The album ‘The Artist’ could not have been made without the great poetry of Philip Dawson-Hammond (United Kingdom).
I owe Philip a lot of thanks for having been allowed to turn his poems into songs and put them on this album. Philip’s work is powerful and reminds me of the poetry of great British poets like William Wordsworth, John Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley. A collection of his poems was published in 2020 in the book ‘Out of Mind’ (Vanguard Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom).
Liner Notes
Someone once said that publishing poetry was like dropping a feather into the middle of the ocean, and waiting for the splash. And you could say that this was very much the case for me until, that is, a chance, on-line encounter with musician and singer Harry Siers. Or, perhaps I should say, his chance encounter with me! I had posted a poem about American singer/songwriter Tom Waits on his Facebook fan-base page where it caught Harry’s eye who, after some hesitation, contacted me, asking if he may buy the copyright. I refused to accept any money, but gave him full permission to do whatever he thought appropriate with it in exchange for the customary bi-line. This was the start of what has grown and developed over the last eighteen months into a full-blown album.
As I write, I still haven’t heard the final cut, but if the demos have been anything to go by it will have been well worth the wait. Harry has been so focused on every single detail throughout the entire recording process, and brought in the finest musicians to complement his wonderful guitar style and vocals. When I wrote these words as poems, I never imagined, in a thousand years, they would end up in this format. I am humbled with gratitude at having some of my poems brought to life in this way. I would therefore like to pass on a great big thank you to all concerned, and especially to you – the listener.
Anticipating that ‘splash’,
Philip Dawson-Hammond.