DO YOU 4

Ahhhhhhh...back...back through the mists of time...

I was a tender little 13 year old when I first went to see Hawkwind. It was at St Albans City Hall in 1980 and was my third or fourth gig (Samson - with a young Bruce Dickinson, Girlschool (Motorhead turned up and jammed with them!), and possibly Blizzard of Ozz, preceded them). It was a week day and, on the way back from school, one of my friends went along to a local record shop (Kithairon - long gone now), where the band would be signing Levitation. I'd not heard that album yet, but I had listened to Roadhawks, Hall.., and PXR5. I had to get home, so I missed out (I couldn't afford an album and a ticket!).
I walked back into town a few hours later with my friends, where we merged with the crowd going to the gig. It was then that I saw my first proper hippy! Enormous flares (well out of favour by then), and a home-made Hawkwind banner.
I can't remember the support band, but I do recall my first glimpse of the stage show. It blew me away as I'd never seen anything like it. When I see pictures (rarely) of that set now, I still get excited even though the following year's was much better. My recollection of the set is very poor indeed. Brainstorm sticks in my mind because of Ginger Baker's enormous drum solo. I embarrassed myself totally by going beyond air guitar to air drumming for that one!
I bought a poster (the design from the back cover of the Levitation album), and stuck my ticket stub to it. I think that I've still got that somewhere at home.

The following year, the band played two nights at St Albans and I managed to go along to both. The first night I watched from the floor; the second from the balcony. The support were the Northern Irish band Mama's Boys who I remember enjoying. After their set a kind of gauze(?) curtain came down, and various roadies could be seen scuttling about setting up the equipment. The blinking equipment lights made everything seem very mysterious. Then lights went down...
Amidst a wave of dry ice smoke and whooshing synths, the band arrived. Motorway City was the opener. I remember seeing the whole crowd surge forward as the track started and the animated dragon appeared on the projection screen (listening to a recording from this tour for the first time recently, I got a lump in my throat at this point). The next track that I can recall was Angels of Death, which was accompanied by a cap wearing skull on the screen. I also remember an old (1930's) cartoon being shown midway through one song. It featured a dentist and laughing gas. Absolutely magic...

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Thanks go to Mick Stewart for adding his thoughts. Even though the ticket doesn't refer to the exact gig I'm sure that you'll agree that it's close enough. Wow Hawkwind and Motorhead on the same bill, what a line up, something that was of course repeated last October at the "Head's" Wembley gig, just a shame that it's now the other way around, anyway Mick it's over to you -

Venue Victoria Hall Hanley Stoke On Trent
Gig around the Silver Jubilee June 1977 give or take a few days
Memories of a 14 year old Ritual owner (standing right underneath Bob Calvert)

Bob's theatrics with sabre and spaceman head - Band Loud and lots of Strobe Lights

Many Visuals - Remember animation of space age city built over trees and lakes

VCS3 synths making lots of great noises - lots of Chugging Riffs (Dave and Adrian)

Simon King astoundingly fast drummer - smell of grass and patchouli strong

Brainstorm - Sprit of the Age - Quark - Iron Dream - Master - Fable of Failed Race

Bits of the Ritual - Steppenwolf - Reefer Madness and NO SILVER MACHINE

I was hooked Hawkwind are still my favourite live band ( thanks Captain!)
Highlight - a mate that went on to be keyboards player for Quireboys and
myself met Lemmy with Phil (who had broken fingers) and Fast Eddie in Chippy
afterwards
Motorhead were Hawkwind's support band they did Lost Johnny and the
Watcher!!!
Lemmy quote/joke 'They're not as good since Lemmy left!'
the Spaceman Bassman's humour lost on a 14 yr old.

Michael Daniel

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Not quite the Royal court but instead a ticket from the famous Liverpool Stadium venue, which is where of course some of the Space Ritual was recorded, this is 1974 vintage

My first HW experience was at my hometown venue, the Liverpool Royal Court....

This was in the winter of 1989 as far as I can remember, because it was bloody cold....

I was a mere 17 years old, the school freak,you know the drivel...anyways, I spent my £8.50 (Ithink thats what it was) and on the appointed date, headed of to the theatre with my then missus, her mum and dad and a massive bag of doobies.The four of us took our two tabs of acid each, as her parents were "enlightened" to say the least! (Brown Mikes....where are they now?) and settled in on the front row in the upstairs balcony (my fave speck in the royal).

What was great about the night was the fact that apart from being totally disorientated anyway, I didnt have a f**king clue who HW were, and the set that night was vicious, with an equally vicious lightshow. Iwas lucky enough to be seated at the maximum arc point of one of the scanners on stage, and was just blinded all night. The only other thing I can really remember was a powercut and a sign flashed on the screen of a saucy postcard bearing the legend "wanna see some more?" I couldnt of anyway...the bastards blinded me!

Anyway, that was 30 or 40 gigs and 2 excellent festies ago....

See you all at the next one!
MIck
Liverpool

Dave Whiting

It was at the end of August 1981 (I think) and it was in a marquee on a farm
near Barnstaple. I vaguely remember some other acts - Mother Gong, Kevin
Turvey and for some reason, 'Out Demons Out' being played a number of times
over the PA. When Hawkwind came on, "Dark Side of the Moon' was still being
played and a lot of clocks were going off as HW started their twiddly bits.

Anyway, the Hawkwind gig. Fair to say it blew my 14 year old mind (and left
me deaf for 2 days!) HW were a 4 piece, opening with 'Sonic Attack' and
playing some new tracks from that album, interspersed with the usual
favourities. The band was Brock, Bainbridge, Lloyd-Langton and Griffin. I
remember some geezer prancing around at the front with a violin at some
point (of course I later found out this was Simon House). The sound was
probably awful and I remember being nearly overcome by a wall of sound with
Brock's rhythm guitar dominating proceedings.

Did I want more? You bet! Somewhere I think I have the ticket (unless I
passed it onto my good friend Mr Parr) and I took a couple of phots which I
may still have.