the world’s railways began here, the first electrically lit street, some of the first bridges. There are so many engineering feats and now the Life Science Centre is a leader in gene research. So, I like to think it’s always been an underrated but fizzy place, where people just make things happen.”

Handstamp: What are some of the standout moments of performance you’ve experience in the city?

Richard: “The one that springs to my mind is when Group Doueh and Omar Suleiman played the original Star and Shadow. They put a scorching show there, it was just musically incredible. Oh, hello Trouble…this is my shadow…”

*at this point, Richard dons a new accessory – his cat, Trouble, who sits around his shoulders like a scarf.

Richard: “I’ve seen countless gigs by Nev Clay, maybe hundreds. He’s a beloved songwriter from around here but I’ve seen him so many times that his gigs meld together in one big mush for me. Hopefully I still get to see him a hundred times more.’

“Then I’ve only heard tell of this gig that Jazzfinger played, I didn’t go. But they played a gig at The Tap and Spile, where they released hundreds of live crickets. They had checked with the pub owner, asking if it was ok if they released them during the show and he was like ‘yeah, no probs.’ They released them and they just vanished all over the premises. I lived with Ben from Jazzfinger afterwards and there was a cricket living behind the fridge, chirping. So, I didn’t attend the show, but I still feel part of it.”

Handstamp: That, is incredible. Do you think the pub owner just wasn’t listening to the question?

Richard: “Maybe not. They had an interesting energy there, but it has now been converted, I think it was a jewellers for a while. But yeah, they were kind of sketchy. [laughs]”

Handstamp: I wonder if the jewellers had to deal with the crickets. Well, that’s certainly a bold attempt to make your show immersive. Sometimes the more experimental the show, the more memorable it becomes, I guess. I have a good friend who took a first date to a show where the artist spent an extended chunk of the set playing with one of those Drinking Bird toys and somehow making sound through it.

Richard: “…and are they still together?”

Handstamp: They are not. That was the first and final date.

Richard: “[laughs] sounds about right.”

“If there were videos of the 15 years of gigs I played before I got signed and started getting gigs outside of Newcastle, it would be devastating.”

Handstamp: I wonder if there was anybody on a first date during cricket-gate. I ask almost everybody this, but some artists’ ability to enjoy live shows from the audience diminishes the longer they do it. How has your relationship with attending concerts developed over the years?

Richard: “I’m naturally quite critical now, which I’m trying to stop because it’s really poor. If I’m enjoying something, I start to think about how it could be improve, almost as though I have created it and it’s mine to improve. It’s such a dick move and I am trying to catch myself doing it. The other thing I struggle with now is not being able to be backstage, not being able to have a lie down when I want. I also just love being involved, from sound checks, the feeling of backstage and walking the corridors. I feel unsettled when I’m just in the audience space now. I’ve been really lucky for the last few years to fill up some mid-sized venues, but even still, I will get to the end of the show and really think that people won’t like a stupid thing I said, or they hated a certain song or they just think I’m a knobhead. Maybe I’ve become a bit more vulnerable as I’ve gotten older. I now really appreciate the importance of audience generosity and them encouraging performers, especially younger performers, because that can make a big impact on them. So, when I’m in a crowd, I’m trying to be a more active and supportive audience member.”

Handstamp: You’re bang on. Sorry to be a cliché, but more than ever, the idea of people moving from behind the screen, putting themselves out there, platforming themselves on stage to express themselves is pretty courageous. The more AI slop and hyper-contrived imagery we’re handed, the more crucial these things seem, so why not support it with your whole self?

Richard: “The world can seem more cruel these days. I’m not sure it is, I think people are good by and large, but with the prevalence of social media and the fact that you can be videoed at all times makes it seem that way. When I was cutting my teeth, if there were videos of the 15 years of gigs I played before I got signed and started getting gigs outside of Newcastle, it would be devastating. They would be objectively quite bad and people would be tearing me apart. Some people are fantastic when they’re young and the quality is very professional much earlier, but I can see why a lot of people get totally discouraged, as the potential to get ripped to shreds online is so high. We could be losing so much good music that way. I feel very grateful to have cut my teeth before I had to worry about it. There ARE some very embarrassing videos to find, but not many.”

Handstamp: People definitely come out more refined now, but that may also be because there’s a generation of emerging artists who are so online and have grown up with a knowledge of how to project themselves. They’ve all been curating their public image for years, on whatever scale.

Richard: “That’s right. I think that probably rubs off on the way they perform too.”

“I can see why a lot of people get totally discouraged, as the potential to get ripped to shreds online is so high. We could be losing so much good music that way.”

Handstamp: Can you pinpoint the show that has made the most profound impact on you?

Richard: “Well, that Group Doueh one that I mentioned is definitely one. Also, another Newcastle show where I saw Faiz Ali Faiz and his group at the Civic Centre, which is a brutalist masterpiece and an incredible building. Seeing those guys perform in that setting was special.’

“Also, I was just in America, which was a mad thing to do, but I saw two concerts. One was by the Saami Brothers, with their father. The dad, Usted Saami, is one of the last masters of a specific microtonal singing style. I got to see them at Big Ears Festival in Knoxville. A life-changing gig.’

“Then in Chicago, I saw Roscoe Mitchell from the Art Ensemble of Chicago. It was incredible. He played almost all single notes for an hour and a half. The odd motif, but mostly just single notes. He describes them as dots on a canvas. In the end, I was tuning into it and it was fantastic. He’s a true great of modern music and jazz, but wasn’t pushing anything and stayed committed to that approach.”

Handstamp: That’s a testament to your comments on being a patient and giving audience member. Some people were probably turned off by that show, but after a while of investing, you ended up transfixed.

Richard: “Totally. Like most of the best works of art, they take a while to latch on to. It’s like film, where they may not be the most approachable and easy to consume, but that makes the pay-off bigger.”

Handstamp: You mentioned the trip to America, why did you describe is as a mad thing to do, beyond the obvious?

Richard: “Well, I had three gigs lined up, which I agreed to last year. Then as we were hitting December last year, I was feeling pretty mixed up about it and freaking out. By the time it came around, I was quite stressed, because a huge part of me didn’t want to go for political reasons, as well as personal stress. But I didn’t want to let people down, as it would cost me, it would cost the label and it would cost people who I knew had already planned to travel to see me. So, wanting to do the gigs won out, but I was still full of stress about it. I will say though, I was reassured by the people I met. So many of them are aghast by what the government is doing. I met an incredible amount of kindness over there. I made myself pretty unwell doing it, but I’m still processing a lot of it, to be honest.”

Handstamp: You can probably take solace in the way you provided a distraction and an outlet to those who are aghast and angry over there. Hen Ogledd’s record Discombobulated came out earlier this year, how are you feeling about sharing those songs in a live environment?

Richard: “Well we have just one eight-hour performance at The Horse Hospital in London. That will be quite free and improvisatory. We thought that a tour would be quite complicated, economically and logistically. It would be such a big endeavour. The album took a long time to get where we wanted to be, so now I think we just want to crack on with other things after that show.”

The latest Hen Ogledd record, Discombobulated was released in February 2026 via Weird World. They play London on Saturday 6^th June. Subscribe to Handstamp Substack for future interviews. Follow @itshandstamp on social media and just bloody listen to Chief Springs on your chosen platform, will you? Illustrations by Alice Bowsher.