Richard Willis Hawley (born 17th January 1967 in Sheffield, UK) is an English singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer.

After finding his father’s record collection as a child, Hawley was left inspired by rockabilly guitarists such as Eddie Cochran and Duane Eddy. His father, a steelworker, spent the last of his redundancy money on a Gretsch Country Gentleman guitar for his teenage son, setting the stage for his long, varied and often tumultuous career.

Hawley’s glistening solo career followed a period of floating between bands such as Treebound Story, Longpigs, and most famously Pulp. His eponymous debut solo album was released in April 2001, and since then seven studio albums have followed, many of which draw inspiration from stories of love and loss in his hometown.