Gary Pickford-Hopkins

Gary Pickford-Hopkins (1948 – 22 June 2013) was a Welsh singer, composer and guitarist whose career began in the early 1960s. He is best known as co-lead vocalist with Ashley Holt on two of Rick Wakeman's most successful solo albums Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

Gary Pickford-Hopkins
Born1948 (1948)
Neath, Wales
Died22 June 2013 (aged 65)[1]
NationalityBritish
OccupationMusician
Years active1964 - 2013
Works
Journey to the Centre of the Earth and The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table
Spouse(s)Sian Pickford-Hopkins[1]
Children2[1]
Musical career
GenresRock, progressive rock, blues rock, Adult-oriented rock, classic rock.
InstrumentsGuitar, harmonica
LabelsChrysalis,[2] Reprise,[2] Angel Air,[3] Wild Turkey Music,[4] Roconda.[5]

Career

Gary Pickford-Hopkins began his musical career at the age of 16 with a local Neath group called The Smokestacks in 1964.[1][6] He soon joined Eyes Of Blue,[6] who in 1966 won the Melody Maker's Battle of the Bands, they have recorded two albums, John Weathers was on drums and he would later follow Pickford-Hopkins to Wild Turkey and then join Gentle Giant.[1] In 1970, he briefly joined Big Sleep,[6] and a year later he went to play with Glenn Cornick's Wild Turkey which recorded three albums from 1971 to June 1974,[6] when he joined Rick Wakeman's English Rock Ensemble to produce the live album Journey to the Centre of the Earth in 1974 which reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and peaked at number 3 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. It was certified gold in the United States and United Kingdom. He later sang on Wakeman's third solo album The Myths and Legends of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.[1]

Pickford-Hopkins later joined Network, who split up around 1979.[6] By 1980 he was with The Houseband.[6] He also had a brief spell with The Broadcasters and rejoined Wild Turkey again.[6] Pickford-Hopkins produced his only solo album GPH in 2003.[3]

Personal life and death

Pickford-Hopkins was married to Sian and they had two sons. He lived in the village of Garnant in Wales.[1] Pickford-Hopkins died of cancer on 22 June 2013.[1]

Discography

With Eyes Of Blue :

  • The Crossroads Of Time (1968)
  • In Fields Of Ardath (1969)

With Wild Turkey

  • Battle Hymn (1971)[2]
  • Turkey (1972)[7]
  • You & Me In The Jungle (2006)[4]
  • Stealer of Years (1996) [8]

With the Rick Wakeman band (English Rock Ensemble)

Solo album

Selected singles

With Wild Turkey

  • "Good Old Days" (1972)[10]

Gary Pickford-Hopkins And Friends

Gary Pickford Hopkins And Llanelli RFC

  • "The Stradey Song" (1988)[5]
gollark: I mean, most of the US's military *is* at least government-managed.
gollark: Some would say it's due to the whole "monopoly on force" thing.
gollark: Central planning tends to reduce innovation.
gollark: Decay of humanity meaning...?
gollark: The planned system splits responsibility across a million bureaucrats, who are just going to resist change and rubberstamp things.

See also

References
  1. "Prog rock star Rick Wakeman pays tribute to Welsh guitarist Gary Pickford-Hopkins". Walesonline. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  2. "Wild Turkey - Battle Hymn". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  3. "Gary Pickford-Hopkins – GPH". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  4. "Wild Turkey – You & Me In The Jungle". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  5. "Gary Pickford Hopkins And Llanelli RFC – The Stradey Song". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  6. "Gary Pickford-Hopkins (vocals)". The Musicians' Olympus. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  7. "Wild Turkey - Turkey". AllMusic. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  8. "Wild Turkey - Stealer of Years". Allmusic. Retrieved 5 February 2018.
  9. "Rick Wakeman – Recollections - The Very Best Of Rick Wakeman (1973-1979)". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-19.
  10. "Wild Turkey – Good Old Days". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-18.
  11. "Gary Pickford-Hopkins And Friends – Why?". Discogs. Retrieved 2018-01-19.

Sources


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