Van Der Graaf Generator

British-born drummer Chris Judge Smith embarked on a revelatory journey to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury in summer 1967, prompting him to compile a roster of prospective names for the rock band he planned to assemble. Back at Manchester University he began collaborating onstage with singer/songwriter Peter Hammill and keyboardist Nick Peame; adopting one entry from Judge Smith’s list, the trio called itself Van der Graaf Generator, after the static-electricity device, and quickly built an intense cult following as a leading art-rock act of the period.

Although Judge Smith and Peame had participated from the outset, genuine success arrived when the group served as a vehicle for Hammill, whose dark, existentialist lyrics drew the lion’s share of attention. Following the 1968 single “People You Were Going To,” Judge Smith departed; the remaining lineup of Hammill, keyboardist Hugh Banton, bassist Keith Ellis, and drummer Guy Evans soon dissolved. Hammill entered the studio later that year intending to cut a solo album, yet he summoned his former colleagues, resulting in the release of The Aerosol Grey Machine under the Van der Graaf Generator banner.

With Ellis replaced by Nic Potter and woodwind player David Jackson added, the refreshed ensemble delivered 1969’s Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other. After 1970’s H to He, Who Am the Only One, Potter exited; the band completed one further LP, 1971’s Pawn Hearts, before Hammill pursued a solo path and the group disbanded. Five solo albums later, Hammill reconvened Van der Graaf Generator in 1975 for Godbluff. Following the pair of 1976 releases Still Life and World Record, Banton and Jackson departed; operating simply as Van der Graaf, the remaining members recorded The Quiet Zone with violinist Graham Smith. A 1978 live album, Vital, preceded the official breakup, though most participants continued to appear on Hammill’s subsequent solo recordings.

Van der Graaf reunited twice for one-off performances during the 1990s and issued the reunion album Present in 2005. Without Jackson, the trio of Hammill, Banton, and Evans cut Trisector, which surfaced in 2008. They performed live extensively in 2009 and delivered another studio set, A Grounding in Numbers, in 2011. A collection of studio jams and outtakes titled ALT appeared the following year. The same trio returned in 2016 with their thirteenth studio album, Do Not Disturb.