THIS ARTICLE ORIGINALLY APPEARED IN "SOUNDS" ON THE 22 DEC 1990. RATHER THAN SCAN IT, I'VE TRANSCRIBED IT, SO APOLOGIES FOR ANY SPELLING MISTAKES BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT AS IT TOOK HOURS!
SPACE - THE FINAL FRONT EAR
BY STEVE GULLICK
AS SCI FI SAGE ARTHUR C CLARK PROCLAIMED IN THE TITLE OF HIS ONE TIME TV SHOW, IT'S A STRANGE AND MYSTERIOUS WORLD.
LAUNCHED IN1969 AND STILL TRUCKING ON, HAWKWIND HAVE COME OF AGE LONG BEFORE THE DAWN OF ARTHUR'S FAMOUS YEAR 2001.
LAUGHING HEARTILY AT THE PITIFUL SCALE OF LATTER-DAY FLARES, AND CHUCKLING INWARDLY AT THE TAMENESS OF ACID HOUSE HEDONISM, HAWKWIND FLY ON REGARDLESS. TO 21 A SPACE ODDITY.
WITH THEIR SYNTHESISER WHOOSHES AND CREAKINGLY FUTURISTIC STAGE SETS, HAWKWIND HAVE APPROXIMATED BOTH THE PULSING TONES OF THE ORIGINAL DOCTOR WHO THEME AND THE GOOD DOCTORS PENCHANT FOR TIME TRAVEL. PERHAPS IT'S THIS THAT'S ALLOWED HAWKWIND TO STAY OUTSIDE TIME ITSELF.
ROOTED IN THE DRUG FUELLED COSMIC FASCINATIONS OF THE LATE 60'S, HAWKWIND'S SCHEME HAS BEEN OBLIVIOUS TO THE DICTATED OF FASHION. NOT THAT THIS MEANS THEIR APPEAL IS RESTRICTED TO SOME TIME WARPED HIPPY COLONY. AS THE BAND HAVE AGED, THEIR AUDIENCE HAS CONTINUALLY BEEN REGENERATED, WITH NEW BATCHES OF ADOLESCENTS QUEUING UP TO JOIN THIS SPACED OUT RITUAL.
OUTSIDE LONDON'S HAMMERSMITH ODEON, A HETEROGENEOUS BUNCH OF LONGHAIRS DECLARE T-SHIRTED ALLEGIANCE TO EVERYONE FROM SONIC YOUTH TO GONG AS THEY WAIT TO SEE HAWKWIND'S 21ST ANNIVERSARY TOUR.
A GROUP OF FOUR AMERICANS SIT ON THE STEPS, CLUTCHING SLEEPING BAGS, RUCKSACKS, A SET OF BONGOS AND A COLOURFULLY ADORNED SHOWROOM DUMMY'S LEG, IN HOPE OF SOME TICKET DONATIONS. THE QUARTET HAVE BEEN TRANSVERSING EUROPE AS PART OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD'S TRAVELLING ARMY AND ONLY RECENTLY HEARD OF HAWKWIND.
"WE FIRST GOT TOLD ABOUT HAWKWIND AT ONE OF THE GRATEFUL DEAD'S WEMBLEY SHOWS," EXPLAINS BEARDED, COMBAT-JACKETED, 21 YEAR OLD MIKE.
"THIS GUY TOLD US THEY WERE THE ENGLISH EQUIVALENT OF THE DEAD, SO WE DECIDED TO STAY AROUND AND HITCH TO THE LAST FOUR DATES OF THE HAWKWIND TOUR"
IN HIS NEDS ATOMIC DUSTBIN T-SHIRT, "PSYCHEDELIC KILT" AND "SPACE CLOGS", 24 YEAR OLD DAVE STANDS OUT SLIGHTLY. THIS IS THE MAN WHO'S HAPPY TO ADMIT HE ONCE TRAVELLED AROUND BRITAIN WEARING A PAIR OF GOOGOLS AND A LEATHER FLYING HELMET, A DRESS SENSE CLEARLY DERIVED FROM THE PECULIAR SATIRICAL INCLINATIONS OF HAWKWIND'S ONE TIME "RESIDENT POET", THE LATE GREAT BOB CALVERT. DAVE WORKS AS A GRAPHIC ARTIST ("PISS ARTIST TOO") BY DAY AND HAS PUT HIS SYNAPSES THROUGH IT'S PACES AT OVER 20 HAWKWIND GIGS. HIS MUSICAL TASTES SPAN FROM SINEAD 0'CONNOR TO BRUMMIE PRO-AM RAPPERS POP WILL EAT ITSELF.
IT WAS THE POPPIES WHO COVERED HAWKWIND'S MIGHTY 'ORGONE ACCUMULATOR' ON THEIR 'LOVE MISSILE F1-11' EP WITH EQUAL PARTS REVERENCE AND IRREVERENCE, AND RECENTLY INCLUDED 'KINGS OF SPEED' IN THEIR LIVE SHOW. LIKE PWEI DAVE DOESN'T TAKE HAWKWIND TOTALLY SERIOUSLY THESE DAYS.
"I DON'T THINK MANY OF THEIR AUDIENCE TAKES THEM THAT SERIOUSLY," HE SAYS. "I DON'T THINK THEY TAKE THEMSELVES TOTALLY SERIOUSLY. THEY'RE SORT OF A QUAINT OLD ENGLISH THING. THEY'RE NOT THE ENID, BUT IT'S A BIT SIMILAR."
DAVE OBVIOUSLY DOESN'T HAVE THE SAME INTENSE BELIEF OF THE YOUNG LIVERPUDLIANS WHO BECAME HAWKWIND FANS AS PART OF THE PINK FLOYD-WORSHIPPING RETRO SCALLY PHENOMENON. APPARENTLY, THESE FANATICS SEE THE ORIGINS OF ALL MODERN SOUND IN HAWKWIND.
"HEARD THE NEW PRINCE SINGLE?" THEY ASK. "TOTALLY RIPS OFF HAWKWIND!" WHILE THIS MIGHT BE TAKING IT A BIT FAR, HAWKWIND DID PATENT AN INNOVATOR MIX OF METRONOMIC ROCK BOOGIE AND WHISTLING SYNTH TEXTURING. SO INNOVATOR IN FACT THAT THEY'VE RARELY DEPARTED FROM IT SINCE - A FEAT OF QUALITY CONTROL THAT IS ALL THE MORE REMARKABLE WHEN YOU CONSIDER THAT THEY WERE IN THEIR 16TH DIFFERENT LINE-UP IN 1979 AND COUNTLESS PERMUTATIONS HAVE EVOLVED SINCE.
HAWKWIND'S RAREFIED EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL STYLINGS ARE A LONG WAY FROM THE EARTHBOUND ORIGINS OF THEIR NAME IN THE REALMS OF FLATULENCE AND PHLEGM - THEY TOOK THEIR TITLE FROM THE ACTIVITIES OF AN EARLY ASSOCIATE WHO WAS ALWAYS HAWKING UP PUTRID GLOBS OF SPIT AND DISPENSING TROUSER-RATTLING GUFFS OF WIND.
HAVING SAID THAT, DAVE BROCK IS THE AFFABLE DOWN-TO-EARTH CHARACTER THAT THE NAME'S ORIGIN MIGHT SUGGEST. AS HE SITS BACKSTAGE AT THE ODEON, THIS SOLE ORIGINAL HAWKWIND MEMBER AND CHIEF GROUP PILOT IS INFINITELY MORE SOLID GEEZER THAN SPACE GURU.
IN MANY WAYS THE WORLD HAS CAUGHT UP WITH HAWKWIND IN RECENT TIMES. THE ACID HOUSE RAVE SCENE PLUGGED INTO THE SAME LASER-FIRED VISUALS THE HAWKS HAVE BEEN USING ALL ALONG, WHILE CURRANT VOUGES FOR ECO-CONSIDERATION HAVE ALWAYS BEEN TOUTED BY THE BAND
MORE SPECIFICALLY, THE LIKES OF THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS AND THE SHAMEN HAVE DEVELOPED LIVE SHOWS THAT CLEARLY RECALL HAWKWINDS. THE BUTTHOLES EVEN WENT AS FAR AS EMPLOYING A NUDE FEMALE DANCER - THE STATUESQUE STACIA WAS DOING THAT WITH HAWKWIND BACK IN 1971. HAWKFURHER BROCK TAKES IT ALL WITH A SMILE.
"I'VE HEARD OF POP WILL EAT ITSELF AND THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, BUT I DON'T GO AROUND LISTENING TO THEM. SOMEONE GAVE ME A TAPE OF THE BUTTHOLE SURFERS, BUT I DIDN'T LIKE IT MUCH. THEN I WAS GIVEN A TAPE OF A BAND CALLED REEL TIME WHO'VE DONE AN ACID HOUSE VERSION OF 'ASSASSINS OF ALLAH'- THAT WAS REALLY GOOD.
"IT'S NICE TO GET A BIT OF ACCLAIM," HE CHORTLES. "IT'S ABOUT TIME, TO TELL THE TRUTH - INSTEAD OF BEING LAUGHED AT, IT'S OUR TIME TO GET A BIT OF ACCLAIM."
HAWKWIND HAVE CONTINUALLY MUTATED WITHIN THEIR WELL DEFINED ORBIT. NOWADAYS THEY'RE DOING SO BY HARKING BACK A BIT, DANCER JULIE WHIPS HER TOP LIKE STACIA OF OLD, WHILE BRIDGET WISHART STALKS THE STAGE IN A SKELETON SUIT WAVING A PAIR OF GLOWING SEMAPHORE PADDLES TO RECALL BOB CALVERT'S THEATRICAL PRESENCE.
A SHOW FOR ALL AGES
"YEAH," SAYS BROCK. "YOU GET PEOPLE WHO'VE BEEN COMING FOR 20 YEARS AND THEN YESTERDAY THE FIRST PERSON IN THE HALL WAS THIS GUY WITH HIS 14 YEAR OLD SON. WE DID A HAWKON LAST YEAR AND GOT PEOPLE FROM POLAND, HUNGARY AND CZECHOSLOVAKIA. . . "
DESPITE LITTLE COVERAGE IN THE POP PRESS, BROCK SAYS HAWKWIND HAVE HAD SOME MEDIA ASSISTANCE IN GETTING THE TIMES TO COME INTO LINE WITH THEM.
"IT'S ALL DOWN TO THE WAY THEY'RE USING THINGS FROM THE 70'S IN ADVERTISING, LIKE HENDRIX AND STUFF. IN THE 70'S A LOT OF FREAKS GOT INVOLVED IN THE MEDIA - PEOPLE WHO JUST HAPPENED TO BE AROUND AT THE TIME. NOW THEY'RE IN POSITIONS OF POWER IN MAJOR COMPANIES AND THEY'RE USING USING A LOT OF TECHNIQUES AND IMAGES FROM THE 70'S TO SELL THINGS NOW."
"THE GUY WHO USED TO DO OUR LIGHT SHOW IN THE 70'S ENDED UP DOING REGAN'S SPEAKING TOURS WHEN HE WAS CAMPAIGNING TO BE PRESIDENT. HE MADE A FORTUNE OUT OF IT - CRAZY!"
THESE ORIGINAL ACID INGESTORS TOOK TO ACID HOUSE INITIALLY, BUT DIDN'T STICK WITH IT.
"I USED TO LIKE THE IDEA OF ACID HOUSE UNTIL GLASTONBURY LAST YEAR." SAYS BROCK. "I PARKED MY BUS BESIDE THE HEDGE AND BIG MARQUEE WHICH I THOUGHT WAS A THEATRE TENT. BY THE TIME I REALISED IT WAS AN ACID HOUSE TENT WE WERE JAMMED IN, SO WE HAD TO LISTEN TO THIS PARTY FOR THE NEXT THREE DAYS. AFTER THREE F***ING DAYS OUR DOGS WERE GOING MAD AND SO WERE WE. WE STARTED GOING OUT AND CUTTING THE SPEAKER WIRES, BUT THEY'D GET IT GOING AGAIN IN HALF AN HOUR. F***ING TERRIBLE - I WENT OFF ACID HOUSE AFTER THAT."
PERHAPS THEY LACKED THE NECESSARY CHEMICAL AIDS TO ENJOYMENT. IT WASN'T ALWAYS LIKE THIS, HOWEVER. EX - GUITARIST HUW LLOYD LANGTON RECALLS ONE ENCOUNTER WITH SPIKED APPLE JUICE IN 1970.
"I COULDN'T TUNE UP BECAUSE ALL THE NOTES WERE WAVERING AND NIK (TURNER) AND DAVE (BROCK) USED TO TUNE UP TO MY GUITAR - IT MUST HAVE BEEN AWFUL. I THOUGHT I WAS DOOMED TO BE THERE FOR ETERNITY, PLAYING OUT OF TUNE. IN THE END I JUST GOT DOWN ON MY KNEES AND PRAYED, I WAS SO FREAKED OUT. LATER, SOMEBODY TOLD ME THAT IT HAD LOOKED GREAT AND I SHOULD MAKE IT PART OF THE SHOW!"
BROCK AND CALVERT FIRST CALLED A HALT TO THE DRUGS IN 1978 WHEN THEY REALISED THAT IT WAS STOPPING ANYONE DOING ANY WORK.
"LSD DID CREATE A LOT OF ARTISTIC FLOW BACK IN THE 60'S," SAYS BROCK. "I DON'T TAKE IT NOW - I'VE LEARNT FROM IT SO I DON'T FEEL THE NEED ANYMORE BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY LEARN SO MUCH FROM IT. SIMILARLY I DON'T GET PISSED OR STONED ALL THE TIME NOW - AFTER A WHILE THERE'S NO POINT."
HOW VITAL DRUGS ARE TO HAWKWIND'S APPRECIATION TODAY IS A MOOT POINT. JUDGING BY TREVOR L HUGHES WHO COMPILES THE HAWKFRENDZ NEWSLETTER, SOME OF TODAY'S CROWD ARE OPTING FOR A CHEMICALLY ASSISTED TAKE OFF. AS TREVOR RECALLS IN THE CURRANT HAWKFRENDZ. "HAVING WITNESSED HALF OF THE WINTERS CURRANT HAWKTOUR UNDER VARYING PSYCHEDELICS I CAN ATTEMPT A REVIEW. . . THE AUDIENCE GO APE. I SKIN UP. BOB (CALVERT) WOULD HAVE UNDERSTOOD."
DAVE BROCK, HOWEVER, INSISTS IT ISN'T NECESSARY. "YOU DON'T NEED IT NOW. WE'RE PROJECTING A LOT OF SOUND FREQUENCIES AND LIGHTS SO YOU DON'T HAVE TO DO IT. PEOPLE DON'T HAVE TO BE ON DOPE OR ANYTHING COS THEY CAN ACTUALLY STAND THERE AND GET SPACED OUT BY LOOKING AT THE LIGHT SHOW AND THE WHOLE SHOW. WE'VE LEARNT THE CATCHPOINTS, THE FREQUENCIES AND OSCILLATIONS THAT CAN GIVE THE SAME EFFECTS AS DRUGS. IT'S JUST THE SAME WITH THE TIBETAN BELLS."
"IT DOES YOUR BRAIN IN THOUGH. WE USED TO EXPERIMENT WITH A LOT OF AUDIO GENERATORS AND SYNTHESISERS IN THE 70'S. IF YOU LISTEN TO CERTAIN FREQUENCIES ON HEADPHONES, AFTER A FEW DAYS YOUR EQUILIBRIUM GOES. IT CAN BE QUITE DANGEROUS - OBVIOUSLY THEY'VE DEVELOPED USES FOR THIS IN THE MILITARY."
WHILE THE GANG OF AMERICAN DEAD FANS AND PSYCHEDELICALLY KILTED DAVE ARE AT THE YOUNGER END OF THE AUDIENCE SPECTRUM, 43 YEAR OLD BRIAN TAWN HAS BEEN WITH THE BAND FOR YEARS. HE NOW RUNS THE HAWKFAN INFORMATION SERVICE AND HAS BEEN PRODUCING A NEWSLETTER FOR OVER A DECADE.
"IT WAS IN 1977 THAT I FIRST DECIDE TO DO A FANZINE," HE RECALLS. "I'D BEEN TO SEE HAWKWIND IN LEICESTER AND THEY WERE SO EXCELLENT THAT I DECIDED I HAD TO HAVE A FANZINE READY FOR THE NEXT GIG I WAS GOING TO A WEEK LATER."
BEFORE THAT BRIAN WAS WRITING FOR SCI-FI 'ZINES LIKE NEBULA AND SCRIBE AND HIS LARGE COLLECTION OF SCI-FI LITERATURE POINTS TO THE HIGH DEGREE OF CROSSOVER BETWEEN THE WORLD OF SCI-FI AND HAWKWINDS'S DEEP SPACE IMAGERY. SCI-FI WRITER MICHEAL MOORCOCK'S AN ALIEN HEART WAS DEDICATED TO THE BAND, IN THE ERA OF THE 'SPACE RITUAL' EXTRAVAGANZA, MOORCOCK'S ON STAGE READINGS OF HIS APOCALYPTIC TRACT 'SONIC ATTACK' WAS A STAPLE OF THE HAWKWIND SHOW.
THESE DAYS BRIAN ISN'T RECEIVING THE SAME VOLUME OF ENQUIRIES HE DID WHEN HE FIRST PUT AN AD IN SOUNDS IN1977 AND WAS HANDED 70-ODD LETTERS THREE DAYS LATER, BUT HAWKWIND ARE STILL ATTRACTING A LARGE, MULTINATIONAL, FERVENT CROWD. THE CORRESPONDENCE IS ENOUGH TO KEEP BRIAN BUSY "THREE HOURS A DAY, SEVEN DAYS A WEEK," AND THAT'S AFTER PUTTING IN 70 HOURS AT WORK. IN THE 70 ODD APPEARANCES THAT BRIAN HAS PUT IN AT HAWKWIND SHOWS OVER THE YEARS, THE ONLY NOTICEABLE CHANGE HAS BEEN THE DISAPPEARANCE OF THE HEADBANGING THAT WAS COMMONPLACE TEN YEARS AGO. TWENTY ONE YEARS ON, HAWKWIND SHOW NO SIGN OF KEELING OVER YET.
"I'M NOT QUIT SURE HOW WE'VE KEPT GOING," SAYS BROCK. "WE STUMBLE ON, MAKING ENOUGH MONEY FOR THE NEXT ALBUM AND TO FUND A FEW THINGS. WE SAVED FOUR AND A HALF RHINOS LAST YEAR."