Richard Hawley - Lady's Bridge

Lady’s Bridge – the fifth studio album from English pop/rock icon Richard Hawley, originally released on 20th August 2007.

Following on where he left off on Cole’s Corner this album is also It is named after a landmark location in Hawley’s hometown of Sheffield. The album was certified gold for sales of 100,000 copies in the UK on 11 June 2010.

BBC Music said that “Lady’s Bridge is an utterly lovely, timeless album that Hawley can be proud of, and deserves to further his cause in becoming a proper national treasure”.

Drowned in Sound was similarly won over, stating that “as a follow-up to a wonderful record in Coles Corner, then, Hawley’s latest set more than holds up. It’s arguably his most varied collection yet… Nobody was expecting a bad record, but a few people might be surprised by the exceptional pedigree of Richard Hawley’s fifth full-length.”

The Guardian said “this fifth album of easy south Yorkshire nostalgia – stuck in a lush, late-50s groove of twinkly pianos and Disney strings – should rankle. Magically, it doesn’t… This is music to connect the generations: beautiful, moving pop at its best.”

NME stated that “Lady’s Bridge is an album that has moments that won’t be bettered this year or any other… At worst, some might accuse it of being clever pastiche. But pastiche is hollow, whereas Hawley’s the real deal: his heart is all there.

Uncut said that the album “sounds as if it has been decanted from a time when disc jockeys wore dinner jackets, and a gentleman in trouble might soothe his troubled heart with a stroll along the banks of the canal. Not that Hawley needs to change. While he still sings like a kinder, sadder Jarvis Cocker would, perhaps after an encounter with his karaoke uncle, he does it with such sincerity that it seems churlish to resist.”

MusicOMH considered the album to be “a continuation of the Mercury-nominated Coles Corner – lush orchestration, melancholic, wistful ballads – but with an added edge… its this pleasing variety to the songs that make this Hawley’s strongest album to date…” and concluding that “Lady’s Bridge is a wonderful album that will only confirm and enhance that burgeoning reputation”.

Coloured vinyl, limited to 700 copies.