Adrian Henri
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Adrian Henri | |
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Born | The Mersey Sound | 10 April 1932
Adrian Henri (10 April 1932 – 20 December 2000) was a British
Life and career
Adrian Henri's grandfather was a seaman from
Henri had a 10-year relationship with Carol Ann Duffy, who later became Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom. The pair met when she was 16, him 39 at the time, and lived together until 1982.[3] Henri married once, to Joyce; the couple later separated. He had no children. For the last 15 years of his life his partner was Catherine Marcangeli.[4] His career spanned everything from artist and poet to teacher, rock-and-roll performer, playwright and librettist. He could name among his friends John Lennon, George Melly, Allen Ginsberg, Willy Russell, John Willett and Paul McCartney. Unlike McGough and Patten, Henri turned his back on the trendier London scene, and chose to remain in Liverpool, saying there was nowhere he loved better.
His numerous publications include
He was the leading light of a band, the Liverpool Scene, which released four LPs of poetry and music. Earlier, in 1955, he played washboard in the King's College, Newcastle, Skiffle Group. He was a firm believer in live poetry reading, and read his poetry at many and varied venues as well as holding poetry workshops at schools and colleges. One of his last major poetry readings was at the launch of The Argotist magazine in 1996.
In 1986 Henri became the first President of the National Acrylic Painters' Association, a post he held until 1991, after which he became its first Fellow and Patron until his death in 2000.
He died in Liverpool, aged 68, having never properly recovered from a stroke that he had suffered two years previously. The night before his death, Liverpool City Council conferred on him the Freedom of the City in recognition of his contribution to Liverpool's cultural scene.[4] He also received an honorary doctorate from the University of Liverpool.
He described his early philosophy as "If you think you can do it and you want to do it—then do it."
In 2012 Adrian Henri: Total Artist was released. Total Artist concentrates on Henri's work from the 1960s and 1970s, as well as capturing some of the excitement and dynamics of the art scene in Britain during this time. Henri was at the centre of a distinctive yet highly connected counter-culture, providing an opportunity to consider his embrace of total art as a template for interdisciplinary art practice. Published by Occasional Papers, the Exhibition Research Centre, Liverpool John Moores University and Université Paris Diderot.
The Liverpool Scene
The Liverpool Scene was a poetry band, formed around 1967, which included Adrian Henri,
The albums were:
- The Incredible New Liverpool Scene
- The Amazing Adventures Of
- Bread on the Night
- St. Adrian & Co., Broadway and 3rd
- Heirloon (rarities and outtakes)
There were at least three "best of" albums and two non-LP singles, "Love Is"/"The Woo-Woo" and "Son, Son"/"Baby".
Bibliography
- Biggs, Bryan; Hudek, Antony; Marcangeli, Catherine. Adrian Henri: Total Artist. London: Occasional Papers, 2014.
See also
References
- ^ "Poet Adrian Henri dies in his beloved Liverpool". Reuters. 21 December 2000. Archived from the original on 16 April 2008.
- ^ ISBN 0-85323-727-1..
- ^ "INTERVIEW: CAROL-ANN DUFFY". Stylist. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
- ^ a b Evans, Mike (22 December 2000). "Obituary: Adrian Henri". The Guardian.
External links
- Interview with The Argotist Online
- Interview with Roger McGough about 40 years of the Mersey Poets
- Henri reads Death in the Suburbs (audio)
- Footage of Adrian Henri performing live with The Liverpool Scene
- Works at Whitford Fine Art
- National Portrait Gallery, London
- Adrian Henri website
- A film of The Liverpool Scene performing "Baby" at Victoria Park, London 1970