Hawkwind: Warriors on the Edge of Easter

Hawkwind have announced that their Spring Tour is called "Warrior On The Edge Of Time 2013."

The statement reads:

The spring Hawkwind tour, which launches at their HawkEaster event in Devon on 30th and 31st of March will include a full performance of the Warrior on the Edge of Time album, and will be complemented by a long awaited and very special album release.

In what will be a first for Hawkwind, the current line up will play the entire Warrior album in its original sequence as part of their set.

Only one album release can really qualify for the phrase 'long awaited,' and that's a re-release of the 1975 album "Warrior on the Edge of Time". It's been out on CD before (Dojo in the UK and Griffin in the US) but copies aren't exactly plentiful.

"Warrior" was Lemmy's last Hawkwind album, before he started Motorhead.

Whereas Hawkwind material produced prior to 1975 belongs to EMI (who now have sole rights to the United Artists catalog) it seems the Hawkwind participants on "Warrior" have the final say on if or when that particular album is put on sale; and I've heard it was Lemmy who was blocking its re-release.

It's not clear to me if this is directly connected with Lemmy's famous comments about the album, where he described it as "a fuck-up from start to finish."

Anyway, it's seemingly now going to be an Esoteric/Atomhenge release (ie, Cherry Red Records) and this raises interesting possibilities, as different approaches have been used by them on their different re-releases in the past.

Scenario 1: Quark, Strangeness and Charm

This 1977 album was reissued in 2009 with a second CD containing alternative versions of various QSC tracks, including two alternative "Damnation Alley" versions, an acoustic version of "Days of the Underground" and the full length "Spirit of the Age" - 11 minutes instead of 7½.

Scenario 2: Levitation

This 1980 album was also reissued in 2009. The remastered album was on one CD and two additional CDs contained most of the Hammersmith Odeon gig from that year's autumn Levitation tour.

If Warrior gets either of those two treatments, it will be a pretty vital purchase for the fans.





The spring tour currently is scheduled to take in Bath, Cardiff, Preston, Rotherham and Seaton. More details are on hawkwind.com

LINK: Hendrix At 70: “The Effect On Everybody Was Immense” – Lemmy

November 27th will mark 70 years since the birth of Jimi Hendrix , the man who changed electric guitar and rock and roll forever. Throughout November, CBS Local will  remember the legendary musician’s life and career.

While many musicians were influenced by Hendrix, Motorhead frontman Lemmy knew the man: He actually worked as a roadie for Jimi in the 1960s before joining Hawkwind (and ultimately forming Motorhead). He spent time with the man both in the studio and on the stage, and he told CBS Local that Hendrix was a big influence on him as a vocalist.

Read on...

LINK: Lemmy - I’d still be in Hawkwind if they hadn’t fired me

It is probably because I am a great fan of Robert Heinlein and his Future History series of stories, but I am very fond of daydreaming about 'what ifs', and imagining alternate universes where certain events in history didn't happen. One big 'what if' for followers of the eccentric mix of musical styles which can be found on the Gonzo Daily, is 'what if, Lemmy had not been busted on Hawkwind's 1975 US Tour...

Still fighting: Lemmy

Lemmy Kilmister was so happy being a member of Hawkwind that he’d still be in the band today if they hadn’t fired him.

He joined the space rockers in 1971, playing bass for the first time during his debut appearance with them. Four years later he was fired after being arrested in Canada for possession of drugs. That’s when he formed Motorhead, the band he’s led for 37 years.

But despite a few personality clashes, Lemmy says he felt at home in Hawkwind.

Read on..

LINK: Motorhead biography

The new Motorhead: Live to Win by Alan Burridge is a true rarity in the world of rock and roll books. More often than not, these oversized books are filled with pictures, very little text, and come with an astronomical price tag.

True to the spirit of Motorhead though, this is a book made with the fans in mind. While it contains a many rare pictures, it does not skimp on the history, and is priced at about half of what I expected it to sell for.

Like a lot of fans in the US, I first heard of Motorhead in 1980, with theAce of Spades album. I later discovered that Lemmy had started out as a roadie for the Jimi Hendrix Experience. He then joined Hawkwind, only to be kicked out after being busted for drugs in Canada. Lemmy has always maintained that it wasn’t the fact that he was doing drugs that got him canned. It was the fact that he was doing the “wrong kind” of drugs that did him in. He claims to have formed Motorhead so that he could never be fired again.