Formed in 1969, Hawkwind are a prolific and pioneering space-rock group from the UK. Within weeks
of their formation, the band had made a name for themselves on the free festival circuit and would perform live without fee wherever they were able. By the time of their 1971 album 'X In Search Of Space', Hawkwind were infamous for their science fiction themed music and theatrical concerts, the latter renowned as exhibitions of pulsing electronics, dazzling light shows, LSD consumption and (from 1971-75) a nude dancer in the form of Stacia Blake .
Despite a near-constant revolving door of members, Founder member Dave Brock has been the sole
mainstay and the core of the band since its inception and has steered the band from its psychedelic rock roots into flirtations with heavy metal, new wave, ambient and techno. Notable contributors have included "accidental" bassist Lemmy (who would go on to greater fame with Motörhead), Cream's Ginger Baker and science fiction writer Michael Moorcock.
Many musicians, dancers and writers have worked with the band since their inception. Notable
musicians who have performed in Hawkwind include Lemmy, Ginger Baker, Robert Calvert, Nik Turner and Huw Lloyd-Langton. However, the band are most closely associated with their founder, singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave Brock, who is the only remaining original member.
The seeds of the group were planted when guitarist/singer Dave Brock and guitarist Mick Slattery of the group Famous Cure, which was playing a gig in Holland in 1969, met
saxman/flutist/singer Nik Turner, a member of Mobile Freakout, on the same tour. Once back in England, Brock, Slattery, and Turner hooked up again and, adding John Harrison on bass, Terry Ollis on drums, and DikMik Davies on electronic keyboards, called themselves Group X, later changed to Hawkwind Zoo, and finally to Hawkwind. They secured a contract with United Artists/Liberty Records in England. Before the group recorded, however, Huw Lloyd Langton replaced Mick Slattery on guitar.
Hawkwind are best known for the song "Silver Machine", which became a number-three UK hit
single in 1972, but they scored further hit singles with "Urban Guerrilla" (another Top 40 hit) and "Shot Down in the Night". The band had a run of twenty-two of their albums charting in the UK from 1971 to 1993. Hawkwind have retained a loyal following and enjoyed periodic surges of popularity, in the '80s with the Moorcock-inspired concept album The Chronicle of the Black Sword and in the '90s with their embrace of rave culture and electronica on albums like Space Bandits.
The group's early sound, characterized by their singles up through that point, was essentially hard rock
with progressive trappings. They slotted in perfectly with the collegiate and drug audiences, putting on the kind of show that acts like King Crimson and ELP were known for, but with more of a pure rock & roll base (not surprising, considering Lemmy's background). Their commercial breakthrough took place when a version of the hard-driving rocker "Silver Machine," sung by Lemmy, made it to number three on the British charts in August 1972.
They were unable to maintain this unexpected flash of mass success, particularly when their follow-up
single, "Urban Guerrilla," a surprisingly melodic rocker with lots of crunchy guitar at the core of multiple layers of metallic sound.
The band's '70s recordings were starting to show up in profusion, in competition with their then-current work. Ironically, it was in 1985, just as Hawkwind were starting to compete with their own early
history, that they released their most ambitious record yet, The Chronicle of the Black Sword.They were left as a trio after a falling out among the bandmembers at the end of their 1992 American tour, and apart from periodic reissues of Hawkwind's classic material, the surviving group achieved a serious following on the underground, drug-driven dance/rave scene in England, ironically returning to a modern version of the band's roots.
The 2000 reunion event Hawkestra saw the coming together of multiple eras of Hawkwind personnel
and begat Space Ritual, a spin-off group of former members. Space Ritual competed with Brock's ongoing versions of Hawkwind, who continued to release both new and archival material throughout the decade. A contract with Eastworld Records in 2010 seemed to renew Hawkwind's commitment to new material, as they entered another prolific streak that included the 2016 concept album The Machine Stops and its 2017 sequel, Into the Woods.
For 2018's Road to Utopia, Hawkwind teamed up with composer and conductor Mike Batt to reimagine
songs from their catalog with new orchestral arrangements. The following year, the band issued an album of new material, All Aboard the Skylark, which included a second disc of acoustic versions of classic Hawkwind songs, titled Acoustic Daze. Sax and flute player Nik Turner died on November 10, 2022, at the age of 82.
Hawkwind – This Is Your Captain Speaking ... Your Captain Is Dead (The Albums And Singles 1970 - 1974)
Label: Parlophone – 0825646172979, Parlophone – HAWKS 9
Format: CD, Album, Reissue, Remastered, Compilation, Box Set
Released: Mar 20, 2015
Genre: Rock
Style: Space Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock
01. Hurry On Sundown 5:01
02. The Reason Is? 3:31
03. Be Yourself 8:07
04. Paranoia - Part 1 1:07
05. Paranoia - Part 2 4:12
06. Seeing It As You Really Are 10:46
07. Mirror Of Illusion 7:02
MP3 @ 320 Size: 96 MB
Flac Size: 219 MB
CD2. X IN SEARCH OF SPACE 1971
01. You Shouldn't Do That 15:43
02. You Know You're Only Dreaming 6:36
03. Master Of The Universe 6:17
04. We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago 4:51
05. Adjust Me 5:47
06. Children Of The Sun 3:22
MP3 @ 320 Size: 101 MB
Flac Size: 241 MB
CD3. DOREMI FASO LATIDO 1972
01. Brainstorm 11:34
02. Space Is Deep 6:23
03. One Change 0:52
04. Lord Of Light 7:00
05. Down Through The Night 3:04
06. Time We Left This World Today 8:45
07. The Watcher 4:11
MP3 @ 320 Size: MB
Flac Size: MB
CD4. GREASY TRUCKERS PARTY CD1. 1972
01. Announcement / Apology 1:58
02. This Is Your Captain Speaking (Breakdown) 1:38
03. This Is Your Captain Speaking 2:42
04. You Shouldn't Do That 10:07
05. The Awakening 7:50
06. Master Of The Universe 7:00
07. Paranoia 5:01
MP3 @ 320 Size: 88 MB
Flac Size: 211 MB
CD4. GREASY TRUCKERS PARTY CD2. 1972
01. Earth Calling 3:24
02. Silver Machine 4:26
03. Welcome To The Future 3:36
04. Born To Go 9:08
05. Brainstorm (Jam) 9:52
06. DJ Andy Dunkley – End Announcement 1:28
Bonus Tracks:
07. Master Of The Universe (Original 1972 LP Mix) 7:22
08. Born To Go (Original 1972 LP Mix) 13:03
MP3 @ 320 Size: 124 MB
Flac Size: 333 MB
CD5. THE SPACE RITUAL CD1. 1973
01. Earth Calling 1:45
02. Born To Go 9:56
03. Down Through The Night 6:15
04. The Awakening 1:46
05. Lord Of Light 7:26
06. Black Corridor 1:51
07. Space Is Deep 8:14
08. Electronic No. 1 2:42
MP3 @ 320 Size: 97 MB
Flac Size: 223 MB
CD5. THE SPACE RITUAL CD2. 1973
01. Orgone Accumulator 10:02
02. Upside Down 2:43
03. 10 Seconds Of Forever 2:06
04. Brainstorm 9:21
05. Seven By Seven 6:12
06. Sonic Attack 2:54
07. Time We Left This World Today 5:43
08. Master Of The Universe 7:39
09. Welcome To The Future 2:08
MP3 @ 320 Size: 116 MB
Flac Size: 298 MB
CD6. HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL 1974
01. The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke) 6:47
02. Wind Of Change 5:12
03. D-Rider 6:15
04. Web Weaver 3:17
05. You'd Better Believe It 7:14
06. Hall Of The Mountain Grill 2:25
07. Lost Johnny 3:30
08. Goat Willow 1:38
09. Paradox 5:30
MP3 @ 320 Size: 100 MB
Flac Size: 241 MB
CD7. THE 1999 PARTY CD1. 1974
01. Intro / Standing On The Edge 4:17
02. Brainbox Pollution 7:52
03. It's So Easy 11:03
04. You Know You're Only Dreaming 4:43
05. Veterans Of A Thousand Psychic Wars 2:21
06. Brainstorm 9:19
07. Seven By Seven 9:27
MP3 @ 320 Size:117 MB
Flac Size: 313 MB
CD7. THE 1999 PARTY CD2. 1974
01. The Watcher 6:41
02. The Awakening 2:41
03. Paradox 5:44
04. You'd Better Believe It 8:09
05. The Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke) 3:47
06. D-Rider 7:46
07. Sonic Attack 4:31
08. Master Of The Universe 6:57
09. Welcome To The Future 2:32
MP3 @ 320 Size: 116 MB
Flac Size: 303 MB
CD8. OF TIME & STARS: THE SINGLES 2015
01. Hurry On Sundown (Mono Single Version) 4:57
Engineer – Barry Ainsworth/Producer – Dick Taylor)
02. Mirror Of Illusion (Mono Single Edit Version) 2:47
Engineer – Barry Ainsworth/Producer – Dick Taylor)
03. Silver Machine (Original Single Mix) 4:43
Producer – Doctor Technical, Hawkwind
04. Seven By Seven (Original Single Mix) 5:23
Producer – Doctor Technical, Hawkwind
05. Lord Of Light (Single Mix) 4:00
Producer – Dave, Del, Hawkwind/Remix – Peter Kramper, Stefan Michel
06. Born To Go (Live Single Version Edit) 5:14
Producer – Hawkwind/Recorded By, Engineer – Vic Maile
07. Urban Guerilla 3:38
Engineer – Anton Matthews, David Hamilton-Smith/Producer – Hawkwind
08. Brainbox Pollution 5:43
Engineer – Anton Matthews, David Hamilton-Smith/Producer – Hawkwind
09. You'd Better Believe It (Single Version Edit) 3:22
Producer – Hawkwind, Roy Thomas Baker/Recorded By – Vic Maile
10. Paradox (Remix Single Edit) 4:06
Producer – Hawkwind, Roy Thomas Baker
11. Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear In Smoke) (Single Version) 3:58
Engineer – Doug Bennett/Engineer [With] – Andy Morris, David Hamilton-Smith/Producer – Doug Bennett, Hawkwind
12. It's So Easy 5:22
Engineer – Doug Bennett/Engineer [With] – Andy Morris, David Hamilton-Smith
Producer – Doug Bennett, Hawkwind/Recorded By – Vic Maile
13. Seven By Seven (Live Space Ritual Single Edit) 5:22Mixed By – Anton Matthews, Vic Maile/Producer – Hawkwind/
Recorded By – Vic Maile
14. Silver Machine (Roadhawks Single Mix) 4:25
Producer – Doctor Technical, Hawkwind
15. Seven By Seven (Remixed Single Version) 5:24
Producer – Doctor Technical, Hawkwind
MP3 @ 320 Size: 209 MB
Flac Size: 407 MB
A nice set you made of the Hawkwind. You put a lot of effort into it. I myself have all except Greasy Truckers Party, The 1999 Party, The Singles. That made me curious to get this too. I myself still have warrior on the edge, think from1975, also highly recommended. Friends of mine only want to accept the first three. I don't think so. There are others that are very good.
ReplyDeleteThere is a 3 cd edition of the Hawkwind concert greasy truckers party. The other band playing live here in 1972 are Man and Brinsley Schwarz.
ReplyDeleteKostas i don't know you feel about 60s & 70s
ReplyDeleteobscure single. I love them very, have hundreds samplers. I'm currently listening (for the first time) to WYLD CANADA VOL. 1-4.
EXCELLENT !!
If you mean the compilations, yes! Great Garage Rock from the 60's. The No 1 begins with the Ugly Duckling and the King Bees.
DeleteThank you for all these. I might have some already but I will check. I was fortunate to see the band performing the Space Ritual tour in my home town back in the day. The strobe lighting was superb and Stacia was also on stage as well. A great gig- Wow! Heady days/daze...
ReplyDeleteThat post was quite an effort! I will have to listen to those tracks again and see if I still view the band in the same light as back then, as I didn't consider it a great one. A good band, yes, but not a top band. Obviously the music worked better along the visual show, but in any case I think I'll reevaluate my opinion and see if it's still the same.
ReplyDeleteMany thanks Kostas for this great feature on my favourite band , they were my very first live gig way back in 1972 and at the tender age of 15 I was totally blown away with their unique sound and fantastic light show ( Old style liquid wheels etc ) and not forgetting the young dancer Stacia.....A great night I shall never forget....thanks again Kostas......Love & Peace .....Stu
ReplyDeleteThanks Kostas more Hawkwind albums than I imagined Great work
ReplyDeleteLooks like an amazing set but sadly Windows Defender is preventing the downloads/. Never had this from your site before. Anyone got any ideas?
ReplyDeleteCan you use a linux live cd? Or perhaps deactivate windows defender if that is possible.
DeleteThank you very much for posting these!! :0)
ReplyDelete