Memories of Lol

Lol Coxhill (19 September 1932 – 10 July 2012)

The Recedents Live at the Red Rose, London Feb 6th 2007

In 1984 I attempted to release the first album by Lol Coxhill’s trio ‘The Recedents’* on our Recloose Organisation label. Unfortunately all of the global distributors absolutely point-blank refused to take the LP claiming that even by Recloose standards this was strong meat i.e. no one but the terminally obscure or criminally insane would think of buying such a product. So, to my eternal regret I shelved the project.

I had known Lol from the beginning of the Recloose Organisation label in 1981. He had contributed a solo soprano piece ‘Bim 80’ on the founding compilation album ‘Sudden Departure’. Recloose was supposed to have been a cooperatively run label; all of the artists making decisions, contributing and benefiting equally from sales, performing and touring together – the more popular artists promoting the more experimental (but gaining from ‘credibility’) – The Recedents album was part of this plan. Lol graciously and enthusiastically accepted this slightly unusual arrangement despite being by far the most well known artist on the ‘roster’ – and this was typical of Lol, he was a selfless and enthusiastic promoter of radical music, a prolific collaborator (as long as he had a pint of bitter and a pork pie or three) with total unconcern for his ‘musical career’ (he’d have laughed at the idea). In this way Lol gently mentored a generation of musicians and experimentalists irrespective of genres and boundaries. We’re all saddened by the news of his passing and will miss enormously this irreplaceable musical misfit.

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Lol Coxhill’s Recordings on Recloose Organisation

Sudden Departure ‘Bim 80’ 1981
Live Series 2 ‘Untitled’ 1985

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*The Recedents were Lol Coxhill (sax), Roger Turner (percussion) Mike Cooper (Electronics, guitar) and are still in existence, Lol’s seat being replaced by David Toop.

“The Recedents were one of  the longest running free improvisation group in the U.K. – We started in 1982 and  managed at least one concert every year until 2012. Scandalously under-recorded, underpaid and under-employed we continued to groove.” Mike Cooper

Mike cooper’s tribute to Lol here