Henry Essence

“The group Henry Essence – Steve Manning (guitar and vocals); Keith Reay (guitar and vocals); Mark Anderson (bass and vocals) and John Hedgecock (drums) – formed in 1976. All four members were pupils at a boarding school on the Isle of Wight. They would lie about their ages to secure gigs at local pubs and clubs, and then sneak out of school to play them. Musically they aligned themselves strongly to the then-current new wave boom, but with obvious melodic influences from the guitar groups of the 1960s and later. Manning, Reay and Anderson all contributed original material.”

Henry Essence released their one, double A-sided single in 1979 – 14-year-old Lover (written by Manning), backed by Margarita (Reay). Only 1,000 copies were pressed; they are now regarded as ‘holy grail’ items among collectors. Fourteen-year-old Lover has been acclaimed as a classic, deadpan pop/punk anthem, although since the song’s rediscovery the group has been at pains to emphasise that they wrote and recorded it when they themselves were no older than 15. Margarita is a more sophisticated offering, showcasing the precocious writing and playing skills of Reay, but this too is recorded in the low-fi manner beloved of followers.

The four members of Henry Essence expected and intended to devote themselves full-time to the band once their school careers came to a close. However, Manning and Reay were involved in a bike collision that resulted in Manning being confined to hospital for many months. Henry Essence went their separate ways, taking up disparate careers across the south of England and abroad. By the mid-1990s, however, the group’s apparently-forgotten single was being heavily bootlegged in Britain, Germany and Italy – and then the Detour Records label acquired rights to it and gave it official re-release. There was a surge of interest in the group across the internet.” Text above from Henry Essence website


Check out the Henry Essence website to see what the band have been up to since!



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