Rosie Hardman
| Rosie Hardman | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Rosemary Hardman |
| Born |
26 February 1945 Manchester, United Kingdom |
| Genres | Folk, soft rock |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Labels |
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| Website | www |
Rosemary "Rosie" Hardman (born 26 February 1945 ) is a British folk singer-songwriter, musician and performer, best known for such recordings as Lady For Today, Pride of the River, Song to the Evening Sky, and Tongue Tied. Hardman was one of the mainstays of the Manchester folk scene of the sixties, and performed extensively in both the UK and internationally until 1991.
Rosemary Hardman was educated at the Urmston Grammar School for Girls near Manchester, and before turning professional as a singer in 1968, spent the early part of her career in roles varying from horse riding instructor, assistant in a bookstore, hairdresser, and finally secretary for the MSG artiste booking agency. She began writing songs at the age of 13 and made her first folk club appearance in 1965, at the Manchester Sports Guild. She established herself as resident singer and organiser of a number of folk clubs over the next three years.
After three years of playing amateur and semi-professional gigs on the folk scene, she turned professional in December 1968, which coincided with the release of her first album Queen of Hearts released on the Folk Heritage label, a mixture of traditional and contemporary material. The album was recorded live on 29 December 1968 at the Bate Hall Hotel, Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK. Six months later she teamed up with south London guitarist Bob Axford, performing mainly original material.
Rosie Hardman and Bob Axford released a joint album, Second Season Came on the Trailer Records label in 1970. This album included her most popular and covered song Lady for Today. This was followed by a third album Firebird in 1971, also on the Trailer Records label.
In 1971 Rob Ixer and Hardman were married on 17 April; the wedding was attended by many friends from the music scene and Toni Arthur (who at the time was singing with her husband Dave on the folk scene – but later became well known on children's TV) was her Matron of Honour. For their informal reception in the evening they had wanted to use the Manchester Sports Guild where Rosie had been a compere and guest artist. However the hall had already booked the guest artist for that night and so decided to combine the two occasions – which is how Barbara Dickson found herself singing at Bob and Rosie's wedding reception.
In the early/mid 70s Rosie toured with singer/songwriter Andy Caven as her road manager/sounds engineer – they recorded a version of her song Fiddler Man together before Andy went his own way to a very successful career on the folk scene. In 1974, Rosie played the Cambridge Folk Festival and in 1975 she released her next album, Jerseyburger and also a cassette of a live recording – For My Part. In 1978, Rosie signed to the Plant Life label, with whom she made three albums (see Discography). The backing musicians on these recordings included Dave Cousins, Maddy Prior, Nigel Pegrum, Rick Kemp, Brian Willoughby, Jon Gillaspie, Mike Silver and B. J. Cole.
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