Hawkwind: Doremi Fasol Latido

First vinyl release November 1972 ~ Reeditions CD (EMI) 1996 & 2001 (United Artists/EMI)

Brainstorm
Space Is Deep
One Change
Lord Of Light
Down Through The Night
Time We Left This World Today
The Watcher

Johnny Rotten, Brian Eno, Peter Hook, Pete Shelley, or ADD N To X, have all admitted their debt to Hawkwind, a British psychedelic "special" band with an unreal host of bikes, dealers, poetes, sci-fi writers, and street musicians all gathered around one concept as illegal and fantastic it may have been.

From 1971 to 1975, Hawkwind had been a 'resistance band', a nuclear of madness, whose members defended an ideal of Rocknroll mixed with Techno (well before the later existed) and it was always served with those lysergic covers, all of them conceived by the same artist; the genial and enlightened Barney Bubbles who became later the graphist Punk of Stiff Records before his suicide in 1983.

Hawkwind music was suicidal. Their first producer, Dick Taylor (Pretty Things), once confessed to a journalist "where all the normal bands were happy with their three riffs formula, Hawkwind was only using one"

The drums, where always in front in the final mix, and the flexible bass of Lemmy Killmister, (future Motorhead), one naked dancer with pendulous breasts, (Stacia), a techno layout, (stuttering Moog Synthes) one must admit nothing was there to make their music survive time, and yet, Hawkwind was not your usual fashionable band. Like Pinkfairies, StackWaddy, or Man, they truly were an anarchic bubble, producing a chaotic music, reflecting the many preocupations of unknown musicians.

'Latido', was a futuristic concept, based on a fuzzy riff, played by the brave Baron Brock. That riff will announce the taking off of Hawkwind. Direction; space, infinity. The notes written on the cover, were very explanatory; "in this age of machine, better to abandon planet earth"...

Since it's creation in 1969, the Hakwind space-ship had always tried to take off, but it's been the coming of Lemmy that had truly pushed that band from Notting Hill to the skies; his bass will add to the collective a kind of juice purely Rocknroll, and their sound was a perpetual stereo duel between a guitar and a synthetizer ... All the album, is a kind of Sci Fi ride, recalling all the better Sci fi mags of that period.

"The Watcher", will carve them a reputation, and they were seen in most of the festivals of those times. Like no one else, Hawkwind puts his anarchic vision to practice. Live, or in the Olympic studios, where the album had been recorded, their superb drummer could hold the pressure; Simon King, his beat was dry, firm, and to the point, and his generous rolls, always came down with a unique crescendo.

Behind the machines, two veterans were fiddling with the sound; Dik Mik, and Del Detmurr (a reminder of the Germans from Amon Duul II) they went further than Pink Floyd and Can in their experimentations. Michael Moorcock (author of Eric the Necromencer) master of the 'Heroic Fantasy', wrote those beautiful monologues, and soon, Robert Calvert the Poet, will use them on stage, and thus, giving birth to the famous 'Space Ritual' ...

But if a shadow lurked behind Hawkwind, it was the Jimi hendrix one; Lemmy had been his trusted roadie and he once said about Jimi "that guy was cool and incredibly democratic".

If Baron Brock (who came from the folk scene) had once been accused of virtuosity, he will know how to find regularly the doors with his Wah Wah and use those killer riffs that can remind us the Punks (before their time of course) ...

At this stage, that tremendous solo of "Lord Of Light" indicates a lost issue; the one to an Hendrixian Blues come back, tho' slightly trash and spoiled by the feedbacks

Inspired by the writings of Willem Reich and William Burroughs, Lemmy tortures the strings of his Rickenbacker. Said he; "we were a band of psychopaths, always highs, a kind of circus of maniacs constantly travelling around the world, and our only goal was to wreck people's brains" ...

(Lemmy had once been sacked in the middle of a Canadian tour).

Thanks to Baron Brock, who had made his debut as a 'Hippie' on Portobello Road with his acoustic 12 strings, the band wrote that awesome 'Techno-Folk' ballad "Down Through The Night".

On an enormous nine minutes 'Opus Epic' called "Time We Left The World Today" Lemmy will give us an anthologic Bass solo that will leave a mark on the auditors, (he was already busy inventing Motorhead) ...

The folly Hawkwind, will produce a planetary hit, the single "Silver Machine" sung by Lemmy, and will score a number four in the international charts.

What came next was evident; the double live (Space Ritual), a banned single, (Urban Guerilla), first serious disagrements, Lemmy's definitive departure, (followed by Stacia), and seventeen changes of personnel in ten years. To date, Hawkwind continues to tour around the restless Dave Brock. As he once said: "the dark forces will be eradicated, the cities reduced to ashes, the sword is the key, peace to all ..."

Personnel:

Dave Brock- Guitar Vovals Del Dettmar - Synthesiser Dik Mik - Audio Generator, Electronics Simon King - Drums Lemmy - Bass Vovals Nik Turner -Vocals, Saxophone, Flute

Producer: Dave Brock - Del Dettmar