The Sound of Ladbroke Grove and a long way
from Glam !
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His
imperial majesty of space..Dave Brock |
At first glance featuring Hawkwind here may go counter to everything
I've said earlier . They appear to feature a lot of the attributes that would make
them boring hippies but my friends that is to misunderstand the beauty of
Hawkwind. You won't see them mentioned in rock histories or perhaps just in passing
but Hawkwind are one of the forgotten greats. By now they will have released over
a hundred million albums , and will have been playing live for over thirty years.
Essentially a drug fuelled band they have plied their trade through so many incarnations and styles
of music that they have become timeless and in a genre of their own. Christ
they even had a top 30 hit with Silver Machine
. Their next single Urban Guerilla
was released at the time of an IRA bombing campaign and was banned !!!! Them's the knocks for our space heroes.. |
His
cohort of the cosmos..Bob Calvert (deceased) |
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Stacia..you don't
get dancers like these on Top Of The Pops !!! |
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The central point of the band has always been Dave Brock At their peak
round about Space Ritual
they featured Lemmy and playing extended jams all
based on a loose space theme featuring , saxophone, weird sonic instruments
and a naked dancer Stacia. It may not sound appetising but try it. Dave
Brock's proto
punk guitar, Lemmys amphetamine driven bass, complete with double drummers.
Punkadelia is the best way to describe it. Constant free gigs at festivals,
support for various causes, some more radical than others, and completely
unpublicised and a complete anarchist lifestyle. They were different. They stayed
different and perhaps unique in popular music they stayed true to their ideals
an still do. Punk didn't affect them at all it re-energised them. Listen to Death
Trap of PXR5
for an all out punk sonic attack.
Johnny Rotten used to go and see them often and play their
records. Pete Shelley (and Magazine) was influenced by Space
Ritual,
Shanne from The Nips wanted to play bass like them and Monster Magnet even sound like them now..
In an era of stadium rock they went out and played for free to people at any
place that would have them...they never conformed. I love Hawkwind its as simple as that.
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| Check out any compilation of them or these three
albums below...essential tracks...Born To
Go....Death
Trap...Quark Strangeness
& Charm...Urban
Guerilla....High Rise (gives Magazine a run for the
money)...Silver
Machine....25
Years...the list is endless. |
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DoReMi
(1972) |
Space
Ritual (1973) |
PXR5
(1979) |
The Pink Fairies...the pigs of Uranus
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| Spiritual buddies of Hawkwind and even swapped various members as their careers
evolved. Even more anarchic but less inclined to the lengthy jams or for that
matter lengthy career (1969-1973). Train spotters will recognise the lead singer of the
Rings as being Twink the drummer of the Fairies and bassist Duncan Sanderson as the bass player of the Lightning Raiders with Pistols Cook and Jones. Larry Wallis,
later guitarist of the Fairies and then original guitarist of Motorhead, produced
the Adverts first single and was also responsible for the proto punk toon City
Kids. For
a taste of the real stuff try out The Snake
at full volume. Blow your
eyeballs out of their sockets. |
Here's the words of Twink though take
them with pinch of salt as he lays claim to influencing everything !!!!!
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"In
1969 my world collided with the likes of Paul Rudolph, Duncan Sanderson and
Russell Hunter, and for the next two years we felt like we could inherit the
earth. Pretty large aspirations for four hippies from Ladbroke Grove. Remember,
this was the dawn of stadium rock, with bands like Led Zeppelin rearing it's
ugly head. The era of rock gods, inflated ticket prices, and total inaccessibility
for fans. We wanted to tear it all down. Pick by pick. The
thought of our fans PAYING to see us was incomprehensible. We played only for
free, after all money was the root of all evil, right? We waved two fingers at
corporate rock by setting up and playing OUTSIDE of huge rock events. Why pay?
We'll give it to you for free. We bewitched people from the entry gates at the
Isle of Wight and Bath. We got naked at Phun City, played benefits for the
underground press, rocked a gay pride rally, and helped organize the very first
Glastonbury Festival. We shamelessly promoted ourselves by spray painting our
name on the sides of express coaches that crossed country. We influenced
everyone, from Hawkwind to the Sex Pistols. We were the peoples' band. Long live
rocknroll." -Twink |
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Try
out any compilation of the Fairies you can find
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Mentioned in
Dispatches...The Edgar
Broughton Band...fellow anarchic loons in the style of Captain Beefheart meets
The Shadows !!! Drop
Out Boogie
Pink Fairies photo by Ron Reid
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