This is the transcript of an interview that Dave Brock did for TotalRock.com, a UK internet metal radio station, apparently in March 2001
DB: Yes, just a few things, to get a few germs, you know! (laughter)
TR: Of course, yes, I was wondering if you thought you were being too healthy down there
DB: Yes, well it’s been very damp, I’ve decided I’ve got to save up to escape from winter
TR: Where will you go?
DB: Somewhere warm…
TR: Nearer the sun like Mercury or Venus or something?
DB: Yeah, I think so
TR: Apart from attempting to catch the flu and other strange bugs is there any particular reason for doing these shows at the end of March?
DB: Not really, you know, just to keep things going after doing Brixton Academy and all that. I mean, Alan’s got his own band Bedouin now, so he’s doing the support and we’ve got Huwie, you know, Huw Lloyd Langton, doing a few acoustic numbers. And then we’re all playing together anyway!
TR: Fantastic, should be great. Hawkwind’s always an experience, and a glorious experience at that.
DB: Well one would hope so. We do try, you know, we do try!
TR: A magnificent job if I may say so :-) So what are the plans after that, have you got another album in mind at all?
DB: Well I don’t know, we’re going off to Europe, we’re doing a few festivals here and there, I mean that’s the plan of action, doing some nice gigs, having a nice time. There is a mention of a deal but you know it’s the same as all these things, could be just a rumour –
TR: Yeah, I know what you mean. And of course in August you’re –
DB: – to raise our hopes, sorry!
TR: To raise your hopes, that’s nice isn’t it?! And to raise everyone else’s hopes of hearing a [new] Hawkwind album…Of course, there is a festival in August, August 18th at the Canterbury Sound Festival…
DB: That’s right, yeah
TR: That should be a fantastic day.
DB: Well that should be good fun, yeah, because Arthur Brown is going to be the MC, I’m going to try and see if he’ll do The Gremlin and some of the old Captain Lockheed songs, which would be quite good, you know?
TR: Fantastic – that would be. I went last year to the festival and it’s a beautiful setting –
DB: Is it?
TR: – and if the weather’s as nice as it was last year, it’s going to be fantastic.
DB: Oh I say, I’ll look forward to that one then.
TR: But knowing your luck it’ll be cold and miserable :-)
DB: No, no, no! Now, now…it’ll be sunny!
TR: Of course it will, absolutely. Did you find it strange after all these years that Hawkwind’s influence doesn’t seem to be diminishing one jot? It’s getting greater if anything.
DB: Is it? I don’t know, I really couldn’t tell you that, I mean, it would be wonderful to think so, as one gets older in life! I don’t know, it’s hard to say. I mean, yeah, I suppose it reflects really on all the music we’ve played, you know, plugging away doing our usual thing. Space Rock music, yeah, perhaps should be BIG in the year 2001!
TR: It should be, absolutely. 2001 – a Space Rock Odyssey!
DB: Yes, I should say so
TR: Something of that nature! Do you have any other projects, any other ideas, because obviously you *are* Mr. Hawkwind as far as everyone is concerned, but do you ever think about “I’d love to do something completely different” or away from Hawkwind, that’s nothing to do with the music that you‘re known for?
DB: Well yeah, quite often. I mean, you know, the idea of doing some sort of dance / drama – orientated [stuff] with electronic music, you know I’d love to do something like that, actually. But I mean it’s just having time to do it. I live on a farm, which is hard going, you know, there’s plenty of things to do and the band rehearse all the time, on and off, we’re always meeting up and doing things, you know. So, it’s… what we’ve got is like a big football team, it’s a pool of players in a way. So we can actually do weird and wonderful things and we, like, say there’s Tim Blake who does some wonderful solo stuff, Harvey does dance music, you know. All these different characters do their own bits’n’pieces.
TR: Do you get a lot of bands contacting you saying “Please, please record or write with us or please even produce us”?
DB: Yeah sometimes…I don’t have a *lot*, you know, but maybe the odd one or two! (Laughs)
TR: The odd one or two! Are you ever tempted, do you think “Yeah, I’d love to work with some really young bands” and just see what happens?
DB: Yeah, I mean, you know sometimes I think it’d be nice but then I think “But what can I do?” you know, their music’s really good anyway. But there again we had Dick Taylor from the Pretty Things actually doing our first album. He was a good influence to actually direct us down the channels. So yeah, maybe, you know.
TR: Who knows what might happen in the future with Hawkwind. Because you’re always doing stuff and people think “Oh, it’s been a long time since we heard from Hawkwind” but you don’t stop thinking about things, do you, and –
DB: Well, we’ve got our Family Tree album we did, which is all our solo project sort of stuff, which came out on Voiceprint. And then we’ve got, maybe the Hawkestra album will be released one day, and we’ve got the Astoria [recording] which is a wonderful gig with lots of guests on that, that’s the next one which is going to be released, so that’s interesting actually, because it goes from avant-garde jazz to rock, you know what I mean. All right, I’m selling myself here, stop, put another record on!
TR: You’re doing a magnificent job if I may say so Sir! (Laughter)
DB: Stop that! Put some music on, stop that boring conversation!
TR: Sell the record! When’s the live album coming out?
DB: I dunno, I haven’t got the faintest clue. Sorry about that folks, I've no explanation!
TR: Well at least you got back on the right track, I thought you were going to say “Yeah, April 19th, and it’s called such-and-such and it’s on such-and-such a label, and…”
DB: No, I’m afraid I’ve fallen over, fallen over at the last fence…
TR: Do you have a title for the live album, then?
DB: Err…Live At The Astoria at the moment! (Laughs)
TR: How on earth did you come up with *that*?! Brilliant! Excellent, Dave! Well, I know you’ve got a lot planned for this evening, like falling over a lot…
DB: No, actually I just had my dinner, really, and then I’ll probably watch football on the telly, you know I do these things here!
TR: Out of interest, who do you support?
DB: Well I support a good team, there we are, I support good football.
TR: Fair enough – no more need be said…
DB: But then I used to live near Fulham and I did go and see Fulham sometimes. Fulham are quite an interesting team, I must say – but there again, you’re influencing me! (Laughs)
TR: We’re virtually next door to Fulham
DB: That is true, yes! Well I didn’t live far from where you were, I had a few sort of bedsits all around that area.
TR: In the early days…
DB: Yes, in those early days, yeah.
TR: Well Dave, it’s always a pleasure talking to you
DB: OK, well thank you very much
TR: Go and have your dinner, go and watch the footie…
DB: Oh, we’re on at Croydon Fairfield Hall – are you plugging us?
TR: Absolutely, of course we are! Leave it to us, we’ll plug it.
DB: Well done.
TR: And we’ll talk to you soon…
DB: Yeah, good – thank you very much
TR: Dave Brock…what a very strange man! Anyway, I think it’s time for a bit of Hawkwind, don’t you? You recognise this…Quark, Strangeness and Charm.
(Plays QS&C)
TR: Don’t know about the Quark, but Dave Brock certainly has a lot of Strangeness and a considerable amount of Charm. Thanks very much for taking time out to talk to us, Mr. Brock, and we look forward to seeing you at the end of March when you go out on tour with the wonderful Hawkwind. …I know they’re playing Croydon Fairfield Halls and doing three or four other shows around the country, and they’re back as we mentioned, on August 18th to play the second Canterbury Sound Festival…headlined by the mighty Hawkwind, and hopefully I’ll be able to get hold of the rest of their dates and read them out to you before the end of the show.
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