Hawkwind Troubles

[john.m.gray]

Well, I guess it's time for my two cents.  Hawkwind seems to have a history
of picking poor management and tour promoters.  While I am only aware of
their problems on the UK side through secondhand info, I can speak
firsthand for what I have seen in the US.
    Tours seem to be poorly planned.  An example is the 1995 US tour.  They
were originally scheduled to appear in Los Angles.  I lived in San Diego,
and a bunch of local fans were going to go, probably 40 or so of us. I
called the venue for ticket and time info, and they informed me that the
band had pulled out of the show.  The manager assured me the venue wanted
HW there and it was no fault of the venue that the concert was canceled.
HW was scheduled, and did play in San Franciso a day before.  Now lets
think about this, they made a trip to the US, paid to travel to the west
coast, and did one show in SF.  Never mind that they have a very good fan
base in LA and San Diego and had a venue booked in LA.  DUHH!   The 89 and
90 US tour were just as poorly advertised in the local media as the 97
tour.
     As for management and promotion over here, I think Chris and Mary
Bruce do more harm than good for the band.  I have sent money to subscribe
to the Kadu Flyer and received just one issue in return.  I took them up on
a promotional offer for a LP available from Griffin through them, paid for
two, and received nothing in return but a canceled check with Chris Bruce's
name on it.  Phone calls to them resulted in excuses and false promises to
make things right.  After becoming so fed up with trying to get my LPs, I
called Griffin and talked to the person in charge of the HW account.  He
informed me that he could not help me obtain my LP's, that it was between
me and them, basically I was SOL.  Then he informed me that I was not the
only person who had trouble with them, that it was well know around
Griffin how hard it was to deal with the Bruce's, that Griffin was pissed
that they had advanced the Bruce's money for HW promotion and advertising
and had seen nothing as as result, and that basically Griffin could not
believe why HW put up with them.  I have stopped trying to deal with them,
feeling that it is just better to cut my losses, although I wouldn't mind
meeting up with Chris sometime so I could take out my $40. he ripped me off
for.  God knows how ,many other people they have ripped off. Yes, I'm
flaming them, but you make your bed and you have to lie in
it.
     The bottom line is that HW, as much as I love the band, appears to
surround themselves with mediocre support, which has doomed them to
relative obscurity and cult status. They are a kick ass band,  with better
support they might have been really big, at the very least more well known.

John