Hawkwind Press Releases, Part 9

Hawkwind Press Releases - Part 9

These two press releases were kindly supplied by Wilfried Schuesler, and I have translated them from the original German into English

Both feature interviews with Bob Calvert and were issued by Phonogram in Germany, who were presumably allied with Charisma as they date from the late 70's

Hawkwind – on a new course: Drugs are Out!

The English group Hawkwind are known as the inventors of Space-Rock. In 1973 they had a smash hit with ‘Silver Machine’. Since then their image has changed extensively, and nothing remains of the sound of their early years. The new-look Hawkwind (“we were held up as perennial heroes of the Underground!”) with a new contract with Charisma and a successful new LP – “Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music” have swum back into the reckoning. Mike Allen of “World Pop News” spoke with Bob Calvert, who is primarily responsible for the new style.

Q: Do you think you will manage to keep faith with your old fans?

A: I hope so, although at some point we had to think of ourselves and had to make the music of today.

Q: You’re trying to construct a new image for yourselves. Doesn’t that also mean a change of outlook?

A: Evidently, yes. Now we’ve moved totally away from consuming drugs of any type, and don’t allude

directly or indirectly to them in our music. And that kind of change of stimulus inevitably causes a change in how you react to your environment.

Q: How do you think your new LP “Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music” compares to your earlier albums?

A: (Not very seriously meant) : We used to be called a two-chord band. We have been working very hard behind the scenes and now we’re a three-chord band!

Q: Have you revamped your stage show?

A: Clearly, that was necessary because we no longer have a dancer (in earlier incarnations of Hawkwind, dancer Stacia was the focal point of the live show). But the present show is not yet the finished article. What we are striving for is a Science-Fiction show, like nothing else the world has ever seen...

Hawkwind with new ideas: a band with nuclear charm

They have just completed a large German tour with Van Der Graaf Generator and drew legions of fans: Hawkwind, who formed in 1969, became famous as exponents of Space Rock ®. But now the one-time musicnauts have become an independent band be taken seriously. We spoke with boss man Bob Calvert:

Your music's changed. It seems you have changed also. Where do you stand today, in 1977?

BC: He who does not develop, dies. Of course, we have not changed completely. But after seven years, one knows more about oneself and the kind of band that one wants to be. Today, in 1977, we’re doing what one could or perhaps would call Science Fantasy music, a further development of the old space sounds.
In the last year, a science fiction novel came out, in which you play the leading roles. Didn’t you want to actually perform the novel?

BC: The book is called “Time Of The Hawklords”. Michael Moorcock, an old acquaintance, wrote it.

Once we used to work together at an underground magazine. Michael used us only as “characters” – the names were changed. So yes, we played with the idea of performing it – however it was not written as just our story, or about us, even. So nothing came of it...

Back to your-just concluded German tour. Pre-gig publicity, in Hamburg for example, placed your name below Van Der Graaf Generator’s. What was your impression of the tour?

BC: I believe we went down well. Naturally we were excited to play to the fans, with co-headliners as strong as we are.

Live performances were always your strong point. And the Hawkwind light shows are internationally renowned.

BC: Yes, these days having the perfect light show is more important than ever. It really turned the fans on, we were pleased to see, on the tour. The visual insanity is important to us – it naturally integrates with our music. To this extent we are always stronger live than in the studio, where things can fall flat.

There has been criticism along the lines that you used to be a “bigger” band than you are now. Signing the contract with Charisma – has that been a new beginning?

BC: I do not see it that way. “Bigger” is a relative term. Clearly, we once had a hit single, five years ago. But one cannot relate to that other than as the past. We make music that expresses our feelings, that is true to us, and the consumer decides its success. To change styles, just to make lots of money – we don’t have it in us to do that...

Your last LP “Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music” showed, that now as much as ever, you are brimming with potential. Looking further ahead, when can we expect a new Hawkwind album?

BC: It comes onto the market in May. Although the basic concept remains unchanged, our musical security is such that we’ve become more “grown-up” than ever. The title of the LP, by the way, is “Quark Strangeness & Charm”. It, like some of our others, is at least partially a concept album. One side contains songs which are concerned with life in a nuclear world, and the other side has some “conceptless” new songs...