Hawkwind

Drawing from the extended improvisational sessions of the 1960s and the cosmic explorations of psychedelic music, Hawkwind played a central role in shaping space rock. Across repeated changes in personnel and more than thirty studio releases, the group has consistently fused avant-garde elements with hard rock, psychedelic textures, mystical ideas, science-fiction narratives, inventive defiance, and visions of the future. This synthesis appears clearly in the six foundational albums issued from 1970 to 1976, among them In Search of Space, Space Ritual, and Warrior on the Edge of Time. Further decades brought additional lineup flux, yet the band maintained a remarkable pace of recording and live work. After joining Cherry Red in late 2015, Hawkwind delivered a consistent series of new recordings, including Into the Woods in 2017, The Future Never Waits in 2023, and Stories From Time and Space in 2024, confirming that their inventive drive remained undiminished.

Formed in London during the late 1960s as art rock began to flourish, Hawkwind rank among England’s longest-running rock acts. Although they never reached the visibility of peers such as Pink Floyd, the band is routinely credited as one of space rock’s earliest innovators, largely because of landmark releases like the 1973 live album Space Ritual and its 1974 studio successor In the Hall of the Mountain Grill. Their distinctive blend of psychedelia, progressive structures, direct hard rock, and lyrics steeped in science fiction—especially the themes and imagery of author Michael Moorcock, who joined the group at several junctures—along with explorations of altered states, established Hawkwind’s identity and set them apart. The band’s story has been defined by repeated and often bewildering personnel shifts that began almost immediately. Through every era and reconfiguration, founding guitarist Dave Brock has served as the group’s primary guiding force, while figures such as Lemmy and Ginger Baker also spent time in the lineup. Although the 1970s are generally viewed as their creative peak, Hawkwind have kept a devoted audience and experienced occasional revivals of interest, among them the Moorcock-inspired concept album The Chronicle of the Black Sword in the 1980s and their adoption of rave and electronic sounds on 1990s releases such as Space Bandits. The 2000 Hawkestra reunion concert brought together members from multiple periods and led to the formation of Space Ritual, a splinter group of former participants. Space Ritual later operated alongside Brock’s continuing Hawkwind project, which kept issuing both fresh material and archival collections. A 2010 agreement with Eastworld Records sparked another productive phase that included the 2016 concept album The Machine Stops and its 2017 follow-up, Into the Woods.

The group’s origins trace to 1969, when guitarist and singer Dave Brock and guitarist Mick Slattery of Famous Cure encountered saxophonist, flutist, and singer Nik Turner of Mobile Freakout while both bands were touring Holland. Back in England, Brock, Slattery, and Turner reunited, adding bassist John Harrison, drummer Terry Ollis, and electronic keyboardist DikMik Davies. They first called themselves Group X, then Hawkwind Zoo, and finally Hawkwind. A recording contract with United Artists/Liberty followed. Before sessions began, Huw Lloyd Langton took over guitar duties from Mick Slattery.

The emerging ensemble connected with two former Pretty Things members: drummer Viv Prince, who sat in occasionally, and bassist Dick Taylor, an ex-Rolling Stone who was brought in as producer yet also performed on early recordings. Their debut single, “Hurry on Sundown” (also listed as “Hurry on a Sundown”) backed with “Mirror of Illusion,” appeared in July 1970, shortly before Harrison departed and Thomas Crimble assumed bass duties. The self-titled first album arrived in August to modest attention, yet that same month the band performed outside the gates of the Isle of Wight Festival.

The next month Lloyd Langton and Crimble both left. Bassist Dave Anderson, previously of Amon Düül, arrived in May 1971, the same month DikMik Davies stepped away and Del Dettmar took over keyboards. June brought two further additions: poet Robert Calvert as lead vocalist and dancer Stacia, who began appearing onstage. The group also began working with graphic artist Barney Bubbles, who supplied a fresh visual identity through redesigned stage elements, equipment decoration, and album artwork.

Former bassist Crimble helped secure Hawkwind’s appearance at the Glastonbury Fayre in Somerset in June 1971, providing new exposure and introducing them to writer Michael Moorcock, then entering a highly successful period with his science-fiction and fantasy novels. Moorcock assisted with certain performances and occasionally substituted for Calvert.

In August 1971 Dave Anderson exited, allowing DikMik Davies to return and share keyboard duties with Dettmar. Anderson’s replacement was his acquaintance Lemmy (Ian Kilmister), a former roadie for Jimi Hendrix and onetime member of the Blackpool band the Rocking Vicars. Lemmy joined in time to contribute to the second album, In Search of Space.

Issued in October 1971, that record became a landmark, charting fresh territory that merged metal, psychedelics, and science-fiction themes and featuring the enduring concert staple “Masters of the Universe.” Additional changes followed when Simon King replaced Terry Ollis on drums in January 1972. The band performed at the Greasy Truckers Party at London’s Roundhouse the following month, portions of which later appeared on subsequent releases. Ongoing equipment losses and financial pressures, combined with Calvert’s fragile health after a nervous breakdown, left Hawkwind entering 1972 in precarious circumstances.

Their early singles had presented a hard-rock base with progressive touches that appealed to college and counterculture listeners, offering shows reminiscent of King Crimson or ELP yet grounded in straightforward rock energy shaped by Lemmy’s background. Commercial breakthrough arrived with the Lemmy-sung “Silver Machine,” which reached number three on the British charts in August 1972. Follow-up single “Urban Guerrilla” briefly entered the Top 40 before being withdrawn amid contemporaneous terrorist incidents in London. The ensuing first major British tour increased their live profile, and the third album, Doremi Fasol Latido, released in November 1972, peaked at number 14. The record solidified the group’s science-fiction mythology, weaving an elaborate cosmic narrative around the band itself. Their reputation as a live act led to the elaborate Space Ritual concert presentation; the resulting double album, recorded onstage and issued in June 1973, reached number nine.

By the time of In the Hall of the Mountain Grill in 1974, Calvert had left to pursue solo work on Captain Lockheed & the Starfighters, while violinist and keyboardist Simon House joined. Amid the progressive-rock prominence of Yes, ELP, and Genesis, Hawkwind’s dense keyboard layers and heavy guitar-and-bass attack drew widespread international coverage, even though the band remained unknown on U.S. charts and sold only as imports. Two American tours took place, one in late 1973 and another in spring 1974, both marked by typical difficulties, including an arrest in Indiana for unpaid taxes. After the 1975 release of Warrior on the Edge of Time, Lemmy was dismissed following a drug-related arrest during a U.S. tour and subsequently formed Motörhead. Paul Rudolph replaced him on bass, and Calvert rejoined. By then, American prospects had diminished amid the success of Kansas and Blue Öyster Cult. The revised lineup issued Astounding Sounds, which charted modestly, then Quark, Strangeness & Charm in 1977. Chronic instability peaked at the end of a 1978 U.S. tour when Calvert departed again and the band effectively dissolved. Calvert formed the Hawklords, abandoning a completed album to record 25 Years On with Brock, drummer Martin Griffiths, keyboardist Steve Swindells, and bassist Harvey Bainbridge; the album reached number 48 in Britain. Griffiths left by December 1978. Calvert exited once more, Simon King returned on drums, and the group reverted to the Hawkwind name in January 1979. Lloyd Langton rejoined in May, and Tim Blake replaced Swindells. This configuration proved relatively stable, producing a successful live album (number 15 in the U.K.) under a new Bronze Records contract. Ginger Baker replaced King in September 1980 but departed by March 1981, with Martin Griffiths returning. The core lineup recorded a series of well-received albums through 1984 that found favor with heavy-metal audiences and reached the British Top 30 and Top 20. By the time of This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic on Flickknife Records in 1984, Turner, Brock, and Langton were again playing together.

Reissues of the band’s 1970s catalog began appearing in competition with new releases. In 1985 Hawkwind delivered their most ambitious project to date, The Chronicle of the Black Sword, an adaptation of Moorcock’s novels that also marked a stylistic return. Around this period Brock, Turner, Langton, Anderson, Crimble, Bainbridge, and Slattery attended the first Hawkwind Convention in Manchester. Turner soon left, yet the remaining members stayed together for three years, an unusual stretch of continuity. Calvert, who had departed twice in the late 1970s, died of a heart attack in 1988. The band continued and mounted its first U.S. tour since his initial exit the following year. Performance artist Bridget Wishart became the group’s first and only female lead vocalist. In 1990 Space Bandits embraced rave culture and yielded another chart entry along with a younger audience, though the revival proved brief. By 1991 the group was re-recording classic material and returned to America the next year. A falling-out at the conclusion of the 1992 tour reduced the band to a trio. Aside from periodic reissues, the remaining members cultivated a following within England’s underground rave scene, ironically revisiting a modern echo of their origins. Later albums emphasized electronics over conventional rock instrumentation. The group appeared at events such as the 12 Hour Technicolor Dream All Nighter at Brixton Academy and various benefit shows. By this stage the entire catalog had been reissued on CD by numerous labels, often retitled or recompiled, with dozens of compilations and archival sets in circulation.

Hawkwind marked their 30th anniversary in 1999 with the triple-CD anthology Epocheclipse. A planned reunion concert, Hawkestra, was postponed until October 2000 and took place at Brixton Academy with twenty former and current members participating in a three-hour performance. Afterward the core touring lineup consisted of Brock, drummer Richard Chadwick, vocalist Ron Tree, guitarist Jerry Richards, and bassist Alan Davey, supplemented by guest appearances. Nik Turner assembled a separate project initially called xhawkwind.com; legal action by Brock resulted in the splinter group adopting the name Space Ritual. Official Hawkwind lineups continued touring and releasing live albums while organizing the Hawkfest festival in summer 2002. A Wembley Arena concert featured guests Arthur Brown and Lemmy. The studio album Take Me to Your Leader arrived in 2005 with Brown and Lene Lovich among its contributors. Take Me to Your Future, a DualDisc, followed in 2006. Davey departed at year’s end and was replaced by Mr. Dibs. Jon Sevink of the Levellers began guesting on violin in 2009 during the band’s 40th-anniversary celebrations.

In 2010 MOJO magazine presented Hawkwind with its Maverick Award. The group released Blood of the Earth on Eastworld Records with a lineup of Brock, Dibs, Chadwick, returning keyboardist Tim Blake, and multi-instrumentalist Niall Hone. After tours of Australia and Europe, Onward appeared in 2012. Keyboardist Dead Fred joined for the supporting tour. In November Brock issued the solo album Looking for Love in the Lost Land of Dreams, and Hawkwind Light Orchestra (Brock, Chadwick, and Hone) released Stellar Variations. Cherry Red reissued Warrior on the Edge of Time in 2013, and Hawkwind performed the album in full on the Warrior 2013 Tour. Brock received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Prog Rock Awards in London that September; Spacehawks followed soon after. In February 2014 the band performed Space Ritual at the Rock 4 Rescue benefit, where actor Brian Blessed guested on “Sonic Attack”; a studio version of the track was later issued as a single, and the concert appeared as the CD/DVD set Space Ritual Live in March 2015. One month later Hawkwind made their debut visit to Japan for two sold-out Tokyo shows. Brock released the solo album Brockworld in November. In April 2016 Cherry Red issued The Machine Stops, a studio album inspired by E.M. Forster’s short story. A thematic successor, Into the Woods, followed in 2017. For Road to Utopia in 2018 the band collaborated with composer and conductor Mike Batt on orchestral reinterpretations of earlier material. The next year they released the new studio album All Aboard the Skylark, which included a second disc of acoustic versions titled Acoustic Daze.

In March 2023 Cherry Red issued the ten-disc box set Days of the Underground: The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979, containing new stereo and 5.1 mixes by Steven Wilson of Quark, Strangeness & Charm, the Hawklords’ 25 Years On, and PXR5, along with previously unreleased live recordings from the September 1977 tour and a 1978 Hawklords performance. By then the group had stabilized around Brock, Richard Chadwick, Magnus Martin, Doug MacKinnon, and Tim “Thighpaulsandra” Lewis, a lineup that recorded and released the 35th studio album, the experimental The Future Never Waits, in April 2023. One year later the band issued another studio effort, 2024’s Stories From Time and Space, centered on a loose narrative involving love, space travel, and environmental themes.