Chip Hawkes

DAWN

Thought I would get the ball rolling with the first story. I have grown up loving 60's music. When I was about 5 years old, my mom would play a certain song on repeat on her stereo... Silence Is Golden by The Tremeloes. That song has always touched me deeply even at a young age & it is the first song I have a real memory of. I did not know the individual band member's names, but I knew that voice!

Fast forward 39 years... I am in Germany with a couple friends to see two concerts. The first night, the always youthful looking Chip Hawkes walks on stage and sings Silence Is Golden. I was stunned standing right in front of him at the foot of the stage. That was THE VOICE! My jaw dropped & he had a giggle at my reaction. A bunch of us got to hang out in the hotel's beer garden where we chatted & took some photos. It was a great trip with 2 fabulous shows featuring Chip! To this day I travel to see Chip's shows as often as possible. Silence Is Golden will always be a special song to me - though I love all his music! It is an honour to be building & running his website! 

NOREEN

Met Chip but only to say a few words lots of times... l was thrilled when Chip Brian and Dave toured with Vanity Fare and my photo was in the programme .. Jack arranged it... Richard sold me the programme... said look at it then take it back to him and he’d get it signed.. saw my photo... thrilled. Last saw Chip at High Wycombe at the Solid Silver Show with Dave and Rick... quick chat and photo.. .l always ask.. Also saw him.. solo... at The Adelphi.. quick chat with him and Richard and photo.. that was 5 ? years ago..

DAVID

Years ago, Chip was in Tennessee doing a few shows. I owned a small investment firm and wanted to host a client appreciation event. I booked Len and a local band backed him up. A friend of mine was invited, and he told his mother that Chip Hawkes was playing. She went wild. She was a fan from her college days. She came to the event and loved it. It was a very good show. 

KITTY

2006 I was contacted by a Swiss singer, Nathalie, to ask Chip for doing a duet with her. Chip agreed to do it and I sent him the text and the music. Chip also had to sing some German lines, which he thought was pretty difficult, but, honestly, it sounded cute somehow. So one day Chip flew to Zürich and my husband Hans and me made lovely 6 hours by car. In Zürich we collected Chip at the airport and went into the studio to record. Afterwards we had some coffee at a terrace in the sun. Nice, it was near a lake and really a holiday feeling. We had a good laugh when a young waiter asked Chip if he was a famous person. Chip said, tongue in cheek: well I might be some well known here or there because of the band the Tremeloes. The boy then wanted Chip's autograph. When we left later, the boy called Chip and gave him the paper with the autograph back: he didn't need it, he said. Anyway months later the release party was due and again we all went to Zürich. Chip was not aware that he needed to sing the duet with Nathalie there and had his German lines forgotten. It would have been better if we had been told properly what was expected. It was nice that night, also because Carol had joined Chip. No.... it did not become a hit, but it was a nice kind of experience. 

RITA

My first tickets I bought to go and see Chip was for Burntwood Wakes August 9th 2009 ! Since then me and my husband Hugo have seen more than 40 great shows of Chip ! We've seen him in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany and of course in the UK ! Our first chat was @ the Casino in Mondorf-les-Bains/Luxembourg. Chip and Mick Clarke were doing shows as a duo ! Fabulous how Mick played Apache on a false note and Chip hiding himself ... seen that in Verviers too the day before !

On Christmas Eve 2010 we traveled to Nottingham seeing Chip and Richard as a duo @ Durham Ox Inn, lots of snow and severe weather conditions couldn't stop us, we enjoyed the show, had a lovely chat … was the best Christmas Eve ever !

LINDA

As my teenager years were the 60s I fell in love with the music of that decade which I still think is the best. When I left school I went to work in a record shop around the time The Tremeloes had their big hits Here Comes My Baby and Silence Is Golden and immediately became a big fan of theirs enjoying all their songs and the guys themselves especially Chip who became my teenage idol, that beautiful smile, eyes of his and the voice. I was fortunate to see The Tremeloes late 60s but never got to meet any of them back then. While working in the record shop I used to pester the record rep each time a new single or LP was released asking him if he had it on him if not when would he have it. I never thought I would be lucky enough to meet Chip but back in 2010 he appeared on a Sixties Gold tour and I made sure I had a front row seat and to find out that he would be out selling CDs and signing in the interval I couldn't believe my luck I was out of my seat like a shot as soon as the 1st half finished and was first down to see him. This photo was taken that day and although it may not be the best I have of me and Chip it was a very special moment. Since then I have seen and met him several times at different gigs and always try and say hello and get a photo if he agrees and go and see him as much as possible.