The psychedelic warlords' live masterpiece reissued...
A recent Notes & Queries in The Guardian asked if any band had lasted as long as Hawkwind while having such little success. Hawkwind fans will have spotted the flaw in the question. Because of course there are no sales graphs or probability equations in space; merely spiral galaxies, golden voids and apocalyptic warnings. “Do not panic... small babies may be placed inside special cocoons and should be left if possible in shelters.” For Hawkwind, ‘success’ was getting the drugs over the border.
All the same, there have been important years in Hawkwind’s history, and 1972 was one of them. “Silver Machine” was an unexpected monster hit that summer, and a strong studio album (Doremi Fasol Latido) followed in November. To promote it, Hawkwind unveiled a new live act that combined hypnotic space-rock with a Liquid Len lightshow, a sci-fi storyline and a trio of interpretive dancers, including the towering, topless Stacia. Hawkwind’s line-up – possibly their best ever – comprised Nik Turner (wah-wah sax and flute), Dave Brock (guitar, vocals), Lemmy (bass, vocals), the duo of Dik Mik and Del Dettmar (synthesisers and electronics), thunder-drummer Simon King and the remarkable Robert Calvert, whose chilling announcements were crucial to maintaining a red-alert atmosphere. “Do not panic,” he urged, like a cosmic Corporal Jones. “You have only a few seconds to escape. Use those seconds sensibly or you will inevitably die.” God help anyone who saw the show on bad acid.
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