From: J.D.Strobridge@edinburgh.ac.uk
The following history might be of interest to anyone who hasn't come across
it yet - although I suspect connoisseurs won't find much that they don't
already know! The info is taken from the Guinness Book of Rock Stars
ed. Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton 2nd ed. 1991 and I hope they don't mind -
since it is without permission. But anyhow the book itself is a fascinating
buy since the whole history of Rock Music is contained therein including a
(somewhat shorter) entry for Blue Oyster Cult.
HAWKWIND
(orig.) Dave Brock (guitar, vocals)
Nick Turner (sax, flute, vocals)
Mick Slattery (guitar)
John Harrison (bass)
Terry Ollis (drums)
Dik Mik (electronics)
1969 JULY Brock and Slattery are in Famous Cure and Turner is in Mobile
Freakout when, having met by chance on tour in Holland, they meet
again after their return to UK. They debut as Group X (but change
name to Hawkwind Zoo) at a 10-min gig at All Saint's Hall, Notting
Hill, London.
OCT Manager Doug Smith secures the band, now shortened to Hawkwind,
a deal with Liberty. Huw Lloyd Langton replaces Slattery.
Occasional drummer Viv Prince (ex-Pretty Things) attracts extra police
attention through his membership of Hell's Angels.
1970 Dick Taylor (also ex-Pretty Things), is brought in to produce the group
and ends up playing on the sessions.
JULY Hawkwind's first release is "Hurry On Sundown"\"Mirror of
Illusion". Harrison leaves and is replaced on bass by Thomas Crimble.
AUG Debut album "Hawkwind" is released. True to their 'people's band'
tag they play at Canvas City, a series of free gigs performed on the
perimeter of UK's Isle of Wight Festival.
SEPT Langton leaves (he will return 9 years later), as does Crimble.
1971 MAY Dave Anderson (ex-Amon Duul) is recruited. Soundman Del Dettmar
plays synthesizer, replacing Dik Mik (who will rejoin 3 months later).
JUNE Group plays Glastonbury Fayre, Somerset, with dancer Stacia
appearing for the first time and poet Robert Calvert as vocalist.
AUG Lemmy (b.Ian Kilmister) joins on bass after Anderson leaves.
(Initially on 6-months' trial, he stays nearly 4 years.)
OCT "In Search of Space" reaches UK #18. Its "space-rock" image is
partially inspired by Calvert.
1972 JAN Simon King replaces Ollis on drums.
FEB Group plays the "Greasy Truckers Party" at London's Roadhouse.
The performance is recorded and excerpts appear on albums "Greasy
Truckers Party" and "Glastonbury Fayre". Calvert joins the band
full-time and sings many of the lead vocals.
AUG One of Calvert's songs, "Silver Machine", taken from the "Greasy
Trucker's" recordings, remixed with Calvert's original vocal re-
recorded by Lemmy, begins UK chart rise, eventually hiting UK #3.
DEC Third album "Doremi Fasol Latido" reaches UK #14. The success
of "Silver Machine" enables Hawkwind to create a lavish 30-date
touring show entitled "The Space Ritual".
1973 JUNE Double "Space Ritual Alive", based on the live show, hits UK #9.
AUG Dik Mik quits. "Urban Guerilla" makes UK #39 but is withdrawn
because they are worried about association with current IRA activity.
NOV Group makes its US debut at Howard Stein's Academy of Music [!?]
in New York.
DEC "Space Ritual Live" makes US #179 during the band's first US tour.
(15) On its return, Hawkwind begins 7-date UK tour at Bracknell sports
centre, Berks., set to end on Dec. 22 at the Empire Theatre, Edinburgh,
Scotland.
1974 FEB Hawkwind begins second US tour and plays a benefit for acid guru
Timothy Leary, back in jail after escaping and being recaptured in
Switzerland.
APR Simon House, who played on recent US tour, joins on keyboards,
synthesiser and violin. Dettmar leaes the stage line-up to operate
his synthesiser from the mixing desk.
MAY Calvert's solo album, "Captain Lockheed & The Starfighters", is
released on United Artists.
JUNE Dettmar leaves the group and emigrates to Canada.
JULY Simon King breaks ribs playing soccer and Alan Powell (ex-Chicken
Shack, Stackridge, Vinegar Joe) is brought in temporarily. (He will
stay when King recovers, giving the group 2 drummers.)
SEPT Fifth album, "Hall of the Mountain Grill" reaches UK #16 and
US #110. Band plays Harrow Free Festival, London, and begins a US
tour, which is halted in Indiana when state police impound their gear
under a new tax law. They return home.
OCT Group returns to US to play 21 re-scheduled dates.
DEC A UK tour commences which will run until Feb.
1975 JUNE "Warrior On The Edge Of Time" reaches UK #13 and US #150.
Group tours US again and includes dates in Canada. At the border,
Canadian customs mistakenly identify amphetamine pills Lemmy has in
his luggage for cocaine. The offense is elevated to a felony from a
misdemeanor and he spends 5 days in a police cell and, on release,
finds band has sacked him. Paul Rudolph (ex-Deviants, Pink Fairies,
Uncle Dog) is flown out to complete the tour (and will join full-time).
Back in UK, Lemmy announces plans for his new group, Motorhead.
Hawkwind tours France.
AUG Group tops the bill at Reading Festival, Berks. Calvert re-joins
for a one-off appearance and decides to stay. His second solo album,
"Lucky Leif And The Longships", produced by Brian Eno, fails to chart.
Stacia leaves to get married. (Band enters a period of stability and
ends the year with a UK tour.)
1976 JAN Hawkwind signs to Charisma Records.
APR Compilation album "Road Hawks" makes UK #34.
JUNE "The Time Of The Hawklords" a sci-fi novel by Michael Butterworth
wih the band as fantasy heroes, is published.
JULY "Kerb Crawler\Honky Dorky", on Charisma, fails to chart.
(24) Group plays at Cardiff Castle, Wales, on a bill with Status Quo,
the Strawbs, Curved Air and Budgie.
SEPT "Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music" makes UK #33.
1977 JAN Turner, encouraged by Rudolph and Powell, leaves the band and
forms Sphynx.
FEB Rudolph and Powell are themselves purged by Calvert and Brock and
a new Hawkwind line-up (with Adrian Shaw on bass) debuts at the
Roundhouse, London, and begins to record a new album. United Artists
release another compilation album "Masters of the Universe".
JULY "Quark Strangeness And Charm" makes UK #30 as group tours UK.
OCT House leaves to join David Bowie's world tour and is replaced by
Paul Hayles.
1978 FEB Hawkwind is on an unhappy US tour. Calvert sells his guitar
minutes after the final concert finishes. They return home and Shaw
forms a group with House.
JUNE Calvert forms The Hawklords (the name changed for legal reasons)
with Smith returning as manager. Shelving "PXR-5", the new group
records "25 Years On". Line-up is Calvert, Brock, Martin Griffiths
(drums), Steve Swindell (ex-Pilot and String Driven Thing, keyboards)
and Harvey Bainbridge (bass).
OCT "25 Years On" makes UK #48. The group tours UK. United Artists
re-releases "Silver Machine" which makes UK #34.
DEC Griffiths quits the band.
1979 JAN Calvert leaves to go solo. King rejoins on drums and the 4-piece
band resumes the name of Hawkwind and rehearses and records in Wales.
Swindell leaves soon after.
MAY "PXR-5", released by Charisma, makes UK #59. Tim Blake (ex-
Gong) replaces Swindell and Langton rejoins. Group plays UK's Leeds
Science Fiction Festival
1980 JULY "Shot Down In The Night" reaches UK #59.
AUG Smith arranges a deal which includes Hawkwind, Motorhead and
Girlschool, with Bronze Records. "Live 1979", recorded in St.
Albans in Now., makes UK #15. Group begins a tour of UK and
Europe (which will last the rest of the year).
SEPT Ginger Baker (ex-Cream and Blind Faith) joins, replacing King,
who has been fired in July.
OCT(10) A 22-date UK tour begins at the Apollo theatre, Manchester,
set to end Nov.5 at the City Hall, St. Albans, Herts.
NOV "Levitation" reaches UK #21.
1981 MAR Baker is sacked before a scheduled Italian tour, which is
cancelled. Griffiths rejoins and the group plays UK's Stonehenge
and Glastonbury Festivals.
(During the next 7 years, the band will continue to tour mainly in
Europe, with modifying line-ups, and release albums with decreasing
success ("Sonic Attack" UK #19, 1981; "Church of Hawkwind" UK #26,
1982; "Choose Your Masques" UK #29, 1982; "Zones, released via new
deal with Flicknife, UK #57, 1983; EMI's re-issued "Hawkwind" UK #75,
1984 and "Chronicle Of The Black Sword" UK #65, 1985) while the much
revered rock classic "Silver Machine" will make a third UK chart
appearance at UK #67 in Jan 1983).
1982 AUG(21) Group takes part in the third annual "Monsters Of Rock"
Festival at Castle Donington, Leics.
1988 APR In support of a forthcoming album celebrating a new label deal
with the GWR label, Hawkwind begins an extensive UK tour with a new
line-up: Brock, Langton, Bainbridge (now on keyboards), Allan Davis
(bass) and Danny Thompson (drums).
MAY(14) "The Xenon Codex" makes UK #79.
AUG (14) Calvert dies after a heart attack at his home in Kent. He
had recently played with his new band, The Starfighters.
1990 SEPT Refusing to quit, Hawkwind releases "Space Bandits" still on
GWR Records.
[and the rest......... is still happening!] jill