Henry Cow was an English avant-garde rock group, founded at Cambridge Unive… Read Full Bio ↴Henry Cow was an English avant-garde rock group, founded at Cambridge University in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson. An inherent anti-commercial bias kept them at arm's length from the mainstream music business, enabling them to experiment at will. They remained in existence for 10 years, breaking up in 1978, and produced a body of music that was challenging, provocative and influential for years to come. Collaborations with the similarly-minded band Slapp Happy led to an eventual but brief merger of the two bands in 1974, and demerging in 1975. Cutler, Frith and Krause also continued on as Art Bears from 1978 as disagreements set in and the band dissolved.
Henry Cow was among the founding members of the movement dubbed Rock in Opposition (RIO).
A number of people passed through Henry Cow over the years:
* Georgie Born - Cello, Bass (1976-1978)
* Lindsay Cooper - Bassoon, Reeds (1974, 1975-1978)
* Chris Cutler - Drums, Percussion (1971-1978)
* Fred Frith - Guitar, Violin, Bass, Piano, Xylophone (1968-1978)
* John Greaves - Bass, Piano (1970-1976)
* Tim Hodgkinson - Keyboards, Reeds (1968 - 1978)
* Dagmar Krause - Vocals (1975 - 1978)
* Geoff Leigh - Flute, Reeds (1972 - 1973)
Henry Cow's repertoire included elaborately scored pieces (often with complex time signatures), tape manipulations, free improvisation and songs. It incorporated elements of jazz, rock, classical music and the avant-garde. Dagmar Krause's vocals added another dimension to their sound, giving it a dramatic, almost Brechtian flair.
Their music was often experimental, making classification all but impossible. However, the following styles (amongst others) are often associated with Henry Cow:
* rock (too general and therefore inadequate)
* progressive rock
* art rock
* avant-progressive rock
* avant-rock
* chamber rock
* experimental rock
* free improvisation
Some of these styles may come closer to describing their music than others, and often it contained elements of all of the above, but in reality, Henry Cow simply remains one of those unclassifiable groups.
Henry Cow's music was challenging, not only to the listener, but also to the band themselves. They often composed pieces to challenge their own capabilities. Some of their music was scored beyond the conventional ranges of their music instruments necessitating that they "reinvent their instruments", learn how to play them in completely new ways. And yet their music may not have been as good as it could have been. Henry Cow conducted their affairs as a committee, having regular, minuted meetings with no decisions being made unless approved by the group. This included their music. Band members brought their ideas to the table but often they ended up being watered down as a result of the collective process, rather than strengthened, and many of their best ideas may not have been fully realised. Who knows what Henry Cow might have produced had individual members been given more free reign.
While their music is a decided "acquired taste", there is much to recommend in it, for as it is often dissonant and challenging, it is also rich and exciting, and yields more insights upon repeated listening.
Henry Cow reunited in November 2014 to celebrate the music of the late Lindsay Cooper for shows in the UK and Italy.
Henry Cow was among the founding members of the movement dubbed Rock in Opposition (RIO).
A number of people passed through Henry Cow over the years:
* Georgie Born - Cello, Bass (1976-1978)
* Lindsay Cooper - Bassoon, Reeds (1974, 1975-1978)
* Chris Cutler - Drums, Percussion (1971-1978)
* Fred Frith - Guitar, Violin, Bass, Piano, Xylophone (1968-1978)
* John Greaves - Bass, Piano (1970-1976)
* Tim Hodgkinson - Keyboards, Reeds (1968 - 1978)
* Dagmar Krause - Vocals (1975 - 1978)
* Geoff Leigh - Flute, Reeds (1972 - 1973)
Henry Cow's repertoire included elaborately scored pieces (often with complex time signatures), tape manipulations, free improvisation and songs. It incorporated elements of jazz, rock, classical music and the avant-garde. Dagmar Krause's vocals added another dimension to their sound, giving it a dramatic, almost Brechtian flair.
Their music was often experimental, making classification all but impossible. However, the following styles (amongst others) are often associated with Henry Cow:
* rock (too general and therefore inadequate)
* progressive rock
* art rock
* avant-progressive rock
* avant-rock
* chamber rock
* experimental rock
* free improvisation
Some of these styles may come closer to describing their music than others, and often it contained elements of all of the above, but in reality, Henry Cow simply remains one of those unclassifiable groups.
Henry Cow's music was challenging, not only to the listener, but also to the band themselves. They often composed pieces to challenge their own capabilities. Some of their music was scored beyond the conventional ranges of their music instruments necessitating that they "reinvent their instruments", learn how to play them in completely new ways. And yet their music may not have been as good as it could have been. Henry Cow conducted their affairs as a committee, having regular, minuted meetings with no decisions being made unless approved by the group. This included their music. Band members brought their ideas to the table but often they ended up being watered down as a result of the collective process, rather than strengthened, and many of their best ideas may not have been fully realised. Who knows what Henry Cow might have produced had individual members been given more free reign.
While their music is a decided "acquired taste", there is much to recommend in it, for as it is often dissonant and challenging, it is also rich and exciting, and yields more insights upon repeated listening.
Henry Cow reunited in November 2014 to celebrate the music of the late Lindsay Cooper for shows in the UK and Italy.
Oslo
Henry Cow Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Oslo' by these artists:
Adrien Gallo Oslo s'est endormi Je prends le train de nuit Sur le hublot…
Åkerström Fred Jag går här på en gata uti Oslo Jag går här…
Anna of the North Winters night, Oslo Just a burning light in the snow Keep me…
Blonde Redhead Nothing, I thought nothing of you Just another young man Run…
Blondino Oslo, y a l'feu même à l'eau Ici je brûle…
Cascadent Fading into boundless motion Waiting to be swept away Surro…
Charlotte Qvale The snow is falling and so am I I'm trapped inside months…
Citizen Fish Welcome to Norway Well shake it up and fizzle it out,…
De Joie Can you hear me say 'I love you' from across…
Duel Si c'est magique pourras-tu m'emmener dans l'arctique? Me fa…
Emire Yeah Velkommen til Oslo Velkommen til Oslo Nananana Vi er h…
Erlend Ropstad Vent og se den natta her fårke fred Æ Lover at…
Fred Åkerström Jag går här på en gata uti Oslo Jag går här…
Free Nationals (Uh) Just light it up I'm burning for you Give me your lovi…
Halva Priset Jeg er vant med åker og eng Og måtte måke meg…
Holmsve No går æ langs me have Regne sile i mitt hår Æ…
In Trance 95 He's the man Travels away She's la femme Travels away …
Jaa9 OnklP Hei dere snakker om gryta jeg lever livet mitt I Si…
Klovner i Kamp Byen er for liten jeg får claus og noia Det er…
Lars Lillo-Stenberg Minst blant Europas kollegaer Men størst i vårt lille lange …
Lil Macks TomInTheChamber Yeah And I don′t even know why I curved th…
Matthew Hall A thousand miles didn’t used to seem so far away…
Matthew Logan Vasquez I fell in love with an angel from the north We…
O/Y Scende neve come a Oslo (Yah) Mi sono spinto troppe volte ve…
Påls butikk Husene brenner bak meg Solen på vei ned i en sekk Sålene…
Pascal vi viste inte att staden skulle rasa vi kommer falla ner…
Ramón Hver gang vi møtes Står og roper Men ingen hører Jeg har gått meg vill Det er…
Razika Jeg er ikke lenger sånn som før Det er det ingen…
Spelloppmaker En to tre nå drar je inn til oslo inn…
Tall Heights Oslo, oh no Stand up, get low No way, no good Norwegian wood…
Terrace Martin & Gallant If I were to let you in my space Could you…
The Disciplines It's been more than a year since you grabbed me You…
The Dogs Yeah! Our town, our rules The smell of piss and power tools…
The Little Hands Of Asphalt It was a moment for the books The calendar looked Just lik…
We have lyrics for these tracks by Henry Cow:
Bad Alchemy I dream Hermaphrodite and I sit up all night Our eyes…
Deluge Don't disturb me while I'm dreaming Walk softly on my peace…
Gloria Gloom Like so many of you I've got my doubts about how…
Living in the Heart of the Beast Situation that rules your world (despite all you've said) I…
Lovers of Gold Lovers of Gold Give All you own To bats and spiders and t…
Nine Funerals of the Citizen King Down beneath the spectacle of free No one ever let you…
Nirvana for Mice Sweet mystery of life I will remember Sweet mystery of life…
Ottawa Song You and I could sail away to distant lands. In a…
Teenbeat Reprise Instrumental…
Viva Pa Ubu Here is a song for all you Ubists Fat & loathsome, Rich…
War Tell of the birth Tell how war appeared on earth Thunder an…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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