13 Facts About Dave Cousins

Dave Cousins was born on David Joseph Hindson; 7 January 1945 and is an English musician who has been the leader, singer and most-active songwriter of Strawbs, since 1967.

Dave Cousins has performed as an acoustic duo with Strawbs guitarist Brian Willoughby, and as Acoustic Strawbs with Willoughby, Dave Lambert and Chas Cronk.

Dave Cousins grew up in Chiswick, and in the 1970s returned to live there, rehearsing in Chiswick's Mawson Arms pub.

Dave Cousins holds a degree in Statistics and Pure Mathematics from the University of Leicester, and has followed a career in radio.

Since 1991, Dave Cousins has been in charge of St David's Research, and has been instrumental in many successful franchise applications business ventures involving local radio stations in the UK; stations such as Thames Radio, Radio Victory and XFM in London.

Dave Cousins ran Witchwood Media Limited, an independent record and publishing company, until the company's catalogue was sold to Cherry Red Limited.

Dave Cousins once toured North America and Europe with Acoustic Strawbs, several months every year.

In February 2012, a new venture with producer Chris Tsangarides was announced, the Dark Lord Records label; the first release was by band Spit Like This on 21 May In 2014 Dave Cousins' autobiography Exorcising Ghosts: Strawbs and Other Lives was published by Witchwood Media Limited.

In December 2021, Dave Cousins announced his withdrawal from live performance for health reasons, but played a one-off charity gig at the Boston Room at the George IV pub on Chiswick High Road on 21 November 2022.

The event was in aid of the Commonwealth Medical Trust, of which Dave Cousins is a trustee, to support its joint project with Safe Hands, to provide water tanks in remote parts of Africa, a project being carried out in conjunction with the University of Leicester and Makerere University in Kampala, Uganda.

Dave Cousins has faced a number of health issue including a major cancer operation, stent replacements and a full knee replacement.

In 1980, Dave Cousins made a guest appearance on On Through the Night, the debut album by British heavy metal group Def Leppard.

Dave Cousins' speaking voice can be heard at the beginning of "When the Walls Came Tumblin' Down", reciting a melancholy tale that serves as the track's intro.