Gonzo: Hi Michael ... before I ask you about any recent activities, can I delve back into the mists of time and ask you a few things about your book The Time of the Hawklords. Where did the idea come from, of the things like Hawkwind's music warding off the effects of death generators?
MB: In "the mists of time" it certainly was, but I'll do my best for you! The idea for the book had already been agreed between Michael Moorcock and the publisher before I came on the scene. My job at an advertising agency had just come to an end, I was a single parent, so I decided to try my hand at freelance. With two very young children to support, it seemed best to be working from home. Mike was one of the people I approached for help, and he very generously gave me the books -- there were three, though at that stage only the first one had a title. The idea could have been written on the back of a matchbox. It was simply: "Hawkwind rocking in the ruins of London." The idea for the music guns came either from Mike or James Cawthorn [1929-2008]. They had done a comic strip together called 'Codename Hawkwind: The Sonic Assassins' for Frendz underground newspaper, in which the music wars are first played out [Frendz #16, Nov 29th 1971]. I can't remember now how I came across the strip, but I may have been shown it by Mike or Jim. Anyhow, I incorporated that into the synopsis I presented to the publisher's.
Gonzo: Anyone embarking on a writing project might well do some field research first. Yours could have consisted of going to lots of early-seventies Hawkwind gigs and getting bombed out of your skull! Was it actually like that?
MB: I didn't know much about Hawkwind. Early Pink Floyd was much more my kind of music, who were more inner space, but I very quickly got to like the Hawks who were unashamedly space cowboys and girl. They were more Mandrax than LSD, and yes, there were many zonked-out concerts, though unfortunately not for me. Although I had had LSD by then, and had tried mescaline and mushrooms, I hadn't taken them at a concert, where I mostly had alcohol and occasionally dope. I didn't find them conducive to music. It wasn't until the so called second summer of love in the late eighties, when dance music started, that I got into psychedelics in a bigger way (actually in the early 90s). Ecstasy made them more controllable. What I would have thought had I been able to try ecstasy at those Hawkwind 70s concerts I went to, I don't know. The light shows were so incredible. It's probably just as well I wasn't able to because I would have wrecked my head my now. Many have done, of course. Gonzo: I've heard that, although Michael Moorcock is 'billed' as a co-author on the cover, he only wrote the first few lines. That's an unusual division of labour, isn't it?
MB: It was, and it was a very steep challenge, as I'd never written a novel before. I don't know why it happened the way it did, except I was keen to do it and Mike just let me get on with it. I showed it to him only at the end, when he added names to some of the guitars and sharpened some of my descriptions of the Hawklords in the opening chapter. Why it appears so unusual, I think, was because Star Books had bought a Michael Moorcock book, not a Michael Butterworth one, so his name had to go on to fulfill the contract, which I had more or less taken over. He was actually appalled by what I had produced in his name, and told me so, though he later rang me to apologise and to say that it wasn't quite as bad as he initially thought!
Gonzo: At the time you wrote the book, I suppose "Warrior on the Edge of Time" was the then-latest album by Hawkwind. I liked the line about them doing an endless jam loosely based around Assault & Battery. Next month, Hawkwind's tour will - for the first time ever - include a full performance of the Warrior album. Are you tempted to go along and see a show... for "old times' sake" as it were?
MB: I should, really. It would be nice, though to be honest I have given up going out, mainly to preserve what grey matter remains. The last time I saw them was at the Ritz in Manchester, towards the end of the 90s, when Trevor Hughes invited me. I have hardly done anything since 2000.
This interview hopefully to be continued soon!
The Hawkwind tour referred to, towards the end of this piece, has now taken place.
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