Hawkwind ~ Dave Brock, Lemmy & space rock

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Hawkwind is an English rock band and one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. Formed in November 1969, Hawkwind has gone through many incarnations and they have incorporated different styles into their music, including hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock. They are also regarded as an influential proto-punk band. 

Hawkwind

photographer unknown

Notable musicians to have performed in the band include Lemmy, Ginger Baker, Nik Turner and Huw Lloyd-Langton, but the band is most closely associated with their founder, the singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave Brock, who is the only remaining original member.  

 Dave Brock

photographer unknown

Gatecrashing a local talent night at the All Saints Hall, Notting Hill, they were so disorganised as to not even have a name, opting for "Group X" at the last minute, nor any songs, choosing to play an extended 20-minute jam on Eight Miles High by The Byrds. 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.    

Eventually, the band settled on the name "Hawkwind" after briefly being billed as "Group X" and "Hawkwind Zoo".   

      

Ian Fraser Kilmister, aka Lemmy, was an English musician and singer-songwriter who founded and fronted the rock band Motörhead. His music was one of the foundations of the heavy metal genre.   

          

Hawkwind is best known for the song Silver Machine, which became a number three UK hit single in 1972, but they scored further hit singles with Urban Guerrilla (another Top 40 hit) and Shot Down in the Night. The band had a run of twenty-two of their albums charting in the UK from 1971 to 1993.  
   
Nik Turner is on tour with Nik Turner's Hawkwind. Turner is still at odds with band co-founder Dave Brock (link below).    

photo by Randall Michelson 

For their 31st studio album, Hawkwind has collaborated with songwriter and conductor Mike Batt to recreate a selection of their songs with an extra, orchestral ingredient.        

     

       

Viewfinder links:    

        

Hawkwind ~ Warrior On the Edge of Time       

        

         

Net links:    

        

Hawkwind Discography               

BBC Music ~ Hawkwind       

Undiscover Music ~ In Search Of Space        

Elsewhere ~ Spaced out in the suburbs
ultimateclassicrock ~ Everything You Need to Know About Hawkwind  
Hawkwind Museum
The Quietus ~ Space Ritual: Dave Brock interview        
Classic Rock ~ The gospel according to Brock interview      
Official Charts ~ Hawkwind        
Chicago Tribune ~ Turner's Hawkwind fills strange space     

     

YouTube links:    

        

Hawkwind - Warrior on the edge of time full album (52 min.. 47 sec.)   

        

        

         

               

        

        

Styrous® ~ Friday, November 16, 2018         

            

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