WIND WORDS
This piece originally appeared in the New Musical Express 1973 Annual and was penned by the papers well known journalist Nick Kent. Many thanks to my mate Mark Prior for not only lending me the original book but having the foresight to keep it in the first place. I think it's fair to say that Mr Kent has used some 'artistic licence' on certain matters but it makes for an interesting read all the same.
The story starts, as with all good stories do, at the beginning. There was a band called Group X who were made up of a bunch of very easy going fellas of varying musical ability and who played de bloozes. Amongst this motley crew were to be found one David Brock, busker and traveller on guitar, and eminently scruffy young terry Ollis, refugee from communes of one sort or another who played drums after a fashion.
Let us turn out attention from other members Hugh Lloyd Langton and john Harrison to survey handsome bohemian road manager Nik Turner, a striking figure of a man who had a habit of carrying various wind instruments around with him.
So, seeing as the boys were basically lazy, self confessed tripping, science fiction readers who were firm believers in the power of good vibes, the cool suave Mr Turner, who happens to share the aforementioned interests, automatically became another member of the band.
It was around that time that a strange drug induced vision appeared before Group X, guiding them to lay down their second hand blues licks and go the way of the cosmic traveller journeying around those mystical areas heavily wrought with mind expanding chemicals.
And lo and behold, a word flashed before their eyes, and the word was Hawkwind.
Meanwhile a new roadie known as Dik Mik, possessing a secret desire for creating weird electronic sounds, was added to their ever increasing line up.
Now enter Doug smith of Clearwater Productions, who became the bands manager, and we're all getting somewhere. At the 1970 Isle Of Wight Festival, the band blew up a storm alongside other London Ladbroke Grove sex and revolution freaks, The Pink Fairies, injecting the only real flashes of life into the otherwise flaccid event.
The first album, released on United Artists, was well received and Hawkwind became THE underground band, building up a unique rapport with great communities throughout the British Isles.
Here was a band who would play at almost any benefit you'd care to mention. It all happened to work in with hawkwind's basic philosophy. "we play because we enjoy it," that state will typical lack of pretension.
Not that they can afford to be pretentious or give over portentous messages; Hawkwind are in their own words, not over capable as musicians and usually disorganised when it comes to setting up for gigs, but ultimately all their vices have become virtues.
The band operate on that weird level of being a "band of the people" in the most uncliched sense of the phrase. They came along at a time when it was strictly not the thing to do, to play psychedelic music.
Sure, The Pink Floyd were accepted, even if most of their work was either heavily influenced by a composer like Vaughan Williams or else sustained itself on its own preciousness, but Hawkwind were rank amateurs in the field. Doug Smith explains it all thus:
"Critics have put the band down for being a three chord group. That is easy enough to accept because that's exactly what they are. But I feel that when you attend a Hawkwind gig you come away with the feeling that this is a band with integrity, in the same way that artists like Neil Young and the Dead posses that aura of integrity."
Nik Turner explains it more simply, again returning to the basic philosospy behind Hawkwind's reason for playing in the first place: "I think we're honest about what we do. The feeling that goes into the music on our side has to rub off on the audience. If we're having a good time then the audience seem to enjoy themselves."
Throughout the two years the band have gone through any number of changes. Bass players have come and gone in rapid succession until now when the well known Lemmy has seemingly settled himself into the position.
Terry Ollis, one of the original and more important members, had to leave for health reasons and tall, dark and handsome Simon King took over the position behind the traps.
Dell Dettmar, goblin and electronics freak, joined the band after Dik Mik temporarily split - intending to go to India. And there is of course the mysterious Mr Robert Calvert, last seen dressed in thirties flying uniform with cropped hair, small moustache and flying glasses. Calvert is at present fit and well, playing 'selected' gigs occasionally and writing furiously.
As I write this, Alan Freeman on Radio 1 is informing all listeners that "Silver Machine" is no 6 in the charts. The band themselves are a little apprehensive about their new found success but intend to carry on the same old way. By the time you read this, they may even be the new T.Rex. Maybe then Dave Brock will be able to afford a new pair of boots.