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{{Short description|English avant-rock group}}
{{Use British English|date=November 2010}}{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2020}}
{{Infobox musical artist|<!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| name             = Henry Cow
| image            = Henry Cow in performance.jpg
| caption          = Henry Cow, 1975
| landscape        = yes
| background       = group_or_band
| alias            = 
| origin           = [[Cambridge]], England
| genre            = {{flatlist|
*[[Rock in opposition]]
*[[experimental rock]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ihFMAAAAYAAJ|title=Jazz Forum|date=1978|publisher=For Jazz, sp. z o. o.|edition=51–56|page=7}}</ref>
*[[avant-prog]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Marsh |first1=Peter |title=Henry Cow/Slapp Happy Desperate Straights Review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/zhdp/ |website=BBC Music |access-date=10 August 2024}}</ref>
*[[progressive rock]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e05LAAAAYAAJ|title=The New Music Record Guide|last=Robbins|first=Ira|date=1987|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0-7119-1115-4|page=71}}</ref>
*[[art rock]]<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/henry-cow-mn0000672182/biography|title=Henry Cow {{!}} Biography & History|last=Boisen|first=Myles|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=16 September 2008}}</ref>
*[[Canterbury scene]]<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith|first=Sid|url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-canterbury-scene-the-sound-of-the-underground|title=The Canterbury Scene: The Sound Of The Underground|website=[[Prog (magazine)|Prog]]|date=17 April 2015|access-date=9 May 2018}}</ref>
*[[avant-garde jazz]]<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=vQM5AQAAIAAJ|title=The Beat|date=1995|publisher=Bongo Productions|volume=14|page=20}}</ref>
}}
| discography      = [[Henry Cow discography]]
| years_active     = 1968–1978
| label            = {{hlist | [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] | [[Recommended Records|Recommended]]}}
| spinoffs         = {{unbulleted list | [[The Orckestra]] | [[Art Bears]] | [[News from Babel]] | [[The Artaud Beats]] | [[Henry Now]]}}
| website          = 
| current_members  = 
| past_members     = <!--Please note that all members should be included here in the order of which they joined the band.-->
*[[Fred Frith]]
*[[Tim Hodgkinson]]
*[[David Attwooll]]
*Rob Brooks
*Joss Grahame
*Andy Spooner
*[[Andrew Powell|Andy Powell]]
*[[John Greaves (musician)|John Greaves]]
*[[The Elastic Band|Sean Jenkins]]
*[[Martin Ditcham]]
*[[Chris Cutler]]
*[[Geoff Leigh]]
*[[Lindsay Cooper]]
*[[Peter Blegvad]]
*[[Anthony Moore]]
*[[Dagmar Krause]]
*[[Georgie Born]]
*[[Annemarie Roelofs]]
}}

'''Henry Cow''' were an English [[experimental rock]] [[Musical ensemble|group]], founded at the [[University of Cambridge]] in 1968 by multi-instrumentalists [[Fred Frith]] and [[Tim Hodgkinson]]. Henry Cow's personnel fluctuated over their decade together; alongside Frith and Hodgkinson, however, drummer [[Chris Cutler]], bassist [[John Greaves (musician)|John Greaves]], and bassoonist/oboist [[Lindsay Cooper]] were important long-term members.

An inherent anti-commercial attitude kept them at arm's length from the mainstream [[music business]], enabling them to experiment at will. Critic Myles Boisen writes, "[their sound] was so mercurial and daring that they had few imitators, even though they inspired many on both sides of the Atlantic with a blend of spontaneity, intricate structures, philosophy, and humor that has endured and transcended the '[[progressive rock|progressive]]' tag."<ref name="allmusic"/>

While it was generally thought that Henry Cow took their name from 20th-century American composer [[Henry Cowell]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Kenny |first=Glenn |author-link=Glenn Kenny |url=https://trouserpress.com/reviews/henry-cow/ |title=Henry Cow |website=[[Trouser Press]] |access-date=19 September 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |editor1-last=Marsh |editor1-first=Dave |editor1-link=Dave Marsh |editor2-last=Swenson |editor2-first=John |title=The New Rolling Stone Record Guide |url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstoner00mars |publisher=[[Random House]]/[[Rolling Stone Press]] |year=1983 |edition=2nd |page=225 |isbn=0-394-72107-1 |url-access=registration}}</ref> this has been repeatedly denied by band members.<ref name="calyx-HC-bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/bands/henrycow.html|title=Henry Cow|work=The Canterbury Music Website|access-date=4 May 2009}}</ref>{{sfn|Cutler|2009a|p=21}} According to Hodgkinson, the name "Henry Cow" was "in the air" in 1968, and it seemed like a good name for the band. It had no connection to anything.<ref name=RoughGuide>{{cite book |last1=Brook |first1=Chris |editor1-last=Buckley |editor1-first=Peter |year=2003 |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |chapter=Henry Cow |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/roughguidetorock0003unse |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |isbn=1-84353-105-4 |page=490 |chapter-url-access=registration}}</ref>{{sfn|Cutler|2006|p=6}} In a 1974 interview, Cutler said the name was chosen because "[i]t's silly. What could be sillier than Henry Cow?"<ref name=Murray>{{Cite news |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/henry-cow-gerroff-an-milk-it |title=Henry Cow: Gerroff An' Milk It |last=Murray |first=Charles Shaar |author-link=Charles Shaar Murray |date= 31 August 1974 |newspaper=[[New Musical Express]] |access-date=13 June 2018 |url-access=subscription |via=[[Rock's Backpages]]}}</ref>

==History==
===Early years===
[[Fred Frith]] met [[Tim Hodgkinson]], a fellow student, in a blues club at [[Cambridge University]] in May 1968. Recognising their mutual open-minded approach to music, the two began performing together, playing a variety of musical styles including "[[dada]] [[blues]]" and "neo-Hiroshima". One of Henry Cow's first concerts was supporting [[Pink Floyd]] at the Architects' Ball at [[Homerton College]], [[University of Cambridge|Cambridge]], on 12 June 1968.<ref name=HC-chronology>{{cite web |url=https://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/bands/chrono/henrycow.html |title=Henry Cow Chronology |work=Calyx: The Canterbury Music Website |access-date=9 January 2015}}</ref>

In October 1968, Henry Cow expanded when they were joined by [[Andrew Powell|Andy Powell]] (bass guitar), [[David Attwooll]] (drums)<ref name=Attwooll>{{cite web|url=https://news.liverpool.ac.uk/2016/08/11/obituary-david-attwooll/|title=Obituary: David Attwooll|publisher=University of Liverpool|date=11 August 2016|access-date=20 August 2016}}</ref> and Rob Brooks (rhythm guitar). They performed with this line-up until December that year, when Frith, Hodgkinson and Powell split off from the rest of the group and became a trio. Powell at the time was studying music at [[King's College, Cambridge|King's College]] under [[Roger Smalley]], the resident composer. Smalley was influential in Henry Cow's early development. He exposed them to a variety of new music from bands and musicians like [[Soft Machine]], [[Captain Beefheart]] and [[Frank Zappa]]. Smalley also introduced them to the idea of writing long and complex musical pieces for rock groups.<ref name=dtc>{{cite magazine |first=Kenneth |last=Ansell |date=April 1975 |title=Dissecting the Cow |magazine=[[ZigZag (magazine)|ZigZag]] |url=http://calyx.club.fr/index/articles/hcowzigzag.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080804153629/http://calyx.club.fr/index/articles/hcowzigzag.html |archive-date=4 August 2008 |access-date=8 April 2020}}</ref> It was at this time that Henry Cow began writing music to challenge their collective ability to play, then using it to improve on themselves.<ref name=pw>{{cite web | last = Wright | first = Patrick | author-link = Patrick Wright (historian) | title = Resist Me, Make Me Strong: On Chris Cutler | work = [[The Guardian]] | date = 11 November 1995 | url = http://www.patrickwright.net/wp-content/uploads/pwright-on-chris-cutler.pdf | access-date = 12 December 2007 | archive-date = 3 March 2016 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160303183424/http://www.patrickwright.net/wp-content/uploads/pwright-on-chris-cutler.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref name=MM>{{cite news |first=Steve |last=Lake |title=Cow: moving left ... |work=[[Melody Maker]] |page=38 |date=16 April 1977}}</ref>

As a trio, with Frith on bass guitar, Powell on drums and Hodgkinson playing an organ that Frith and Powell had persuaded him to learn, Henry Cow performed a number of gigs on the university calendar, including the annual Architects' Ball and the Midsummer Common Festival, as well as a performance on the roof of a 14-storey building in Cambridge. In April 1969, Powell left and the band reverted to a duo, with Frith playing violin and Hodgkinson on keyboards and reeds. In October 1969 [[philosopher]] [[Galen Strawson]] auditioned for the band. Later, Frith and Hodgkinson persuaded [[bassist]] [[John Greaves (musician)|John Greaves]] to join the band; with the services of a couple of temporary drummers and then [[The Elastic Band|Sean Jenkins]], Henry Cow performed as a quartet for the next eight months. In May 1971, [[Martin Ditcham]] replaced Jenkins on drums, and with this line-up they played at several events, including the [[Glastonbury Festival]] alongside [[Gong (band)|Gong]] in June 1971.

Ditcham left in July 1971, and it was not until September that year that the drummer's seat was filled again, this time by Chris Cutler. Responding to one of Cutler's adverts in ''[[Melody Maker]]'', the band invited him to a rehearsal,<ref name=dtc/> and it was only when Cutler joined that Henry Cow settled into a permanent core of Frith, Hodgkinson, Cutler and Greaves. The band then relocated to London, where they began an aggressive rehearsal schedule.

After having entered [[John Peel|John Peel's]] "Rockortunity Knocks" contest in 1971, Henry Cow recorded a John Peel session for [[BBC Radio 1]] in February 1972. They later went on to record another session in October that year and a further three sessions between 1973 and 1975.

In April 1972, Henry Cow wrote and performed the music for Robert Walker's production of [[Euripides]]' ''[[The Bacchae]]''. This involved an intense and demanding three-week period of concentrated work that changed the band completely. It was during this time that [[Geoff Leigh]] on [[woodwind]]s joined and Henry Cow became a [[quintet]].

In July 1972, the band performed at the [[Edinburgh International Festival|Edinburgh Festival]], and wrote and performed music for a ballet with artist [[Ray Smith (artist)|Ray Smith]] and the Cambridge Contemporary Dance Group at the [[Edinburgh Festival Fringe]]. Smith appeared with Henry Cow at several of their early 1970s performances,<ref name=HC-chronology/> to "add a dimension to the whole experience".{{sfn|Romano|2014|loc="Chapter 17 &#124; Shock to the System &#124; Henry Cow and Rock in Opposition"}} Smith's acts included "set[ting] up an ironing board stage left and spen[ding] the whole evening ... quietly ironing" at the [[Rainbow Theatre]], "read[ing] out short passages of discontinuous text between each piece of music" at the [[Hammersmith Palais]], and miming with a [[glove puppet]] at the [[New London Theatre]].{{sfn|Romano|2014|loc="Chapter 17 &#124; Shock to the System &#124; Henry Cow and Rock in Opposition"}} Smith later went on to do the "paint sock" art work for three of Henry Cow's LP covers.{{sfn|Romano|2014|loc="Chapter 8 &#124; Escape Artists – Designing and Creating Prog Rock's Wondrous Visuals &#124; Henry Cow: ''Legend'' (1973)"}}

Back in London, they started to organise a series of concerts and events under the names Cabaret Voltaire and Explorers' Club at the [[Old Town Hall, Kensington|Kensington Town Hall]] and the [[London School of Economics]] respectively. Invited guests included [[Derek Bailey (guitarist)|Derek Bailey]], [[Lol Coxhill]], [[Ivor Cutler]], [[Ron Geesin]], [[David Toop]], [[Lady June]] and Smith.<ref name=HC-chronology/> Improvisers Bailey and Coxhill became "enthusiastic supporters" of Henry Cow and attended many of their concerts; Frith later stated that he was "strongly affected by their critical engagement and encouragement".{{sfn|Cutler|2009a|p=15}} For the first time the band started getting some attention from the national music press.{{sfn|Piekut|2019|p=73}} Reviewing the first Cabaret Voltaire event with [[Kevin Ayers]] in October 1972 in ''[[New Musical Express]]'', [[Ian MacDonald]] described Henry Cow as "one of the most resilient and obstinate of that range of groups normally ignored by the popular music press".<ref name=MacDonald-14Oct1972>{{cite news |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |author-link=Ian MacDonald |title=Ayers / Cabaret Voltaire |newspaper=[[New Musical Express]] |date=14 October 1972}}</ref> This exposure, and a John Peel recording session in April 1973, led to the band signing with [[Virgin Records]] in May 1973.{{sfn|Piekut|2019|pp=75, 98}}

===Unrest===
Within two weeks of signing the contract, Henry Cow began recording their debut album ''[[Legend (Henry Cow album)|Legend]]'' (also known as ''Leg End'') at Virgin's [[Manor Studios]] in [[Oxfordshire]]. It took three weeks of hard work, but at the end they were able to handle the studio themselves, which would prove to be invaluable later in their career. The track "[[Nine Funerals of the Citizen King]]", sung by the whole group, was Henry Cow's first overtly political statement.<ref name= Martens>{{cite magazine |last=Martens |first=Matthew |url=https://www.furious.com/perfect/henrycow.html |title=Henry Cow |magazine=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]] |date=October 1996 |access-date=30 March 2020}}</ref>

To promote its new signing, Virgin organised a UK tour for Henry Cow and [[Faust (band)|Faust]], who had also just signed to the label. During this tour, Henry Cow began preparing music for an unorthodox and provocative play, based on [[Shakespeare]]'s ''[[The Tempest]]''. Some of this music was used on their next record ''[[Unrest (Henry Cow album)|Unrest]]''. In November 1973, members of the band participated in a live-in-the-studio performance of [[Mike Oldfield]]'s ''[[Tubular Bells]]'' for the BBC,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://mog.com/Willard/blog/1252954|title=Mike Oldfield (with Mick Taylor, Steve Hillage and members of Henry Cow, Gong and Soft Machine) – Tubular Bells (Live BBC Video 1973)|work=MOG|access-date=23 May 2009 |url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090823095539/http://mog.com/Willard/blog/1252954|archive-date=23 August 2009}}</ref> which was later released on the 2004 DVD edition of Oldfield's video compilation, ''[[Elements – The Best of Mike Oldfield (video)|Elements]]''.

During a tour of the Netherlands in December 1973, [[Geoff Leigh]] left the group.<ref name=dtc/> Looking for more unusual instruments to draw them further away from rock and jazz,<ref name=CC-HC/> Henry Cow asked [[European classical music|classically]] trained [[Lindsay Cooper]] ([[oboe]], [[bassoon]]) to join. In early 1974 the group  
began recording ''Unrest'' at The Manor. Having only enough prepared material to fill one side of the LP, they developed a studio composition process that produced the second side.<ref name=CC-HC/>

[[Image:HenryCow+Wyatt.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Henry Cow with Robert Wyatt performing at the Piazza Navona, 1975. Left to right: Lindsay Cooper, Robert Wyatt, Dagmar Krause, Chris Cutler]]

In May 1974, Henry Cow were on tour again around England and Europe with [[Captain Beefheart]]. It was during this tour that they realised they were becoming a conventional rock band, playing the same material night after night. Their music was no longer a challenge and they were becoming complacent. After some serious deliberating, they asked Cooper to leave and fulfilled their last outstanding concert obligations (a tour of the Netherlands) as a [[quartet]]. Without Cooper they were forced to abandon much of their learned material and worked on a 35–40 minute piece Hodgkinson had written that later became the politically charged "[[Living in the Heart of the Beast]]" on their third album, ''[[In Praise of Learning]]''.<ref name= Martens/>

In November 1974, [[avant-pop]] group [[Slapp Happy]] ([[Anthony Moore]], [[Peter Blegvad]], [[Dagmar Krause]]) invited Henry Cow to record with them on their second album for Virgin. The result was ''[[Desperate Straights]]'', an almost entirely Slapp Happy–composed album that surprised critics, considering how dissimilar the two groups were.<ref name=Mills>{{cite web|last=Mills|first=Ted|title=Desperate Straights|url={{Allmusic|class=album|id=desperate-straights-mw0000482388|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref> The success of this venture prompted a merger of the two bands, and in early 1975 they recorded ''In Praise of Learning'' at The Manor. The merger ended in April 1975 when Moore and Blegvad left. Krause remained with Henry Cow, which effectively spelled the end of Slapp Happy.<ref name=Ankeny>{{cite web|last=Ankeny|first=Jason|title=Slapp Happy|url={{Allmusic|class=artist|id=slapp-happy-mn0000749462/biography|pure_url=yes}}|website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref>{{sfn|Piekut|2019|p=196}}

Having made guest appearances on both the Henry Cow/Slapp Happy albums, Cooper rejoined in April 1975 and Henry Cow became a [[sextet]]. In May 1975 they embarked on a concert tour with [[Robert Wyatt]] in England, France and Italy to launch ''In Praise of Learning'' and Wyatt's new album, ''[[Ruth Is Stranger Than Richard]]''.{{sfn|Piekut|2019|p=212}}<ref name=HC-chronology/> This was followed by a period of almost constant touring across Western Europe that continued until Henry Cow disbanded in 1978.<ref name= Gross>{{cite magazine |last=Gross |first=Jason |url=http://www.furious.com/perfect/cutler.html |title=Chris Cutler |magazine=[[Perfect Sound Forever (magazine)|Perfect Sound Forever]] |date=March 1997 |access-date=25 September 2020}}</ref><ref name=HC-chronology/>

===Europe===
Henry Cow's music was challenging and uncompromising and this often led to them being accused of deliberately making it unapproachable.<ref name=dtc/> In a review of ''Unrest'' in ''New Musical Express'' on 15 June 1974, Neil Spencer called the band "determinedly inaccessible".{{sfn|Piekut|2019|p=141}}{{efn|Cutler responded to Spencer's claim by writing a letter to the editor of ''New Musical Express'' (published 29 June 1974) in which he said Spencer was "imputing to us a complicity in precisely that attitude of irresponsible cynicism that we exist to destroy", and that he was projecting his own cynicism onto them, which "help[s] to actually create that very antisocial effect you are pretending to criticise in us."{{sfn|Piekut|2019|p=141}}}} As a result, Henry Cow were virtually ignored in their own country. Virgin Records too, having started dropping experimental groups in favour of commercial ones, now showed little to no interest in the band. The group continuously considered whether to continue or not; there certainly were no economic inducements. Cutler said, "We had to make what amounted to political decisions about the organization of the group and its relation to the commercial structures, and this was bound to be reflected in the music too."<ref name=Macan-p1973/> Henry Cow's [[anti-capitalist]] stance<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/concerts-henry-cow-rer-megacorp-review-by-brad-glanden.php |title=Henry Cow: Concerts |work=[[All About Jazz]] |first=Brad |last=Glanden |date=18 November 2006 |access-date=7 January 2018}}</ref> was brought on partly out of necessity rather than choice. They began working outside the [[music industry]] and did everything for themselves. They abandoned agencies and managers and stopped looking for approval from the music press. Henry Cow quickly became self-sufficient and self-reliant.

Virtual exiles from their own country, they made mainland Europe their second home where they (and their music) were well received. After a concert in Rome in July 1975, Henry Cow remained behind with their truck/bus/mobile home and began meeting local musicians, including [[progressive rock]] band [[Stormy Six]], and the PCI ([[Italian Communist Party]]). The PCI offered them concerts at Festa de L'Unità (large open-air fairs that run every summer all over Italy), and they joined Stormy Six's [[L'Orchestra]], a musicians' co-operative in [[Milan]]. Each contact they made led to more contacts and soon doors opened for Henry Cow all over Europe.

{| align="center" <!-- used "center" here to right justify thumb enlarge button -->
| [[File:HenryCow AlbumCover Concerts inside.jpg|thumb|650px|{{center|Henry Cow performing in Fresnes, France, 16 November 1975. <br> Left to right: Tim Hodgkinson, Lindsay Cooper, Dagmar Krause, John Greaves, Chris Cutler and Fred Frith}}]]
|}

While rehearsing for an upcoming tour of Scandinavia in March 1976, John Greaves left the band to start working on the ''[[Kew. Rhone.]]'' project with Peter Blegvad, and Dagmar Krause withdrew due to ill health. Committed to the tour, Henry Cow had to perform as a [[quartet]] (Hodgkinson, Frith, Cooper and Cutler) and adjust their music accordingly. They took the radical option and abandoned composed material completely in favour of pure [[Free improvisation|improvisation]].

In May 1976, Henry Cow compiled a double LP ''[[Concerts (Henry Cow album)|Concerts]]'' for a new Norwegian underground label Compendium (re-released later on the budget Virgin sub-label [[Caroline Records|Caroline]]). For the first time, they did everything themselves: the mastering, cover design, cutting, pressing and manufacturing. The album included an excerpt from one of several concerts performed with guest artist [[Robert Wyatt]] in 1975.

Henry Cow began auditioning for a [[bassist|bass]] player and found [[Georgie Born]], a classically trained [[cellist]] and [[improviser]]. Even though she had never played bass guitar before,{{sfn|Cutler|2009b|p=34}} she joined the band in June 1976 and tuned her bass in 5ths like a cello with a lower C.{{sfn|Cutler|2009b|p=5}} In the interim, the band's compositions, including a new Hodgkinson epic with the working title of "[[Erk Gah]]", grew more complex.

Henry Cow returned to London in early 1977, where they merged with the entire [[Mike Westbrook]] Brass Band and folk singer [[Frankie Armstrong]] to form [[the Orckestra]]. They played their first concert at the Moving Left Revue at [[The Roundhouse]] in London and then at the [[Open Air Theatre]] in [[Regent's Park]]. The Orckestra later went on to tour in France, Italy and Scandinavia (extracts from some of these performances were released in 2006 on a [[CD-single]] included in the ''[[Henry Cow Box]]''). At more or less the same time they set up [[Music for Socialism]] and its May Festival. It had been three years since Henry Cow had performed more than one concert a year in their own country. In an attempt to break the apathy that seemed to be discouraging anyone from wanting to put them on, they tried to organise a small alternative tour themselves, but abandoned it after 11 concerts when they started losing money: clearly nothing had changed.

Their contract with Virgin Records had now become a burden to both Henry Cow and Virgin: none of Henry Cow's records were licensed or distributed in the countries in which they spent all their time playing, and Henry Cow were not making any money for Virgin. Henry Cow needed to record again but Virgin refused to give them studio time at [[The Manor Studio|The Manor]]. When Henry Cow referred to the contract ("one month at a first class studio"),<ref name=CC-HC>{{cite web|last=Cutler|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Cutler|url=http://www.ccutler.co.uk/henrycow.htm|title=Henry Cow|publisher=Chris Cutler|access-date=25 July 2017}}</ref> Virgin Records (in October 1977) agreed to cancel it.

By now, Krause's health had deteriorated to such an extent that touring became impossible for her and she decided to leave the group, although she agreed to sing on Henry Cow's next album. The recording of this album was to begin at Sunrise studios in [[Kirchberg, St. Gallen|Kirchberg]], Switzerland in January 1978. However, a group meeting one week before threw into question the material planned for it, the aforementioned "Erk Gah" in particular. Cutler and Frith hurriedly wrote a set of songs which, along with some of the planned material, were duly recorded. On returning to London, another meeting was convened to question the predominance of songs on the album. The group agreed that the songs would be released separately by Cutler and Frith, while the instrumentals would be released later by Henry Cow. This decision, however, spelled the end of the band. Cutler, Frith and Krause released the songs, with four extra tracks recorded at [[David Vorhaus]]'s Kaleidophon Studio in London, as ''[[Hopes and Fears (Art Bears album)|Hopes and Fears]]'' under the name [[Art Bears]], crediting the rest of Henry Cow as guests. Later that year Henry Cow returned to Sunrise, by then without Dagmar Krause and Georgie Born, to record their last album, ''[[Western Culture (album)|Western Culture]]'', an instrumental. [[Annemarie Roelofs]] had joined the band two months before the split and plays on the album as well.<ref name=HC-chronology/>

===Rock in Opposition===
{{Main article|Rock in Opposition}}
Henry Cow agreed to disband as a permanent group, but did not announce the fact immediately. They continued for another six months, creating a new set of material (recorded later to complete ''Western Culture'') and revisited for the last time all the places that had supported them over the years.

In March 1978, Henry Cow invited four European groups, [[Stormy Six]] (Italy), [[Samla Mammas Manna]] (Sweden), [[Univers Zero]] (Belgium) and [[Etron Fou Leloublan]] (France), to come to London and perform in a festival Henry Cow had organised called [[Rock in Opposition]], or RIO. Throughout Europe, Henry Cow had encountered many "[[Progressive rock|progressive]]" groups refusing to bow to the hegemony of American and British [[rock music]]. Instead they drew on non-American music sources, such as local [[folk music]] and 20th century "[[European classical music|classical]]" or "art music", and often sang in their own languages. As was the case with Henry Cow, these groups struggled to survive: record companies were not interested in their music. Although these groups and Henry Cow were musically diverse, what they had in common was: (1) their independence and opposition to the established [[Rock and roll|Rock business]]; and (2) a determination to pursue their own work regardless.

After the festival, RIO was formalised as an organisation with a [[charter]] whose aim was to represent and promote its members. RIO thus became a collective of bands united in their opposition to the [[music industry]] and the pressures to compromise their music.

Henry Cow's last concert was held in [[Milan]] on 25 July 1978. A final performance scheduled at the Annual World Youth Festival in [[Cuba]] never materialised.<ref name=pw/> In August they returned to the Sunrise studios to complete ''Western Culture'', after which the band officially announced their break-up in the press, stating that "… although the group as a commodity, as a name, ceases to exist the work of the group will go on …"<ref name=calyx-HC-bio/>

''Western Culture'' was released on Henry Cow's own Broadcast label. Shortly afterward, Chris Cutler launched [[Recommended Records]], his own independent label and non-commercial record distribution network.

===Legacy===
The legacy of Henry Cow continues. Former members have collaborated in numerous projects, including:
*[[Art Bears]]
**Fred Frith, [[Chris Cutler]] and Dagmar Krause (1978–1981)
*''Rags'' (Lindsay Cooper solo album)
**Lindsay Cooper, Fred Frith, Chris Cutler, [[Georgie Born]] and others (1979–1980)
*''[[The Last Nightingale]]'' (benefit album for the striking miners in the [[1984–1985 UK miners' strike]])
**Lindsay Cooper, Chris Cutler, [[Tim Hodgkinson]] and others (1984)
*[[News from Babel]]
**Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, [[Georgie Born]], Dagmar Krause, [[Robert Wyatt]] and others (1983–1986)
*[[Duck and Cover (German band)|Duck and Cover]] (commission from the [[Berlin Jazz Festival]])
**Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Dagmar Krause and others (1983–1984)
*''[[Each in Our Own Thoughts]]'' ([[Tim Hodgkinson]] solo album)
**[[Tim Hodgkinson]], Chris Cutler, Lindsay Cooper, Dagmar Krause and others (1993) – the track "[[Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine]]" was a Henry Cow piece performed by the group between 1976 and 1978 (as "Erk Gah") but never recorded in the studio
[[File:The Watts 2018.jpg|thumb|250px|right|The Watts on their debut UK performance, 16 June 2018. Left to right: Yumi Hara Cawkwell, Tim Hodgkinson, Chris Cutler]]
*Live improvisations
**Fred Frith and Chris Cutler (1979–2010)
**Fred Frith and [[Tim Hodgkinson]] (1988–1990)
**Chris Cutler, Fred Frith and Tim Hodgkinson (1986 and 2006)
**Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, John Greaves and Tim Hodgkinson (2022–2023, as [[Henry Now]])
**Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, Tim Hodgkinson and Annemarie Roelofs (2024, as Henry Now)
*[[The Artaud Beats]]
**Chris Cutler, [[John Greaves (musician)|John Greaves]], [[Geoff Leigh]] and others (2009–present)
*The Watts
**Chris Cutler, Tim Hodgkinson and others (2018)
*Projects around Lindsay Cooper's music
**Henry Cow and others play the music of Lindsay Cooper: Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, John Greaves, Tim Hodgkinson, Dagmar Krause, Annemarie Roelofs and others (2014)
**Half the Sky: Chris Cutler, Dagmar Krause and others (2017)
**Lindsay Cooper Songbook (a continuation of Half the Sky): Chris Cutler, Dagmar Krause, Tim Hodgkinson, John Greaves and others (2018)

A partial Henry Cow reunion occurred in 1993 when Hodgkinson, Cutler, Cooper and Krause came together to record "[[Hold to the Zero Burn, Imagine]]" for Hodgkinson's solo album, ''[[Each in Our Own Thoughts]]''. The song was formerly known as "Erk Gah" and composed by Hodgkinson for, and performed by, Henry Cow. When asked in 1998 about a possible Henry Cow reunion concert, Frith replied, "Forget it! We're all much too busy."<ref name=Warburton>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.paristransatlantic.com/magazine/interviews/frith.html |title=Fred Frith interview |magazine=Paris Transatlantic Magazine |first=Dan |last=Warburton |date=19 March 1998 |access-date=17 June 2018}}</ref> In December 2006, Cutler, Frith and Hodgkinson performed together at [[The Stone (music space)|The Stone]] in New York City, only their second concert performance since Henry Cow broke up in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thestonenyc.com/calendar.php |title=The Stone calendar |work=The Stone, New York City |access-date=23 April 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://punkcast.com/1086/ |title=Fred Frith – Tim Hodgkinson – Chris Cutler, The Stone NYC, December 16, 2006 |work=Punkcast |access-date=23 April 2007}}</ref> The first was in London in 1986. Frith and Hodgkinson also performed improvised duo concerts in 1990. Extracts of the concerts were released in 1992 as ''[[Live Improvisations]]''.

[[File:Echoes of Henry Cow cover.jpg|thumb|190px|left|''Echoes of Henry Cow'' by the Michel Edelin Quintet]]

Cooper died in September 2013;<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/sep/24/lindsay-cooper |last=Fordham |first=John |title=Lindsay Cooper obituary |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=24 September 2013| access-date=26 September 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.tinymixtapes.com/news/rip-lindsay-cooper-member-of-comus-and-henry-cow-collaborator |last=Mack |first=Shane |title=RIP: Lindsay Cooper, member of Comus and Henry Cow collaborator |publisher=[[Tiny Mix Tapes]] |date=19 September 2013| access-date=20 September 2013}}</ref> In June 2014, it was announced that there would be a Henry Cow reunion as part of two concerts celebrating her life and works. The band, including Henry Cow members Chris Cutler, Fred Frith, John Greaves, Tim Hodgkinson, Annemarie Roelofs and Dagmar Krause, performed a set of Cooper's compositions in Henry Cow, then in [[News from Babel]], Music for Films and [[Oh Moscow]]. The Henry Cow set featured Cutler, Frith, Greaves, Hodgkinson, Roelofs, [[Univers Zero|Michel Berckmans]], [[Alfred Harth]] and, on one piece, [[Veryan Weston]] and [[Zeena Parkins]]; Krause performed later in the evening, but not on the Henry Cow set. The concerts were performed at the [[Barbican Centre]], London on 21 November 2014, as part of the EFG [[London Jazz Festival]], and at the [[Lawrence Batley Theatre]], Huddersfield as part of the [[Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival]], on 22 November 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://hcmf.co.uk/page/show/348 |title=Legendary bands celebrate the life and work of Lindsay Cooper |publisher=hcmf// (Huddersfield Contemporary Music Festival) |date=18 June 2014 |access-date=20 June 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208234417/http://hcmf.co.uk/page/show/348 |archive-date=8 December 2015  }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.serious.org.uk/events/series/lindsaycooper |title=HENRY COW, MUSIC FOR FILMS, NEWS FROM BABEL and OH MOSCOW play the music of Lindsay Cooper |publisher=Serious |access-date=21 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627005246/https://serious.org.uk/events/series/lindsaycooper |archive-date=27 June 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A third remembrance concert for Cooper featuring the same line-up above was held in [[Forlì]], Italy on 23 November 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.areasismica.it/event/henry-cow-music-for-film-news-from-babel-oh-moscow/ |title=HENRY COW {{!}} MUSIC FOR FILM {{!}} NEWS FROM BABEL {{!}} OH MOSCOW |date=14 August 2014 |publisher=Area Sismica |access-date=18 September 2014}}</ref>

In a review of the Barbican concert on 21 November, Dom Lawson of ''[[The Guardian]]'' called it "a fitting salute to Cooper's life", adding "what tonight’s experience never becomes is self‑indulgent: there’s a sharpness to the intricate arrangements as very obvious waves of passion and commitment from everyone on stage flow and spread across the auditorium."<ref>{{cite web |last=Lawson |first=Dom |url=http://prog.teamrock.com/reviews/2015-01-02/henry-cow-live |title=HENRY COW LIVE |publisher=teamrock.com |date=2 January 2015 |access-date=8 January 2015}}{{registration required}}</ref>

In May 2019, the {{ill|Michel Edelin Quintet|fr|Michel Edelin}} with John Greaves released ''[[Echoes of Henry Cow]]'', an album of variations on Henry Cow compositions and other music.<ref name=Edelin>{{cite web |url=https://roguart.com/product/echoes-of-henry-cow/132 |title=Michel Edelin Quintet with special guest John Greaves: Echoes of Henry Cow |website=RogueArt |access-date=12 October 2019}}</ref> Aymeric Leroy wrote in the liner notes that it should not be seen as a Henry Cow [[tribute album]], but rather "echoes (much transformed during its long journey through time, space, memory and the mysterious twists and turns of the creative process) in [Edelin's] own musical inner world".<ref name=Edelin/>

In September 2019, American historian of experimental music and an associate professor of music at [[Cornell University]], Benjamin Piekut published ''[[Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem]]'', a detailed biography and analysis of the band from their inception in 1968 to their demise in 1978.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://as.nyu.edu/english/Events/Fall-2019/henry-cow--the-world-is-a-problem-book-release.html |title=Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem Book Release |website=[[New York University College of Arts & Science]] |access-date=24 December 2019}}</ref>
On 18 November 2022, Greaves, Frith, Hodgkinson and Cutler reunited for concerts in [[Piacenza]], Italy, under the moniker of [[Henry Now]] with Italian friend {{ill|Annie Barbazza|it}} guesting.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://scopripiacenza.it/it/eventi/piacenza-la-citta-musica-henry-now-in-concert |title=Henry Now in Piacenza |language=it |date=21 November 2022}}</ref> The same line-up played two gigs in the [[Czech Republic]] in November 2023.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.jazzinec.cz/enry-Now-%E2%80%93-Fred-Frith-Chros-Cutler-Tim-Hodgkinson-John-Greaves.html|title=Henry Now – Fred Frith, Chros Cutler, Tim Hodgkinson, John Greaves &#124; jazzinec.cz|website=www.jazzinec.cz}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.palacakropolis.cz/work/33298?event_id=36335&no=62&page_id=33824|title=ÚTERÝ 07. 11 HENRY NOW /UK / 19:30, VELKÝ SÁL|first=ArtFrame Palác Akropolis s r|last=o|website=Palác Akropolis}}</ref> In January 2024 Henry Now performed in [[Barcelona]] with a line-up of Cutler, Frith, Hodgkinson and Annemarie Roelofs.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.auditori.cat/en/event-2/sessions-henry-now/|title=Henry Now – L'Auditori|website=www.auditori.cat}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.instagram.com/indieloversm/p/C2RxhaQt5Um/ | title=Instagram }}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=January 2024}}. On 18 November 2025, a Henry Now album, ''Then Again'' was released on Italian avantgarde label Dark Companion in a limited audiophile edition consisting of Frith's mix from the band's first two Italian concerts in November 2022.<ref name="DarkCompanion">{{cite web |url=https://darkcompanion.com/dc030-then-again-henry-now/ |title=Then Again - Henry Now |website=Dark Companion |access-date=8 December 2025}}</ref>

==Music==
Henry Cow's music included elaborately scored pieces (often with complex [[time signature]]s), [[Reel-to-reel audio tape recording|tape loops and manipulations]], "flat-out [[free improvisation]]" and [[song]]s.<ref name=AllAboutJazz>{{cite web |url=https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-40th-anniversary-henry-cow-box-set-by-john-kelman.php |title=Henry Cow: The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set |work=[[All About Jazz]] |first=John |last=Kelman |date=12 January 2009 |access-date=7 January 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730211951/https://www.allaboutjazz.com/henry-cow-the-40th-anniversary-henry-cow-box-set-by-john-kelman.php |archive-date=30 July 2017 |url-status=dead}}</ref> It incorporated elements of [[jazz]], [[Rock music|rock]], [[contemporary classical music]] and the [[avant-garde]]. Dagmar Krause's vocals added another dimension to their sound, giving it a dramatic, almost [[Brecht]]ian flair. Music journalists at the time often underestimated the formal compositional element of their music,<ref name=pw/> while others simply dismissed it as being "inaccessible".<ref name=dtc/>

John Kelman wrote at ''[[All About Jazz]]'' that "Henry Cow represented a new kind of classical chamber music; one where spontaneity was a partial component, and the instrumentation used created textures that defied those looking for tradition and convention."<ref name=AllAboutJazz/> Edward Macan in his 1997 book ''Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture'' described Henry Cow's music as "highly eclectic" and said that their pieces often included "furious [[atonal]] instrumental passages with no discernable melodic contour or key center, impossibly complex shifting meters alternating with freely [[ametric]] sections with no definable beat or regular recurring rhythms, and jagged, ''[[sprechstimme]]''-like vocal lines that blur the line between song and speech."<ref name=Macan-p1973>{{cite book | last=Macan | first=Edward | year=1997 | title=Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture  | url=https://archive.org/details/rockingclassicse0000maca | url-access=registration | publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=0-19-509888-9 | page= 1973}}</ref>

Trond Einar Garmo described Henry Cow's music as [[Avant-garde music|avant-garde rock]].{{sfn|Garmo|2020|p=3}} Writing in his book, ''Henry Cow: An Analysis of Avant Garde Rock'' (2020), Garmo stated:
<blockquote>I have chosen to use the term 'avant-garde rock' for Henry Cow's music. The word 'avant-garde' is usually associated with art that is 'difficult', 'incomprehensible', and to some extent 'meaningless'. The actual meaning of the word, however, is 'vanguard'. Avant-garde artists are, therefore, artists who find new directions and expand the boundaries of the art form in which they operate. And it is in this sense that I have used the word. Avant-garde rock represents the most experimental and radical trends within rock.{{sfn|Garmo|2020|p=3}}</blockquote>

Henry Cow's music was challenging, not only to the listener, but also to the band themselves. They often composed pieces to challenge their own capabilities. Some of their music was scored beyond the conventional ranges of their instruments, necessitating that they "reinvent their instruments" and learn how to play them in completely new ways.<ref name=pw/><ref name=MM/> Frith explained in a 1973 interview, "What we've done is to literally teach ourselves to ... compos[e] music which we could not initially, play. Because of that attitude, we can go on forever. It's a self-generative concept which gives us a sense of purpose most groups simply don't have."<ref name=MacDonald-7Apr1973>{{Cite news |url=https://www.rocksbackpages.com/Library/Article/henry-cow-just-happy-playing-their-music |title=Henry Cow: Just Happy Playing Their Music |last=MacDonald |first=Ian |author-link=Ian MacDonald |date=7 April 1973 |newspaper=[[New Musical Express]] |access-date=18 June 2018 |url-access=subscription |via=[[Rock's Backpages]]}}</ref> And yet their music may not have been as good as it could have been. Henry Cow conducted their affairs as a [[collective]] and all decisions, including those related to their music, had to be approved by the group. Cutler said at a conference on "Composition and Experimentation in British Rock 1967–1976" in Italy in 2005 that Henry Cow had a rule that "the composer no longer owned the composition once the band had started to work on it."<ref name=Cutler-2005>{{cite web |last=Cutler |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Cutler |url=http://www-3.unipv.it/britishrock1966-1976/testien/cut1en.htm |title=Conference on Composition and Experimentation in British Rock 1967–1976, Palazzo Cittanova, Italy |website=Department of Musicology and Cultural Heritage, [[University of Pavia]] |date=21 October 2005 |access-date=22 March 2020}}</ref> In a 1998 interview Frith said that this may have led to much of Henry Cow's material being "watered down" rather than strengthened.<ref name=Warburton/> He felt that "this ... was a big mistake, and a lot of our best ideas may not have been fully realised as a result of it."<ref name=Warburton/> Cutler wrote that when Art Bears was formed in 1978, he and Frith decided there would be "no discussions; if someone had an idea, they put it to tape. Then we'd listen and it would be immediately clear if it worked, didn't work or could work if pursued."<ref name=CC-AB>{{cite web|last=Cutler|first=Chris|author-link=Chris Cutler|url=http://www.ccutler.co.uk/rioartbearsff.htm#artbears|title=Art Bears|publisher=Chris Cutler|access-date=17 June 2018}}</ref>

Henry Cow were largely a live band, yet of the original six albums they made, only one, ''[[Concerts (Henry Cow album)|Concerts]]'' gave a glimpse of their live performances. In January 2009 [[Recommended Records]] released ''[[The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set]]'', a nine-CD plus one-DVD collection of over 10 hours of previously unreleased and mostly live recordings made between 1972 and 1978, over four hours of which was improvised. This offered, "for the first time," according to Kelman, "a comprehensive account of Henry Cow's breadth and depth."<ref name=AllAboutJazz/>

==Members==
Source: ''The Canterbury Website Henry Cow Chronology''.<ref name=HC-chronology/>
{| class="wikitable" width="100%" border="1"
! width="75" |Image
! width="160" |Name
! width="160" |Years active
! width="160" |Instruments
!Release contributions
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=Fred_Frith_05n3798.jpg|bSize=175|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=20|oLeft=50}}
|[[Fred Frith]] 
| rowspan="2" |1968–1978
|{{Hlist|guitar|violin|bass guitar|piano|xylophone}}
| rowspan="2" |[[Henry Cow discography|all releases]]
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=TimHodgkinson_Oct2009_(crop).jpg|bSize=155|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=40|oLeft=35}}
|[[Tim Hodgkinson]]
|{{Hlist|organ|alto saxophone|clarinet|piano|Hawaiian guitar}}
|-
|
|[[David Attwooll]]
|1968 {{Small|(died 2016)}}
|drums 
| rowspan="5" |none<small>{{efn|name=fn1|Did not appear on any officially released Henry Cow recordings.}}</small>
|-
|
|Rob Brooks 
| rowspan="3" |1968
|rhythm guitar 
|-
|
|Joss Grahame
|bass guitar 
|-
|
|Andy Spooner 
|harmonica
|-
|
|[[Andrew Powell|Andy Powell]]
|1968–1969
|{{Hlist|bass guitar|drums}}
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=John Greaves (musician).jpg|bSize=215|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=32|oLeft=65}}
|[[John Greaves (musician)|John Greaves]] 
|1969–1976
|{{Hlist|bass guitar|piano|voice}}
|{{flatlist|
* all releases from ''[[Legend (Henry Cow album)|Legend]]'' (1973) to ''[[Concerts (Henry Cow album)|Concerts]]'' (1976)
* ''[[The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box]]'' (1991)
* ''[[Henry Cow Box]]'' (2006)
* ''[[Stockholm & Göteborg]]'' (2008)
* ''[[The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set]]'' (2009)
* ''[[The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow]]'' (2019)}}
|-
|
|Sean Jenkins
|1969–1971
| rowspan="2" |drums 
|none{{efn|name=fn1}}{{efn|name=Ex-Box}}
|-
|
|[[Martin Ditcham]]
|1971
|''The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019){{efn|name=Ex-Box|According to ''[[The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow]]'' liner notes, Martin Ditcham plays on one track on ''Ex Box – Collected Fragments 1971–1978'',<ref name="Ex-Box-liner-notes">{{Cite AV media notes |title=Ex Box – Collected Fragments 1971–1978 |others=Henry Cow |year=2019 |first=Chris |last=Cutler |author-link=Chris Cutler |type=CD liner notes |publisher=[[Recommended Records]] |location=London}}</ref> but several sources have stated that this is incorrect, and that it was Henry Cow's previous drummer, Sean Jenkins.{{sfn|Piekut|2019|p=49}}<ref name=dtc/><ref name=HC-chronology/>}}
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=ChrisCutler_April2007.jpg|bSize=300|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=110|oLeft=110}}
|[[Chris Cutler]] 
|1971–1978
|{{Hlist|drums|percussion|piano}}
|all releases
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=GeoffLeigh_July2008.jpg|bSize=270|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=25|oLeft=145}}
|[[Geoff Leigh]] 
|1972–1973 {{Small|(session afterward)}}
|{{Hlist|saxophones|flute|clarinet}}
|{{flatlist|
* ''Legend'' (1973)
* ''[[Desperate Straights]]'' (1975)
* ''Concerts'' (1976) {{Small|2006 bonus tracks}}
* ''The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box'' (1991)
* ''Henry Cow Box'' (2006)
* ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (2009)
* ''The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019)}}
|-
|
|[[Lindsay Cooper]] 
|1974–1978 {{Small|(died 2013)}}
|{{Hlist|bassoon|oboe|recorder|piano}}
|{{flatlist|
* all releases from ''[[Unrest (Henry Cow album)|Unrest]]'' (1974) onward
* ''Legend'' (1973) {{Small|1991 remaster only}}}}
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=PeterBlegvad_April2007.jpg|bSize=125|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=20|oLeft=25}}
|[[Peter Blegvad]]
| rowspan="2" |1974–1975{{efn|name=fn2|Blegvad, Moore and Krause were members of Slapp Happy. From November 1974 to April 1975 Slapp Happy and Henry Cow were merged as one group. When the two groups separated, Krause decided to continue with Henry Cow.}}
|{{Hlist|guitar|voice|clarinet}}
| rowspan="2" |{{flatlist|
* ''Desperate Straights'' (1975)
* ''[[In Praise of Learning]]'' (1975)
* ''The Virgin Years – Souvenir Box'' (1991)
* ''Henry Cow Box'' (2006)
* ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (2009)
* ''The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019)}}
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=PeterBlegvad AnthonyMoore February2017 (crop).jpg|bSize=165|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=65|oLeft=20}}
|[[Anthony Moore]]
|{{Hlist|piano|electronics}}
|-
|{{CSS image crop|Image=DagmarKrause_February2017_(crop_&_flip).jpg|bSize=300|cWidth=75|cHeight=75|oTop=35|oLeft=115}}
|[[Dagmar Krause]] 
|1974–1977{{efn|name=fn2}}
|{{Hlist|vocals|piano}}
|{{flatlist|
* all releases from ''Desperate Straights'' (1975) onward}}
|-
|
|[[Georgie Born]]
|1976–1978
|{{Hlist|cello|bass guitar}}
|{{flatlist|
* ''[[Western Culture (album)|Western Culture]]'' (1979)
* ''Henry Cow Box'' (2006)
* ''Stockholm & Göteborg'' (2008)
* ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (2009)
* ''The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019)}}
|-
|
|[[Annemarie Roelofs]] 
|1978
|{{Hlist|trombone|violin}}
|{{flatlist|
* ''Western Culture'' (1979)
* ''Henry Cow Box'' (2006)
* ''The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set'' (2009)
* ''The Henry Cow Box Redux: The Complete Henry Cow'' (2019)}}
|}

===Timeline===
Notes: before Sean Jenkins joined, the band auditioned several other drummers. According to Fred Frith, between 1969 and 1971, the band played more as a trio than with a drummer.<ref name=HC-chronology/> From November 1974 to April 1975, Henry Cow merged with [[Slapp Happy]] to form one group. The band's final studio album, ''[[Western Culture (album)|Western Culture]]'', was released in 1979 after the group had split up.
{{#tag:timeline|
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  id:drums     value:orange      legend:Drums
  id:harm   value:skyblue legend:Harmonica
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  id:hawaiianguitar value:teal legend:Hawaiian_guitar
  id:slapphappy value:yellow   legend:Merged_with_Slapp_Happy
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  bar:Ditcham    text:Martin Ditcham
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  bar:Frith      from:15/05/1968 till:end color:piano
  bar:Hodgkinson from:15/05/1968 till:15/08/1978 color:piano
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  width:7
  bar:Hodgkinson from:15/05/1968 till:15/08/1978 color:wind
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  at:15/04/1975 color:yellow layer:back

  at:31/08/1973 color:lines1 layer:back width:2
  at:27/05/1974 color:lines1 layer:back
  at:21/02/1975 color:lines1 layer:back
  at:09/05/1975 color:lines1 layer:back
  at:01/06/1976 color:lines2 layer:back


}}

==Discography==
{{Main article|Henry Cow discography}}
===Studio albums===
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! style="width:30px" | Year
! style="width:160px" | Title
! style="width:45px" | Format
! style="width:110px" | Label
! style="width:110px" | Released
! Notes
|-style=
| 1973
| ''[[Legend (Henry Cow album)|Legend]]''{{efn|name=fn3|''[[Legend (Henry Cow album)|Legend]]'' is also known as ''The Henry Cow Legend'' and ''Leg End''.}}
| LP
| [[Virgin Records|Virgin]] (UK)
| September 1973
|
|-style=
| 1974
| ''[[Unrest (Henry Cow album)|Unrest]]''
| LP
| Virgin (UK)
| May 1974
|
|-style=
| rowspan="2"|1975
| ''[[Desperate Straights]]''
| LP
| Virgin (UK)
| March 1975
| Collaborative album with [[Slapp Happy]].
|-style=
| ''[[In Praise of Learning]]''
| LP
| Virgin (UK)
| May 1975
| Collaborative album with Slapp Happy.
|-style=
| 1979
| ''[[Western Culture (album)|Western Culture]]''
| LP
| Broadcast (UK)
| September 1979
|
|}

==See also==
*[[Romantic Warriors II: A Progressive Music Saga About Rock in Opposition]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Works cited==
*{{cite AV media notes |last=Cutler |first=Chris |author-link=Chris Cutler |title=[[Concerts (Henry Cow album)|Concerts]] |others=Henry Cow |year=2006 |publisher=[[Recommended Records]] |type=CD booklet |location=London}}
*{{cite AV media notes| title=[[The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set]] |others=Henry Cow |year=2009a |chapter=The Road: Volumes 1–5 |editor-first=Chris |editor-last=Cutler|type=box set booklet |publisher=Recommended Records |location=London}}
*{{cite AV media notes| title=The 40th Anniversary Henry Cow Box Set |others=Henry Cow |year=2009b |chapter=The Road: Volumes 6–10 |editor-first=Chris |editor-last=Cutler |type=box set booklet |publisher=Recommended Records |location=London}}
*{{cite book |last=Garmo |first=Trond Einar |title=Henry Cow: An Analysis of Avant Garde Rock |publisher=ReR Megacorp / November Books |location=London |year=2020 |isbn=978-0-95601-84-4-1}}
*{{cite book |last=Piekut |first=Benjamin |title=Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem |title-link=Henry Cow: The World Is a Problem |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |year=2019 |isbn=978-1-47800-405-9}}
*{{cite book |last=Romano |first=Will |title=Prog Rock FAQ: All That's Left To Know About Rock's Most Progressive Music |year=2014 |edition=e-book |publisher=[[Hal Leonard Corporation|Backbeat Books]] |location=[[Milwaukee]], [[Wisconsin]] |isbn=978-1-61713-587-3}}

== Further reading ==
*{{cite book |last1=Cutler |first1=Chris |last2=Hodgkinson |first2=Tim |author-link1=Chris Cutler |author-link2=Tim Hodgkinson |title=The Henry Cow Book |publisher=Third Step Printworks |location=London |year=1981 |isbn=0-9508870-0-5}}
*{{cite book |last=Cutler |first=Chris |title=File Under Popular: Theoretical and Critical Writings on Music |title-link=File Under Popular |publisher=[[Recommended Records|November Books]] |location=London |year=1985 |isbn=0-946423-01-6}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20050305114844/http://www.scms.rgu.ac.uk/staff/dc/hcow/cow.html Unofficial Henry Cow Site] at the ''[[Internet Archive#Wayback Machine|Internet Archive Wayback Machine]]''.
*[http://www.furious.com/perfect/henrycow.html Perfect Sound Forever]. ''Henry Cow biography''.
*[https://www.calyx-canterbury.fr/lyrics/henrycow/01.html Calyx: The Canterbury Website]. ''Henry Cow lyrics''.
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20070318153856/http://www.macgraphic.co.jp/ich/henry_cow/index.html Collapso–Canterbury Music Family Tree]. ''Henry Cow family tree''.
*[http://www.furious.com/perfect/cutler.html Perfect Sound Forever]. ''Interview with Chris Cutler (March 1997)''.
*[https://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/h/henrycow/ BBC Radio 1]. ''Henry Cow John Peel sessions''.
*[https://archive.org/details/sim_boston-phoenix_1980-06-03_9_supplement/page/n7/mode/1up "Henry Cow: The greatest band you never heard of"]. ''[[The Boston Phoenix]]'' (3 June 1980).

{{Henry Cow}}
{{Slapp Happy}}
{{Fred Frith}}
{{Chris Cutler}}
{{Tim Hodgkinson}}

{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Henry Cow}}
[[Category:Henry Cow| ]]
[[Category:English experimental rock groups]]
[[Category:Avant-garde music groups]]
[[Category:Musical groups established in 1968]]
[[Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1978]]
[[Category:1968 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Musical groups from Cambridge]]
[[Category:Canterbury scene]]
[[Category:Rock in Opposition]]
[[Category:British rock music supergroups]]
[[Category:English free improvisation ensembles]]
[[Category:English jazz fusion ensembles]]
[[Category:British political music groups]]
[[Category:Virgin Records artists]]
[[Category:Fred Frith]]
[[Category:Chris Cutler]]