Samuel Hutt, known by the stage name Hank Wangford (born 15 November 1940), is an

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

country and western A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while th ...

songwriter. "Hank is a good smoke screen. He can do things I can't do. He's my clown," says Dr. Hutt, who has been struggling to balance his musical and medical interests ever since medical school at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

. His 1960s practice in a drug-addiction centre brought him into contact with a lot of rockers and wide renown as London's long-haired, rock-and-roll doctor, and later a television series. "If

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

had a first night, the tickets would be sent. I actually had more of an identity crisis with that than with Hank, because Hank is a fool. I quite like him. Dr. Sam was definitely threatening to become a monster."

Early and personal life

It has been said that Hank was born in Wangford,

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include Lowes ...

, England. and that may be where Sam Hutt conceived his stage name. In his appearance in the film, ''A Brief History of Brocket Hall'', Sam Hutt says that he was born in an upstairs room at Brocket Hall,

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For gover ...

, on the night from 14 to 15 November 1940, during

The Blitz The Blitz was a German bombing campaign against the United Kingdom in 1940 and 1941, during the Second World War. The term was first used by the British press and originated from the term , the German word meaning 'lightning war'. The Germa ...

. It was a forceps delivery. As he describes in the film, Brocket Hall has a history of sexual scandals, involving the royal family and politicians but, by 1940, it had become a maternity home. The British Government had intelligence that the Germans were planning to flatten London on the night of the birth, when there was to be a full moon (The "Hunter Moon" or "Blood Moon") which would provide good visibility. His mother was therefore evacuated to Hertfordshire for the birth. In the event, on the night of the birth the Germans bombed

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a city in the West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its city status until the Middle Ages. The city is governed b ...

, not London. His father was the journalist and communist activist

Allen Hutt George Allen Hutt (1901–1973) was a British journalist, editor, newspaper designer and Communist and trade union activist. Life Hutt came from a family of printers, while his mother Marion was a headmistress. He attended Kilburn Grammar School ...

. He studied medicine at

and eventually became a doctor. His first writing credit (as Sam Hutt) was on a Sarah Miles 1965 single "Where Am I". His first recording was credited as Boeing Duveen & The Beautiful Soup with "Jabberwock"/"Which Dreamed It", issued on UK Parlophone R 5696 in May 1968. He is co-credited as the writer as "Sam Hutt" on both sides together with

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

, with whose words the songs are adapted. Hutt's family background is radical: his father Allen (a journalist and expert on the history of printing) was a lifelong Communist. During the NUM miners strike in 1984/85, the Hank Wangford Band toured extensively with

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer-songwriter and left-wing activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic themes. His music i ...

and the

Frank Chickens Frank Chickens are a Japanese musical group based in London, who have performed songs mainly in English from 1982. They were nominated for the 1984 Edinburgh Comedy Award for their performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the same yea ...

as "Hank, Frank and Billy" performing at trade-union benefit and anti-racist gigs. It was during such a benefit for the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1 ...

(GLC) in 1984 that Hank and the band were attacked on stage by a group of right-wing skinheads, an event that has been immortalised in the song "On The Line".

The Hank Wangford Band

A chance meeting with former

Byrds The Byrds () were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1964. The band underwent multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with frontman Roger McGuinn (known as Jim McGuinn until mid-1967) remaining the sole con ...

member

Gram Parsons Ingram Cecil Connor III (November 5, 1946 – September 19, 1973) who was known professionally as Gram Parsons, was an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and pianist who recorded as a solo artist and with the International Submarine Band, ...

, who played him the song "You're Still on My Mind" (from the album ''

Sweetheart of the Rodeo ''Sweetheart of the Rodeo'' is the sixth album by American rock band the Byrds and was released in August 1968 on Columbia Records. Recorded with the addition of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons, it became the first album widely recognized as ...

''), led him to country music. The 1984

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

saw the Hank Wangford Band achieve some acclaim, with their show being nominated for the

Perrier Award Perrier ( , also , ) is a French brand of natural bottled mineral water obtained at its source in Vergèze, located in the Gard ''département''. Perrier is known for its carbonation and its distinctive green bottle. Perrier was part of t ...

. Fringe Sunday also saw the importation to Edinburgh of the sport of cow-pat flinging. Unfortunately, this required hard cow-pats as an essential part of the process.

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, includin ...

Andy Kershaw Andrew J. G. Kershaw (born 9 November 1959) is a broadcaster and disc jockey, predominantly on radio, and known for his interest in world music. Kershaw's shows feature a mix of country, blues, reggae, folk music, African music, spoken word pe ...

had to put out an appeal for cow-pats, which later had to be dried in a microwave oven for them to work successfully. Hank Wangford 5th October 2007 setlist

No Hall Too Small

Wangford has also toured with Reg Meuross and with Andy Roberts on the "No Hall Too Small" tour of village halls throughout the UK as part of the Arts Council-funded National Rural Touring Forum (NRTF).

Writing career

Wangford has written an occasional series of travel articles for ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' newspaper and is president of the "Nude Mountaineering Society".

Discography

*''Hank Wangford'', Cow Pie Records (COW 1), 1980 *''Hank Wangford - Wild Thing c/w All I Want'', Cow Pie Records (PIE001), 1980 (7") *''Hank Wangford - Cowboys Stay On Longer c/w Whisky On My Guitar'', Cow Pie Records (PIE002), 1980 (7") *''Hank Wangford - Cowboys Stay On Longer c/w Whisky On My Guitar'', WEA (K18712), 1980 (7") *''The Hank Wangford Band Live'', Cow Pie Records (COW 2), 1982 *''The Hank Wangford Band, Rodeo Radio'', Situation Two (SITU 16), 1985 *''The Hank Wangford Band, Cowboys Stay On Longer'', Sincere Sounds (Honky 1X), 1987 (12") *''The Hank Wangford Band, Cowboys Stay On Longer'', Sincere Sounds (Honky 1A-DJ), 1987 (7") ;CDs *''Hank Wangford - Cowboys Stay On Longer'', Reissue Albums One and Two, Sincere Sounds, 2001 *''Hank Wangford - Stormy Horizons'', Sincere Sounds, 1990 *''Hank Wangford & The Lost Cowboys - Hard Shoulder To Cry On'', Live Album Sincere Sounds, 1993 *''Hank Wangford & The Lost Cowboys - Wake Up Dead'', Sincere Sounds, 1997 *''Hank Wangford & The Lost Cowboys - Best Foot Forward'', Sincere Sounds, 2003 *''Hank Wangford & The Lost Cowboys - Whistling In The Dark'', Sincere Sounds, 2008 *''Hank Wangford & The Lost Cowboys - Save Me The Waltz'', (Double Album) Sincere Sounds, 2014 *''Hank Wangford - Holey Holey'', Sincere Sounds, 2020 ;Cassettes *''The Hank Wangford Band Bumper Box'', Cow Pie Records (CCP1), 1981 *''The Hank Wangford Band - Rootin' Tootin' Santa Claus'', Cow Pie Records (CCP2), 1982

Bibliography

*''Hank Wangford Volume III The Middle Years'' as told to Sam Hutt, Pan London 1989, *''Lost Cowboys From Patagonia to the Alamo'' by Hank Wangford. Orion Cassell 1997

References

External links

*
Independent.co.ukShort profile at OpenLearn
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wangford, Hank 1940 births 20th-century English medical doctors Charisma Records artists English country guitarists English country singer-songwriters Living people People from Wangford Situation Two artists