Rick’s originally from Yorkshire, and he’s been playing 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, Mitch Mitchell, Jack Bruce, Freddie King and many more. He was also 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.

For eight years Rick played guitar with one of East Anglia’s top rock bands, The Big Easy, but he also plays solo and with other artistes, including with Heather Enid Wells in the eclectic duo A Little Uneasy. The duo's latest tracks, currently on free download, can be found on SoundClick.com, MySpace and NorwichCore.

Rick Hayward is 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’s 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, and numbers from the pop charts from the 1950s up to the present day. He combines a meticulous attention to detail with a joyous gusto in his playing, and has now discovered jazz!

His solo CD on Travelling Records, Fighting With Shadows, comprising mostly Rick’s own songs, reveals him as a writer of thoughtful and moving lyrics as well as gorgeous melodies and sparkling accompaniments. His singing style is both original and listenable.

Rick’s ‘other job’ is as an astrologer and he has contributed to Prediction magazine for many years under the nom-de-plume ‘Remus’. Rick likes growing things and is also a dab hand with a paintbrush!


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