Silver Machine - Music
Silver Machine by Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Artist Biography For Hawkwind
Hawkwind Is An English Rock Band And One Of The Earliest Space Rock Groups. The Band Was Formed By Ex-Busker And Blues Man Dave Brock In Ladbroke Grove London Who Intended To Marry Simple Three-Chord Rock With Experimental Electronic Music. He Cites His Influences For The Band At The Time As The Moody Blues Steve Miller Band And The Krautrock Scene Of Kraftwerk Neu! And Particularly Can. The Band Was Formed In 1969 By Visionary Dave Brock And Although It Has Been Subject To Numerous Line-Up Changes It Is Still Led By Him. The Early Line-Up Featured Dave Brock On Vocals And Rhythm Guitar Huw Lloyd-Langton On Lead Guitar Terry Ollis On Drums Thomas Crimble On Bass Nik Turner On Saxophone And Dik Mik On Synthesizer. The Band Became Established As A Space-Rock Underground Band With Their Renowned Concert At The Glastonbury Rock Festival 1970 When They Set Up In An Alternative Field And Played A Free Concert Pulling Crowds Away From The Main Event. Their Debut Album The Self Titled ‘HAWKWIND’ Was Released By EMI And To This Day Still Sells Steadily. In 1970 They Appeared At The Isle Of Wight Festival Where Jimi Hendrix Was Spotted In The Audience. He Was Asked To Get Up And Join The Band And He Replied ‘No I Don’t Want To Spoil It!’ Huw Lloyd-Langton Remained With Them Until Late 1971. The Band Shot To Fame In 1972 With Their Hit Record ‘Silver Machine’ Featuring Lemmy Now Of Motörhead Fame On Vocals. This Record Featured In The Soundtrack Of A Recent TV Mazda Advert In The UK . In 1973 Simon House Electric Violin Joined And Throughout The 70s 80s And 90s The Renowned World Famous Sci-Fi Author Michael Moorcock Often Recorded And Appeared With Them. Lemmy Was Sacked From The Band In 1975 After A Drugs Bust In USA And Went On To Form ‘MOTORHEAD’ Named After The Last Track He Wrote For The Band A Slang Term For Speed Freak. Huw Lloyd-Langton Joined Leo Sayer In 1974 And Then In 1975 Went On To Form Supergroup ‘WIDOWMAKER’ WITH Steve Ellis Love Affair Luther Grosvenor Mott The Hoople Paul Nicholls Lindisfarne And Bob Daisley Ozzy Osborne . In 1977 Simon House Joined David Bowie. Dave Brock And Poet Bob Calvert Tour As ‘HAWKLORDS’ Performing The Stage Show ‘METROPOLIS’. Throughout The 70's Hawkwind Released A Series Of Classic Albums ‘IN SEARCH OF SPACE’ ‘DOREMI FASOL LATIDO’ ‘SPACE RITUAL’ ‘HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL’ ‘WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME’ ‘ASTOUNDING SOUNDS AMAZING MUSIC’ ‘QUARK STRANGENESS & CHARM’ And ‘PXR 5’. In 1979 Dave Formed Another Nucleus With Huw Lloyd-Langton On Lead Guitar Simon King On Drums Harvey Bainbridge From Hawklords On Bass And Tim Blake From ‘Gong’ On Keyboards. Their Live Album ‘LIVE 79’ Went Straight Into The National Top Ten Charts Chart. In 1980 Ginger Baker Replaced Simon King On Drums And They Recorded Their Classic Album ‘LEVITATION’. Once Again The Release Went Straight Into National Top Ten Album Chart. Tim Blake And Ginger Baker Remaied With The Band Until After The Christmas Tour 1980. From 1979 To 1985 The Band’s Singles And Albums Were Never Out Of The National Independent And Heavy Metal Charts With Albums Such As ‘SONIC ATTACK ‘CHURCH OF HAWKWIND' 'CHRONICLE OF THE BLACK SWORD 'LIVE CHRONICLES' AND 'XENON CODEX'. Nik Turner Who Left The Band In 1975 Briefly Rejoined The Band 1982-1983 For The ‘CHOOSE YOUR MASQUES’ Tour. In 1984 Alan Davey Replaces Harvey Bainbridge On Bass And Harvey Moved Over To Keyboards And Synths. In 1985 The Band Tour With The Spectacular ‘CHRONICLES OF THE BLACK SWORD’ A Stageshow Portraying Music And Images Based On Michael Moorcock’s Epic Saga ‘ELRIC’. During This Period The Band Reached A New Audience With The Emergence Of Ambient Acts Such As The Orb Openly Acknowledging Hawkwind’s Influence. Huw Lloyd-Langton Remained With The Band Throughout The End Of The 80s Departing In 1989 Followed
shortly After By Harvey Bainbridge. The Band Continued To Perform Live Throughout The Nineties And Had Some Noteable Album Releases Such As 'SPACE BANDITS' 'PALACE SPRINGS' 'ELECTRIC TEPEE' 'IT IS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE TO BE DANGEROUS' 'THE BUSINESS TRIP' 'ALIEN 4' 'LOVE IN SPACE' And 'DISTANT HORIZONS'. During Their Entire Existence The Band Have Performed Numerous Free Concerts Notably STONEHENGE And Have Supported Various Charities Which Include SHELTER When In 1977 At The Blackheath Concert Halls They Raised Thousands Of Pounds For The Homeless And Even Released A Charity Single Version Of The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" With Samantha Fox Guesting On Vocals. N.A.S.A. In The USA Have Also Used Sound Tracks From The ‘LOVE IN SPACE Release. In 1997 They Headlined The ‘1ST SPACEROCK FESTIVAL USA’. In 2000 The Band Staged The Highly Successful ‘HAWKESTRA’ Event At The London Brixton Academy Which Saw Many Past Members Reunited On Stage With A Nucleus Of Dave Brock Ron Tree Jerry Richards Hugh Lloyd-Langton Simon House Richard Chadwick Alan Davey And Tim Blake. In 2001 They Were Voted The 8th Top Progressive Band In The Country On Channel 4 TV. The Band Have Recently Released A Double Live Cd Recording Of Their Xmas 2000 'Yule Ritual' Show At The London Astoria As Well As The Arthur Brown Helmed 'Out Of The Shadows' In 2007.The Concept Of A Hawkestra A Reunion Event Featuring Appearances From All Past And Present Members Had Originally Been Intended To Coincide With The Band's 30th Anniversary And The Release Of The Career Spanning Epocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology Set But Logistical Problems Delayed It Until 21 October 2000. It Took Place At The Brixton Academy With About 20 Members Taking Part In A 3 Hour Set Which Was Filmed And Recorded. Guests Included Samantha Fox Who Sang Master Of The Universe. However Arguments And Disputes Over Financial Recompense And Musical Input Resulted In The Prospect Of The Event Being Restaged Unlikely And Any Album Or DVD Release Being Indefinitely Shelved.The Hawkestra Had Set A Template For Brock To Assemble A Core Band Of Tree Brock Richards Davey Chadwick And For The Use Of Former Members As Guests On Live Shows And Studio Recordings. The 2000 Christmas Astoria Show Was Recorded With Contributions From House Blake Rizz Moorcock Jez Huggett And Keith Kniveton And Released As Yule Ritual The Following Year. In 2001 Davey Agreed To Rejoin The Band Permanently But Only Afiter The Departure Of Tree And Richards.
Meanwhile Having Rekindled Relationships With Old Friends At The Hawkestra Turner Organised Further Hawkestra Gigs Resulting In The Formation Of Xhawkwind.Com A Band Consisting Mainly Of Ex-Hawkwind Members And Playing Old Hawkwind Songs. An Appearance At Guilfest In 2002 Led To Confusion As To Whether This Actually Was Hawkwind Sufficiently Irking Brock Into Taking Legal Action To Prohibit Turner From Trading Under The Name Hawkwind. Turner Lost The Case And The Band Now Perform As Space Ritual.
An Appearance At The Canterbury Sound Festival In August 2001 Resulting In Another Live Album Canterbury Fayre 2001 Saw Guest Appearances From Lloyd-Langton House Kniveton With Arthur Brown On "Silver Machine". The Band Organised The First Of Their Own Weekend Festivals Named Hawkfest In Devon In The Summer Of 2002. Brown Joined The Band In 2002 For A Winter Tour Which Featured Some Kingdom Come Songs And Saw Appearances From Blake And Lloyd-Langton The Newcastle Show Being Released On DVD As Out Of The Shadows And The London Show On CD As Spaced Out In London.
In 2005 The Long Anticipated New Album Take Me To Your Leader Was Released. Recorded By The Core Band Of Brock/Davey/Chadwick Contributors Included New Keyboardist Jason Stuart Arthur Brown Tabloid Writer And TV Personality Matthew Wright 1970s New Wave Singer Lene Lovich Simon House And Jez Huggett. This Was Followed In 2006 By The CD/DVD Disc Take Me To Your Future. The Band Were The Subject Of An Hour-Long Television Documentary Entitled Hawkwind Do Not Panic That Aired On BBC Four As Part Of The Originals Series. It Was Broadcast On 30 March 2007 And Repeated On 10 August 2007. Although Brock Participated In Its Making He Did Not Appear In The Programme It Is Alleged That He Requested All Footage Of Himself Be Removed After He Was Denied Any Artistic Control Over The Documentary.. In One Of The Documentary's Opening Narratives Regarding Brock It Is Stated That He Declined To Be Interviewed For The Programme Because Of Nik Turner's Involvement Indicating That The Two Men Have Still Not Been Reconciled Over The Xhawkwind.Com Incident. June 2007 Saw The Departure Of Alan Davey Who Left To Perform And Record With Two New Bands Gunslinger And Thunor. He Was Replaced By "Mr Dibs" A Long-Standing Member Of The Road Crew And Bassist For The Bands Spacehead And Krel Who Had Supported Hawkwind During 1992 . The Band Performed At Their Annual Hawkfest Festival And Headlined The US Festival NEARfest And Played Gigs In PA And NY. At The End Of 2007 Tim Blake Once Again Joined The Band Filling The Lead Role Playing Keyboards And Theremin. The Band Played 5 Christmas Dates The London Show Being Released As An Audio CD And Video DVD Under The Title Knights Of Space. The Band's Official Website Is To Be Found At Www.Hawkwind.Com HAWKWIND And Solo Projects Dave Brock Nik Turner Inner City Unit Lemmy Motorhead Huw Lloyd Langton Group Robert Calvert Alan Davey Bedouin Michael Moorcock Deep Fix Harvey Bainbridge Agents Of Chaos Space Ritual Spiral Realms Ect.A Truly Prolific Act !
Frogtoon Music - Song Info: Silver Machine
Hawkwind - Choose Your Masques
Silver Machine Is A 1972 Song By The UK Rock Group Hawkwind. It Was Originally Released As A Single On 9 June 1972 Reaching #3 On The UK Singles Chart. The Single Was Re-Issued In 1976 1978 Reaching #34 On The UK Singles Charts And In 1983 Reaching #67 On The UK Singles Charts. The Original Mix Is Currently Available On The Remasters Version Of In Search Of Space. The Single "Silver Machine" Was Recorded Live At A Greasy Truckers Benefit Gig At The Roundhouse London On 13 February 1972 And This Version Was Released On The Various Artists Compilation Album Glastonbury Fayre And The 2007 Box Set Of Greasy Truckers Party. Overdubs Were Applied And Mixing Took Place At Morgan Studios With Douglas Smith And Dave Robinson Overseeing The Process. Dave Brock Took Production Credits Using An Alias Of Dr Technical. Personnel * Robert Calvert - Vocals * Dave Brock - Guitar Vocals * Nik Turner - Saxophone Flute Vocals * Lemmy - Bass Guitar Vocals * Dik Mik Davies - Synthesizer * Del Dettmar - Synthesizer * Simon King - Drums Music The Music Was Composed By Dave Brock Who Used His Then Wife Sylvia Macmanus' Maiden Name For Credits In Order To Put Pressure On His Publishing Company To Improve His Deal. The Verse Is An 8-Bar Rock And Roll Boogie Whose Riff Is An Adaption Of The Standard Riff That Can Be Heard On The Likes Of Johnny And The Hurricanes' "Red River Rock". The Greasy Truckers Was About My Third Gig And I Didn't Know What I Was Doing. I Hadn't Done Any Rehearsals And I Thought That Silver Machine Was A Chuck Berry Number - Really. - Simon King Vocals And Lyrics The Lyrics Were Written By Robert Calvert And He Sang The Lead Vocal On The Original Live Recording. However The Vocals Were Considered Too Weak For The Single Release So They Were Re-Recorded In The Studio. Calvert Who Suffered From Bi-Polar Disorder Had Been Sectioned At The Time So Was Unavailable To Attempt Another Version And The Lead Vocals Were Eventually Recorded By Lemmy Calvert's Vocal Was Fucking Hopeless But He Never Realised It. That's How Mad He Was. It Sounded Like Captain Kirk Reading 'Blowing In The Wind'. They Tried Everybody Singing It Except Me. Then As A Last Shot Douglas Said 'Try Lemmy'. And I Did It In One Take Or Two. Lemmy Just Had The Best Voice For It. Of Course Bob Was Not Pleased When He Found Out. - Douglas Smith The Lyrics Are A Send-Up Of Space Travel Inspired By The Alfred Jarry Essay How To Construct A Time Machine Which Calvert Interpreted As A Description Of How To Build A Bicycle I Read This Essay By Alfred Jarrey Called "How To Construct A Time Machine" And I Noticed Something Which I Don't Think Anyone Else Has Thought Of Because I've Never Seen Any Criticism Of The Piece To Suggest This. I Seemed To Suss Out Immediately That What He Was Describing Was His Bicycle. He Did Have That Turn Of Mind. He Was The Kind Of Bloke Who'd Think It Was A Good Joke To Write This Very Informed Sounding Piece Full Of Really Good Physics And It Has Got Some Proper Physics In It Describing How To Build A Time Machine Which Is Actually About How To Build A Bicycle Buried Under This Smoke-Screen Of Physics That Sounds Authentic. Jarrey Got Into Doing This Thing Called 'Petaphysics' Which Is A Sort Of French Joke Science. A Lot Of Notable French Intellectuals Formed An Academy Around The Basic Idea Of Coming Up With Theories To Explain The Exceptions To The Laws Of The Universe People Like Ionesco The Playwright. The College Of Metaphysics. I Thought It Was A Great Idea For A Song. At That Time There Were A Lot Of Songs About Space Travel And It Was The Time When NASA Was Actually Really Doing It. They'd Put A Man On The Moon And Were Planning To Put Parking Lots And Hamburger Stalls And Everything Up There. I Thought That It Was About Time To Come Up With A Song That Actually Sent This All Up Which Was 'Silver Machine'. 'Silver Machine' Was Just To Say I've Got A Silver Bicycle And Nobody Got It. I Didn't Think They Would. I Thought That What They Would Think We Were Singing About Some Sort Of Cosmic Space Travel Machine. I Did Actually Have A Silver Racing Bike When I Was A Boy. I've Got One Now In Fact. - Robert Calvert Top Of The Pops Hawkwind Have Very Rarely Appeared On Television But The Success Of The Single Necessitated An Appearance On The BBC Chart Show Top Of The Pops. However The Group Felt Ill At Ease At The Prospect Of Miming A Performance In Front Of A Studio Audience Who Didn't Represent Their Following So A Compromise Was Reached With The BBC Recording The Band Performing Live At Dunstable Civic Hall On 7 July 1972 This Clip Being Shown With The Single Version Dubbed Over It. BBC Sessions A Version Was Recorded At Maida Vale Studios London On 2 August 1972 For Broadcast On The Johnnie Walker Show On The 14th "Brainstorm" Also Being Part Of The Session. Neither Recording Has Received Official Public Release. The Song Was Also Recorded Live At The Paris Cinema London On 28 September 1972 As Part Of The Hour Long In Concert Series Broadcast. This Full Concert Was Released In 1991 As BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert. On 3 December 2007 Cleopatra Records In The USA Issued A Limited Edition Of 500 10" Vinyl EPs Consisting Of Both BBC Versions Of "Silver Machine" The Live Version As The A-Side And The Session Version As The B-Side. Live Versions The Song Has Sporadically Been Played Live By The Band. Its First Reappearance Is On The 1980 Live Album Live Seventy Nine But It Explodes After A Minute And Is Suffixed With " Requiem " In Brock's Attempt At Laying The Song To Rest Sick Of Having To Play Their "hit Single". Further Live Versions Have Been Released Most Notably A Version On The 2002 Live Album Canterbury Fayre 2001 With Vocals By Arthur Brown. Lemmy Continues To Make Guests Appearances With The Band When Their Paths Cross. Some Live Versions Of The Song On Which Lemmy Has Appeared Include The Friday Rock Show Sessions From The Reading Festival 24 August 1986 And Motörhead's Stone Deaf Forever! Boxset From Wembley Arena 19 October 2002. 10th Anniversary In 1982 The Band Recorded A New Studio Version Of The Song Which Received General Release On 7" And 7" Picture Disk By RCA/Active RCA267 27 August 1982 . The B-Side Was A 33RPM Extended Play Featuring The Full 7 25 Version And A New Version Of "Psychedelic Warlords" With A Huw Lloyd-Langton Vocal. Receiving Criticism Over The Release Brock Defended Their Actions "It Was Only Done As A Tenth Anniversary Thing And Wasn't Supposed To Come Out Just As A Picture Disc. That Was RCA's Decision And I Didn't Like It One Bit. The Only Reason We Cut It Was As A Special Souvenir." In Addition To The Single Release The Record Company Included It On The Choose Your Masques Album Leaving Marion Lloyd-Langton To Complain " Huw And I Actually Had Three Tracks For The Masques Album But RCA Insisted That Silver Machine Went On So The Third Track Was Dropped Pity About That." 6 Remixes * Utah Saints Version For The 1996 Album Future Reconstructions - Ritual Of The Solstice. * Jimi Cauty Version For A Single And The 1999 Album Epocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology. * Richard Chadwick Version For The Album The Hawkwind Remix Project. * Dave Brock Version For The 2006 Album Take Me To Your Future. Cover Versions * James Last Performed A Version On His Non Stop Dancing 1973 Album. Currently Available On James Last Best Of The 1970s DVD And The James Last Collection Boxset. * NWOBHM Band Vardis Recorded A Version In 1980. * Discharge's Guitarist Bones Riffles Through 8-Bars At The Beginning Of Why Reprise On Their 1981 Hardcore Punk Mini-Album Why?. * The Church Recorded A Version On Their Covers Album A Box Of Birds And Also Have Performed The Song Live Regularly - Most Notably As The Second And Final Encore During Their World Tour Promoting A Box Of Birds. * 1980's Psychedelic Revival Band Doctor And The Medics Recorded A Version For Single Played The Track Live And Also Performed A Version On UK Television. * Sex Pistols Opened The Set With The Track On Their 2002 Tour. * The Ukelele Orchestra Of Great Britain Performed A Version At Their 2005 Festival Shows Cropredy And Guilfest Dreamworker * Alien Sex Fiend Included The Song On Their 1988 LP Another Planet * Jarvis Cocker Performed The Track At The Roundhouse In December 2006 As A Tribute To Its Place Of Birth. * Skullhead Recorded The Song And Released It On Their Victory Or Valhalla And Ragnarok Albums.
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Biography - Hawkwind
Hawkwind Is An English Rock Band And One Of The Earliest Space Rock Groups. The Band Was Formed By Ex-Busker And Blues Man Dave Brock In Ladbroke Grove London Who Intended To Marry Simple Three-Chord Rock With Experimental Electronic Music. He Cites His Influences For The Band At The Time As The Moody Blues Steve Miller Band And The Krautrock Scene Of Kraftwerk Neu! And Particularly Can. The Band Was Formed In 1969 By Visionary Dave Brock And Although It Has Been Subject To Numerous Line-Up Changes It Is Still Led By Him. The Early Line-Up Featured Dave Brock On Vocals And Rhythm Guitar Huw Lloyd-Langton On Lead Guitar Terry Ollis On Drums Thomas Crimble On Bass Nik Turner On Saxophone And Dik Mik On Synthesizer. The Band Became Established As A Space-Rock Underground Band With Their Renowned Concert At The Glastonbury Rock Festival 1970 When They Set Up In An Alternative Field And Played A Free Concert Pulling Crowds Away From The Main Event. Their Debut Album The Self Titled ‘HAWKWIND’ Was Released By EMI And To This Day Still Sells Steadily. In 1970 They Appeared At The Isle Of Wight Festival Where Jimi Hendrix Was Spotted In The Audience. He Was Asked To Get Up And Join The Band And He Replied ‘No I Don’t Want To Spoil It!’ Huw Lloyd-Langton Remained With Them Until Late 1971. The Band Shot To Fame In 1972 With Their Hit Record ‘Silver Machine’ Featuring Lemmy Now Of Motörhead Fame On Vocals. This Record Featured In The Soundtrack Of A Recent TV Mazda Advert In The UK . In 1973 Simon House Electric Violin Joined And Throughout The 70s 80s And 90s The Renowned World Famous Sci-Fi Author Michael Moorcock Often Recorded And Appeared With Them. Lemmy Was Sacked From The Band In 1975 After A Drugs Bust In USA And Went On To Form ‘MOTORHEAD’ Named After The Last Track He Wrote For The Band A Slang Term For Speed Freak. Huw Lloyd-Langton Joined Leo Sayer In 1974 And Then In 1975 Went On To Form Supergroup ‘WIDOWMAKER’ WITH Steve Ellis Love Affair Luther Grosvenor Mott The Hoople Paul Nicholls Lindisfarne And Bob Daisley Ozzy Osborne . In 1977 Simon House Joined David Bowie. Dave Brock And Poet Bob Calvert Tour As ‘HAWKLORDS’ Performing The Stage Show ‘METROPOLIS’. Throughout The 70's Hawkwind Released A Series Of Classic Albums ‘IN SEARCH OF SPACE’ ‘DOREMI FASOL LATIDO’ ‘SPACE RITUAL’ ‘HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL’ ‘WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME’ ‘ASTOUNDING SOUNDS AMAZING MUSIC’ ‘QUARK STRANGENESS & CHARM’ And ‘PXR 5’. In 1979 Dave Formed Another Nucleus With Huw Lloyd-Langton On Lead Guitar Simon King On Drums Harvey Bainbridge From Hawklords On Bass And Tim Blake From ‘Gong’ On Keyboards. Their Live Album ‘LIVE 79’ Went Straight Into The National Top Ten Charts Chart. In 1980 Ginger Baker Replaced Simon King On Drums And They Recorded Their Classic Album ‘LEVITATION’. Once Again The Release Went Straight Into National Top Ten Album Chart. Tim Blake And Ginger Baker Remaied With The Band Until After The Christmas Tour 1980. From 1979 To 1985 The Band’s Singles And Albums Were Never Out Of The National Independent And Heavy Metal Charts With Albums Such As ‘SONIC ATTACK ‘CHURCH OF HAWKWIND' 'CHRONICLE OF THE BLACK SWORD 'LIVE CHRONICLES' AND 'XENON CODEX'. Nik Turner Who Left The Band In 1975 Briefly Rejoined The Band 1982-1983 For The ‘CHOOSE YOUR MASQUES’ Tour. In 1984 Alan Davey Replaces Harvey Bainbridge On Bass And Harvey Moved Over To Keyboards And Synths. In 1985 The Band Tour With The Spectacular ‘CHRONICLES OF THE BLACK SWORD’ A Stageshow Portraying Music And Images Based On Michael Moorcock’s Epic Saga ‘ELRIC’. During This Period The Band Reached A New Audience With The Emergence Of Ambient Acts Such As The Orb Openly Acknowledging Hawkwind’s Influence. Huw Lloyd-Langton Remained With The Band Throughout The End Of The 80s Departing In 1989 Followed
shortly After By Harvey Bainbridge. The Band Continued To Perform Live Throughout The Nineties And Had Some Noteable Album Releases Such As 'SPACE BANDITS' 'PALACE SPRINGS' 'ELECTRIC TEPEE' 'IT IS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE TO BE DANGEROUS' 'THE BUSINESS TRIP' 'ALIEN 4' 'LOVE IN SPACE' And 'DISTANT HORIZONS'. During Their Entire Existence The Band Have Performed Numerous Free Concerts Notably STONEHENGE And Have Supported Various Charities Which Include SHELTER When In 1977 At The Blackheath Concert Halls They Raised Thousands Of Pounds For The Homeless And Even Released A Charity Single Version Of The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" With Samantha Fox Guesting On Vocals. N.A.S.A. In The USA Have Also Used Sound Tracks From The ‘LOVE IN SPACE Release. In 1997 They Headlined The ‘1ST SPACEROCK FESTIVAL USA’. In 2000 The Band Staged The Highly Successful ‘HAWKESTRA’ Event At The London Brixton Academy Which Saw Many Past Members Reunited On Stage With A Nucleus Of Dave Brock Ron Tree Jerry Richards Hugh Lloyd-Langton Simon House Richard Chadwick Alan Davey And Tim Blake. In 2001 They Were Voted The 8th Top Progressive Band In The Country On Channel 4 TV. The Band Have Recently Released A Double Live Cd Recording Of Their Xmas 2000 'Yule Ritual' Show At The London Astoria As Well As The Arthur Brown Helmed 'Out Of The Shadows' In 2007.The Concept Of A Hawkestra A Reunion Event Featuring Appearances From All Past And Present Members Had Originally Been Intended To Coincide With The Band's 30th Anniversary And The Release Of The Career Spanning Epocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology Set But Logistical Problems Delayed It Until 21 October 2000. It Took Place At The Brixton Academy With About 20 Members Taking Part In A 3 Hour Set Which Was Filmed And Recorded. Guests Included Samantha Fox Who Sang Master Of The Universe. However Arguments And Disputes Over Financial Recompense And Musical Input Resulted In The Prospect Of The Event Being Restaged Unlikely And Any Album Or DVD Release Being Indefinitely Shelved.The Hawkestra Had Set A Template For Brock To Assemble A Core Band Of Tree Brock Richards Davey Chadwick And For The Use Of Former Members As Guests On Live Shows And Studio Recordings. The 2000 Christmas Astoria Show Was Recorded With Contributions From House Blake Rizz Moorcock Jez Huggett And Keith Kniveton And Released As Yule Ritual The Following Year. In 2001 Davey Agreed To Rejoin The Band Permanently But Only Afiter The Departure Of Tree And Richards.
Meanwhile Having Rekindled Relationships With Old Friends At The Hawkestra Turner Organised Further Hawkestra Gigs Resulting In The Formation Of Xhawkwind.Com A Band Consisting Mainly Of Ex-Hawkwind Members And Playing Old Hawkwind Songs. An Appearance At Guilfest In 2002 Led To Confusion As To Whether This Actually Was Hawkwind Sufficiently Irking Brock Into Taking Legal Action To Prohibit Turner From Trading Under The Name Hawkwind. Turner Lost The Case And The Band Now Perform As Space Ritual.
An Appearance At The Canterbury Sound Festival In August 2001 Resulting In Another Live Album Canterbury Fayre 2001 Saw Guest Appearances From Lloyd-Langton House Kniveton With Arthur Brown On "Silver Machine". The Band Organised The First Of Their Own Weekend Festivals Named Hawkfest In Devon In The Summer Of 2002. Brown Joined The Band In 2002 For A Winter Tour Which Featured Some Kingdom Come Songs And Saw Appearances From Blake And Lloyd-Langton The Newcastle Show Being Released On DVD As Out Of The Shadows And The London Show On CD As Spaced Out In London.
In 2005 The Long Anticipated New Album Take Me To Your Leader Was Released. Recorded By The Core Band Of Brock/Davey/Chadwick Contributors Included New Keyboardist Jason Stuart Arthur Brown Tabloid Writer And TV Personality Matthew Wright 1970s New Wave Singer Lene Lovich Simon House And Jez Huggett. This Was Followed In 2006 By The CD/DVD Disc Take Me To Your Future. The Band Were The Subject Of An Hour-Long Television Documentary Entitled Hawkwind Do Not Panic That Aired On BBC Four As Part Of The Originals Series. It Was Broadcast On 30 March 2007 And Repeated On 10 August 2007. Although Brock Participated In Its Making He Did Not Appear In The Programme It Is Alleged That He Requested All Footage Of Himself Be Removed After He Was Denied Any Artistic Control Over The Documentary.. In One Of The Documentary's Opening Narratives Regarding Brock It Is Stated That He Declined To Be Interviewed For The Programme Because Of Nik Turner's Involvement Indicating That The Two Men Have Still Not Been Reconciled Over The Xhawkwind.Com Incident. June 2007 Saw The Departure Of Alan Davey Who Left To Perform And Record With Two New Bands Gunslinger And Thunor. He Was Replaced By "Mr Dibs" A Long-Standing Member Of The Road Crew And Bassist For The Bands Spacehead And Krel Who Had Supported Hawkwind During 1992 . The Band Performed At Their Annual Hawkfest Festival And Headlined The US Festival NEARfest And Played Gigs In PA And NY. At The End Of 2007 Tim Blake Once Again Joined The Band Filling The Lead Role Playing Keyboards And Theremin. The Band Played 5 Christmas Dates The London Show Being Released As An Audio CD And Video DVD Under The Title Knights Of Space. The Band's Official Website Is To Be Found At Www.Hawkwind.Com HAWKWIND And Solo Projects Dave Brock Nik Turner Inner City Unit Lemmy Motorhead Huw Lloyd Langton Group Robert Calvert Alan Davey Bedouin Michael Moorcock Deep Fix Harvey Bainbridge Agents Of Chaos Space Ritual Spiral Realms Ect.A Truly Prolific Act ! read less
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shortly After By Harvey Bainbridge. The Band Continued To Perform Live Throughout The Nineties And Had Some Noteable Album Releases Such As 'SPACE BANDITS' 'PALACE SPRINGS' 'ELECTRIC TEPEE' 'IT IS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE TO BE DANGEROUS' 'THE BUSINESS TRIP' 'ALIEN 4' 'LOVE IN SPACE' And 'DISTANT HORIZONS'. During Their Entire Existence The Band Have Performed Numerous Free Concerts Notably STONEHENGE And Have Supported Various Charities Which Include SHELTER When In 1977 At The Blackheath Concert Halls They Raised Thousands Of Pounds For The Homeless And Even Released A Charity Single Version Of The Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" With Samantha Fox Guesting On Vocals. N.A.S.A. In The USA Have Also Used Sound Tracks From The ‘LOVE IN SPACE Release. In 1997 They Headlined The ‘1ST SPACEROCK FESTIVAL USA’. In 2000 The Band Staged The Highly Successful ‘HAWKESTRA’ Event At The London Brixton Academy Which Saw Many Past Members Reunited On Stage With A Nucleus Of Dave Brock Ron Tree Jerry Richards Hugh Lloyd-Langton Simon House Richard Chadwick Alan Davey And Tim Blake. In 2001 They Were Voted The 8th Top Progressive Band In The Country On Channel 4 TV. The Band Have Recently Released A Double Live Cd Recording Of Their Xmas 2000 'Yule Ritual' Show At The London Astoria As Well As The Arthur Brown Helmed 'Out Of The Shadows' In 2007.The Concept Of A Hawkestra A Reunion Event Featuring Appearances From All Past And Present Members Had Originally Been Intended To Coincide With The Band's 30th Anniversary And The Release Of The Career Spanning Epocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology Set But Logistical Problems Delayed It Until 21 October 2000. It Took Place At The Brixton Academy With About 20 Members Taking Part In A 3 Hour Set Which Was Filmed And Recorded. Guests Included Samantha Fox Who Sang Master Of The Universe. However Arguments And Disputes Over Financial Recompense And Musical Input Resulted In The Prospect Of The Event Being Restaged Unlikely And Any Album Or DVD Release Being Indefinitely Shelved.The Hawkestra Had Set A Template For Brock To Assemble A Core Band Of Tree Brock Richards Davey Chadwick And For The Use Of Former Members As Guests On Live Shows And Studio Recordings. The 2000 Christmas Astoria Show Was Recorded With Contributions From House Blake Rizz Moorcock Jez Huggett And Keith Kniveton And Released As Yule Ritual The Following Year. In 2001 Davey Agreed To Rejoin The Band Permanently But Only Afiter The Departure Of Tree And Richards.
Meanwhile Having Rekindled Relationships With Old Friends At The Hawkestra Turner Organised Further Hawkestra Gigs Resulting In The Formation Of Xhawkwind.Com A Band Consisting Mainly Of Ex-Hawkwind Members And Playing Old Hawkwind Songs. An Appearance At Guilfest In 2002 Led To Confusion As To Whether This Actually Was Hawkwind Sufficiently Irking Brock Into Taking Legal Action To Prohibit Turner From Trading Under The Name Hawkwind. Turner Lost The Case And The Band Now Perform As Space Ritual.
An Appearance At The Canterbury Sound Festival In August 2001 Resulting In Another Live Album Canterbury Fayre 2001 Saw Guest Appearances From Lloyd-Langton House Kniveton With Arthur Brown On "Silver Machine". The Band Organised The First Of Their Own Weekend Festivals Named Hawkfest In Devon In The Summer Of 2002. Brown Joined The Band In 2002 For A Winter Tour Which Featured Some Kingdom Come Songs And Saw Appearances From Blake And Lloyd-Langton The Newcastle Show Being Released On DVD As Out Of The Shadows And The London Show On CD As Spaced Out In London.
In 2005 The Long Anticipated New Album Take Me To Your Leader Was Released. Recorded By The Core Band Of Brock/Davey/Chadwick Contributors Included New Keyboardist Jason Stuart Arthur Brown Tabloid Writer And TV Personality Matthew Wright 1970s New Wave Singer Lene Lovich Simon House And Jez Huggett. This Was Followed In 2006 By The CD/DVD Disc Take Me To Your Future. The Band Were The Subject Of An Hour-Long Television Documentary Entitled Hawkwind Do Not Panic That Aired On BBC Four As Part Of The Originals Series. It Was Broadcast On 30 March 2007 And Repeated On 10 August 2007. Although Brock Participated In Its Making He Did Not Appear In The Programme It Is Alleged That He Requested All Footage Of Himself Be Removed After He Was Denied Any Artistic Control Over The Documentary.. In One Of The Documentary's Opening Narratives Regarding Brock It Is Stated That He Declined To Be Interviewed For The Programme Because Of Nik Turner's Involvement Indicating That The Two Men Have Still Not Been Reconciled Over The Xhawkwind.Com Incident. June 2007 Saw The Departure Of Alan Davey Who Left To Perform And Record With Two New Bands Gunslinger And Thunor. He Was Replaced By "Mr Dibs" A Long-Standing Member Of The Road Crew And Bassist For The Bands Spacehead And Krel Who Had Supported Hawkwind During 1992 . The Band Performed At Their Annual Hawkfest Festival And Headlined The US Festival NEARfest And Played Gigs In PA And NY. At The End Of 2007 Tim Blake Once Again Joined The Band Filling The Lead Role Playing Keyboards And Theremin. The Band Played 5 Christmas Dates The London Show Being Released As An Audio CD And Video DVD Under The Title Knights Of Space. The Band's Official Website Is To Be Found At Www.Hawkwind.Com HAWKWIND And Solo Projects Dave Brock Nik Turner Inner City Unit Lemmy Motorhead Huw Lloyd Langton Group Robert Calvert Alan Davey Bedouin Michael Moorcock Deep Fix Harvey Bainbridge Agents Of Chaos Space Ritual Spiral Realms Ect.A Truly Prolific Act ! read less
16 Similar Artists To Hawkwind - Frogtoon Music
Hawklords Gong Robert Calvert Steve Hillage Pink Fairies Ozric Tentacles Eloy Nektar Soft Machine Caravan Atomic Rooster Amon Düül II Wishbone Ash Groundhogs Blue Cheer Captain Beyond.
Silver Machine is a 1972 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single on 9 June 1972, reaching #3 on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, 1978 reaching #34 on the UK singles charts, and in 1983 reaching #67 on the UK singles charts. The original mix is currently available on the remasters version of In Search of Space.
The single
"Silver Machine" was recorded live at a Greasy Truckers benefit gig at The Roundhouse, London on 13 February 1972 and this version was released on the Various Artists compilation album Glastonbury Fayre and the 2007 box set of Greasy Truckers Party. Overdubs were applied and mixing took place at Morgan Studios with Douglas Smith and Dave Robinson overseeing the process. Dave Brock took production credits using an alias of Dr Technical.
Personnel
* Robert Calvert - vocals
* Dave Brock - guitar, vocals
* Nik Turner - saxophone, flute, vocals
* Lemmy - bass guitar, vocals
* Dik Mik Davies - Synthesizer
* Del Dettmar - Synthesizer
* Simon King - drums
Music
The music was composed by Dave Brock who used his then wife Sylvia Macmanus' maiden name for credits in order to put pressure on his publishing company to improve his deal. The verse is an 8-bar Rock and Roll boogie whose riff is an adaption of the standard riff that can be heard on the likes of Johnny and the Hurricanes' "Red River Rock".
[The Greasy Truckers] was about my third gig, and I didn't know what I was doing. I hadn't done any rehearsals and I thought that Silver Machine was a Chuck Berry number - really. - Simon King
Vocals and Lyrics
The lyrics were written by Robert Calvert and he sang the lead vocal on the original live recording. However, the vocals were considered too weak for the single release so they were re-recorded in the studio. Calvert, who suffered from bi-polar disorder, had been sectioned at the time so was unavailable to attempt another version, and the lead vocals were eventually recorded by Lemmy:
[Calvert's] vocal was fucking hopeless, but he never realised it. That's how mad he was. It sounded like Captain Kirk reading 'Blowing In The Wind'. They tried everybody singing it except me. Then, as a last shot, Douglas said, 'Try Lemmy'. And I did it in one take or two.
Lemmy just had the best voice for it. Of course, Bob was not pleased when he found out. - Douglas Smith
The lyrics are a send-up of space travel, inspired by the Alfred Jarry essay How to Construct a Time Machine which Calvert interpreted as a description of how to build a bicycle:
I read this essay by Alfred Jarrey called, "How to Construct a Time Machine", and I noticed something which I don't think anyone else has thought of because I've never seen any criticism of the piece to suggest this. I seemed to suss out immediately that what he was describing was his bicycle. He did have that turn of mind. He was the kind of bloke who'd think it was a good joke to write this very informed sounding piece, full of really good physics (and it has got some proper physics in it), describing how to build a time machine, which is actually about how to build a bicycle, buried under this smoke-screen of physics that sounds authentic. Jarrey got into doing this thing called 'Petaphysics', which is a sort of French joke science. A lot of notable French intellectuals formed an academy around the basic idea of coming up with theories to explain the exceptions to the Laws of the Universe, people like Ionesco the playwright. The College of Metaphysics. I thought it was a great idea for a song. At that time there were a lot of songs about space travel, and it was the time when NASA was actually, really doing it. They'd put a man on the moon and were planning to put parking lots and hamburger stalls and everything up there. I thought that it was about time to come up with a song that actually sent this all up, which was 'Silver Machine'. 'Silver Machine' was just to say, I've got a silver bicycle, and nobody got it. I didn't think they would. I thought that what they would think we were singing about some sort of cosmic space travel machine. I did actually have a silver racing bike when I was a boy. I've got one now, in fact. - Robert Calvert
Top Of The Pops
Hawkwind have very rarely appeared on television, but the success of the single necessitated an appearance on the BBC chart show Top Of The Pops. However, the group felt ill at ease at the prospect of miming a performance in front of a studio audience who didn't represent their following, so a compromise was reached with the BBC recording the band performing live at Dunstable Civic Hall on 7 July 1972, this clip being shown with the single version dubbed over it.
BBC Sessions
A version was recorded at Maida Vale Studios, London on 2 August 1972 for broadcast on the Johnnie Walker show on the 14th, "Brainstorm" also being part of the session. Neither recording has received official public release. The song was also recorded live at the Paris Cinema, London on 28 September 1972 as part of the hour long In Concert series broadcast. This full concert was released in 1991 as BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert.
On 3 December 2007, Cleopatra Records in the USA issued a limited edition of 500 10" vinyl EPs consisting of both BBC versions of "Silver Machine", the live version as the A-side and the session version as the B-side.
Live versions
The song has sporadically been played live by the band. Its first reappearance is on the 1980 live album Live Seventy Nine, but it explodes after a minute and is suffixed with "(requiem)" in Brock's attempt at laying the song to rest, sick of having to play their "hit single". Further live versions have been released, most notably a version on the 2002 live album Canterbury Fayre 2001 with vocals by Arthur Brown.
Lemmy continues to make guests appearances with the band when their paths cross. Some live versions of the song on which Lemmy has appeared include The Friday Rock Show Sessions from the Reading Festival 24 August 1986 and Motörhead's Stone Deaf Forever! boxset from Wembley Arena 19 October 2002.
10th Anniversary
In 1982 the band recorded a new studio version of the song which received general release on 7" and 7" picture disk by RCA/Active (RCA267, 27 August 1982). The b-side was a 33RPM extended play featuring the full 7:25 version and a new version of "Psychedelic Warlords" with a Huw Lloyd-Langton vocal.
Receiving criticism over the release, Brock defended their actions: "It was only done as a tenth anniversary thing, and wasn't supposed to come out just as a picture disc. That was RCA's decision, and I didn't like it one bit. The only reason we cut it was as a special souvenir."
In addition to the single release, the record company included it on the Choose Your Masques album, leaving Marion Lloyd-Langton to complain: "[Huw and I] actually had three tracks for the Masques album, but RCA insisted that Silver Machine went on, so the third track was dropped; pity about that."[6]
Remixes
* Utah Saints version for the 1996 album Future Reconstructions - Ritual Of The Solstice.
* Jimi Cauty version for a single and the 1999 album Epocheclipse – 30 Year Anthology.
* Richard Chadwick version for the album The Hawkwind Remix Project.
* Dave Brock version for the 2006 album Take Me to Your Future.
Cover versions
* James Last performed a version on his Non Stop Dancing 1973 album. Currently available on James Last: Best Of The 1970s DVD and The James Last Collection boxset.
* NWOBHM band Vardis recorded a version in 1980.
* Discharge's guitarist Bones riffles through 8-bars at the beginning of Why (Reprise) on their 1981 hardcore punk mini-album Why?.
* The Church recorded a version on their covers album A Box of Birds and also have performed the song live regularly - most notably as the second and final encore during their world tour promoting A Box of Birds.
* 1980's psychedelic revival band Doctor and the Medics recorded a version for single, played the track live and also performed a version on UK television.
* Sex Pistols opened the set with the track on their 2002 tour.
* The Ukelele Orchestra of Great Britain performed a version at their 2005 Festival shows (Cropredy and Guilfest) Dreamworker
* Alien Sex Fiend included the song on their 1988 LP Another Planet
* Jarvis Cocker performed the track at The Roundhouse in December 2006 as a tribute to its place of birth.
* Skullhead recorded the song and released it on their Victory Or Valhalla and Ragnarok albums.
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