He’s best known around these parts as the explosive drummer for the classic line-up of the Lime Spiders but Richard Lawson has moved down a radically different musical path since then.
He's evolved into a multi-instrumentalist, contributing to more than 25 recordings across many genres. His latest project is a collaboration “How To Read A City, Your Place of Last Resort”, recorded by Acacia Quartet at Richard's Four Winds studio in Bermagui, New South Wales ,
Exploring themes of love, loss, and storytelling through intricate harmonies and lyrical intonation as well as unusual instrumentation, “How To Read a City” comes to WestWords Parramatta on Thursday May 29 at 6.00pm for its live premiere. Tickets are free but it’s best to reserve places here.
Richard Lawson (left) with the "The Cave Comes Alive" line-up of the Lime Spiders.
The night is a collaboration with former ABC Radio host Simon Marnie and Richard’s wife and composer, Elizabeth Walton, a Tom Collins Poetry Prize, Furphy and Woollahra Digital Literary Awards finalist, who writes for The Guardian, Artshub and literary magazines in Australia and overseas.
What’s billed as “an immersive literary and listening experience” will present Elizabeth's poetry cycle and Richard's classical suite.
Lawson is a triple Aria nominated multi-instrumentalist who was with the Lime Spiders when they supported Blondie, Iggy Pop and Ramones on international stages, but did you know he was a regular on Countdown and the first drummer to perform on ABC’s RAGE?
As an inner-city band promoter/manager for The Scientists and an early version of The Cruel Sea, he left management behind when the Lime Spiders were signed to Virgin Records in 1987. Most recently, he drummed for The Grooveyard for 2025 reformation shows in Canberra and Sydney.
