In 1985, Hanson formed the band Shot, which was signed by IRS records. However nothing was ever released. He was then spotted by a member of the band
The Blessing and joined them on tours. Together they signed with MCA Records and recorded Locusts and Wild Honey.
Jimmy Miller was called in to produce three tracks on the album. Miller was hugely influential on Hanson's work as Miller had been himself a drummer. Miller taught him that being creative, is not always being in control. Unfortunately, Miller died before the album's release, in 1994. In the early 1990s, Hanson worked with Tina Hamilton at Session Connection, playing drums with Ace of Base, Natalie Imbruglia, Hall and Oates and the P.F. Project amongst others. By the mid-1990s, he started touring with
Energy Orchard and worked on the Pain Killer album released in 1995. Hanson recorded with artist
Bap Kennedy on MCA label. In 1995, he toured with Energy Orchard replacing drummer Dave Toner, as they were the support band of The Animals' tour in Germany. From 1996 to 1998, he toured with
Tony Hadley and recorded with
Bruce Woolley and the Radio Science Orchestra. Hanson joined
The Aloof in 1997 and discovered the emerging world of dance music. As drummer for the band, he recorded the album,
Seeking Pleasure released in 1998, signed by East West Records. At that time the Radio Science Orchestra wrote, co-produced and performed the title track "Storm", performed by
Grace Jones for the 1998 film
The Avengers. From 1999, Hanson joined
Death in Vegas and recorded the album Contino Sessions, released in 1999, before touring with the band in the UK and in the US. Hanson also played the drums on the album
Scorpio Rising. Hanson that had been so far influenced by rock and roll in previous years, discovered dance and house music while touring with Death in Vegas. This experience with dance music was to influence his playing style which evolved to become a combination of rock and roll and dance music. In the late 90s, Hanson performed live on tours with hard rock and rock and roll bands
The Quireboys and
The Dogs D'Amour. In 1996, he worked with The Dogs D'Amour frontman Tyla and
Spike Gray from the Quireboys with whom he recorded the album
Flagrantly Yours, under the name Spike and Tyla's Hot Knives. In 1999, Hanson was called in to play the drums on Rick Wakeman's concept album
Return to the Centre of the Earth, a sequel to the previous
Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1974). From 1999, Hanson recorded with Death in Vegas, where he participated on the
Contino Rooms and
Scorpio Rising albums, including collaborations with
Iggy Pop and
Liam Gallagher. He also toured with the band in France, the UK and the US. In May 2000, Hanson appeared as the drummer in a fictional version of
Slade for the movie
Married 2 Malcom starring
Mark Addy,
Josie Lawrence and
Hywel Bennett. Between 2000 and 2006, Hanson lent his talent as a drummer to various bands amongst which included
The Men They Couldn't Hang,
Baxter Dury,
Joy Zipper,
The Boy Least Likely To and
Secret Affair. He also recorded and toured around the UK and the US with Squeeze frontman and friend,
Glenn Tilbrook. He worked on Tilbrook's albums
The Incomplete Glenn Tilbrook,
Transatlantic Ping Pong and
Pandemonium Ensues that was released in 2009. In 2007, after half a decade of solo work
Chris Difford and Tilbrook that they would re-form
Squeeze and Hanson was to become a full-time member and the drummer of the band. Together they recorded Squeeze's first album in 12 years,
Spot the Difference, consisting entirely of new recordings of older Squeeze songs. Since 2010, Tilbrook and Hanson have been touring together. In 2010, while on a tour in Colchester, Tilbrook asked Hanson to sing a Kevin and Dave, a song that they had co-written together. Whilst on the road Hanson decided to write his own songs, often writing and recording on the back of the tour bus, using an
iPad that which given to him. His first solo album Songs from the Silver Box was released spring 2013. One of the track's titles is "A9 South Road" and was written between Aberdeen and Glasgow. In October 2015, Strata Books published an article written by Hanson recalling the making of his debut slbum. "A9(south)" received minor radio play on
BBC Radio 6 Music. Since 2001, Hanson has been working with the
Teenage Cancer Trust in association with
Yamaha. He teaches young people with cancer to play drums and write songs. In 2011 Squeeze played at the
Royal Albert Hall for the Teenage Cancer Trust. In this instance Hanson's drums kit and two guitars were painted by
Damien Hirst and auctioned by Christies, the money raised by the sales was given to the Teenage Cancer Trust. In October 2015,
Squeeze released their first studio album of new material for 17 years
Cradle to the Grave, on which Hanson played drums on every track. The album accompanied the
BBC TV series
Cradle to Grave, which was an adaptation of
Danny Baker's biography,
Going to Sea in a Sieve.
Cradle to the Grave peaked at number 8 in the
UK Album Chart in October 2015. On 10 January 2016, Hanson performed with Squeeze live on BBC television's
Andrew Marr Show in the presence on then Prime Minister David Cameron when Glenn Tilbrook sang a revised third verse to their song "Cradle to the Grave", changing the lyrics to; "There are some here who are hell bent on the destruction of the welfare state". On 25 June 2016, Squeeze played a set on the Pyramid Stage at the
Glastonbury Festival. In 2018, Hanson worked with
Hybrid as a member of 'Hybrid Live'. Hybrid played three gigs in the UK that year in London, Sheffield, and Bristol. In 2019, Hybrid released a short film to accompany their single, "Hold Your Breath". Hanson can be seen in the video as a "staggering man" at a house party. ==Discography==