Paul Hawkins (musician)

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Paul Hawkins is a British, London-based author and singer-songwriter, who grew up near Bristol and has been a key figure in London's antifolk scene. He regularly records in collaboration with Death in Vegas and Dot Allison guitarist Ian Button (also formerly of the Thrashing Doves) and a six-piece band under the name of Paul Hawkins & The Awkward Silences. Hawkins has also worked with the artist Alex Templeton-Ward, utilising his bass and synth work both live and on record.

His debut album The Misdiagnosis of Paul Hawkins was released on AFUK Records in 2006 (and was reissued as a digital download by free net label Fleeing from Pigeons in April 2009^[1]). He first received UK national airplay on Radio 1 with his songs "I'll Be Getting a Divorce for Christmas" and his singles and tracks from the 2008 Jezus Factory Records album We Are Not Other People have also received Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music airplay. In October 2008 the band's first Radio 1 session was broadcast. The band have appeared on compilations for Cherryade Records, Jezus Factory Records, Audio Antihero and AFUK Records.

They kicked off 2012 with Resonance FM's first live session of the year, debuting three new songs.^[2]

In 2013, Hawkins' first book, Bad Santas and Other Creepy Christmas Characters, was published by Simon & Schuster UK.^[3] The Awkward Silences released an eponymous album in 2020. A new album, featuring new members Anthony Keen (formerly of Puncture Puncture (band) on bass, and David Woolf on guitar, is on the way in 2024.