NEWSLETTER
ISSUE 1 - FEB 2003
HELLO THERE AND WELCOME TO OUR FIRST NEWSLETTER. INCLUDED IN THIS ISSUE -
2 - VISITOR PROFILES - THE FIRST RESULTS
WHERE DO WE START? AT THE BEGINNING IS PROBABLY AS GOOD A PLACE AS ANYWHERE. WELL THE MUSEUM HAS BEEN "OPEN FOR BUSINESS FOR ABOUT A MONTH NOW AND WE HAVE TO SAY THAT THE INITIAL RESPONSE HAS BEEN VERY POSITIVE.THANKS TO EVERYONE WHO HAS TAKEN TIME TO COME AND VISIT US, ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO HAVE SIGNED THE GUESTBOOK, FILLED IN THE VISITOR PROFILE OR WHO HAVE SENT US AN E-MAIL, WE REALLY LIKE TO HEAR FROM YOU, SO MUCH SO THAT IF YOU SUDDENLY FEEL INSPIRED TO DROP US A LINE THEN SIMPLY CLICK BELOW!
AT THIS POINT WE FEEL THAT IT IS APPROPRIATE TO MENTION THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY DONATED EXHIBITS TO THE MUSEUM, IT'S A BETTER PLACE THANKS TO YOUR TIME AND EFFORT. THE ROLE OF HONOUR SO FAR IS (DRUM ROLL PLEASE)
KEITH KNIVETON
DR OZ HARDWICK
STEVE (STARFARER)
MICK CROOK
FREDERIC LORIDANT
BRIAN TAWN
BERNHARD POSPIECH
WE THINK THAT'S IT FOR THE TIME BEING, IF WE HAVE FORGOTTEN YOU THEN ACCEPT OUR APOLOGIES AND LET US KNOW.
I THINK IT'S FAIR TO SAY THAT NEITHER MYSELF OR SIMON REALISED JUST HOW MUCH WORK WAS INVOLVED IN GETTING THIS PROJECT OFF THE GROUND, AND TO THAT END WE MUST THANK OUR WIFE, PARTNER, KIDS (DELETE AS APPROPRIATE) FOR LETTING US INDULGE OURSELVES IN THIS LITTLE "FLIGHT OF FANCY". MOST OF THE TIME THEY ARE PATIENT IF NOTHING ELSE, ONLY OCCASIONALLY GIVING US THAT LOOK OF "YOU COULD BE PAINTING THE BEDROOM INSTEAD OF DOING THAT". HOWEVER WE REALLY BELIEVE IN THE MUSEUM, AND WITH YOUR SUPPORT WE FEEL THAT IT HAS THE POTENTIAL TO BE A BIT SPECIAL. SO IF YOU HAVEN'T DONE SO ALREADY PUT YOUR THINKING CAP ON, DO YOU HAVE SOMETHING THAT MAY BE OF INTEREST TO US, IF SO THEN DROP US AN E-MAIL. IN THE WORDS OF THAT GREAT PHILOSOPHER DR PEPPER "WHAT'S THE WORSE THAT CAN HAPPEN"
TO ALL OF YOU, A BIG THANK YOU
YOUR CO-CURATORS
DAVE AND SIMON
VISITOR PROFILES - THE FIRST RESULTS
IF THERE IS ONE PART OF THE MUSEUM THAT HAS BEEN AN INSTANT HIT WITH OUR VISITORS IT HAS TO BE VISITOR PROFILE (THANKS STEVE FOR THE IDEA). SO IF YOU HAVEN'T YET HAD THE PLEASURE THEN -
CLICK HER FOR YOUR VISITOR PROFILE
SO WHAT HAVE YOU TOLD US? WELL AT PRESENT THIS IS A FAR FROM SCIENTIFIC STUDY, BUT AT THE SAME TIME HAS COME UP WITH SOME INTERESTING RESULTS AND HIGHLIGHTED SOME DEFINITE TRENDS. FOR STARTERS THERE SEEMS TO BE TWO DISTINCT PERIODS WHEN MOST OF YOU GOT INTO THE BAND, THAT BEING THE EARLY SEVENTIES AND EARLY EIGHTIES. I WOULD SAY THE REASONS FOR THIS ARE QUITE CLEAR WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT. 1972 - 3 WHERE WITHOUT A DOUBT THE BANDS MOST COMMERCIALLY SUCCESSFUL PERIOD, WITH FIRSTLY THE MASSIVE SUCCESS OF SILVER MACHINE AND THEN THE SUBSEQUENT SPACE RITUAL TOUR AND ALBUM. AS FAR AS THE NEW INFLUX OF FANS IN THE EIGHTIES (BOTH MYSELF AND SIMON CAN INCLUDE OURSELVES IN THAT), WELL I WOULD PUT THIS DOWN IN PART TO THE FACT THAT THE BANDS PROFILE WOULD HAVE BEEN LIFTED SOMEWHAT ON THE BACK OF THE SO CALLED "NEW WAVE OF BRITISH HEAVY METAL" OR "NWOBHM" AS IT WAS MORE COMMONLY KNOWN. WHILST I WOULD BE THE FIRST TO CONCEDE THAT IN THE 80'S (OR ANY OTHER DECADE FOR THAT MATTER) THAT HAWKWIND WERE NEITHER NEW OR "HEAVY METAL", I THINK THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULD AGREE THAT ALBUMS SUCH AS "LIVE 79", LEVITATION AND SONIC ATTACK CERTAINLY ROCKED SUFFICIENTLY ENOUGH TO BE COVERED BY KERRANG AND IT'S SISTER PUBLICATION SOUNDS WHO WERE THE MAIN SUPPORTERS OF THIS NEW MOVEMENT.
NEXT COMES UNDOUBTABLY THE BIG QUESTION - YOUR FAVOURITE ALBUM, AND AGAIN WE HAVE TWO CLEAR FRONT RUNNERS FOR THIS TITLE, THEY BEING, SPACE RITUAL AND WARRIOR. I DOUBT TOO MANY PEOPLE WILL BE SURPRISED BT THIS (ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO VOTED FOR EITHER ONE OF THESE!). BEYOND THESE WE HAVE HAD INTEREST SHOWN IN HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL, QUARK AND PERHAPS MOST SURPRISING OF ALL THERE WERE SEVERAL VOTES FOR THE LATEST "CANTERBURY FAYRE" OFFERING. WHY SURPRISING YOU ASK? WELL AS MUCH AS I TO THINK THAT IT IS A GREAT LIVE ALBUM, ITS JUST THAT, A LIVE ALBUM AND FOR TOO LONG (IN MY OPINION ANYWAY) THAT IS ALL THE BAND HAS BEEN PUTTING OUT AS FAR AS NEW RELEASE GOES. BUT HEY THAT'S JUST MY VIEW, RIGHT OR WRONG, I DOUBT THAT THERE ARE TWO MANY BANDS OUT THERE THAT HAVE BEEN GOING AS LONG AS THE HAWKS, WHOSE LATEST ALBUM IS STILL CREATING SO MUCH INTEREST WITH THE FANS! BUT COME ON GUYS LETS HAVE SOME NEW MATERIAL, IT'S WAY OVERDUE.
FINALLY FOR NOW WE WILL COVER THE SUBJECT OF "LEAST FAVOURITE ALBUM". BEFORE I GO ANY FURTHER I WOULD LIKE TO POINT OUT THAT IT WOULD BE VERY EASY FOR PEOPLE TO ACCUSE US OF FIXING THIS RESULT (YOU'VE PROBABLY GUESSED BY NOW WHERE THIS IS GOING, IF NOT CLICK HERE, HAVE A READ AND THEN NAVIGATE YOUR WAY BACK HERE!) . HOWEVER WE CAN ASSURE YOU THAT THIS IS THE GENUINE RESULT FROM WHAT YOU HAVE BEEN TELLING US, AND THE WINNER IS (DRUM ROLL PLEASE) "BRING ME THE HEAD OF YURI GAGARIN", OR AS SOME PEOPLE HAVE DESCRIBED IT "THE UNOFFICIAL CRAP" OR WORDS TO THAT EFFECT! THIS WAS WITHOUT A DOUBT THE ONE THING MOST OF YOU AGREED ON. I GUESS THIS HAS TO BE GRATIFYING, ESPECIALLY TO STEVE AKA STARFARER WHOSE EXCELLENT EXPOSE WE DIRECTED YOU TO ABOVE. THE MESSAGE HAS TO BE REPEATED "IF YOU DON'T BUY THIS RUBBISH IT WILL EVENTUALLY GO AWAY" , REMEMBER ALSO THAT MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO PLAY ON THESE VARIOUS RIP OFF'S RECEIVE NO ROYALTIES!!. HAVING SAID ALL OF THAT (AND FEELING ALL THE BETTER FOR IT!), OTHER "OFFICIAL" ALBUMS ALSO CROPPED UP IN THE SURVEY, AMONGST THEM WERE ZONES, IT IS THE BUSINESS..... AND DISTANT HORIZONS OR AS ONE OF OUR VISITORS NOTED "NOT BLOODY DISTANT ENOUGH". HARSH SOME MAY SAY, BUT AT THE END OF THE DAY IT'S YOUR CHANCE TO AIR YOUR VIEWS.
THAT'S IT FOR NOW, WE WILL HOPEFULLY RETURN TO THIS AGAIN IN THE NEAR FUTURE AND SEE HOW THE RESULTS FAIR IN SOME OF THE OTHER CATEGORIES AS WELL AS KEEPING YOU UP TO DATE WITH THESE SUBJECTS.
HERE WE WILL TRY AND SUMMARISE FOR YOU WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE CURRANT GOINGS ON IN THE WEIRD AND WONDERFUL WORLD OF HAWKWIND.
APPARENTLY THIS IS GOING TO BE A BUSY YEAR FOR THE BAND, WITH PLENTY OF TOURING, DATES ARE BEING BOOKED AS WE SPEAK. ON TOP OF THIS A NEW ALBUM IS ALSO IN THE PIPELINE (LETS WAIT AND SEE SHALL WE!). AT THE MUSEUM WE REALLY HOPE THAT ALL THESE PROMISES COME TO FRUITION. HOW GREAT WOULD IT BE THAT THIS TIME NEXT YEAR THAT WE ARE REPORTING THAT 2003 WAS NOT ONLY ONE OF THE BANDS MOST HECTIC YEAR IN MANY A LONG TIME, BUT THAT IT WAS ALSO ONE OF THEIR MOST SUCCESSFUL.
IN OTHER RELATED NEWS, SPACERITUAL.NET, OR AS MANY PEOPLE WOULD SEE IT, NIK TURNER'S OWN VERSION OF HAWKWIND, SEEM TO BE CONSTANTLY TOURING AT THE MOMENT. FOR THEIR LATEST DATES AND NEWS VISIT THEIR OWN SITE WHICH UNSURPRISINGLY HAS THE ADDRESS OF www.spaceritual.net . THE JURY SEEMS TO BE SPLIT ON THE VALIDITY OF THIS PROJECT. SOME SEE IT AS PERFECTLY LEGITIMATE, THE BAND CONTAINS FAR MORE "ORIGINAL" MEMBERS THAN THE "REAL" HAWKWIND HAS DONE SO FOR MANY YEARS, AND AS SUCH OFFERS AN ENTERTAINING EVENING OF EARLY PERIOD HAWKWIND CLASSIC'S, TOGETHER WITH SOME INTERESTING COVERS. THERE IS HOWEVER AN ALTERNATIVE VIEW THAT IT IS NOTHING MORE THAN CASHING IN AND AT THE SAME TIME TARNISHING THE REPUTATION OF HAWKWIND, PERFORMANCES HAVE OFTEN BEEN DESCRIBED AS "UNDER REHEARSED" AND "SHAMBOLIC", AND FROM A PERSONAL VIEW (WELL DAVE'S), HAVING WITNESSED THE "GREASY TRUCKERS" EVENT BACK IN NOVEMBER, I WOULDN'T RUSH TO SEE THEM AGAIN. AT THE END OF THE DAY MOST OF US ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO LIVE IN A FREE SOCIETY, SO IT REALLY IS UP TO YOU THE PAYING PUBLIC TO MAKE YOUR OWN MINDS UP!
FINALLY, YOU MIGHT NOT HAVE HEARD OF WHAT COULD BE A POTENTIALLY INTERESTING PROJECT GOING UNDER THE NAME OF "INNER CITY HAWKS". THIS BAND FEATURES AMONGST OTHERS JUDGE TREV FROM ICU AS WELL AS EX HAWKWIND FRONTMAN RON TREE. FOR THE LATEST NEWS VISIT THEIR OWN WEBSITE AT www.mercurymoon.co.uk/ich/ .
WE HOPE YOU HAVE FOUND THIS FIRST NEWSLETTER BOTH INFORMATIVE AND ENTERTAINING, WE'LL BRING YOU ANOTHER WHEN WE HAVE SOMETHING MORE TO SAY AND THE TIME TO WRITE IT UP!! FOR NOW THOUGH
ALL THE BEST
DAVE AND SIMON