Hawklords
Hawklords were an English music group active between 1978 and 1979. They were borne from the disbanded Hawkwind (Robert Calvert – vocals, Dave Brock – guitar and Simon King – drums) and a local Devon group named Ark (Harvey Bainbridge – bass and Martin Griffin – drums) with the addition of former Pilot keyboardist Steve Swindells.
The use of the name Hawklords instead of Hawkwind may have been due to legal reasons concerning their former management company, or may simply have been due to the band wishing to give the impression that this was a new musical venture.
In 1978, the band released their only full studio album 25 Years On.
The band have now reformed, and the present line-up of the Hawklords is: Ron Tree - vocals / Adrian Shaw - bass, vocals / Jerry Richards - guitar, vocals /Dave Pearce - drums / Steve Swindells - keyboards, vocals / Harvey Bainbridge - keyboards, synths, vocals. although this is not technically a reformation of the original Hawklords, just a grouping of ex-Hawkwind members calling themselves Hawklords (with only two original members, Swindells and Bainbridge). Former Hawklords and Hawkwind member Martin Griffin played drums when they first regrouped. Dan Thompson (Hawkwind drummer from 1984-88 and 2002) played drums for a brief period. Former Hawkwind and Space Ritual bassist Dave Anderson has also guested with the Hawklords. Longtime Hawkwind bassist Alan Davey played bass when they reformed, remaining in the band for several tours. However he will not be appearing on the forthcoming Hawklords album "We Are One", and isn't due to be touring the album in September/October 2012 either, due to internal disagreements concerning expenses and musical differences. Nik Turner has appeared with the band since they reformed. He withdrew from the band in January 2012. He will not be participating on the new album, but will continue to perform with the band when available. Nik Turner Band drummer (and occasional Space Ritual drummer) Meurig Griffiths played drums for the band on their 2011 Europe/UK tour. He has since been replaced for the upcoming tour and album by Dave Pearce, Ade Shaw's bandmate in The Bevis Frond.
The reformed and now re-designed Hawklords released a brand new studio album on 24 September 2012, entitled 'We Are One'. Participating members were: Harvey Bainbridge, Dave Pearce, Jerry Richards, Adrian Shaw, Ron Tree, with Steve Swindells providing keyboards for some of the songs. A full European & UK tour promoting the album was undertaken from September 2012, culminating in a concert at Islington Assembly Hall, London, on 9 November 2012. New recording works and concert dates are said to be in the pipeline...
Live
| Live | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Live album by The Hawklords | ||||
| Released | May, 1992 | |||
| Recorded | Brunel University, Uxbridge, 24 November 1979 | |||
| Genre | Space Rock | |||
| Label |
Griffin Music– GN03921-2 Dojo Records – DOJOCD71 | |||
| Producer | Hawklords | |||
| The Hawklords chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |    [1] |
The release of the album 25 Years On was promoted with a 41 date UK tour during October and November 1978. The stage show was designed by Barney Bubbles and was based on a Metropolis/Mao Tse-tung dystopia theme, featuring a projected film based light show, dancers in drab clothing performing mundane tasks, and spotlight towers creating an oppressive internment camp atmosphere. During the course of the tour the show was cut-back due to financial constraints, sufficiently upsetting Bubbles enough for him to refuse to work with Brock again. Some of the musicians felt that this action lightened the atmosphere resulting in the shows becoming more powerful. For the Hammersmith Odeon gig on 13 October, Lemmy guested on "Silver Machine".
The Brunel University, Uxbridge concert (24 November) was professionally filmed by Charisma Records, but to date only snippets have been aired on UK television. The Plymouth Polytechnic concert (23 November) was professionally recorded, and subsequent archive albums have included portions from it.
A tour programme was sold at this gig detailing the weird science behind the '25 Years' project. It outlined the aims and achievements of Pan Transcendental Industries and its programme for the industrialisation of religion. It described the construction of the first 'Metaphactory' staffed in part by car crash victims whose function was to generate new forms of social behaviour through the transformation of private into public fantasies. The nine million workers who populated this giant factory complex are described in the song 'The Age Of The Micro Man' wherein it is shown that they have no idea what they are working for. In fact the new rulers of this dark industrial age received contact from aliens that they believed were actually angels. These 'angels' said they would provide enlightenment, but at a price. The payment was nonsensical but nevertheless the human race was enslaved.
Set-list
The following set-list is that from the Hammersmith Odeon, 13 October 1978 performance.[2] The set-list would slightly change during the course of the tour, significantly "Flying Doctor" being dropped half way through.
| Track | Weird Tape 4 | Hawklords Live | Live '78 | Friends and Relations |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Automoton" [introduction tape] (Robert Calvert, Dave Brock) | 1.1 | 1. (1:37) | ||
| "25 Years" (Brock) | 1.2. (7:24) | 2. (6:38) | ||
| "High Rise" (Calvert, Simon House) | 2. (5:00) | 3. (5:00) | ||
| "Death Trap" (Calvert, Brock) | 1. (6:21) | 3. (8:46) | 4. (5:37) | |
| "The Age of the Micro Man" (Calvert, Brock) | 2. (3:40) | 5. (3:51) | ||
| "Spirit of the Age" (Calvert, Brock) | 3. (9:20) | 4.[citation needed] (6:48) | 6. (9:20) | |
| "Urban Guerrilla" (Calvert, Brock) | 4. (5:18) | 7. (6:12) | ||
| "Sonic Attack" (Michael Moorcock) | 5. (6:23) | 8. (7:09) | ||
| "Flying Doctor" (Calvert, Brock) | Volume 3 | |||
| "Steppenwolf" (Calvert, Brock) | 5. (9:07) | |||
| "Psi Power" (Calvert, Brock) | 9. (6:08) | |||
| "Brainstorm" (Nik Turner) | 10. (8:20) | |||
| "Freefall" (Calvert, Harvey Bainbridge) | 6. (5:28) | |||
| "Uncle Sam's On Mars" (Hawkwind) | 7.1. (6:28) | |||
| "The Iron Dream" (Hawkwind) | 7.2. (2:05) | |||
| "Master Of The Universe" (Turner, Brock) | ||||
| "Robot" (Calvert, Brock) | ||||
| "Silver Machine" (Calvert, Brock) | ||||
Releases
- Weird Tape 4
- Recorded at Plymouth Polytechnic, 23 November 1978
- June 1981, Weird Tapes, WEIRD104, UK cassette
- September 2000, Voiceprint Records, HAWKVP9CD, UK CD
- Hawklords Live
- Recorded at Brunel University, Uxbridge, 24 November 1978. Also includes the additional track "Over The Top" from the Sonic Assassins concert
- 1992, Dojo Records, DOJOCD7, UK CD
- May 1992, Griffin Records, GN03921-2, USA CD
- Live '78
- Recorded at Brunel University, Uxbridge, 24 November 1978
- 29 June 2009, Atomhenge (Cherry Red) Records, ATOMCD1014, UK CD
- 'We Are One'
- Released worldwide on 24 September 2012 distributed by Shellshock Distribution. Cat No. HAWKLORDS0912 CD release. Plus limited edition double album **vinyl version, complete with free poster insert.
Tour dates
The band undertook a 42 date UK tour in October and November 1978,[3] with support from Patrik Fitzgerald and The Softees.
- 6 October – Oxford, New Theatre
- 7 October – Manchester, Apollo
- 8 October – Liverpool, Empire
- 9 October – Edinburgh, Usher Hall
- 10 October – Newcastle, City Hall
- 11 October – Middlesbrough, Town Hall
- 13 October – London, Hammersmith Odeon – guest appearance from Lemmy
- 14 October – Milton Keynes, Leisure Centre
- 15 October – Croydon, Fairfield Halls
- 16 October – Portsmouth, Guild Hall
- 17 October – Birmingham, Odeon
- 18 October – Dunstable, Queensway Hall
- 19 October – Blackburn, King George Hall
- 20 October – Bristol, Colston Hall
- 21 October – St. Albans, City Hall
- 22 October – Ipswich, Gaumont
- 23 October – Leicester, De Montfort Hall
- 24 October – Sheffield, City Hall
- 25 October – Bradford, St. Georges Hall
- 26 October – Leeds, Queens Hall
- 27 October – Stoke On Trent, Victoria Hall
- 28 October – Paignton, Festival Theatre
- 29 October – Poole, Wessex Hall
- 2 November – Malvern, Winter Gardens
- 3 November – Cambridge, Corn Exchange
- 4 November – Ilford, Gants Hill Odeon
- 5 November – Reading, Hexagon
- 6 November – Cardiff, University
- 8 November – Gloucester, Leisure Centre
- 9 November – Folkestone, Leas Cliff Hall
- 10 November – Derby, Assembly Rooms
- 11 November – Nottingham, Rock City
- 13 November – Hemel, Pavilion
- 15 November – Glasgow, Apollo
- 16 November – Carlisle, Market Hall
- 17 November – Lancaster, University
- 18 November – Oldham, Queen Elizabeth Hall
- 19 November – Blackburn, King George Hall
- 22 November – Wolverhampton, Civic Hall
- 23 November – Plymouth, Polytechnic – professionally recorded
- 24 November – Uxbridge, Brunel University – professionally filmed
- 25 November – Hastings, Pier Pavilion
Rockfield Studios, 1979
After the tour, the band were to tour North America but Calvert, wishing for the return of King, dismissed Griffin who then concentrated on his studio business and playing for Richard Strange before returning to Hawkwind for the 1982 Sonic Attack album. Swindells recalls the five members spending time at Rockfield "where we rehearsed and jammed and wrote... Calvert was suffering definite mental problems when we were there. I think he was going through a divorce from his novelist wife, Pamela, and he was very unstable."[4] Calvert left the band going on to write the novel Hype and recording an accompanying album, and he never appeared on any of the recordings released from these sessions.
- "Who's Gonna Win The War?" (Brock) 5:55
- One of the few titles that was worked into a complete track for Levitation, this was released as "live". It may well have been recorded without overdubs, but it wasn't recorded in front of an audience. Available on: Weird Tape 1; Hawkwind, Friends and Relations Volume 1; 7" (FLS209) A-side; Levitation 2009 re-master.
- "Valium 10" (Brock/Bainbridge/Swindells/Smith) 7:51
- Drums on this track were played by Mick Smith of The Softees, who were the support for the Hawklords tour. Available on: Weird Tape 2; Hawkwind, Friends and Relations Volume 1; 7"&12" (FLS205) B-side; Levitation 2009 re-master.
- "Douglas In The Jungle (Ode to a manager)" (Brock/Bainbridge/Swindells/King) 6:53
- This track is a tribute to their manager Douglas Smith. Available on: Weird Tape 2; Hawkwind Anthology; Levitation 2009 re-master.
- "Time of the Hawklords" (Brock/Bainbridge/Swindells/King) 4:07
- This track is named after the title of the Michael Butterworth novel, although often abrreviated to "Time of...", and some times erroneously titled "Time Off". Available on: Weird Tape 2; 7" (FLS209) B-side; Levitation 2009 re-master.
- "British Tribal Music" (Brock/Bainbridge/Swindells/King) 3:57
- Available on: Hawkwind Anthology; Levitation 2009 re-master.
- "Motorway City" (Brock)
- Available on: Hawkwind Family Tree
Return to Hawkwind
Swindells wrote "Shot Down in the Night" at these sessions, and the band considered it ideal for single release, but with the band having no record contract Swindells departed when offered a solo deal, resulting in the album Fresh Blood. The remaining three members were joined by Huw Lloyd-Langton (lead guitar) and Tim Blake (synthesizers), choosing to revert to the name of Hawkwind and embarking upon a UK Winter 1979 tour resulting in the album Live Seventy Nine. Swindells' studio version and Hawkwind's live version of "Shot Down in the Night" were released as singles simultaneously in 1980, both curiously featuring Lloyd-Langton and King.
References
External links
(http://www.flickniferecords.co.uk)
Zones