He has collaborated with Lisa Marie Presley, Shakespears Sister, Arctic Monkeys, Manic Street Preachers, Elbow, Duane Eddy and Paul Weller.

[7] Following the band's split, Hawley briefly formed the Lovebirds releasing a single record in 1992 before being recruited to be guitarist in the Longpigs in 1993.

Hawley was a member of the Longpigs until the end of the decade receiving critical attention and some, but limited, commercial success during the late 1990s Britpop era.

[6] Impressed by a home demo of songs written through the late 1990s, both Jarvis Cocker and Mackey urged Hawley to record the material.

[13] While Hawley played "90% of the stuff" he was assisted by former Longpigs drummer Andy Cook and Colin Elliot, who became his long-term producer.

Listening back now, it’s easy to spot the early signs of the grandeur that was to come, especially on standout "Sunlight" amongst these tentative 22 and a half minutes".

[6] In 2001, Late Night Final, named after the cry of vendors selling the Sheffield Star evening newspaper on the streets of the city,[16] was released to positive reviews from the press.

[6] Clash magazine called it "a remarkably assured, often truly gorgeous, collection of warmly evocative lullabies" singling out the songs "Baby, You’re My Light" and "The Nights Are Cold" as "mesmerising".

[4] Again, Hawley mined the theme of his home city, this time referencing the location where courting lovers meet.

Alex Turner of the Arctic Monkeys, whose debut album won the prize, exclaimed "Someone call 999, Richard Hawley's been robbed!

[21] He later commented that the release "altered the flow, there's a track on it called 'Troublesome Waters' which is a cover of a Howard Seratt song and it's the only time me and my dad featured together on a published recording.

[28] Hawley also featured in a BBC6 Music live broadcast with the BBC Philharmonic Orchestra, which took place at the Magna Science Park, Rotherham.

[30][31] Hawley also provided vocals for the title track of the Manic Street Preachers album, Rewind The Film, released in September 2013.

[36] A cover version of Bob Dylan's "Ballad of a Thin Man" was released as a download alongside three other singles in promotion of this album.

[40] Hawley's tenth studio album In This City They Call You Love was released in May 2024, and was preceded by three promotional singles: "Two for His Heels", "Heavy Rain", and "Prism in Jeans".

[41][42][43] Hawley has also worked with several musicians, including Hank Marvin, A Girl Called Eddy, and Jarvis Cocker (and his Relaxed Muscle project).

and Seven Miles Of Love, co-wrote second album track "Hello",[44] and also played on a cover version of Little Walter's "Come Back Baby",[45] which was released as a B-side to the single "Believe".

Hawley provided vocals for "Bad Woman", a B-side to Arctic Monkeys' single "Teddy Picker", released on 3 December 2007.

He also co-wrote and provided vocals and guitar to the song "The Fix" on Elbow's Mercury Prize-winning 2008 album The Seldom Seen Kid.

He reprised his collaboration with Elbow on 17 January 2009 for a special recording of The Seldom Seen Kid with the BBC Concert Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios, which was subsequently released as a special edition CD and DVD set titled The Seldom Seen Kid Live at Abbey Road in March 2009.

Hawley's song "Baby, You're My Light" was included on the CD soundtrack for the 2008 film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist.

[49] In October 2009, Hawley was joined on stage by Lisa Marie Presley in London for an encore; she sang vocals on a song the pair had been working on called "Weary".

Hawley's inspiration has largely been found in his local Sheffield and 1960s rockabilly, he also stating that "I've only ever wanted to make music that's soulful, that has some depth and heart in it.