Leicester University alumni Dave Cousins awarded honorary degree

Strawbs founding member and longtime frontman Dave Cousins has been awarded an Honorary Doctor of Music (DMus) degree.

Cousins is a University of Leicester alumnus, holding a degree in statistics and pure mathematics, and it was while studying at Leicester, that he also formed the University Folk Club and organised the first folk festival.

“I am delighted to be awarded this honorary degree by the University of Leicester," he says on receiving the Honorary Degree. "My student days were a formative and highly rewarding experience. Those times in Leicester widened my musical horizons and established disciplines that I have used throughout to underpin my varied careers.”

Cousins was also happy to gave his fellow graduands advice drawn from his diverse career as well: “Don't think in straight lines ahead - think laterally. You never know what might be just around the corner.”

Artists

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.