Hawkwind Tribute Bands

Hawkwind Tribute Bands - Past, Present & Future

Something the world needs more of? Email me here if you have information about any Hawkwind tribute bands that you would like to see added to this page. There must be many more such bands out there, and this page is hopefully a starting point for finding out about them.

BRIGHAWK are a currently active space rock band from the small village of Bonnybridge in Central Scotland (famous as the UK's number one UFO hotspot). They play their own material plus Hawkwind covers. Some of the numbers they have done are Silver Machine, Wind of Change, Magnu, Damnation Alley, Angels of Death, Assault and Battery, the Golden Void, Moonglum, Space is Deep, Master of the Universe, the Pulsing Cavern, Warriors and Psychedelic Warlords. The band consists of: Danny C on vocals, didgeridoo and theatrics; Davey P. on drums and percussion; Faig on bass; Warrie on keyboards, synthesizer and wind machine; Paul on lead guitar and vocals; and Tam

on rhythm guitar and vocals. Their first gig with this line-up was at the Martell, Falkirk on 13th June 2002. They had not gigged previously since Christmas 2001 as they had been rehearsing material with their new drummer (Davey P., who replaced Raz). Check out their website for gig reviews, pics and sounds. A quote from Danny: "Our very varied musical tastes and styles combine well to give a very distinctive edge to our Hawkwind covers" Next time I am flying over Bonnybridge in my spacecraft I will be sure to check the veracity of this statement.

ROADHAWKS was formed by Rich Jones, the lead guitarist from Mournblade (who were signed to Flicknife in the 80's) and existed on and off from 1994 to 1996, based in Luton. They never actually gigged, as the drummer moved to Sheffield, the bass player to Birmingham and Rich was in Northampton!

The band line-up was Steve King - drums/vocals; Paul (Chalky) White - Fender Precision bass + large Calsbro bass combo /vocals; Jonathan Bates - Roland SH101 synth/audio generator - he also used a set of VCO's to reproduce the classic HW non-musical synth effects; Rich Jones - guitar (Fender Strat/Marshall 100 MV stack, Colorsound Wah, Boss HM2 overdrive, Digitech delay) / backing vocals.

Rich says: "After years of trying to be a serious musician this was wonderful fun! The drummer and bassist came from another band, so already made a tight well-rehearsed rhythm section. Even better, they both regularly sang harmonised vocals. This, coupled with my natural leaning towards Dave's early guitar style (an enjoyable experience for me after years of playing 'pro' HM/HR when such an influence was uncool) worked well and we gelled at the first rehearsal. Playing 'tribute' to a band we all loved was a really uplifting experience, as we came together with a broadly even level of experience - the usual 'breaking the ice' that first time line-ups go through was almost non-existent. The HW material I remember us playing included Master of the Universe, Brainstorm, Assault & Battery, Magnu, Its So Easy, You Shouldn't Do That, Down Through The Night, Lord of Light, Kings of Speed, D-Rider, Paradox, Hassan-i-Sahba and Psi Power. The only other thing I'd like to mention is that I'd really enjoy doing this again - with like-minded musicians and easy logistics! Marshall 4 x 12's get awful heavy when you get old!!" Anyone in the Southern Midlands who wants to take up Rich's offer, email me & I'll pass your email address on to him!

THE TIME BROTHERS were featured on Adrian Parr's Hawkeye on Hawkwind website in November 1999, as having recorded a couple of CD's of Hawkwind covers. They formed in October 1997 and are still in existence (based in Lanarkshire - Scotland again...must be Space Rock Central) but have not gigged recently. The last time they did so was at the Derby Railway Inn in August 1999: the set lasted 35 minutes and included Reefer Madness, Spirit of the Age, Ejection, Master of the Universe and Choose Your Masks.

In any case, the Time Brothers describe themselves as "an ongoing recording project around a core nucleus of 2 people, rather than a live band. We focus on getting good sounding, well played fully mixed recordings (old fashioned '70s stereo panning a must!)" The project consists of the nucleus of Gavin Wilson - keyboards; and Dave Watson - guitar & vocal. Others who have contributed are Jez Dacombe - narrative (& bass); Ripper - bongos, percussion & vocals; Alan Wright - drums & bass; Michael Dodd - sax; Liam McAteer - drums; Martin Cochran - bass; Donne Thomson - drums; and Doktor Low-Tech "(our trusty percussion unit)". Rather than doing straight cover versions, the band added dialogue from the Hawkwind Log Book to existing HW numbers.

A 72-minute CD called "Star Travelogue" consisted of the tracks Our Wintering Is Done, Psychedelic Warlords, Beyond Angel, Paradox, The First Of All, Assault & Battery, Golden Void, Magnu, Sonic Attack, Master of the Universe, Paranoia, The Trail of Abandoned Futures, Brainstorm and Welcome to the Future. The unfamiliar titles are presumably the spoken word extracts from the Hawkwind Log. They also recorded a 26-minute CD EP called "Damaged Heads", with these tracks: Damage of Life, Heads and Time We Left. Dave Watson says: "Brian Tawn offered to publicise any material we had for release, in his next Hawkfan, and so we decided to release both CDs simultaneously in September 1999. This was after we had sent the material in advance to Dave Brock, who generously offered to waive publishing dues if we were only undertaking a small release, and so we restricted the pressing to 50 of each. Brian and Adrian Parr did most of the publicising in the UK, with mainly Crohinga Well and Dietrich Pleiss publicising it on the Continent. Since those first releases, another 4 full-length CDs, and 3 cassette tapes, of Hawkwind covers have been recorded under the Time Brothers banner. None of these have been made available commercially. Various personnel have appeared on these recordings, but the most prolific of the floating contributors have been Allan, Jez, and Ripper." These CD's (which I've never heard) may well be still available, check out the details on the Hawkeye on Hawkwind site... Dave Watson currently plays an Epiphone Gibson SG guitar, and 1970's effects such as wah-wah, echo unit, fuzz/phaser pedals etc.. Gavin uses the following synths: Roland Juno 60, Roland JD800, and Yamaha CSX1, as well as a Roland JV1010 module unit, and he channels his gear though similar effects (echo, wah, phasing etc) when needed.

March 2004: The Time Brothers have just announced limited sale of their video recording of the Space Ritual, which was filmed early in 2003

ALIEN SKY, who were also called Sky City, were a band based in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, playing their own material as well as Hawkwind covers. Among their more prominent gigs have been playing the Cooran festival on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland. They were then temporarily unable to gig as they were trying to recruit a new bass player. The band consisted of: John Ringshaug - drums, djimbay, and sometimes vocals; Ben Musgrave - Vocals, rhythm guitar, lead guitar, and sometimes keyboard synth; Russel Lassig - Keyboards, vocals, and sometimes percussion; Alistair the Celt - lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and sometimes synth guitar. Guess what, there's another Jock connection as Alistair hails from Scotland! Ben says: "The Hawkwind tunes we play, we try to do as authentically as practicable. BTW if you hear of any Bass players wanting to do space rock, even in a remotely adjacent geographical area, please encourage them to get in touch with us :-)" I guess this didn't pan out as Ben some months later (Oct 2002) said: "The original Hawkwind cover band that we had; 'Sky City', unfortunately broke up. Mostly due to the distances / travelling time that was involved. The drummer who started the band, John Ringhaug, continued on with new members, notably: Nimo on keyboards, and Alistair on guitar / guitar-synth. The latest version of the band is called 'The Space Doctors'...

SILVER MACHINE were, up to 2003, the best established Hawkwind tribute band in the UK, playing regularly in and around London. The band consisted of Dave Moran - vocals; Marvin Page - lead guitar; PSimon - synth; Paul Welton - drums; and Steve Pope - bass. Their set list included Who's Gonna Win The War, Uncle Sam's On Mars, Golden Void, Steppenwolf, Psi Power, Death Trap, Flying Doctor, Angels of Death, Psychedelic Warlords, Urban Guerilla, Levitation, Jack of Shadows, Ejection, The Watcher, It's So Easy, Master Of The Universe, Hassan-i-Sahba, Seven By Seven, Spirit Of The Age, Hurry On

Sundown, Orgone Accumulator and Brainstorm (phew!). The venue that they most often seemed to play was the Royal Standard in Walthamstow, opposite Blackhorse Road tube station, for example their gig there on October 4th 2002. They have a promising looking evening lined up for Hawkfans on 24th May 2003 at the Jericho Tavern, Oxford, supporting the Assassins of Silence - who tell me that there should be a return match with Silver Machine headlining in London later in the year (which, IIRC, didn't happen).

March 2004: Although they appeared on the Autumn 2003 'Daze of the Underground' tribute CD, I've not heard of any activity from Silver Machine for nearly a year. I don't believe they're still a going concern.

THE COSMIC BROTHERHOOD OF RA formed in 2001 and are still active in New Jersey (USA) and used to play a set that was about half Hawkwind covers and half their own Psychedelic Space Rock material. Nowadays they are "a NJ Based Space Rock Fusion Outfit who go from Jazz to Jolt in the blink of the Eye of RA". The band is made up of Brother Anubis Re - Vocals, Tenor sax, Soprano Sax, Alto Sax & Synth: Troy - Drums, Guitar, Bass: John - Guitar, Alto Sax: Brian - Bass, Flute, Soprano Sax: Dustin - Guitar, Tenor Sax, Baritone Sax, Alto Sax, Keys.

Numbers in the set at one time included Ejection, Needle Gun, High Rise, Orgone Accumulator and Urban Guerrilla. Brother Anubis Re says "The band is still very much together but is no longer a 'Tribute Band' as we have changed lineups and come into our own as a New Jersey Space Rock Band writing originals!" Check out their website, and anyone reading this who lives in NJ, you can support your local deities by going to see the Cosmics...

SUN MACHINE were from Cleveland, Ohio, and were active from 1996-98. Most gigs were at the Phantasy Night Club (or the Symposium next door) in western suburban Cleveland. The lineup was fluid and unpredictable, but included Dann Diefer - vocals, acoustic guitar; Mark (?) Marianetti - vocals, poetry; Steve Taylor - guitar (mainly?), sometimes bass (?); Steve Hayes - keyboards; Thom Marianetti - drums; Jim Lascko - lightshow; Scott Kuti - lights, occasionally vocals, Spaceman suit; Doug Walker (one-time special guest) - synthesizer, flute/sax. Greg Kozlowski (guitar) of Architectural Metaphor also played as a one-time special guest at their debut gig on New Years Eve 1995. Tapes of this gig were credited to the "Angels of Death" band as they had not yet settled on the name of Sun Machine. Jim Lascko has since of course done the lights for Hawkwind at the Strange Daze U.S. Space Rock festival and on their UK Autumn 2001 tour. Steve Taylor guested on bass on the 2000 New Zealand tour and both Steves are members of the Star Nation project. Sun Machine's setlist included "The Demented Man", which was a specialty of Dann Diefer (who when playing solo usually billed himself as Diefer Dann, and performed some older Hawkwind acoustic tracks. He also included "The Watcher" and "We Took The Wrong Step Years Ago" in his repertoire). Apparently Diefer Dann played as a solo artist, doing a mixture of original tunes and covers, years before Sun Machine formed, and opened for Tim Blake at the Gallery Cafe (east suburban Cleveland) on his Magick tour in approximately 1990.

July 2005: Steve Hayes emailed me to list the line-up as "Bill Spear - bass guitar; Dan Schnell (Diefer)- guitars/vocals; Tom Marianetti - drums/vocals; Steve Hayes-keyboards; Steve Taylor- lead guitar. That was the core of the band..other characters came and went. The coolest part is that 2 of us actually went on to work with Hawkwind!" (Steves Taylor and Hayes at 1998 Strange Daze and the 2000 New Zealand tour in the case of Mr.Taylor)

AD HAWK were put together on short notice (as you'd expect from the name), to fill an empty slot on a bill at Port Lite, an unfriendly dive in Oakland, California, in June/July 2000. The set: Warriors / Assault &; Battery / Golden Void / Quark, Strangeness & Charm / Ground Control to Cockpit / Ejection / Ten Seconds of Forever / Brainstorm / Welcome to the Future. "Silver Machine" and "Spirit of the Age" were also rehearsed, but the band got cut off before those songs could be played. Personnel were Doug Pearson (ex-Primordial Undermind) - lead vocals, keyboards, synths & electronics; Grady (of Liquorball, Monoshock, Patchords, etc.)- guitar, fx, backing vocals; Marlon

Dig that Beard of Bees

(of Liquorball) - Rickenbacker bass, backing vocals; Chris (of the New Lows, ex-Cul de Sac, Bullet Lavolta, Clockbrains) - drums, percussion. Guesting were Greg - flute; Kendra (Dogbreath's drummer) - poetic recitation on "Ten Seconds of Forever" Doug says: "Chris was invited because he was the master of the relentless pound, the kind of drummer who relished playing You Shouldn't Do That (or Mother Sky or Sister Ray) for a half hour without dropping a beat; Grady's incendiary work with Monoshock had established his prowess at both rhythm and noise in his guitar work, both essential sonic ingredients for a Hawkwind tribute; and nobody in the band could think of any other bassist they knew who would consume as much Jack Daniels and speed as Marlon. All were Hawkwind fans (though none so rabidly as me), so it wasn't too difficult to put a set together with just one rehearsal, two days before the show." They were actually offered a second gig, but unfortunately, it fell during the week of Strange Daze 2000, which meant that some band members weren't going to be in town. Over the next few months, both Grady and Chris moved to Southern California, so that was the end of Ad Hawk. Doug Pearson played on and organised the American space rock Hawkwind tribute CD "Assassins of Silence/Hundred Watt Violence" and some of the other bands in which members of Ad Hawk played also feature on that CD. It is worth getting hold of, and is much better than the Rituals of the Solstice UK tribute which is basically a techno album...(yuk)

Postscript, 12th September 2007: "For Ad Hawk's second show, seven years later for his 40th birthday, Doug (keyboards, synthesizers, electronics, vocals) assembled a new lineup with Tom Carter (Charalambides, ex-Mike Gunn, Primordial Undermind, sideman/jam partner for Thurston Moore, Jandek, Butthole Surfer King Coffee, etc.) - guitar, fx, vocals; Austin Lannan (Doug's frequent tribute bandmate in the likes of "Mongoloid", "Blowie", and "Ghost Of Curtis", currently of The Mass) - Rickenbacker bass, vocals; Adam Beach (Uptones) - sax, flute, vocals; Donny Newenhouse (ex-Film School, Two Gallants, Holly Golightly, and many others) - drums. This time, the band was able to play a complete set of Earth Calling > Born To Go; Assault & Battery > Golden Void; Spirit of the Age > Sonic Attack > Orgone Accumulator; Psychedelic Warlords; Silver Machine; Brainstorm; Ten Seconds of Forever > Urban Guerilla. Appropriately, Tom handled lead vocals on Assault/Void, Austin on Silver Machine, and Adam on Brainstorm and Sonic Attack. Carrie Hourihan (ex-Wendy Kroys) from the opening band, the Get Offs, took guest lead on Orgone Accumulator, and Kendra Ayers provided continuity from the previous lineup with a repeat recitation of 10 Seconds Of Forever, phoning in the performance (just like Michael Moorcock on Yule Ritual) from her hotel room on vacation in Vienna Austria (technical complications delayed its appearence in the set until after Brainstorm). The next Ad Hawk show is expected to take place in less than seven years from this one, although the lineup will probably be just as..." [Transmission ends...]

SHOT TO PIECES were a Hawkwind tribute band who lasted for about 12 gigs in the early 1990's. Kev of the Planet Loanhead website played guitar in this band and provides the following details: "The band was a 50% Hawkwind Cover Band and 50% of anything else that took our fancy. Having some trouble remembering the set list but it was based on these regular numbers: Silver Machine / Flying Doctor / I Do It / Masters of the Universe / Brainstorm / Time We Left This World Today / Paranoia. The line-up was Clive Maddox (Vocals), me (Westone Thunder 1A guitar through 100W Marshall Valve Head, very Early Roland digital effects unit with a shit-hot Flanger and Phaser, plus delay units and others), Nick Barnes (guitar/vocals - earlyish Fender Strat through 100W Marshall Valve Head and a huge box of pedals), Dave Ridley (Drums), Adrian (Bass, played through a huge Peavy combo, about 250W I think) and Ray (occasional Roland keyboards)

FRIENDS & RELATIONS were a Brighton-based band around in the early to mid-1990's. Harvey Bainbridge or Huw Lloyd-Langton may have played with them...no other details are currently known...

The AUSTRALIAN HAWKLORDS probably also operated in the mid-1990s...their set included Assassins of Allah, Motorhead, Assault and Battery, the Golden Void, Neon Skyline and Lost Chronicles. No other details are known as yet...

DARK SUN and SPEEDO are two bands from Finland, who played a Hawkwind Tribute Gig on 15/03/2002 at Semifinal, Helsinki. This was sponsored by Finnwind, the Official Finnish Hawkwind Association. See the pic on the right: there are certainly a few nods in the right direction in the picture, i.e. Rickenbacker bass, violin, etc., but it does bear a disturbing resemblance to a Greg Allman lookalike competition....and why is that bloke covering his face?! A live recording of the event has now been released as the world's first all-Finnish Hawkwind Tribute album

Dark Sun at the Hawkwind Tribute Gig in Helsinki, Finland, 15/03/02. You Know You're Suomi Dreaming...thanks to Finnwind for the pic!

SPACE RITUAL (not Nik's band) - from Bergen, in Norway, are described as "a space rock orchestra that play *mostly* Hawkwind songs" They gig occasionally rather than constantly and include Sonic Attack in their set. Led by "Dennis" Reksten, their double bass drums are painted with the 'Warrior' motif. Dennis is said to have been old friends with Hawkwind in the early 70's and apparently owns or runs the Garage, a local rock joint in Bergen, where Space Ritual presumably play from time to time. I suppose they'll have to change their name now that Nik Turner is going out as Space Ritual. How about xSpace Ritual as a name? :-)

SPIRIT OF THE AGE are a new Hawkwind tribute band who are making their debut on the 14th September 2002 at the Adelphi Club in Hull, UK. The band is a four piece, featuring: Galwah - Guitar and Vox; Captain Chaos - Bass and backing Vox; Denbo Drumwind - Drums and Vox; and Hippy Andy - Keyboards. Denbo explains the genesis of the band as follows: "Spirit of the Age was first envisioned by the bass player (Carlos) and the guitarist (Gal) - they didn't think they would get anyone to play with them who liked the 'Wind, or had even heard of them. They came to a gig I was playing with The Happy Durals (a punk band), just as a night out, and I knew them both (as Hull as has large musician population but very few venues to play: so we all tend to hang out together at other bands' gigs). After we had finished I was having a chat with them and they mentioned they were forming a band and asked if I was interested, they needed someone to fill in on the drums to get going. When I asked what type of music it was they sort of did an embarrased shuffle and mumbled something I couldn't understand (I had been on stage for two hours with a 4k rig in my ear, so I was a little deaf anyway). They thought that because I was previously the drummer with Reanimator (thrash band) and was now in a punk band I would be dismissive of Hawkwind, if i'd even heard of them - so when they actually told me, a big smile came across my face and I promptly went through the whole of Quark Strangeness and Charm lyrically and Spirit of the Age, right there at the bar, and their faces were a picture... So we started the next week and as they say, the rest is history..." He also says: "We have a full light show including strobes, smoke, twister 4's and Futurescans but we couldn't get a license for the lasers as the venue roof isn't high enough!!! We are being recorded off the desk and being video'd and we hope to produce a DVD...We are also supporting Dave Allen from Gong and his new band from LA at the end of September and we will be looking to take gigs elsewhere in the country..." Apparently the band have already sold 150 tickets out of the club capacity of 250 and it could well be a sell-out. The set list is as follows: Spirit of the Age, Motorway City, Arrival in Utopia, Angels of Death, Sonic Attack, Lighthouse, Damnation Alley, Hurry on Sundown, Black Corridor, Space is Deep, Assassins of Allah and Masters of the Universe.

Now that Spirit of the Age's debut gig has come and gone, I asked Denbo how it went. He says: "It was far, far better than we expected in fact 'interstellar' would be a phrase I would use. We had a Hawkwind fanzine writer come to see us and he has done a review: another guy thought we WERE Hawkwind, bless him. And yet another thought we were a band who played our own stuff and said we had a bright future in front us if we continued to play innovative music like we did at the gig!! (We did put him right by the way, and expect he will buy some CD's. We also had another person who called the guitarist and said he had gone out and bought 3 Hawkwind CD's so mission accomplished as far as we are concerned, we have spread the word!! Unfortunately the recording didn't happen as the outputs into the recording desk were broken. Those Hawkwind nuts who turned up got dancing and all were very complimentary afterwards and couldn't believe it was our first gig and of course want to know when we are playing next. A couple of people left because the lights were too much for them, but people were warned and we won't be changing that aspect because it worked for us on stage, no-one in the audience could see us - we were just shapes, which to us was the point, we are NOT Hawkwind and never will be. We are just apostles who try our best to spread the word of Bob (Calvert) and Dave Brock. So with us not being recognisable it reinforces the message and the music HAS to be right as it is the most important aspect. The venue are desperate to have us back, which is always a good sign. We will be gigging in 4-5 weeks, we need to learn 5 or 6 more songs as for the 3rd encore we had to do Motorway City again, although we did rock it out, it was fantastic to play it with everybody dancing, clapping and cheering and we just got off on the whole thing. We are thinking of doing a track off Captain Lockheed as well, either Ejection or The Right Stuff. We could have still been playing now if the audience had their way, in fact one guy went to the owner and offered him �100 to let us play longer and keep the bar open!! No shit, it was that kind of night. So in conclusion we are very, very happy with the way it went and we are looking to improve on the performance and take it further afield."

In the interests of impartiality I hope to be able to quote from the fanzine review mentioned above, but Denbo's enthusiasm comes across pretty clearly. I'd just like to point something out, though, about the bloke who offered the club owner �100 to stay open: some people will do anything for beer...:-)

ASSASSINS OF SILENCE, who are based in Oxfordshire made their debut on 30th October 2002, and have since become the UK's top Hawkwind tribute band, having played at the 2003 Hawkfest and having hosted / headlined CelebrationFest in June 2004. The band has had some line-up changes since their inception and the best thing to do to really check them out is to go to their website for the latest in line-ups, set list, etc.. Despite the authentically Hawkwindesque fluidity of their membership, bass player Dave Adams captains the ship and has been ever present, along with Chris Crosskey - both pictured (front & right respectively).

The Assassins are often joined by ex-members of Hawkwind, most notably Huw Lloyd Langton and Simon House, impressive! The band consists of Dave Adams - various Rickenbacker basses, Fender Bassman head and Trace Elliott cab, plus vocals; Kevin Perry on Ibanez guitar and Spider modelling amps; Ben Deschamps from Canada on tenor sax, flute & violin; Chris Crosskey on keyboards (Roland JD-800, audio generator and Chameleons); Simon Murdoch on DW drums and Zildjian cymbals; and Des McGovern on occasional vocals and lighting

Something tells me this may not be suitable for small children - it's well out of date now but it's staying here!

SPACEFOOD are a new Hawkwind Tribute band based in Congleton, Cheshire (UK) and are still in the process of formation at the time of writing (March 2003). They've yet to gig or do any recordings, but include Master Of The Universe, Orgone Accumulator, Motorhead, Sonic Attack and Born To Go in their setlist. Lead guitarist Kristofer comments "all the members have done many gigs together in other bands, so we know each other very well." Kris plays an Epiphone SG through a Zoom 2100 pedal and/or a Boss GT5, into a Marshall 50watt stack: "he Boss GT5 has such a massive range of weird and wonderful effects, it is perfect for Hawkwind." Other personnel: Tomski (Tom Sadler) uses Yamaha drums and Paiste cymbals. Chill ed out dude (Chris

The strange young people of Spacefood

Hanger (Matthew Cliffe) on rhythm guitar uses a Yamaha guitar and through the powers of modern technology uses Kristofer's amp at the same time as Kris is... Other occasional SpaceFooders are Waynus (Wayne Hartshorne) on bass, and Rosalindo (Rosie Potts) on Sax. The band's website describes Cliffe Hanger as their "resident midget" (!) and Waynus has apparently been cast as the band's 'bottom filler'. Er, right...

THE SPIRAL STARE are a space rock band based in Leicestershire who play quite a few Hawkwind covers (Wind of Change, Down Through The Night, Star Cannibal, Uncle Sam's On Mars and Master Of The Universe), as well as original material - plus the odd Ozric Tentacles and Tangerine Dream tune. The band consists of Phil England on guitar (left-handed Epiphone SG, and Tanglewood Memphis, Marshall 8080 Valvestate, Digitech effects) and vocals; Becca England on bass (Tanglewood Violin bass) & synths (ARP Axxe); and Tom Lane on drums & percussion (Zoom 234 programmed drums and basslines). Venues the band has played include the Huncote and Ashby Festivals, plus a few local pubs. Phil says "We are on the lookout for new members, e.g. drummer and 2nd guitarist - phone

I thought it was 'The' Spiral Stare?

01530 261731 for info"

7 BY 7 are apparently a new Hawkwind tribute band who recently (June 2002) played a gig in Cirencester, Gloucestershire (UK). I am looking for more information about them...

THE ORGONE ACCUMULATORS are a Cornwall-based tribute band, possibly brand new, and played a gig at the Prince Of Wales pub in Falmouth on Friday 12th December 2003. They are a four-piece covering the musical bases of guitar, drums, bass and electronics, and had a lady guest violinist on Wind of Change. Other numbers in their set included Down Through the Night, Motorhead, Orgone Accumulator, Upside Down, Hassan-i-Sahba, Master of the Universe and Silver Machine. These were described as 'extended improvisations' which apparently went down well with the 'typical Hawkwind crowd' (Thanks to Ian Abrahams for the info!)

SONIC ATTACK are a new Hawkwind tribute band from Melbourne, Australia. They consist of Andrew Williams (drums), Anthony Rushton (guitar/vocals), Ric Duckett (bass/vocals), Roy Taylor (Synths) and Gordon Williams (guitar/vocals). They describe themselves as being "devoted to the alternative, progressive, space rock bands of the 70's and beyond - specifically Hawkwind", and to what extent they are a tribute to Hawkwind specifically rather than to the genre as a whole would depend upon their set list, I guess (and I don't know what numbers they play). Check out their website for upcoming gigs & pics at http://www.sonicattackband.com

20/7/2006: I just heard from Andy Williams (Sonic Attack's drummer, not the American crooner!) who points out that "at the moment we do ONLY Hawkwind songs as three members including myself are fanatical when it comes to the Hawks. Our set list includes (in no particular order) Assault and Battery, Golden Void, Needle Gun, Spirit of the Age, Love in Space, Quark, Strangeness and Charm, Warriors, 10 Seconds of Forever, Silver Machine, Uncle Sam's On Mars, Psychedelic Warlords, Shade Gate, Brainstorm, Masters of the Universe, Time We Left This World Today, Right to Decide, Hassan-i-Sahba and Fahrenheit 451. We are also are working on another group of Hawkwind songs - with plans to do our own after that"

Another band called SONIC ATTACK were active in Liverpool in the mid-80s. Word reaches me from The Count, who was a member of this concern:

"Just happened upon your HW Tributes page and must apologetically inform you that a long time ago, and very far away, oh alright, 1985-ish, I may have been involved in a tribute band... It's like this : a mate of mine (John A) was a raging HW fan. I played guitar (a bit). Several other mates professed musical ability on a variety of instruments. Personally, I had the Quark album (bought for the princely sum of 10p!) and liked it, but I was confused by the alien sounds emanating from the "Masters Of The Universe" compilation...

AND THEN... Inner City Unit played Liverpool. All of us went, with several others in tow... by this point, I'd accustomed myself to the astounding sounds of HW 70-78 and was ready for anything... Nik, Fred, Steve (and at that time Dave A) were stunning. We all exited deciding : a) Nik Turner is a madman, and b) let's form our own band: tomorrow!

Which we did... the set was about 80% HW covers, with another 15% ICU and one or two of our own... the band delighted in the name "SONIC ATTACK" and recorded a number of gigs, one of which was reviewed in the ICU fanzine... the "lack of riddim" referred to by Dead Fred was due to the drum machine, er, blowing up... never had a live drummer, much to my chagrin... God knows why anyone sent him THAT tape, then!

Anyway, we gigged a bit, and then most of us gave up... the songs played (apart from our own) were Sonic Attack (natch... the singer appeared in a labcoat reading the words from the HW Lyric Book), Paranoia, Master Of The Universe, Brainstorm, Psychedelic Warlords, the dreaded Silver Machine, Reefer Madness, Quark, Spirit Of The Age, Damnation Alley, Welcome To The Future, PSI Power, Watching The Grass Grow, Beyond The Stars and no doubt many more...

Line-up : Neil Attwood (keys and noises), John Aubusson (appalling Calvert wannabe vocals), The Count (guitar and occasional synthery), Dylan Evans (saxster of the universe), Guy Salkeld (replaced on bass by Dave Weaver) and a drum machine. AFAIK, only me and Dylan are currently still playing. Hell, it was fun!

Yours with a serious case of tinnitus...The Count"

Nov 2007 post-script from The Count: "Dylan Evans has continued to blow jazztastic sax on many gigs and sessions, notably alongside jazz legend Andy Sheppard, and once teaming up again with The Count as guests with Nik Turner's Fantastic All Stars. The Count himself has kept in regular contact with Nik and associates, and has guested with Nik's Galaktikos, Space Ritual and various other conglomerations and Nik has returned the favour by appearing live and in the studio with The Count's current band, The Jalapenos (last two albums recorded at Dave Anderson's studio). Outside of The Jalapenos, The Count has also played with "national treasures" (John Peel) Half Man Half Biscuit."

WIND OF CHANGE are a new (as of Nov 2006) Hawkwind tribute band that has been formed in the North of England - they are planning will do covers and some original titles. They are currently rehearsing and expecting to gig in New Year. The band line up is: John W.Pattison; Keyboards and synth. Peter Clements; Guitar and vocals. Tom Alexander; Bass and vocals. and Marc Graham; Drums and percussions. More details as dates are finalised.

Thanks to: Miikka Wagner, Allan T. Grohe Jr., Jill Strobridge, Nick Lee, Grakkl, Doug Pearson, Danny C, Captain Mikel Anubis, Rich Jones, Ketil Svendsen, Dave Adams, Milo Black, Chris Clayton, Phil England, Steve Hayes, Gordon Williams, Andy Williams, The Count, Hawklord of Shileds

Lastly, it's not quite the same thing, but check out some cover versions of Hawkwind songs at Kevin Perry's Mountain Grill website