Hawkwind Wiki Information
Hawkwind
are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes.
Formed in 1969 by singer/songwriter/guitarist Dave Brock, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and styles of music. Critic Jim Green [1] describes their trademark sound as characterised by "that gargantuan and impenetrable pre-metal/hardcore drone, those great riffs, that inexorable drive to destinations unknown". Dozens of musicians have worked with the group; notable fantasy and science fiction writer Michael Moorcock was an occasional collaborator.
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HAWKWIND TICKETS
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History
1969: Formation
Dave Brock and
Mick Slattery had been in the
London-based
psychedelic band Famous Cure, and a meeting with bassist John Harrison revealed a mutual interest in
electronic music that kicked off this new venture. Seventeen year old drummer
Terry Ollis replied to an advert in one of the music weeklies, while
Nik Turner and
Michael 'Dik Mik' Davies, old acquaintances of Brock, offered help with transport and gear, but were soon pulled into the band.
Gatecrashing a local talent night at the
All Saints Hall,
Notting Hill, they were so untogether as to not even have a name, plumping for "Group X" at the last minute, nor any songs, choosing to play an extended 20-minute jam on
The Byrds "
Eight Miles High".
[2] BBC Radio 1 DJ
John Peel was in the audience and was impressed enough to tell event organiser, Douglas Smith, to keep an eye on them. Smith signed them up and got them a deal with
Liberty Records on the back of a deal he was setting up for
Cochise.
[3]
The band settled on the name Hawkwind after briefly being billed as
Hawkwind Zoo
, Hawkwind being the nickname of Turner derived from his unappealing habit of clearing his throat (hawking) and excessive flatulence (wind)
[4]. An
Abbey Road session took place recording demos of "Hurry On Sundown" and others (included on the remasters version of
Hawkwind
), after which Slattery left to be replaced by
Huw Lloyd-Langton, who had known Brock from his days working in a music shop selling guitar strings to Brock, then a
busker.
[5]
1970-75: United Artists era
Pretty Things guitarist
Dick Taylor was brought in to produce the 1970 debut album
Hawkwind
. Although it wasn't a commercial success, it did bring them to the attention of the
UK underground scene finding them playing free concerts, benefit gigs and festivals. Playing free outside the
Bath Festival, they encountered another
Ladbroke Grove based band, the
Pink Fairies, who shared similar interests in music and recreational activities, a friendship developed which led to the two bands becoming running partners and performing as "Pinkwind". Their use of drugs, however, led to the departure of Harrison, who didn't imbibe, followed by Lloyd-Langton after a bad
LSD trip at the
Isle of Wight Festival led to his having a
nervous breakdown.
[6]
Their follow up album, 1971's
In Search of Space
, brought greater commercial success, reaching #18 on the UK album charts, and also saw the band's image and philosophy take shape, courtesy of graphic artist
Barney Bubbles and underground press writer
Robert Calvert, as depicted in the accompanying
Hawklog
booklet which would further be developed into the
Space Ritual
stage show. Science fiction author
Michael Moorcock and dancer
Stacia also started contributing to the band. Dik Mik had left the band, replaced by sound engineer
Del Dettmar, but chose to return for this album giving the band two electronics players. Bass player
Dave Anderson, who had been in the
German band
Amon Düül II had also joined but departed before its release because of personal tensions with some other members of the band.
[7] Meanwhile, Ollis quit, unhappy with the commercial direction the band were heading in.
[8]
below =
Problems listening to this file? See media help.
The addition of bassist
Lemmy and drummer
Simon King propelled the band to greater heights. One of the first gigs this band played was a benefit for the Greasy Truckers at
The Roundhouse on 13 February 1972. A live album of the concert
Greasy Truckers Party
was released, and after re-recording the vocal, a single "
Silver Machine" was also released, reaching #3 in the UK charts. This generated sufficient funds for the subsequent album
Doremi Fasol Latido
Space Ritual tour. The show featured dancers
Stacia and
Miss Renee, mime artist
Tony Crerar and a light show by
Liquid Len and is immortalised on the elaborate package
Space Ritual
. At the height of their success in 1973, the band released the single "
Urban Guerrilla" which coincided with an
IRA bombing campaign in London, so the
BBC refused to play it and the band's management reluctantly decided to withdraw it fearing accusations of opportunism, despite the disc having already climbed to #39 in the UK chart.
[9]
Dik Mik departed during 1973 and Calvert ended his association with the band to concentrate on solo projects. Dettmar also indicated that he was to leave the band, so
Simon House was recruited as keyboardist and violinist playing live shows, a North America tour and recording the 1974 album
Hall of the Mountain Grill
. Dettmar left after a European tour, emigrating to Canada, whilst
Alan Powell deputised for an incapacitated King on that European tour, but remained giving the band two drummers.
At the beginning of 1975, the band recorded the album
Warrior on the Edge of Time
in collaboration with
Michael Moorcock loosely based on his
Eternal Champion figure. However, during a North America tour in May, Lemmy was caught in possession of
amphetamine crossing the border from the USA into Canada. The border police mistook the powder for cocaine and he was jailed, forcing the band to cancel some shows. Fed up with his erratic behaviour, the band fired the bass player
[10] replacing him with their long standing friend and former Pink Fairies guitarist
Paul Rudolph. Lemmy then teamed up with another Pink Fairies guitarist, Larry Wallis, to form
Motörhead, named after the last song he had written for Hawkwind.
1976-78: Charisma era
Robert Calvert made a guest appearance with band for their headline set at the
Reading Festival in August 1975, after which he chose to rejoin the band as a full-time vocalist and front man.
Stacia, on the other hand, chose to relinquish her dancing duties and settle down to family life. The band changed record company to
Charisma Records and band management from Douglas Smith to Tony Howard.
1976's
Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
is the first album of this era and highlights both Calvert's well crafted lyrics written with stage performance in mind and a greater proficiency and scope in the music. But on the eve of recording the follow-up
Back on the Streets
single, Turner was sacked for his erratic live playing
[11] and Powell was deemed surplus to requirements. After a tour to promote the single and during rehearsals for the next album, Rudolph was also sacked for allegedly trying to steer the band into a musical direction at odds with Calvert and Brock's vision
.
Adrian "Ade" Shaw, who as the bass player for
Magic Muscle had supported Hawkwind on the
Space Ritual
tour, came in for the 1977 album
Quark, Strangeness and Charm
. The band continued to enjoy moderate commercial success, but Calvert's mental illness often caused problems. A manic phase saw the band abandon a European tour in France
[12], while a depression phase during a 1978 North American tour convinced Brock to disband the group
[13]. In between these two tours, the band had recorded the album
PXR5
in January 1978, but its release was delayed until 1979.
On 23 December 1977 in
Barnstaple, Brock and Calvert had performed a one-off gig with Devon band
Ark
as the
Sonic Assassins, and looking for a new project in 1978, bassist
Harvey Bainbridge and drummer
Martin Griffin were recruited from this event.
Steve Swindells was recruited as keyboard player. The band was named
Hawklords
, probably for legal reasons having recently split with their management, and recording took place on a farm in Devon using a mobile studio resulting in the album
25 Years On
. King had originally been the drummer for the project but quit during recording sessions to return to London, while House, who had temporarily left the band to join a
David Bowie tour, elected to remain with Bowie full-time, but nevertheless did contribute violin to these sessions. At the end of the album's UK tour, Calvert, wanting King back in the band, fired Griffin, then promptly resigned himself, choosing to pursue a career in literature
[14]. Swindells left to record a solo album after an offer had been made to him by the record company
ATCO.
1980s
In late 1979, Hawkwind reformed with Brock, Bainbridge and King being joined by
Huw Lloyd-Langton (who had played on the debut album) and
Tim Blake (formerly of
Gong), embarking upon a UK tour despite not having a record deal or any product to promote. Some shows were recorded and a deal was made with
Bronze Records resulting in the
Live Seventy Nine
album, quickly followed by the studio album
Levitation
. However, during the recording of
Levitation
King quit and
Ginger Baker was drafted in for the sessions, but he chose to stay with the band for the tour, during which
Tim Blake left to be replaced by Keith Hale.
In 1981 Baker and Hale left after their insistence that Bainbridge should be sacked was declined,
[15] and Brock and Bainbridge elected to handle synthesizers and sequencers themselves with drummer Griffin from the Hawklords rejoining. Three albums, which again saw Michael Moorcock contributing lyrics and vocals, were recorded for
RCA/Active:
Sonic Attack
, the electronic
Church of Hawkwind
and
Choose Your Masques
. This band headlined the 1981
Glastonbury Festival and made an appearance at the 1982
Donington Monsters of Rock Festival, as well as continuing to play the summer
solstice at
Stonehenge Free Festival.
Nik Turner had returned as a guest for the 1982
Choose Your Masques
tour and was invited back permanently. Further tours ensued with Dead Fred Reeves augmenting the line-up on keyboards and violin, but neither Turner nor Reeves would appear on the only recording of 1983/84,
The Earth Ritual Preview
, but there was a guest spot for Lemmy. The
Earth Ritual
tour was filmed for Hawkwind's first ever video release,
Night of the Hawk
.
Alan Davey was a young fan of the band who had sent a tape of his playing to Brock,
[16] and Brock chose to oust Reeves moving Bainbridge from bass to keyboards in order to accommodate Davey. This experimental line-up played at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1984, which was filmed and release as
Stonehenge 84
. Subsequent personal and professional tensions between Brock and Turner led to the latter's expulsion at the beginning of 1985.
[17]
Brock had started using drum machines for his home demos and became increasingly frustrated at the inability of drummers to keep perfect time, leading to a succession of drummers coming and going. First, Griffin was ousted and the band tried Simon King again, but unhappy with his playing at that time, he was rejected.
Andy Anderson filled in while he was also playing for
The Cure, as did
Robert Heaton prior to the rise of
New Model Army.
Lloyd Langton Group drummer John Clark did some recording sessions, Rik Martinez started the
Earth Ritual
tour but failed to end it, being replaced by Clive Deamer, who was deemed "too professional" for the band.
[18] Eventually in 1985 Danny Thompson Jr, a friend of bassist Alan Davey, was drafted in and remained almost to the end of the decade.
Hawkwind's association with Moorcock climaxed in their most ambitious project,
The Chronicle of the Black Sword
, based loosely around the
Elric series of books and theatrically staged with
Tony Crerar as the central character. Moorcock contributed lyrics, but only performed some spoken pieces on some live dates. The tour was recorded and issued as an album
Live Chronicles
and video
The Chronicle of the Black Sword
. A headline appearance at the 1986
Reading Festival was followed by a UK tour to promote the
Live Chronicles
album which was filmed and released as
Chaos
. In 1988 the band recorded the album
The Xenon Codex
with Guy Bidmead, but all was not well in the band and soon after, both Lloyd-Langton and Thompson departed.
1990s
Drummer Richard Chadwick, who joined in the summer of '88, had been playing in small alternative free festival bands, most notably Bath's Smart Pils, for a decade and had frequently crossed paths with Hawkwind and Brock. He was initially invited simply to play with the band, but eventually replaced stand in drummer Mick Kirton to become the band's drummer to the present day.
Bridget Wishart, an associate of Chadwick's from the festival circuit, also joined to become the band's one and only frontwoman, and this new lineup was rounded off by the return of Simon House playing lead violin. This band produced two albums, 1990s
Space Bandits
and 1991's
Palace Springs
and also filmed a 1-hour appearance for the
Bedrock TV
series.
In 1991 Bainbridge,House and Wishart departed and The band continued as a three piece relying heavily on synthesizers and sequencers to create a wall-of-sound. The 1992 album
Electric Tepee
combined hard rock and light ambient pieces, while
It is the Business of the Future to be Dangerous
is almost devoid of the rock leanings.
The Business Trip
is a record of the previous album's tour, but rockier as would be expected from a live outing. The
White Zone
album was released under the alias Psychedelic Warriors to distance itself entirely from the rock expectancy of Hawkwind.
A general criticism of techno music at that time was its facelessness and lack of personality, which the band were coming to feel also plagued them.
[19] Ron Tree had known the band on the festival circuit and offered his services as a frontman, and the band duly employed him for the album
Alien 4
and its accompanying tour which resulted in the album
Love in Space
and video
Love in Space
.
Unhappy with the musical direction of the band, bassist Davey left, forming his own Middle-Eastern flavoured hard-rock group Bedouin and a Motörhead tribute act named Ace of Spades.
[20] His bass playing role was picked up by singer Tree and the band were joined by lead guitarist Jerry Richards (another stalwart of the festival scene, playing for Tubilah Dog who had merged with Brock's Agents of Chaos during 1988) for the albums
Distant Horizons
and
In Your Area
. Rasta chanter Captain Rizz also joined the band for guest spots during live shows.
2000s
The concept of a
Hawkestra
, a reunion event featuring appearances from all past and present members, had originally been intended to coincide with the band's 30th anniversary and the release of the career spanning
Epocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology
set, but logistical problems delayed it until 21 October 2000. It took place at the
Brixton Academy with about 20 members taking part in a 3+ hour set which was filmed and recorded. Guests included
Samantha Fox who sang Master of the Universe.
[21] However, arguments and disputes over financial recompense and musical input resulted in the prospect of the event being restaged unlikely, and any album or DVD release being indefinitely shelved.
[22]
The Hawkestra had set a template for Brock to assemble a core band of Tree, Brock, Richards, Davey, Chadwick and for the use of former members as guests on live shows and studio recordings. The 2000 Christmas Astoria show was recorded with contributions from House, Blake, Rizz, Moorcock, Jez Huggett and Keith Kniveton and released as
Yule Ritual
the following year. In 2001, Davey agreed to rejoin the band permanently, but only afiter the departure of Tree and Richards.
[23]
Meanwhile, having rekindled relationships with old friends at the Hawkestra, Turner organised further Hawkestra gigs resulting in the formation of xhawkwind.com, a band consisting mainly of ex-Hawkwind members and playing old Hawkwind songs. An appearance at Guilfest in 2002 led to confusion as to whether this actually was Hawkwind, sufficiently irking Brock into taking legal action to prohibit Turner from trading under the name Hawkwind. Turner lost the case and the band now perform as
Space Ritual.
[24]
An appearance at the Canterbury Sound Festival in August 2001, resulting in another live album
Canterbury Fayre 2001
, saw guest appearances from Lloyd-Langton, House, Kniveton with
Arthur Brown on "Silver Machine". The band organised the first of their own weekend festivals, named
Hawkfest, in Devon in the summer of 2002. Brown joined the band in 2002 for a Winter tour which featured some
Kingdom Come songs and saw appearances from Blake and Lloyd-Langton, the Newcastle show being released on DVD as
Out of the Shadows
and the London show on CD as
Spaced Out in London
.
In 2005 the long anticipated new album
Take Me to Your Leader
was released. Recorded by the core band of Brock/Davey/Chadwick, contributors included new keyboardist
Jason Stuart, Arthur Brown, tabloid writer and TV personality
Matthew Wright, 1970s New Wave singer
Lene Lovich, Simon House and Jez Huggett. This was followed in 2006 by the CD/DVD disc
Take Me to Your Future
.
The band were the subject of an hour-long television documentary entitled
Hawkwind: Do Not Panic
that aired on
BBC Four as part of the
Originals
series. It was broadcast on 30 March 2007 and repeated on 10 August 2007. Although Brock participated in its making he did not appear in the programme, it is alleged that he requested all footage of himself be removed after he was denied any artistic control over the documentary.
[25] [26]. In one of the documentary's opening narratives regarding Brock, it is stated that he declined to be interviewed for the programme because of Nik Turner's involvement, indicating that the two men have still not been reconciled over the xhawkwind.com incident.
June 2007 saw the departure of Alan Davey, who left to perform and record with two new bands: Gunslinger and Thunor. He was replaced by "Mr Dibs", a long-standing member of the road crew and bassist for the bands Spacehead and Krel (who had supported Hawkwind during 1992). The band performed at their annual Hawkfest festival and headlined the US festival NEARfest and played gigs in PA and NY. At the end of 2007,
Tim Blake once again joined the band filling the lead role playing keyboards and
theremin. The band played 5 Christmas dates, the London show being released as an audio CD and video DVD under the title
Knights of Space
.
In January 2008 the band reversed its anti-taping policy, long a sore-point with many fans, announcing that it would allow audio recording and non-commercial distribution of such recordings, provided there was no competing official release.
[27] At the end of 2008, Atomhenge Records (a subsidiary of
Cherry Red Records) commenced the re-issuing of Hawkwind's back catalogue from the years 1976 through to 1997 with the release of two triple CD anthologies
Spirit of the Age (anthology 1976-84)
and
The Dream Goes On (anthology 1985-97)
.
[28]
On 8 September 2008 keyboard player Jason Stuart died due to a brain haemorrhage. In October 2008, guitarist Niall Hone (former Tribe of Cro) joined Hawkwind for their Winter 2008 tour, along with returning synth/theremin player Tim Blake.
Discography
Studio Albums
1970 Hawkwind
1971 In Search of Space
1972 Doremi Fasol Latido
1974 Hall of the Mountain Grill
1975 Warrior on the Edge of Time
1976 Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music
1977 Quark, Strangeness and Charm
1978 25 Years On
— Hawklords
1979 PXR5
1980 Levitation
1981 Sonic Attack
1982 Church of Hawkwind
1982 Choose Your Masques
1985 The Chronicle of the Black Sword
1988 The Xenon Codex
1990 Space Bandits
1992 Electric Tepee
1993 It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous
1995 White Zone
— Psychedelic Warriors
1995 Alien 4
1997 Distant Horizons
1999 In Your Area
— live and studio
2000 Spacebrock
— Dave Brock solo
2005 Take Me to Your Leader
2006 Take Me to Your Future
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Live Albums
1973 Space Ritual
1980 Live Seventy Nine
1986 Live Chronicles
1991 Palace Springs
1994 The Business Trip
1996 Love in Space
1999 Hawkwind 1997
2001 Yule Ritual
2002 Canterbury Fayre 2001
2004 Spaced Out in London
2008 Knights of Space
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Archive Albums
1980 The Weird Tapes Volumes 1-8
(1966-1983)
1983 The Text of Festival
(1970-1971)
1983 Zones
(1980 and 1982)
1984 This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic
(1980 and 1984)
1984 Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin
(1973)
1984 Space Ritual Volume 2
(1972)
1985 Hawkwind Anthology
(1967-1982)
1987 Out & Intake
(1982 and 1986)
1991 BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert
(1972)
1992 The Friday Rock Show Sessions
(1985)
1992 Hawklords Live
(1978)
1992 California Brainstorm
(1990)
1995 Undisclosed Files Addendum
(1984 and 1988)
1997 The 1999 Party
(1974)
1999 Glastonbury 90
(1990)
1999 Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2
(1982)
1999 Complete '79: Collectors Series Volume 1
(1979)
2000 Atomhenge 76
(1976)
2002 Live 1990
(1990)
2008 Minneapolis, 4 October 1989
(1989)
2008 Reading University, 19 May 1992
(1992)
2009 Live '78
(1978)
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Videography
- 1984 – Night of the Hawks
– 60min concert
- 1984 – Stonehenge (Various Artists video)
– 60min concert with The Enid and Roy Harper
- 1984 – Stonehenge
- 60min concert
- 1985 – The Chronicle of the Black Sword
– 60min concert
- 1986 – Bristol Custom Bike Show
– 15min concert with Voodoo Child
- 1986 – Chaos
- 60min concert
- 1989 – Treworgey Tree Fayre
– 90min concert
- 1990 – Nottingham
– 60min TV concert
- 1990 – Bournemouth Academy
– 90min concert
- 1992 – Brixton Academy
– 123min concert
- 1995 – Love in Space
– 90min concert
- 2002 – Out of the Shadows
– 90min concert
- 2008 – Knights of Space
– 90min concert
Remixes
- 1993 - Remixes - Spirit Of The Age - Solstice Mixes
(4-Real Records, 4R1) 12" & CD single
- 1996 - Remixes - Future Reconstructions - Ritual Of The Solstice
(Emergency Broadcast System Records, EBS117) 2x12" & CD album
- 1999 - Remixes - Silver Machine - Infected By The Scourge Of The Earth
(EMI, DECLIPSE1999) 12" & CD single
- 2000 - Remixes - The Hawkwind Remix Project
(Unknown,WARLORD777CD) CD album
Members
- Dave Brock – vocals, electric guitar, keyboards (1969–present)
- Mr Dibs – vocals, bass guitar (2007-present)
- Niall Hone – electric guitar, keyboards (2008-present)
- Tim Blake – keyboards, vocals (1979-80; 2000-02; 2007–present)
- Richard Chadwick – drums, vocals (1988–present)
References
- http://trouserpress.com/entry.php?a=hawkwind
- Mick Slattery — www.spaceritual.net
- Douglas Smith — Philm Freax presents...
- Mojo, September 1999 — The Egos Have Landed
- Vintage Guitar Magazine, February 2003 — Huw Lloyd-Langton… Gets on the move again — www.huwlloyd-langton.co.uk
- Mojo, September 1999 — The Egos Have Landed — www.starfarer.net
- Hawkwind Family Tree, Pete Frame 1979[1]
- The Saga of Hawkwind (pp95) — Carol Clerk
- NME, 1 September 1973 — News www.hawkwindmuseum.co.uk
- NME, 28th June 1975 — The Trials Of Lemmy — [1]
- Hawkwind Family Tree, Pete Frame 1979
- NME, 12th November 1977 — Hawklord in KGB Wedding Affair — Jon's Attic
- This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic, Chapter 6 — Kris Tait
- Aural Innovations, Issue 18 — Working Down A Diamond Mine
- This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic, Chapter 7 — Kris Tait
- Hawkfan 13 — A Chat With Alan Davey — www.hawkwindmuseum.co.uk
- Mojo, December 2005 — Hello Goodbye — www.starfarer.net
- Music UK, March 1985 — Hawkwind — HawkFanFare
- The Saga of Hawkwind (pp413) — Carol Clerk
- The Saga of Hawkwind (pp418) — Carol Clerk
- BBC Suffolk Feature - Hawkwind: The Leader Speaks
- The Saga of Hawkwind, Chapter 30: The Great Hawkestra Disaster — Carol Clerk
- The Saga of Hawkwind (pp486) — Carol Clerk
- The Saga of Hawkwind, Chapter 32: The Hawkwars — Carol Clerk
- BBC 6 Music, Freakzone, 4 February 2007 — Nik Turner interview
- Hawkwind: They're still feeling mean
- trade rules
- Atomhenge Records