Rick was originally from Yorkshire, and had played guitar since he was 14, originally under the name Rick Birkett. As a session guitarist for Blue Horizon he played and recorded in the late 1960s and 1970s with many top-class well known musicians, including Eric Clapton, Freddie King, Jack Bruce, Lightnin' Slim, Mitch Mitchell, and many more. He was a member of Christine Perfect’s band and of The Accent and Jellybread, and completed an LP with The Zombies. Rick also had a solo LP of his own material produced by Mike Vernon and released by Blue Horizon on vinyl, which is very collectable now. The tracks on that album, plus all the tracks recorded for Rick's follow-up album (which was never released at the time), have since been reissued on CD by Sunbeam Records.

In addition to his solo work, for eight years Rick played guitar with one of East Anglia’s top rock bands, The Big Easy, and for eight years with Heather Enid Wells in the eclectic duo A Little Uneasy. A few of the duo's original tracks, still on free download, can be found on SoundClick.com and MySpace.

Rick Hayward was that rare creature, the all-round player. Very few artistes combine his accurate ear for authenticity with such an original creativity, and the awesome technique to complete the picture. He was equally at home playing raging rock lead or delicate folk songs, finger-style classical guitar, early Elizabethan pieces or blues, beautiful Irish airs or ragtime tunes, jazz standards or numbers from the pop charts. He combined a meticulous attention to detail with a joyous gusto in his playing.

His solo CD on Travelling Records, Fighting With Shadows, comprising mostly Rick’s own songs, revealed him as a writer of thoughtful and moving lyrics as well as gorgeous melodies and sparkling accompaniments. His singing style was both original and listenable. The album is currently out of stock, but might be reissued in response to demand.

Rick’s ‘other job’ was as a professional astrologer. He contributed to Prediction magazine for many years under the nom-de-plume ‘Remus’, and more recently under his own name. Rick liked growing things and was also a dab hand with a paintbrush ...

Rick Hayward died in November 2012.

This photo is of Rick playing in Holland about 1972...