Huw was involved with Hawkwind from the start and played on the debut album, where his powerful, soaring lead guitar contributed to that album's prog style, a very different sound compared to the 8 or so LPs that followed.
Huw Lloyd-Langton on acoustic guitar in May 2012, Bridport.
He took to the stage as the support act to Hawkwind, but a surprise guest joined him on stage - Dave Brock on harmonica!
It was his LSD experience at the 1970 Isle of Wight festival that led to his leaving Hawkwind for nearly 10 years: he was spiked, and became seriously ill as a result.
He returned to Hawkwind for their 1979 tour, and his guitaring made the band sound very different to The Hawklords who had toured a year before. The "Live Seventy Nine" album and the studio album "Levitation" show his work excellently, developing a piercing and almost raucous and jangly style. Those words almost sound like criticism, don't they? - but the style worked.
During the 80s he formed the three-piece rock band The Lloyd Langton Group, which performed hundreds of gigs in the UK and over in Europe, and sometimes played support to Hawkwind.
Huw also collaborated with Robert Calvert from time to time, "Lord of the Hornets" on the "FREQ" album being an example of his input. He was also session lead guitarist for British metal band The Meads of Asphodel from 2000 to 2007.
He started a third stint with Hawkwind in 2002, but was hospitalised with kidney failure in 2009, and spent several months there. However, he made it to the May 2010 Hawkwind show in Leamington, where his physical frailty worried me, but his rock n roll energy seemed little diminished.
In 2011 and this year, he made more appearances at Hawkwind gigs, and played a set with Dave Brock at a Folk festival back in August.
But the end had now come, and on Friday Hawkwind made the following announcement:
It is with immense sadness that we have to let you know our great friend of many years and fellow musician Huw Lloyd Langton passed away peacefully last night.
Huw had been bravely fighting cancer for a couple of years, but was determined not to let the battle affect his day to day life. He continued to play his guitar, laugh, joke and share the great love he had in his heart, with all who knew him.
As he wished, he was at home when the time came, with his ever strong and loving wife Marion at his side.
Huw was one of the great guitarists with an individual style and character. He is gone but never forgotten by any of us. He will live on in our music and in our hearts.
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