Silver machine: Hawkwind
Tim Hughes talks to acid-rock legend Dave Brock about life with Hawkwind as the band bring a ’70s sci-fi classic to life
Space-rocker, astral explorer and sonic pioneer, Dave Brock is one of rock’s great survivors. Intelligent, well-read and erudite, Brock is the driving force behind one of the longest-running rock bands of all time — Hawkwind.
Born out of the acid-drenched summer of love, Hawkwind have expounded a turbo-charged version of the hippie ideal since the late ’60s — with songs based on myth, fantasy Dark Age legend and an imagined galactic future, inspired by ancient tales and modern sci-fi. Their ground-breaking sound has gone on to inspire generations of electro, drone-rock, ambient, grunge and metal bands.
But when I caught up with him, the self-confessed former space traveller was brandishing not a synth or electric guitar, but a chainsaw. “We got hit hard,” he tells me, taking a break from clearing fallen trees at his Devon farm.
“It was really bad. It sounded like a jet aircraft. We have lost quite a few trees — a lovely old willow, a cherry and some poplars.”
Aged 72, the hard-partying Brock is now tempering his space rocking night job with a spot of farming. “I get up at 7am,” he tells me with relish. “When you get older you go to bed at 11pm.”
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