HQ is the eighth studio album by English folk/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist Roy Harper. It was first released in 1975 by Harvest Records. In the United States the album was released under the title When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease, which is also the name of the LP's most popularly known track.
Harper considered HQ to be "...probably the best record that I have made to date" and "...a great album made at one of the best times of my life" Originally the album was to be called Blood From a Stone, but it was changed to avoid unwanted comparisons with Bob Dylan's Blood on the Tracks.
"The Game" features David Gilmour and John Paul Jones, playing lead guitar and bass respectively.
The "scribble lark" referred to in "Forget Me Not" is an old country name for the yellowhammer.
"When an Old Cricketer Leaves the Crease", one of Harper's best-known songs, features the Grimethorpe Colliery Band, arranged by David Bedford. The song is about cricket and references contemporary players Geoffrey Boycott and John Snow, to whom it is dedicated.
The album's artwork was created by Hipgnosis. Of the artwork Harper stated:
In 1975, HQ was awarded Record of the Year in Portugal, and received a similar award in Finland.
The album was remastered 2016 by Harper and John Fitzgerald, at Lettercolm Studio in Timoleague, West Cork, Ireland. In 2017, the remastered version was re-issued on 180gm Vinyl, packaged in deluxe, gatefold sleeve with original cover design. There was also an additional printed heavy inner sleeve "including lyrics, comprehensive notes and images."
In 2012 the album was digitally remixed and re-released in a 24-page case bound booklet with new pictures, prose, poetry and a new sleeve design.
All tracks credited to Roy Harper.