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Lindsay Cooper

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Lindsay Cooper was an English bassoonist, oboist and composer, born in Hornsey, north London, in 1951. She began piano lessons at the age of eleven and switched to bassoon a few years later. From 1965 to 1968 she studied at Dartington College of Arts and the Royal College of Music and played in the National Youth Orchestra. When she returned to England in 1971 she left classical music and ended up in the Canterbury scene. She joined the progressive rock band Comus. There she added oboe and flute to her instruments and began doing session work for other musicians.

Music and breakthrough

In late 1973 Henry Cow asked her to replace Geoff Leigh, because her classical background offered the group new directions. She played on the second album, Unrest, straight away. From 1977 she was one of the group's most important composers and wrote half of the final album, Western Culture, from 1978. Later she was a member of National Health, News from Babel and David Thomas and the Pedestrians, and she co-founded the Feminist Improvising Group. Records under her own name include Rags in 1980 and Music For Other Occasions in 1986. She also worked with Chris Cutler and the film-maker Sally Potter.

Influence

In the late 1970s Cooper was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. She made this public only in the late 1990s, when the illness made live performance impossible for her. She died in 2013. Cooper brought bassoon and oboe into experimental rock, a place where that rarely happened.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to a track from Rags and notice the bassoon and the oboe among the other instruments. Try to hear how those woodwinds make the sound darker and tighter.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

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Categories: Artists