Annie Haslam Lends Her Voice to Strawbs 50th – a conversation with Judi Cuervo
SPECIAL GUEST: Annie Haslam Lends Her Voice to Strawbs 50th
The Renaissance Woman to Create Painting Specifically for the Event!
The first time Dave Cousins heard Sandy Denny perform at The Troubadour in Earl’s Court in late 1966, he felt he’d heard an angel singing. Now, as we near Strawbs 50th Anniversary Weekend, Renaissance’s Annie Haslam will lend her own angelic voice to the festivities to commemorate the short but powerful impact Sandy had on the early Strawbs.
I caught up with Annie during her holiday travels and she was kind enough to speak with me about her music, her art, Sandy, Strawbs and Renaissance, yesterday and today:
You’re certainly going strong, having just completed your 7-concert date “Day of the Dreamer” tour (one of those dates featuring a full orchestra), playing a few dates in Japan earlier in the fall and your widely-acclaimed annual Christmas concert at the Sellersville Theater, PA on December 22nd. In addition to touring, you have also appeared at Yes’ very first YESTIVAL performance and, over the past few years, Cruise to the Edge and The Moody Blues Cruise. It’s obvious that you still have a passion for your music but are you ever tempted to stop touring completely?
Well, no not at all. I love touring, there is nothing quite like performing ‘live’ for the fans, and ours are amazing, they have followed and supported us over many years and personnel changes. Right now we have an excellent group of musicians plus we have created our own Renaissance Chamber Orchestra.
Thus far we have performed six concerts with them and filmed one at The Keswick Theatre in 2017 which became A Symphonic Journey a ‘Live’ DVD/2-CD set.
Do you approach it differently than you did earlier in your career?
Oh my, yes, as back in the early years I had no real interest in the running of the band and just basically did what I was told. I had no idea of the vast amount of work needed in so many areas of touring and recording. Mind boggling!!!
Now I do almost everything associated with touring, recording and decision making myself with the aid of Rave Tesar, who is my musical director, keyboard player and trusted confidant, and Esa Ahola, our brilliant social media coordinator. It is quite an undertaking, but we also have the best agency, ‘Entourage Talent Associates LTD’s Wayne Forte,’ to book our tours plus a relentless desire and passion for the music of Renaissance, that makes everything work.
I can’t help but think that you are probably anticipating Strawbs’ 50th Anniversary weekend like a long overdue reunion: Renaissance and Strawbs shared many a bill in the 1970s, both you and Strawbs’ John Hawken were part of Renaissance, you’ve worked with both Tony Visconti and Larry Fast and, most poignantly, you met Sandy Denny when Sandy’s Fairport Convention opened up for Renaissance at the Academy of Music, NYC in 1974.
When I was invited to be a part of the STRAWBS 50th Anniversary Weekend and in the same email was asked to sing Sandy’s “Who Knows Where the Time Goes,” I became very emotional, as I have always loved and wanted to sing that song! And, of course, the mention of the orchestra made it all the more unbelievable. Then I got to speak with Dave Cousins and the excitement grew from there.
Quite incredibly about two weeks before I received Dave’s email, I was playing Sandy’s song to a friend and decided to post it on my Facebook page for all our fans to hear her beautiful angelic voice, and a song they would never forget.
Can you convey a bit of how you feel about revisiting those days and, in a sense, recreating them with so many of the same artists you basically grew up with?
I am so looking forward to seeing everyone again, and those I have yet to meet for this magical celebration. It has been a few years since most of us have worked together, and it will truly be an event to remember. Tony Visconti, Larry Fast and I had written songs together and my connection to Rick Wakeman is that Renaissance opened up for YES on three shows in the mid -70s in the US.
Both you and Strawbs have had careers that have spanned decades. Would you share any particularly interesting times when your paths crossed over the years?
Surprisingly, our paths rarely crossed over the decades! In 2004, Strawbs played NEARfest (North Eastern Art Rock Festival) in Bethlehem, PA and I, along with Roger Dean who’s so well known for his YES album covers, was showing my art at the festival. After the event, I dropped by the bands’ hotel for a bit and Dave and I chatted briefly. Incredibly, the next time I saw Dave was in the elevator aboard The Norwegian Pearl during the 2016 Moody Blues Cruise. What was rather amusing about that is that I was wearing a face mask to try to avoid the germs that some feel are prevalent aboard crowded cruise ships. I entered the elevator, saw Dave and pulled my mask down. I’m sure he was a bit surprised but recovered enough to say “Annie! How ‘bout a kiss?”
At the Strawbs 50th Weekend, you’ll be playing the role of Sandy Denny. With your five-octave vocal range, I have no doubt that delivering memorable versions of some of the beautiful songs Sandy Denny performed with the Strawbs will pose no challenge. But share with us, if you would, any experiences you had with Sandy and how you feel about celebrating her role in the history of the band at such a major event.
I first met Sandy Denny in 1974 at the Academy of Music in New York City. Fairport Convention was our opening act for the evening, and I vividly remember chatting with Sandy in the lobby of the venue. She was such a delightful young woman: warm, friendly and funny. Of course, her show was wonderful and the audience was enthralled. Over my many years in the music business from 1971-2018… and still going strong…I have found that many female singers/musicians are competitive and unfriendly, which has always bewildered me. Sandy was the one who blew them all away…
There has been no one on this earth with a voice so beautiful and glorious as she had. I will step out on the stage with her by my side, and I have no doubt that she will be there with all of us!
Your art is as extraordinary as your music! You’ve said you’re an “intuitive” painter, that your hand is guided by an outside force and that you have no preconceived idea of the work except when you create a pet portrait or “paint” songs—a concept I find tremendously exciting! I certainly won’t ask you to deliver a completed canvas to The Strand Theater in April, but would it be possible to capture in words what a painting of your favorite Strawbs song might look like…or maybe even what a painting of Strawbs 50th Anniversary Weekend might look like?
I am very passionate about my art and, in fact, I have decided to create a painting especially for this spectacular event. It will be displayed at the Strand Theatre in April, and will be up for auction at the event.
Get out!
I’m hoping to capture the spirit of Sandy’s “Who Knows Where the Time Goes”– it will be one of my “painted songs.” For me, Strawbs 50th Anniversary is not only an opportunity to celebrate the band and its wonderful longevity, but also a way to honor Sandy and her extraordinary voice and I can best do that with my own voice and my art. The painting will be 3’ x 2’ and while I can’t describe it yet, I can already feel it brewing inside of me. When my brush hits the canvas all will be revealed. It will be my pure interpretation of one of the most beautiful songs ever written. I am sure Sandy will approve.
photo by Richard Barnes
