Hudson-Ford

John Ford on bass and Richard Hudson on drums first earned notice through their roles in The Strawbs, although the pair had already collaborated earlier and would continue after their 1970-1973 tenure with the folk-prog group. Having come from Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera and subsequently The Velvet Opera, the musicians left behind the songwriting conflicts within The Strawbs and launched Hudson Ford during 1975. Their complementary approaches stood out clearly: Hudson kept a restrained presence behind the kit in The Strawbs, frequently stepping away for full songs to contribute vocals or sitar, while Ford filled the space with an emphatically percussive bass technique. Hudson Ford's music itself spanned McCartney-esque soft rock and glam, occasionally referencing their electric-folk roots. Responsibilities also widened, as Hudson delegated drumming to concentrate on vocals and lead guitar while Ford took on greater vocal and acoustic guitar parts. Studio veterans including Rick Wakeman strengthened the first release, Nickolodeon, which yielded a U.K. hit via the single "Pick Up the Pieces." Later albums registered steadily smaller returns, prompting the duo to disband in 1977. They soon regrouped to create The Monks and High Society.