George Hudson

Hudson presenting 'George Hudson's History of the Guitar', 1992

George John Hudson (Born 28th September, 1967), is an English musician, actor, writer and television personality. He is most widely recognised for his work as the guitarist and principal songwriter in the 80s Rock Band Creosote. Rock Band His other projects include the Britpop-revival band The Railway Kings with former Creosote bandmate Howard Taft, as well as appearing in several films and television shows. He also found a resurgence in popularity after appearing in a series of BBC documentaries entitled 'George Hudson's History of'.

Born and bred in Salford, George Hudson met Howard Taft at a Manchester comprehensive in 1977. The two friends played music together as a duo and then as a trio until meeting Jeremiah Creosote in February 1981. The subsequent band, Creosote, shot the trio to fame during their 1982-1997 run and many music publications credit the band with ushering in a new type of British rock during a time of heavy synth and new-wave.

Hudson has suffered through numerous press spats and controversies much like his band-mate Jeremiah Creosote, though usually for reasons out of his control. Most notably was the press furor that occurred following the breakup of Creosote and formation of The Railway Kings, with other incidents including the Suns coverage of the break down of his first marriage. A key incident that still blights his public image was the 'Queer Controversy' of 1988, with consequences still occurring.

## Early Life (1967-1977)

George John Hudson was born in the early hours of the 28th September 1967 at Salford General Hospital to Reginald and Mary Hudson (nee Lowther). His father was a concert pianist by profession and his mother worked occasionally as a cleaner. In addition to being a pianist, Reginald could also play the trumpet and trombone, while Mary was an adept violin player. In an interview in 2004 Hudson recalled "It was a delightfully musical house, on days where my dad wasn't working until the evening and my mum didn't have work at all i'd sometimes come home from school and find them jamming along with ol' dad playing some jivey number on the family piano.'

In 1977 Hudson began studying at Moorside High School where he met Howard Taft after he had moved into the area from Detroit. Following their meeting where Hudson stuck up for Taft in a playground fracas, he gained a reputation for trouble, with his tendency for sarky comments or snide remarks often leading to fights which Taft often had to get him out of. By 1978 his interests had shifted heavily towards music and his involvement in fights stopped completely. He acquired a slightly battered acoustic guitar at a car boot for the measly sum of £5 having lied to the vendor about the broken strings making the guitar practically worthless to a musician. With the remainder of the money saved he got the guitar repaired and purchased himself a strap and a book detailing 'The Intricate Natures of Learning the Guitar'.

## Early Musicianship (1977-1981)

Following the acquisition of this guitar and tab book, Hudson set himself diligently to the task of mastering the instrument. He found set backs in the fact he was attempting to learn electric guitar technique on an acoustic instrument as well as the increasingly dodgy intonation of the old acoustic as he wore it out. He kept the instrument going through bodge job repairs and using tips he found in issues of Guitar Player he picked up occasionally. Within the first year of playing he was able to competently play along to his mother and fathers playing on violin and piano respectively, albeit just keeping rhythm and matching the correct chords. He encouraged Taft to play bass and take advantage of his fathers musical equipment and records to do the same during this time.

With Taft covertly using his fathers bass, the pair began practising together as they both developed their skills. Within a year they were capably playing full sets worth of materials at rehearsals. They would play their first performance at a school talent show in October 1980.They played three songs which including the recently released 'Love Will Tear Us Apart'. Hudson recalled of the show "It was a grand affair, Taft smuggled his dads bass in and we plugged it into the PA system with a loaned jack lead. We had two really battered mics usually used for school assemblies and any school events and my poor acoustic was just left to drift in the mix. In hindsight we probably should've sacrificed backing vocals for the guitar but we were young and didn't have a clue what we were doing". While classmates recalled in interviews after Creosotes rise to fame that they sounded 'mega', they only placed second after the schools dancing troupe.

Despite not winning the £5 prize, the newfound respect they saw from other students as well as the general reception to their playing encouraged the duo to continue their musical endeavours. Several students approached them to play with them as guitarists or in one case a piano player but they were all turned down. Eventually Taft met Eric McShane in one of his classes who seemed receptive to the idea of joining their band as a drummer. McShane had a kit, a big garage detached from his house they could rehearse in and had been taking lessons for two years thanks to his dads job in a Law Firm in central Manchester. The arrangement seemed perfect and the trio rehearsed enthusiastically throughout November and December 1980, they performed two gigs during this time and all seemed well until their return to school in January and Eric becoming increasingly reluctance to put time and effort into the band.

They rehearsed and played gigs sporadically until February 1981 when Hudson and Taft crossed paths with Jeremiah Creosote at a local bars local band night. Hudson especially found himself impressed with Creosotes bass technique and skills, all the while maintaining a cool punk stage presence and an oddly compelling vocal style. Within two weeks Creosote had attended one of the trios gigs and deemed McShane the weak link. Within four Taft had moved to drums, Jeremiah had joined as the bassist and vocalist and McShane had departed. While the initial break was mutual and McShane happily agreed to leave, it would lead to controversy following the bands rocketing fame in the following two years. It was revealed that his apathetic attitude to the band was a result of family pressure for school performance and his enforced departure by his family just before the bands breakthrough caused a resentful streak within Eric that manifested itself in several TV appearances in the late 80s billed as Creosotes lost drummer. However, both Taft and Hudson have spoken in interviews about the matter with Hudson commenting "It's a massive shame about Eric's departure cause he was a top lad and a good drummer, problem is he wasn't pulling his weight in comparison to me and Taft. I love the lad to bits, like I said, he's a good drummer. But, he isn't a great drummer and that's exactly what we needed and what Taft delivered. Even if his parents hadn't forced his departure we would likely have stayed in the local pub rut until we gave up."

## Creosote (and All His Friends)

### Creosote and All His Friends (1981-1986)

Following McShane's departure and Taft's changeover to drums (which caused a large row with his father, one which Hudson was present for and tried to diffuse, nearly destroying the respect and friendship that Hudson had with Tafts father) the band moved much quicker. At school Taft would diligently spend his breaks and after school time using the schools drum kit to hone his skills with Hudson even going as far as to help him with work for the numerous after-school clubs to ensure that Taft's dad didn't snap over the matter of the band. While it only took Taft a month to pick up basic rhythms and playing capabilities that were on par with Hudson or Creosote, it would be several months before gigs were planned for the fledgling band. In March, Hudson was able to upgrade to an electric guitar using a collection of his and Tafts paper round earnings and a small donation from his parents who saw how serious he was becoming about a band. "I had a few bob from my paper round and Taft decided to throw in some of his money for the sake of the band, especially given there was no way he was buying a drum kit when he could use the schools one and cause the head of music liked us, we were allowed to use it at rehearsals outside of school if a kit wasn't provided. Anyway, one day my dad comes in with this really delightful Ibanez hollow-body, must've been the Artist 26-something or other, in an aged sunburst. He just asked for my last months earnings, which I handed him with Tafts money and he gave it over. No questions asked. Turns out one of the guitarists he played with was selling it and he thought him and mum would treat me. I still have it, keep it nice and safe, it's had so much work done it's barely the same guitar but still." Hudson recounted in December 1999.

While they originally planned to be gigging by summer at the latest, a rehearsal in spring lead to a big change in plans within the band. "It must've been April or May 1981 and Jeremiah just came into the rehearsal room one day with a rolled up magazine under his arm then unrolled it onto a small table. I'd tuned the bass and guitar while he went to grab it from his mothers car outside the studios and was just resting my guitar against the wall when he goes 'Have a look at this then lads'. It was a review for a band consisting of kids in the upper years of our school that had started playing some bigger venues closer to Manc centre. The headline read 'Rexford Crallow? More like Retchford Shallow.' and contained a lengthy dismantling of the bands sound and attitude. The amateurish style and attitude of the lads involved was a particularly brutal point of focus. It was a massive wake up call cause we genuinely thought they were the closest we'd get to being around rockstars. We thought if we could emulate them somewhat we'd have a good chance" Hudson said in an interview in 1986 about the origins of the band. Following this, the band agreed that they would rehearse extensively and thoroughly before entertaining the idea of a gig to prevent such a reputation as Rexford Crallows. Three gigs for the summer at local festivals and events were cancelled and the trio knuckled down to practise. It was around this point that Hudson started to attempt songwriting, starting with angsty and emotional songs that followed punk instrumental convention. Almost none of these songs ever saw the light of day with the exception of 'I Wish I Knew' which would emerge as a (albeit heavily reworked) b-side on the Railway Kings debut albums lead single. "God some of those were shit, I remember him showing me them and I had to stifle laughtah. He was trying so hard to write 'propah' songs that he was just writing drivel that seemed intelligent, emotional or adult. Suppose we all have to start somewhere, even if ah started bettah." Jeremiah recounted in a particularly vitriol filled interview in late March 1997.

Hudson's songwriting and the bands fortunes would change drastically when it was revealed that for his 15th birthday in June 1981, Jeremiah was allowed to ask for anything (The generally accepted reason was that he had received letters from his estranged father attempting to re-establish communication but Creosote has provided at least 14 different reasons in interviews over the years) and he chose to ask for the band to be well-equipped. His mother obliged and by the end of June Hudson found himself with a Vox AC15 amplifier, a Gretsch White Falcon and a full set of pedals including an early loop pedal. Taft found himself with both a drum machine and a proper drum kit, as well as a full complement of sticks, mallets and brushes while Creosote obtained a Fender Jazz Bass, a full Vox bass stack as well as a keyboard and synth. "To this day I do not know how he managed that but by god I am glad he did. We were good but we probably saved two to three years of scrimping and saving when we got that equipment." Taft recounted in 1987.

The presence of pedals allowed Hudson to more extensively experiment with his guitar sound and more importantly write music as he could loop chords and write better lead melodies over them. His edgier punk inspired music paved the way for more carefree and brighter tracks including Off the Rails, a popular track from Creosote (1986). The increasing popularity of post-punk led to a change in his sound, with Echo & the Bunnymen's 1981 album '*Heaven Up Here'* having a distinct influence on his usage of jangly reverb heavy tones. However Hudson and the rest of the band still maintained distinct elements of punk, including unpleasantly crunchy distortion and Creosotes roaring vocal style. As 1982 rolled round, the band started to develop their own songs at rehearsals, initially writing collaboratively in the rehearsal rooms. Songs such as 'Rain Rain Go Away' and 'Whatever you want (from the Kebab Shop)' came from these efforts, displaying an odd yet compelling blend of punk rock and post-punk/new wave synth influences. By the time of their first gig as a band in June 1982, the band were already starting to struggle with their loyalty to the punk movement in the wake of Hudson's rapidly improving songwriting and the changes within the industry, with key punk rockers like The Clash making serious changes in style.

By 1983 the band had garnered a small fanbase within Salford, Bolton and Bury and were becoming somewhat popular on the pub circuit. Despite the band members only being 17 and 16, they were almost always guaranteed to pull in a decent crowd of similarly aged people who most landlords were willing to serve given it would always turn a mid-week dead evening into something more profitable. By around September 1983 all three had left school with Taft and Hudson working dead-end jobs in pubs when not playing with the band. With all three still living at home with parents, money was able to be invested into rehearsal and transport costs for the band. Also during this time, Hudsons songwriting was increasingly improving and his output was speeding up. By this point he had penned 'Blackened with Dust', considered by many to be a shining gem of *Creosote* as well as 'Around the Rings Again' which would see the light of day on *Theres Still More (1987)*. However, most of these songs didn't fit well with the odd blend of punky new wave that the band were playing and those that did often required considerable reworking to make them suitable. While at first Hudson threw nearly all of his material into the band, he very quickly stopped as they realised that good and commercially viable songs were being thrown away.

The feeling of stagnation that resulted from the song issue as well as the fact they seemed to be in a rut with the pub circuit led to the recording of an EP in April 1984. Creosote had obtained the money from his mother to pay for a full three day recording and mixing session at Strawberry Studios in Stockport which occurred from the 14th to 16th of April. "He yelled at his mum for the money, and got it, but me and Taft insisted on fronting at least half the costs to make it ours. So we'd earned and worked for it. I mean it came out somewhat shite regardless, but i'm glad we did." Hudson recounted shortly after the bands signing in 1986. The EP, named after the band at first but later nicknamed '*A Fistful of Ham'* in response to its hurried production and bungled feel, was recorded in the same style as their pub circuit set list and features considerably good performances by the trio. However, the budget of their recording meant limited equipment, limited time and subsequently limited takes and mixing/fixing time. As a result, it is badly mixed and equalised with little properly balanced. It was self-released by the band within the northern Manchester boroughs and sold around 180 copies, which meant they made their money back for the recording and had enough money for a few pints to celebrate but it still felt lacklustre to the trio. However, in 2003 it was discovered that an old engineer assistant from the studios had actually taken the tapes for the sessions home during a studio cleanout. When properly mixed and equalised, the songs reveal a bright-eyed Creosotes most youthful vocals and the beginning of Hudsons trademark guitar style.

Following the EP release, the band began to stagnate further within the punk scene. By November 1984 all three had rid themselves of their chained leather jackets in exchange for crisp dark coloured shirts, their ripped jeans for either chinos or proper denim and their spiky bling for neckties, scarves or a plainer look. While this was an important move for the sanity and enjoyment of the three members, it created further tension over their musical direction as the stage 'show' tone completely contrasted with the musical tone. In response to the increasing number of potential rockers that Hudson was amassing, the band had chosen to start rehearsing a different style from around August and by December 1984 had found themselves in a better place. Heavy distortion and thumping instrumentals were traded for a more 60s-esque rock sound and lyrics changed from the angsty, anarchistic and downright odd themes of their punk songs to a mixture of heartfelt ballads, jolly romps and emotional belters.

They debuted their new sound as a Christmas show on the 14th December but were not met with positive reception. The nearly 300 consistent fans they'd amassed within their local areas felt the band had 'sold out' by changing their image and sound so drastically while the obvious roughness to the newer songs and the bands dainty steps towards their new approach meant that those who they were attempting to appeal to saw them as burnt out punk rockers on a sinking ship. This initially nearly caused the breakup of the band, following another Christmas show at the Boardwalk in Manchester on the 21st exactly a week after their new debut, Hudson became so frustrated that he nearly quit the band.

"We'd opened with Around the Rings Again which at the time I thought was one of our best. I played the jangly bright opening lick and then moved into the rhythm with Jeremiah really giving it his all. I was grinning and really enjoying myself, much much more than before the switch-over. I was finally playing my own stuff and it sounded good ya know? Anyway, im a bit lost in the music so i have my eyes closed as i sing the backing vocals and play the little riff based rhythm to the chorus. I open my eyes just before the solo expecting to see an audience really getting into it but most were just staring stone-faced with a few shuffling along. I saw maybe two people bobbing their heads along. It completely derailed me and i missed the cue for the solo and managed to start it in the wrong key when the progression came round again. Thank christ that Taft and Jeremiah just kept going and let me sort my shit out. I was fucking fuming at that point. It got worse when some fucking silly bint in the audience kept screaming for 'Rain Rain Go Away' or some bollocks. Creosote had her screaming at him all show and just looked at me and then to Taft. We all just shrugged and Taft jumped down from the drumming platform. We didn't have the synth nor the drum machine though, so Jeremiah had to hop behind the kit and Taft had to work out the bass line on the fly. When the stupid bitch who had requested it scrunched her face up in confusion I leaned down and said "We don't want to do that anymore but you won't stop screaming at us so we're a bit stuck. We gave it a good shot but the lack of drum machine meant that there was no harmonies with me and Jeremiah and the bass guitar just didn't sound good. We finished the song, I saw the woman who had requested it booing and simply gestured 'up yours' before unplugging my guitar and walking off before Jeremiah could even say goodbye and goodnight to the audience. I just slumped down and didn't think we could actually shake the shitty pseudo-punk we'd developed for the past three years. It was only a reassuring talk with Jeremiah that evening over a pint that got me back on but jesus."

Similar events occured over the next month or two with early 1985 being marked with many incidents of items thrown at the band, vitriolic name calling and stage invasions. Notably, at a late night gig on the 5th of January 1985, the band was the last band before the headliner at a bar in central Manchester. The place was heaving and all three knew it would be a make or break appearance as the possibility for a residency or at least headlining the next similar show was on the cards. Numerous tracks that would eventually make their way onto the bands first two albums appeared for the first time, including Hudsons 'All About You' and "What We Did Last Night" as well as an initial version of Creosotes 'Feast for All'. The set list from the night reads as a Greatest Hits list for early Creosote fans but the atmosphere was tense at the venue. Initially, the band had been scheduled to start at 9 and play for 40 minutes or so before allowing the headliner to set up and start at 10. Delays with the smaller bands preceding them and arguments over the drum shells being shared led to Creosote and All His Friends taking the stage at around 9:35 and their setlist was cut short by two songs to give more leeway for the headliner. The angsty crowd who had been milling around for nearly an hour between acts was bad enough to begin with but by the end of 'All About You' boos were echoing around the room, pints of beer flew past Hudson and Creosote towards Taft with one pint of cider hitting Hudsons pedal board rendering his delay pedal out of action and making all his pedals sticky and hard to use. Despite this the band struggled onwards until about three songs before the end of their set two skinheads clambered over the fence and on to the stage and started trying to unplug Hudson and Creosotes amps and mics. While the crowd started to call for them to stop ("a bloody miracle they didn't call for us to be lynched" Taft quipped in an interview with Hudson) Hudson finally snapped, calming took his guitar off and rested it behind Creosote and whispered in his ear for him to carry on and proceeded to kick one of the stage invaders sharply on the side of their left knee causing an audible crack and leading him to crumple onto the floor. His friend turned quickly with anger in his eyes but Hudson threw a wild punch clean into his face. It wasn't massively effective but stunned the invader long enough for him to roll more punches. As this ensued, Taft and Jeremiah desperately kept the music going as best they could, looking with concern as three burly bouncers piled onto the stage and pulled Hudson off the two, carried the skinheads of stage and then calmed Hudson down. He picked his guitar back up, played the closing riff to 'Feast for All' and then walked off stage. "I expected to be arrested for assault but the venue manager said that they were part of a group that often tried to cause problems. He didn't intend to press any charges and very kindly 'misplaced' the CCTV footage. Crowd fucking hated me for it, got shoved about a lot on the way to the backstage but by that point i'd just zoned out completely" Hudson recollected in 2011 during an online Q&A.

Similar events would plague the band throughout the first half of 1985 as they found their feet with their new sound, along with a nearly completely new fanbase that was rooted in their newer and more flexible material as opposed to their original fanbase which still clung onto their original and out-there works.

### Creosote - Post-Hiatus and Breakup (1995-1997)

THE DABBLES AMASSED INTO CONSIDERABLE SIZE BEFORE BREAKIN UP

## Railway Kings & Solo Work (1997- Present)

THE DABBLES HAVE CALMED, THE WORLD IS AT PEACE

## Controversies

Hudson has been involved with numerous controversies during his career. A considerable amount occurred during the bands formative years where his hot temper often got him into fights and altercations with audience members and rival band members. Others include the scandal over his first divorce, the 'Queer Controversy" and the furor within the press over the formation of the Railway Kings.

### All About You George?

The first major controversy occurred during Hudson's early career before Creosote and All His Friends had signed and changed their name. During the bands transition away from their punk roots the backlash from their fans who had followed them during their rise through the local pub scene often caused problems. Within the first month of the change Hudson found himself involved with two altercations during two shows. The first was on the 21st December 1984 where a loud fans requests for 'Rain Rain Go Away' from their early shows eventually pushed Hudson past breaking point when after half an hour of requests amidst boos over new material, the boos continued following the band indulging the requests as it "didn't sound right" according the the audience (due to the lack of equipment available). During the beginning of 'Rain Rain' Hudson was observed berating the audience member who had requested it and following the conclusion of the show was photographed gesturing to the woman as he left the stage immediately afterwards.

This was followed around two weeks later when after a series of delays and problems while playing on a large bill of artists at a bar in central Manchester, two members of the audience climbed on stage during the concluding part of 'All About You'. Hudson promptly took off his guitar and proceeded to nearly entirely snap one of the mens legs while concussing another before security guards intervened. Despite protests from some of the audience he was left to finish the show and found himself heavily berated and shoved as he left the stage to the back of the venue as the headliners took the stage.

While the manager of the venue had spoken to the band and agreed that he would not hand over CCTV to the police should charges be brought due to the reputation of the stage-crashers at the venue, the incident was photographed by at least two people and was sold to the Manchester Evening News. Despite the the audience knowing that the two stage-crashers were known troublemakers from a local group of skinheads, the paper sided with the stage-crashers deeming Hudson a menace and stating he was 'Deeming a dangerous precedent for musicians in local venues. The fact that he was allowed to continue to perform after definite and damaging actions to an audience member, regardless of their intentions on stage shows a lack of professionalism within the band and a severe mismanagement of the situation by the venue staff'. This prompted a significant debate within much of the music and venue community as essentially the journalist and their source were implying that bands should allow people to attempt to ruin shows for their own amusement or as a result of their personal tastes. The damage Hudson had caused was often rolled out as a counter, as it took the skinhead who was injured in the leg 4 months to fully heal and even then it took nearly a year before he could walk without any limp.

Eventually the situation would be picked up by The Sun who titled it 'All About You George?' and proceeded to continue the argument presented in the MEN. Due to it being placed on a page deep within the paper and the fact that the band didn't have any significant regional impact yet, let alone national most people didn't care for the issue and within three weeks all media coverage of the incident ceased.

While the incident did cause the band problems in terms of venues refusing to book them, the majority of the problems following was harassment Hudson received following the incident which included a death threat and a note threatening accidents with sharp objects from the skinheads friends. It took around two months for the fallout for Hudson to clear. The biggest issue was the long-lasting scar it left on Hudson's reputation as an aggressive and ill-tempered person. While many argued that a 17 year old can hardly be expected to act in the same way as many of his critics, the issue would cause Hudson issues at hotels, venues and in studios for much of his career.