R.I.P. - Dave Cousins (The Strawbs) passed away on July 13, 2025

David Joseph 'Dave' Cousins was a songwriter, singer, and string instrumentalist.

He is probably best known as the founder and frontman of the Strawbs. The band began in 1964 as The Strawberry Hill Boys with bluegrass, moved on to folk and folk rock, and eventually increasingly introduced progressive tunes. This can be heard beautifully on "Part Of The Union" on the one hand and "Hero And Heroine" on the other.

The fact that Rick Wakeman also played keyboards for the Strawbs before joining Yes may indicate that the Strawbs were already a force to be reckoned with.

Dave later also performed as a soloist with Wakeman. He also performed with Roger Glover, Jon Hiseman, Miller Anderson, Dave Lambert, and Tom Allom, among others.

Two years ago, Dave Cousins was awarded a Doctorate of Music by the University of Leicester. But even then, his health was so poor that he couldn't attend the ceremony.

Dave was 80 years old.
R.I.P. Dave

Strawbs - Part Of The Union (1973)

Strawbs - Hero and Heroine Medley - Live at ROSfest 2016

 

I think The Strawbs realised they were a dinosaur band, so 3 of the members (not Dave Cousins) formed a god awful punk band called The Monks.
On Jukebox Jury in 1979, Johnny Rotten was a judge and made his feelings on The Monks very clear.

 

Farewell Dave

 

Wakeman & Cousins Live 2005

Grace Darling

Martin Luther King's Dream

In January 2023, the University of Leicester awarded him a Doctorate of Music.