Hank Wangford & Noel Dashwood

“If there was a UK version of the Country Hall Of Fame, both of them should be inducted.” – Folk Radio

Hank Wangford, the grizzled Godfather of Alt Country, has been playing Country since the ’70s Punk era when it was deeply unpopular.

Eighteen months after creating one of the classic psychedelic singles Jabberwock with David Bowie’s producer Tony Visconti, Hank met and befriended Gram Parsons in 1970.  This was at a time when Hank – Dr Sam Hutt – was a rock ‘n roll doctor.  The Grateful Dead, the Who, the Rolling Stones, the Clash and the Pink Floyd were some of his clients.  It was when Gram Parsons came over to hang out in London with Keith Richards, that Keith sent Gram to see Doctor Sam.  Since this messianic derailment from psychedelia into Country music, Hank has been aiming for country non-believers.

In the late ‘80s Hank spread the word with his groundbreaking TV series “HW’s A to Z of C&W” and  “Big Big Country”.  Since then, he has continued to write new songs, record, and play with his band The Lost Cowboys (with the legendary BJ Cole on pedal steel and Martin Belmont on lead guitar) and also performs with his more compact Big Bass Combo and as a duo with Noel Dashwood.

His new album PROMISES PROMISES, a duo project with dobro wizard Noel Dashwood, has been widely acclaimed including MOJO four stars.

Hank knows that laughter, tears and music are the greatest healers we have.

This is why he loves Country music.

“If you want originality, something that still has the bite and twang that drained out of so much country, the sharp cutting wit and the rawness of hard country, then there is only one man to see.  His name is Hank Wangford.” – New York Times