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Hawkwind | |
|---|---|
 Hawkwind in 2017 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Hawkwind Zoo, Sonic Assassins,Hawklords, Psychedelic Warriors, Group X, Hawkwind Light Orchestra, The Elves of Silbury Hill |
| Origin | Ladbroke Grove, London, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1969–present |
| Labels | |
| Spinoffs | |
| Members |
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| Past members | See members article |
| Website | hawkwind |
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliestspace rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, includinghard rock,progressive rock andpsychedelic rock. They are regarded as an influentialproto-punk band.[5] Their lyrics often cover themes of urban life andscience fiction.
Many musicians, dancers and writers have worked with the band since their inception. Key members of Hawkwind have includedNik Turner,Huw Lloyd-Langton,Del Dettmar,Lemmy,Simon King,Robert Calvert,Michael Moorcock,Simon House andGinger Baker, but the band are most closely associated with their singer, songwriter and guitaristDave Brock, who is the only remaining original member.[6]
Hawkwind are best known for the song "Silver Machine", which became a number-three UK hit single in 1972, and they had further chart singles with "Urban Guerrilla" (another top 40 hit) and "Shot Down in the Night". The band had a run of twenty-two of their albums charting in the UK from 1971 to 1993,[7] and another nine between 2012 and 2024.
Dave Brock and Mick Slattery had been in the London-basedpsychedelic band Famous Cure, and a meeting with bassist John Harrison revealed a mutual interest inelectronic music, which led the trio to embark upon a new musical venture together. 17-year-old drummer Terry Ollis replied to an advert in a music weekly;Nik Turner and Michael "Dik Mik" Davies, old acquaintances of Brock, offered help with transport and gear, but were soon pulled into the band.
Gatecrashing a local talent night at theAll Saints Hall,Notting Hill, they were so disorganised as to not even have a name, opting for "Group X" at the last minute, nor any songs, choosing to play an extended 20-minute jam onthe Byrds' "Eight Miles High".[8]BBC Radio 1 DJJohn Peel was in the audience, and was impressed enough to tell event organiser Douglas Smith to keep an eye on them. Smith signed them up and got them a deal withLiberty Records on the back of a deal he was setting up forCochise.[9]
The band settled on the name "Hawkwind" after briefly being billed as "Group X" and "Hawkwind Zoo".[10]
A session took place atAbbey Road Studios to record demos of "Hurry on Sundown" and other tracks (which were eventually included on the remastered version of the group's debut albumHawkwind), after which Slattery left. He was replaced byHuw Lloyd-Langton, who, during his former employment in a musical instrument shop, had known Brock (who at the time was abusker) and sold guitar strings to him.[11]
The Pretty Things guitaristDick Taylor was brought in to produce the 1970 debut albumHawkwind. Although it was not a commercial success, it did bring them to the attention of theUK underground scene, which found them playing free concerts, benefit gigs, and festivals. Playing free outside theBath Festival, they encountered anotherLadbroke Grove–based band, thePink Fairies, who shared similar interests in music andrecreational substances; a friendship developed which led to the two bands becoming running partners and performing as "Pinkwind". Their use of drugs, however, led to the departure of Harrison, who did not partake, to be replaced briefly byThomas Crimble (about July 1970 – March 1971). Crimble played on a few BBC sessions (which were eventually collected on the albumThe Text of Festival) before leaving to help organise the Glastonbury Free Festival 1971; he sat in during the band's performance there.[12] Lloyd-Langton also quit, after a badLSD trip at theIsle of Wight Festival led to anervous breakdown.[13]
Their follow-up album, 1971'sIn Search of Space, brought greater commercial success, reaching number 18 on the UK album charts. This album offered a refinement of the band's image and philosophy courtesy of graphic artistBarney Bubbles and underground press writerRobert Calvert, as depicted in the accompanyingHawklog booklet, which would be further developed into theSpace Ritual stage show. Science fiction authorMichael Moorcock and dancerStacia also started contributing to the band. Dik Mik had left the band, replaced by sound engineerDel Dettmar, but chose to return for this album, thus giving the band two electronics players. Bass playerDave Anderson, who had been in the German bandAmon Düül II, had also joined and played on the album, but departed before its release because of personal tensions with some other members of the band.[14] Anderson and Lloyd-Langton then formed the short-lived band Amon Din.[15] Meanwhile, Ollis quit, unhappy with the commercial direction in which the band were heading.[16]
The addition of bassistIan "Lemmy" Kilmister and drummerSimon King propelled the band to greater heights. One of the early gigs the band played was a benefit for the Greasy Truckers atThe Roundhouse on 13 February 1972. A live album of the concert,Greasy Truckers Party, was released; from this, a single (with overdubbed vocal), "Silver Machine", was also released, reaching number three in the UK charts. This generated sufficient funds for the subsequent albumDoremi Fasol Latido and Space Ritual tour. The show featured costumes, dancers Stacia and Miss Renee – typically performing either topless or wearing only body paint – mime artist Tony Carrera, and a light show byLiquid Len. The songs in the show were connected by electronic and spoken word segues and the show was recorded on the elaborate packageSpace Ritual.[17] At the height of their success, in 1973, the band released the single "Urban Guerrilla", which coincided with anIRA bombing campaign in London, so theBBC refused to play it and the band's management reluctantly decided to withdraw it fearing accusations of opportunism, despite the disc having already climbed to number 39 in the UK chart.[18]
Dik Mik departed during 1973, and Calvert ended his association with the band to concentrate on solo projects. Dettmar also indicated that he was to leave the band, soSimon House was recruited as keyboardist and violinist playing live shows, a North America tour and recording the 1974 albumHall of the Mountain Grill. Dettmar left after a European tour and emigrated to Canada, whilstAlan Powell deputised for an incapacitated King on that European tour, but remained, giving the band two drummers.
At the beginning of 1975, the band recorded the albumWarrior on the Edge of Time in collaboration withMichael Moorcock, loosely based on hisEternal Champion figure. However, during a North American tour in May, Lemmy was caught in possession ofamphetamine crossing the border from the US into Canada. The border police mistook the powder for cocaine and he was jailed, forcing the band to cancel some shows. Fed up with his erratic behaviour, the band dismissed the bass player[19] replacing him with their long-standing friend and former Pink Fairies guitaristPaul Rudolph.[20] Lemmy then teamed up with another Pink Fairies guitarist,Larry Wallis, to formMotörhead, named afterthe last song he had written for Hawkwind.
Calvert made a guest appearance with the band for their headline set at theReading Festival in August 1975, after which he chose to rejoin the band as a full-time lead vocalist. Stacia chose to relinquish her dancing duties and settle down to family life. The band changed record company to Tony Stratton-Smith'sCharisma Records and, on Stratton-Smith's suggestion, band management from Douglas Smith to Tony Howard.
Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music is the first album of this era. On the eve of recording the follow-up "Back on the Streets" single, Turner was dismissed for his erratic live playing[21] and Powell was deemed surplus to requirements. After a tour to promote the single and during the recording of the next album, Rudolph was also dismissed, for allegedly trying to steer the band into a musical direction at odds with Calvert and Brock's vision.[21]
Adrian "Ade" Shaw, who, as bass player for Magic Muscle, had supported Hawkwind on theSpace Ritual tour, came in for the 1977 albumQuark, Strangeness and Charm. The band continued to enjoy moderate commercial success, but Calvert's mental illness often caused problems. A manic phase saw the band abandon a European tour in France,[22] while a depression phase during a 1978 North American tour convinced Brock to disband the group.[23] In between these two tours, the band had recorded the albumPXR5 in January 1978, but its release was delayed until 1979.
On 23 December 1977 inBarnstaple, Brock and Calvert had performed a one-off gig with Devon band Ark as theSonic Assassins, and looking for a new project in 1978, bassistHarvey Bainbridge and drummer Martin Griffin were recruited from this event.Steve Swindells was recruited as keyboard player. The band was namedHawklords, (probably for legal reasons, the band having recently split from their management), and recording took place on a farm in Devon using a mobile studio, resulting in the album25 Years On. King had originally been the drummer for the project but quit during recording sessions to return to London, while House, who had temporarily left the band to join aDavid Bowie tour, elected to remain with Bowie full-time, but nevertheless contributed violin to these sessions. At the end of the band's UK tour, Calvert, wanting King back in the band, dismissed Griffin, then promptly resigned himself, choosing to pursue a career in literature.[24] Swindells left to record a solo album after an offer had been made to him by the record companyATCO.
In late 1979, Hawkwind reformed with Brock, Bainbridge and King being joined by Huw Lloyd-Langton (who had played on the debut album) andTim Blake (formerly ofGong), debuting at the first Futurama (The World's First Science Fiction Music Festival) on 9 September in Leeds,[25] and then embarking upon a UK tour despite not having a record deal or any product to promote. Some shows were recorded and a deal was made withBronze Records, resulting in theLive Seventy Nine album, quickly followed by the studio albumLevitation. However, during the recording ofLevitation King quit andGinger Baker was drafted in for the sessions, but he chose to stay with the band for the tour, during which Blake left to be replaced by Keith Hale.
In 1981 Baker and Hale left after their insistence that Bainbridge should be dismissed was ignored,[26] and Brock and Bainbridge elected to handle synthesisers and sequencers themselves, with drummer Griffin from the Hawklords rejoining. Three albums, which again saw Moorcock contributing lyrics and vocals, were recorded forRCA/Active:Sonic Attack, the electronicChurch of Hawkwind andChoose Your Masques. This band headlined the 1981Glastonbury Festival and made an appearance at the 1982Donington Monsters of Rock Festival, as well as continuing to play the summersolstice atStonehenge Free Festival.
In the early 1980s, Brock had started using drum machines for his home demos and became increasingly frustrated at the inability of drummers to keep perfect time, leading to a succession of drummers coming and going. First, Griffin was ousted and the band tried King again, but, unhappy with his playing at that time, he was rejected.Andy Anderson briefly joined while he was also playing forthe Cure, andRobert Heaton also filled the spot briefly prior to the rise ofNew Model Army.Lloyd Langton Group drummer John Clark did some recording sessions, and in late 1983 Rick Martinez joined the band to play drums on theEarth Ritual tour in February and March 1984, later replaced byClive Deamer.
Turner had returned as a guest for the 1982Choose Your Masques tour and was invited back permanently. Further tours ensued with Phil "Dead Fred" Reeves augmenting the line-up on keyboards and violin, but neither Turner nor Reeves would appear on the only recording of 1983–84,The Earth Ritual Preview; however, there was a guest spot for Lemmy. TheEarth Ritual tour was filmed for Hawkwind's first video release,Night of the Hawk.
Alan Davey was a young fan of the band who had sent a tape of his playing to Brock,[27] and Brock chose to oust Reeves moving Bainbridge from bass to keyboards to accommodate Davey. This experimental line-up played at the Stonehenge Free Festival in 1984, which was filmed and release asStonehenge 84. Subsequent personal and professional tensions between Brock and Turner led to the latter's expulsion at the beginning of 1985.[28] Clive Deamer, who was deemed "too professional" for the band,[29] was eventually replaced in 1985 by Danny Thompson Jr (son of folk-rock bassistDanny Thompson), a friend of Alan Davey, and remained almost to the end of the decade.
Hawkwind's association with Moorcock climaxed in their most ambitious project,The Chronicle of the Black Sword, based loosely around theElric series of books and theatrically staged with Tony Crerar as the central character. Moorcock contributed lyrics, but only performed some spoken pieces on some live dates. The tour was recorded and issued as an albumLive Chronicles and videoThe Chronicle of the Black Sword. The band also performed at theWorldcon (World Science Fiction Convention) in Brighton.
In August 1985, The band performed atCrystal Palace Bowl, with several other rock bands, for a benefit concert forPete Townshend'sDouble-O anti-heroin charity. Lemmy and Stacia were reunited with the band for this event.Vera Lynn preceded Hawkwinds set.[30]
A headline appearance at the 1986 Reading Festival was followed by a UK tour to promote theLive Chronicles album which was filmed and released asChaos. In 1988 the band recorded the albumThe Xenon Codex with Guy Bidmead, but all was not well in the band and soon after, both Lloyd-Langton and Thompson departed.
Drummer Richard Chadwick, who joined in the summer of 1988, had been playing in small alternative free festival bands, most notably Bath's Smart Pils, for a decade and had frequently crossed paths with Hawkwind and Brock. He was initially invited simply to play with the band, but eventually replaced stand in drummer Mick Kirton to become the band's drummer to the present day.
To fill in the gap of lead sound, lost when Lloyd-Langton left, violinist House was re-instated into the line-up in 1989 (having previously been a member from 1974 until 1978), and, notably, Hawkwind embarked on their first North American visit in eleven years (since the somewhat disastrous 1978 tour), in which House did not partake. The successfully received tour was the first of several over the coming years, in an effort by the band to re-introduce themselves to the American market.
Bridget Wishart, an associate of Chadwick's from the festival circuit, also joined to become the band's one and only singing front-woman, the band had been fronted in earlier days by Stacia but only as a dancer. This band produced two albums, 1990'sSpace Bandits and 1991'sPalace Springs and also filmed a one-hour appearance for theBedrock TV series with dancer Julie Murray-Anderson, who performed with Hawkwind between 1988 and 1991.
1990 saw Hawkwind tour North America again, the second instalment in a series of American visits made at around this time in an effort to re-establish the Hawkwind brand in America. The original business plan was to hold three consecutive US tours, annually, from 1989 to 1991, with the first losing money, the second breaking even, and the third turning a profit, ultimately bringing Hawkwind back into recognition across the Atlantic. Progress, however, was somewhat stunted, due to ex-member Nik Turner touring the United States with his own band at the time, in which the shows were often marketed as Hawkwind.
Still supporting Space Bandits, 1991 commenced with perhaps the most surprising Hawkwind tour in the band's history, without Dave Brock. Brock's temporary replacement was former Smart Pils guitarist Steve Bemand (who had played with Chadwick and Wishart in the Demented Stoats). The tour began in Amsterdam on 12 March and took in Germany, Greece, Italy and France before wrapping up in Belgium on 10 April after 24 dates.[31]
In 1991 Bainbridge, House and Wishart departed and the band continued as a three piece relying heavily on synthesisers and sequencers to create a wall-of-sound. The 1992 albumElectric Tepee combined hard rock and light ambient pieces, whileIt is the Business of the Future to be Dangerous is almost devoid of the rock leanings.The Business Trip is a record of the previous album's tour, but rockier as would be expected from a live outing. TheWhite Zone album was released under the alias Psychedelic Warriors to distance itself entirely from the rock expectancy of Hawkwind.
A general criticism of techno music at that time was its facelessness and lack of personality, which the band were coming to feel also plagued them.[32]Ron Tree had known the band on the festival circuit and offered his services as a front-man, and the band duly employed him for the albumAlien 4 and its accompanying tour which resulted in the albumLove in Space andvideo.
In 1996, unhappy with the musical direction of the band, bassist Davey left, forming his own Middle-Eastern flavoured hard-rock group Bedouin and a Motörhead tribute act named Ace of Spades.[33] His bass playing role was reluctantly picked up by singer Tree and the band were joined full-time by lead guitarist Jerry Richards (another stalwart of the festival scene, playing for Tubilah Dog who had merged with Brock's Agents of Chaos during 1988) for the albumsDistant Horizons andIn Your Area. Rasta chanterCaptain Rizz also joined the band for guest spots during live shows.
Hawkestra—a re-union event featuring appearances from past and present members—had originally been intended to coincide with the band's 30th anniversary and the release of the career spanningEpocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology set, but logistical problems delayed it until 21 October 2000. It took place at theBrixton Academy with about 20 members taking part in a more than 3-hour set, which was filmed and recorded. Guests includedSamantha Fox who sang "Master of the Universe".[34] However, arguments and disputes over financial recompense and musical input resulted in the prospect of the event being re-staged unlikely, and any album or DVD release being indefinitely shelved.[35]
The Hawkestra had set a template for Brock to assemble a core band of Tree, Brock, Richards, Davey, Chadwick and for the use of former members as guests on live shows and studio recordings. The 2000 Christmas Astoria show was recorded with contributions from House, Blake, Rizz, Moorcock, Jez Huggett and Keith Kniveton and released asYule Ritual the following year. In 2001, Davey agreed to rejoin the band permanently, but only after the departure of Tree and Richards.[36]
Meanwhile, having rekindled relationships with old friends at the Hawkestra, Turner organised further Hawkestra gigs resulting in the formation of xhawkwind.com, a band consisting mainly of ex-Hawkwind members and playing old Hawkwind songs. An appearance at Guilfest in 2002 led to confusion as to whether this actually was Hawkwind, sufficiently irking Brock into taking legal action to prohibit Turner from trading under the name Hawkwind. Turner lost the case and the band began performing asSpace Ritual.[37]
An appearance at the Canterbury Sound Festival in August 2001, resulting in another live albumCanterbury Fayre 2001, saw guest appearances from Lloyd-Langton, House, Kniveton withArthur Brown on "Silver Machine". The band organised the first of their own weekend festivals, namedHawkfest, in Devon in the summer of 2002. Brown joined the band in 2002 for a winter tour which featured someKingdom Come songs and saw appearances from Blake and Lloyd-Langton, the Newcastle show being released on DVD asOut of the Shadows and the London show on CD asSpaced Out in London.
A new album,Take Me to Your Leader, was released in 2005. Recorded by the core band of Brock/Davey/Chadwick, contributors included new keyboardistJason Stuart, Arthur Brown, tabloid writer and TV personalityMatthew Wright, 1970s New Wave singerLene Lovich, Simon House and Jez Huggett. This was followed in 2006 by the CD/DVDTake Me to Your Future.
The band were the subject of an hour-long television documentary titledHawkwind: Do Not Panic that aired onBBC Four as part of theOriginals series. It was broadcast on 30 March 2007 and repeated on 10 August 2007. Although Brock participated in its making, he did not appear in the programme; it is alleged that he requested all footage of himself be removed after he was denied any artistic control over the documentary.[38][39] One of the documentary's opening narratives states that Brock declined to be interviewed for the programme because of Nik Turner's involvement, thus indicating that the two men had still not reconciled over the xhawkwind.com incident.
December 2006 saw the official departure of Alan Davey, who left to perform and record with two new bands: Gunslinger and Thunor. He was replaced by Mr Dibs, a long-standing member of the road crew. The band performed at their annual Hawkfest festival and headlined the US festival Nearfest and played gigs in PA and NY. At the end of 2007,Tim Blake once again joined the band filling the lead role playing keyboards andtheremin. The band played five Christmas dates, the London show being released as an audio CD and video DVD under the titleKnights of Space.
In January 2008 the band reversed its anti-taping policy – which had long been a sore point with many fans – announcing that it would allow audio recording and non-commercial distribution of such recordings, provided there was no competing official release.[40] At the end of 2008, Atomhenge Records (a subsidiary ofCherry Red Records) commenced the re-issuing of Hawkwind's back catalogue from the years 1976 through to 1997 with the release of two triple CD anthologiesSpirit of the Age (anthology 1976–84) andThe Dream Goes On (anthology 1985–97).[41]
On 8 September 2008 keyboard player Jason Stuart died due to a brain haemorrhage. In October 2008,Niall Hone (former Tribe of Cro) joined Hawkwind for their winter 2008 tour playing guitar, along with returning synth/theremin player Tim Blake. In this period, Hone also occasionally played bass guitar alongside Mr Dibs and used laptops for live electronic improvisation.
In 2009, the band began occasionally featuring Jon Sevink fromThe Levellers as guest violinist at some shows. Later that year, Hawkwind embarked on a winter tour to celebrate the band's 40th anniversary, including two gigs on 28 and 29 August marking the anniversary of their first live performances. In 2010, Hawkwind held their annual Hawkfest at the site of the original Isle of Wight Festival, marking the 40th anniversary of their appearance there.
On 21 June 2010, Hawkwind released a studio album entitledBlood of the Earth on Eastworld Records.[42] During and since theBlood of the Earth support tours, Hone's primary on-stage responsibility shifted to bass, while Mr. Dibs moved to a more traditional lead singer/front man role.
In 2011, Hawkwind toured Australia for the second time.
April 2012 saw the release of a new album,Onward, again on Eastworld. Keyboardist Dead Fred rejoined Hawkwind for the 2012 tour in support ofOnward and has since remained with the band. In November 2012, Brock, Chadwick and Hone—credited as "Hawkwind Light Orchestra"—releasedStellar Variations onEsoteric Recordings.
2013 marked the first Hawkeaster, a two-day festival held in Seaton, Devon during the Easter weekend. A US tour was booked for October 2013, but due to health issues, was postponed and later cancelled.
In February 2014, as part of a one-off Space Ritual performance, Hawkwind performed at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire featuring an appearance byBrian Blessed for the spoken word element of Sonic Attack; a studio recording of this performance was released as a single in September 2014.[43] Later in the year, former Soft Machine guitaristJohn Etheridge joined the live line-up of the band, though he had departed again prior to early 2015 dates.[44]
Following Hawkeaster 2015, Hawkwind made their debut visit to Japan, playing two sold-out shows in Tokyo. Hawkwind performed two Solstice Ritual shows in December 2015, withSteve Hillage guesting, and Haz Wheaton joining Hawkwind on bass guitar. Wheaton is a former member of the band's road crew who had previously appeared with Technicians of Spaceship Hawkwind, a "skeleton crew" spin off live band. Additionally, he had guested on bass for Dave Brock's solo albumBrockworld released earlier in the year.
The band releasedThe Machine Stops on 15 April 2016, aconcept album based onE.M. Forster's short story of thesame name.[45] Brock and Chadwick were joined on the recording by Hone, Dibs and Wheaton sharing bass duties, while Hone and Dead Fred contributed one solo piece each. The album entered the UK album chart at number 29. Dead Fred's last live appearance was at Eastbourne Winter Gardens on 1 April; Hone took on keyboard and synth duties until Blake returned for the summer shows.
The trio of Brock, Chadwick and Wheaton recorded the albumInto the Woods, released on 5 May 2017, with additional contributions from Dibs, Magnus Martin (whose band Tarantism had supported Hawkwind on many occasions) and Big Bill Barry.[46][47] Martin and saxophonist Michał Sosna (from Polish group hipiersoniK) joined the band for a 16-date UK promotional tour in the same month, and festival appearances atHellfest,Clisson, France in June andBluedot Festival atJodrell Bank Observatory, Cheshire in July. TheRoundhouse gig, with a guest appearance fromPhil Campbell, was released asHawkwind At The Roundhouse on 8 December in 2CD/DVD and 3LP formats.[48]
For theInto The Woods tour the group had performed an opening acoustic set before the main set, and they decided to capture some acoustic performances of their 1970s repertoire in the studio. A chance meeting withMike Batt by Brock at theUS Embassy brought him into the project contributing production, arrangement and additional orchestrations. The albumRoad to Utopia was released on 14 September 2018.[49] There was a guest appearance fromEric Clapton, who Brock had performed with as a duo in the 1960s prior to his rise to fame inthe Yardbirds.[50] There was also a guest appearance of the band's former sax player, Jez Huggett, who's featured on "The Age of the Micro Man". The band played atDreamland Margate withthe Fierce and the Dead.[51] Batt conducted a series of concerts titledIn Search of Utopia – Infinity and Beyond featuring the band andDocklands Sinfonia Orchestra in October and November, withArthur Brown guesting.[49] After the recording of the album but before the shows, both Wheaton and Dibs left, while Hone rejoined on bass. Wheaton went on to joinElectric Wizard, and Dibs stated "irreconcilable differences" on the Hawkwind fans Facebook page, Brock claiming "we propped the fella up and kept him in the band longer than he should have been, because we were genuinely concerned... about his state of mind."[52]
In October 2019 the group releasedAll Aboard the Skylark, marketed as a return to their space rock roots. This was the first album with the line-up of Brock, Chadwick, Hone and Martin. Accompanying the CD version, and sold as a separate vinyl LP, wasAcoustic Daze which included tracks from theRoad to Utopia minus the additions of Batt and Clapton.[53] The album was promoted with a 15 date tour of Britain in November, culminating in a final show at London'sRoyal Albert Hall. The group were augmented by keyboard player Blake, with guest appearances fromPhil Campbell and Clapton.[54] A record of the live show titled50th Anniversary Live, with the guest appearance from Campbell, is released on 4 December 2020 by Cherry Red in 3LP and 2CD formats.[55][56]
Brock had started work on new material in his home studio with some contributions from Chadwick and Martin when theCOVID-19 pandemic spread curtailing any further band activity. Brock would continue work with remote contributions from Martin, and the albumCarnivorous (an anagram ofcoronavirus) was released in October 2020 under the name Hawkwind Light Orchestra to reflect the reduced personnel.[57][58]
When the group returned to live performances post-COVID in late 2021, the line-up featured Brock, Chadwick, Martin and new membersThighpaulsandra on keyboards and Doug MacKinnon on bass, replacing Blake and Hone respectively. A new Hawkwind album,Somnia, was released in 2021, followed in 2023 byThe Future Never Waits and in 2024 byStories from Time and Space.[59] The live albumLive at theRoyal Albert Hall recorded on 29 September 2023 was released on 13 December 2024 in 3CD a 3LP formats, the CD issue containing a bonus CD of studio rehearsals. Brown joined the band for this performance reciting the poems.[60][61]
Eduardo Rivadavia ofLoudwire wrote: "With all due respect to the etherealPink Floyd, late-bloomingUFO, andMothership funk rockersParliament, theheavy crown of '70sspace rock belongs to the one and only Hawkwind, who embraced the stars like few bands before them or since."[62]
Hawkwind have been cited as an influence by artists such asAl Jourgensen ofMinistry,[63]Monster Magnet,[64] theSex Pistols (who covered "Silver Machine"),[65]Henry Rollins andDez Cadena ofBlack Flag,[66]Siobhan Fahey,[67]Ty Segall,[68]the Mekano Set,[69]Ozric Tentacles.,[70]King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard,[71] andNeurosis.[72]
Hard rock musicianLemmy of the bandMotörhead gained a lot from his tenure in Hawkwind. He said: "I really found myself as an instrumentalist in Hawkwind. Before that I was just a guitar player who was pretending to be good, when actually I was no good at all. In Hawkwind I became a good bass player. It was where I learned I was good at something."[73]
Current members
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