1981 - SONIC ATTACK TOUR REPORT BY BRIAN TAWN
THIS ARTICLE FIRST APPEARED IN HAWKFAN 7 FROM I WOULD ASSUME EARLY 1982. THE REASONS FOR PUBLISHING IT NOW ARE TWO-FOLD. FIRSTLY IT'S OVER TWENTY YEARS OLD SO MOST OF YOU WHO MAY HAVE READ IT BACK THEN WILL HAVE PROBABLY DISPOSED OF YOUR COPY OF HAWKFAN 7 MANY YEARS AGO AND SECONDLY, WHILST I AM SURE THAT BRIAN WOULD BE THE FIRST TO ADMIT THAT HE'S NO JOURNALIST, I DON'T THINK MANY PEOPLE COULD DESCRIBE A HAWKWIND SHOW SO VIVIDLY. LIKE ALL OTHER HAWKFAN RELATED MATERIAL, WE THANK BRIAN FOR HIS KIND PERMISSION IN ALLOWING US TO USE THEM!
THE 1981 HAWKWIND TOUR, THE SONIC ATTACK TOUR, BEGAN AT READING ON SEPTEMBER 28TH, AND WAS THE FIRST OF TWO GIGS BY THE HAWKWIND TRIO. THE REASON FOR THIS WAS THAT HUW HAD RECENTLY BUMPED HIS NOSE ON SOMEONE'S FIST. HE THOUGHT LITTLE OF IT UNTIL IT BEGAN TO BLEED, SHORTLY BEFORE THE READING GIG, AND WOULDN'T STOP. IT BLED FOR A FEW HOURS AND HUW WAS TAKEN TO HOSPITAL, WHERE IT WAS DISCOVERED THAT THERE WAS INTERNAL DAMAGE THAT REQUIRED AN IMMEDIATE OPERATION, WHICH IS WHY HUW WAS UNABLE TO PLAY UNTIL THE THIRD GIG IN MANCHESTER. I WAS BLISSFULLY UNAWARE OF THIS UNTIL I WENT TO THE GIG AT PETERBOROUGH, TWO DAYS LATER.
I ARRIVED AT THE WIRRINA STADIUM AT 5.15 TO FIND A GROUP OF FANS SETTLED BY THE ENTRANCE DOOR, WAITING FOR THE DOORS TO OPEN AND LOOKING AS THOUGH THEY HAD BEEN THERE SOME TIME.
INSIDE, THE HALL WAS IN A KIND OF CHAOS AS FOLK TESTED VARIOUS ITEMS OF THE EQUIPMENT. LIGHTS FLICKERED ON AND OFF AND A WEIRD VARIETY OF SOUNDS TWITTERED AND BURPED FROM THE SPEAKERS WHILE PATRICK WOODROFFE SLIDES APPEARED ON THE BACKDROP.
I COULD SEE DAVE BROCK ON THE STAGE, SO I JOINED HIM THERE. WE EXCHANGED THE USUAL GREETINGS, HAVING NOT SEEN EACH OTHER FOR SOME MONTHS AND DAVE GOT BACK TO WORK, FIDDLING ABOUT WITH A SYNTHESISER, A RECORDER AND VARIOUS OTHER BITS AND PIECES OF AN ELECTRONIC NATURE. ONE HAND PULLED LEADS OUT AND PLUGGED THEM IN ELSEWHERE AND ADJUSTED ASSORTED SLIDERS AND SWITCHES WHILE THE OTHER CLUTCHED WHAT APPEARED TO BE AN INSTRUCTION BOOK.
"IT'S A BIT LATE TO BE LEARNING HOW TO USE THIS LOT NOW, DAVE."
"WELL THAT'S WHAT I'VE GOT TO DO, I'VE ONLY JUST GOT SOME OF THIS STUFF AND I'M GOING TO USE IT TONIGHT."
HE DID TO. BY 5.30, HARVEY AND MARTIN WERE ALSO ON THE STAGE (DAVE HAD TOLD ME ABOUT HUW) AND WHILE THEY SORTED THEMSELVES OUT, DAVE SET UP A VERY TASTY RUN OF ASSORTED PIECES OF SYNTHESISER MUSIC. HE DID SHOW ME WHAT HE WAS DOING AND HOW VARIOUS THINGS WORKED BUT I'M NON TECHNICAL SO DON'T ASK. BY 5.40, DAVE HAD ENOUGH PIECES OF SEQUENCES TAPED TO USE IN THE SHOW ( SETTING UP RHYTHMS WHICH KEEP REPEATING THEMSELVES ) AND THEY WERE READY FOR A SOUNDCHECK.
WE HAD 20 MINUTES OF SNATCHES OF "MOTORWAY CITY" AND "ANGELS OF DEATH" WHILE ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE... MARTINS DRUMS BIASED TO THE RIGHT, HARVEY'S SYNTHESISER REFUSING TO BEHAVE AND SO ON. AT 6.00 THE FINAL ADJUSTMENTS WERE MADE.
AT 6.05 DAVE CARRIED OUT ANOTHER VITAL JOB. HE TAPED SHEETS OF LYRICS TO HIS MONITORS AND WHEN HE RAN OUT OF SPACE, HE TAPED THE REST OF THEM TO THE FLOOR. IT SEEMS OUR CHIEF HAWKPERSON CANNOT REMEMBER HIS OWN LYRICS WITHOUT A LITTLE PROMPTING AND AT THE READING GIG, KRIS ( OF HAWKWIND MERCHANDISING ) STOOD NEAR THE STAGE AND HELD UP A BOARD WITH THE LYRICS WRITTEN ON IT. MIKE MOORCOCK HAS THE SAME PROBLEM, BUT HE IS CONTENT TO READ THE LYRICS FROM A PIECE OF PAPER CLUTCHED IN HIS HAND UNLESS HE IS ALSO PLAYING HIS GUITAR, IN WHICH CASE HE USES A MUSIC STAND. I'M AFRAID I COULDN'T HELP BUT LAUGH AT DAVE'S NOTES, WHICH IS MOST UNFAIR BECAUSE I CAN NEVER REMEMBER THE LYRICS EITHER.
KRIS' DOG WANDERED ACROSS THE STAGE, IGNORING THE FLASHING LIGHTS AND ODD BURSTS OF SOUND.
AT 6.15 WE LEFT THE STAGE AND WENT TO THE DRESSING ROOM FOR A MEAL. OUTSIDE, THERE WAS ALREADY A LARGE CROWD. WE ATE OUR MEAL IN THE NEAR-SILENCE WHICH IS CAUSED BY THE BUILDING OF TENSION WHICH PRECEDES A GIG. AFTERWARDS, AS MAMA'S BOYS BEGIN THEIR SOUNDCHECK, THE DOG LICKS THE PLATES CLEAN.
7.00. MARTIN WAS IN THE ADJOINING PUB. HARVEY WAS DOWNSTAIRS IN THE HALL AND LISTENING TO A TAPE OF THE READING GIG. DAVE AND I WERE THE ONLY TWO LEFT IN A DRESSING ROOM LARGE ENOUGH FOR FIFTY PEOPLE. DAVE SAT IN A CORNER AND PRACTISED GUITAR FOR A FEW MINUTES, THEN SANG AND PLAYED " DOWN THROUGH THE NIGHT ". I JUST SAT AND ENJOYED IT... AND DIDN'T THINK TO SWITCH MY CASSETTE RECORDER ON. HO-HUM.
AT 7.15 HARVEY RETURNED AND HE AND DAVE RAN THROUGH " CODED LANGUAGES " WHILE I TOOK ONE OR TWO PHOTOGRAPHS FOR HAWKFAN. I REALLY SHOULD HAVE BEEN DOING AN INTERVIEW WHILE I WAS THERE BUT I CONFESS I GAVE WAY TO THE EASY LIFE AND FRITTERED AWAY THE EVENING IN CASUAL CHATTER.
AT 7.30 WE HAD TO TURN OUT THE LIGHTS BECAUSE MAMA'S BOYS ( NOT A BAD BAND AT ALL.... AND ALL AMAZINGLY YOUNG ) BEGAN THEIR SET AND THE DRESSING ROOM HAS A LONG ROW OF WINDOWS OVERLOOKING THE MAIN HALL, SO DRESSING ROOM LIGHTS COULD SPOIL THE BANDS LIGHTS. I DON'T REMEMBER ANYTHING OF THEIR SET BUT THE FACT THAT IT DIDN'T SEEM TO LAST LONG MUST MEAN IT WAS PRETTY GOOD.
AT 9.00 THE HAWKWIND TRIO TOOK TO THE STAGE. AT READING, THEY HAD A GOOD GIG, DESPITE THEIR REDUCED RANKS. PETERBOROUGH WAS A DISASTER, MUSIC-WISE, BUT THE AMAZING LIGHTSHOW KEPT THE WHOLE THING ON A REASONABLE LEVEL. IT WAS JUST ONE OF THOSE NIGHTS WHEN SO MANY LITTLE THINGS WENT WRONG THAT THAT THE BAND WERE NEVER ABLE TO GET INTO OVERDRIVE AND PUT THE SPARKLE AND IMAGINATION INTO THE GIG. THEY JUST HAD TO WORK LIKE CRAZY TO KEEP THE SET GOING. DAVE SAID AFTERWARDS THAT ON THE RARE OCCASIONS WHEN IT DID START TO FALL INTO PLACE, HE WAS SO SURPRISED THAT HE JUST DRIED UP.
TO THE BAND, THE NIGHT WAS A TERRIBLE DISASTER, SAVED ONLY BY THE LIGHTSHOW. TO ME, IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT. I STOOD NEAR THE BACK OF THE HALL, BY THE MIXING DESK AND REVELLED IN IT. THE BAND PLAYED WITH A POWERFUL, DRIVING ENERGY TO COMPENSATE FOR THE LACK OF LEAD GUITAR AND THE EFFECT WAS VERY SIMILAR TO SOME OF THE FAST AND MUFFLED PARTS OF THE SPACE RITUAL AND THE LIGHTS WERE EXCEPTIONALLY HYPNOTIC. ALL IN ALL, THE IMPRESSION WAS ONE OF BEING AT AN EARLY HAWKWIND CONCERT. THE LIGHTS BROUGHT THE SCREEN TO LIFE AND THE MUSIC THROBBED AROUND THE HALL AND SEEMED TO ENTER DIRECTLY INTO MY HEAD, BYPASSING THE EARS. A STRANGE SENSATION, WHICH WAS CAUSED, I SUPPOSE BY THE FACT THAT THE MUSIC LEANED HEAVILY TOWARDS THE BASS NOTES. WHATEVER, IT WAS A GOOD NIGHT FOR ME. I DID RECORD THE GIG BUT IT SOUNDS AWFUL AND THE BAND BEGGED ME TO ERASE IT AND WHEN I WOULDN'T THEN SUGGESTED THAT I SHOULDN'T PLAY IT TO ANYONE ELSE..... IN FACT THEY THOUGHT THE GIG WAS SO BAD THAT THE FANS WAITING FOR AUTOGRAPHS WERE GIVEN SIGNED PROGRAMMES BY WAY OF AN APOLOGY FOR NOT GIVING A PERFORMANCE WHICH WAS CONSIDERED TO BE UP TO STANDARD.
SHORTLY AFTER, THE BAND RETIRED TO THEIR HOTEL AND, AS USUAL, I DECLINED TO GO WITH THEM AS I WANTED TO GET HOME AND MAKE A FEW NOTES ABOUT THE GIG AND ABOUT SNIPPETS OF INFORMATION WHICH I HAD GATHERED WHILE I WAS THERE.
THAT'S HOW IT IS WITH HAWKWIND.... A GROUP OF MUSICIANS WHO PROVIDE GOOD ENTERTAINMENT AND ARE DEDICATED TO THEIR MUSIC AND THEIR FANS. THEY FIND THAT LEADING A RELAXED LIFE OFFSTAGE HELPS THEM TO RELEASE MORE ENERGY AND IMAGINATION WHEN THEY ARE ONSTAGE. CONSEQUENTLY, THE HAWKWIND DRESSING-ROOM IS USUALLY FILLED WITH QUIET TALK BEFORE A GIG AND BUBBLING CHATTER AFTER A GIG. PEOPLE TEND TO BE SOBER RATHER THAN DRUNK AND IF ANYONE IS STONED OUT OF THEIR MINDS, IT'LL BE THE FANS. IT SAYS ON THE COVER OF THE FIRST ALBUM..." WE STARTED OUT TRYING TO FREAK PEOPLE ( TRIPPERS ) , NOW WE ARE TRYING TO LEVITATE THEIR MINDS, IN A NICE WAY, WITHOUT ACID, WITH ULTIMATELY A COMPLETE AUDIO-VISUAL THING, USING A COMPLEX OF ELECTRONICS, LIGHTS AND ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCES." THEY HAVE, WITHOUT DOUBT, ACHIEVED THIS GOAL. I DON'T MENTION THIS IN ORDER TO MAKE HAWKWIND APPEAR TO BE SWEET AND INNOCENT FOLK, BUT TO CORRECT ANT ILLUSIONS THAT SOME FOLKS HAVE THAT ALL BANDS ARE HELL-RAISERS.HAWKWIND CONSIST OF REAL PEOPLE, NOT MUSICAL STEREOTYPES.
I TOOK A WORKMATE TO THE LEICESTER GIG AND TOLD HIM WE WOULD BE GOING TO THE DRESSING ROOM WHILE THE SUPPORT ACT WAS ON. HE HAD ONLY BEEN BACKSTAGE ONCE BEFORE AND THAT WAS AT A HECTIC MOTORHEAD GIG, SO HE ASKED ME IF IT WAS LIKELY TO BE AN EVENING OF "BAD LIVING" AND REVELRY, DRUNKENNESS AND HEAVY DRUGS. I SAID IT WOULDN'T BE QUITE LIKE THAT ( GINGER HAS LEFT NOW ). WE ENTERED THE DRESSING ROOM AND FOUND MARION LLOYD LANGTON ( HUW'S WIFE ) KNITTING, HUW BROWSING THROUGH A TOUR PROGRAMME, HARVEY DRINKING A GLASS OF FRESH ORANGE JUICE AND DAVE PREPARING A POT OF TEA. MARTIN WAS DOWNSTAIRS IN THE BAR, TESTING A PINT OR TWO AND CHATTING TO THE FANS.
WITH THAT KIND OF ATMOSPHERE, IT'S EASY FOR STRANGERS TO MEET AND SETTLE IN TOGETHER, SO I WAS ABLE TO ABANDON MY WORKMATE. HE AND DAVE SOON GOT THEIR HEADS TOGETHER, DISCUSSING CARS, LEAVING ME TO TALK TO HUW ABOUT HIS BROKEN NOSE AND THE GORY DETAILS OF A LONG TIME SPENT WAITING IN, THE HOSPITAL. I RECORDED HIS CONVERSATION ON TAPE AND THEN, LEAVING IT SWITCHED ON, PUT THE RECORDER ON THE FOOD AND DRINKS TABLE, AS I FREQUENTLY DO. HARVEY NOTICED IT AFTER A FEW MINUTES AND PICKED IT UP.
"WHAT'S THIS DOING HERE?"
"IT'S RECORDING YOU SAYING 'WHAT'S THIS DOING HERE?'"
"YOU BASTARD! YOU'VE DON IT AGAIN. I SHOULD HAVE GUESSED!"
YES, HE SHOULD HAVE DONE. I INVARIABLY LEAVE A RECORDER SWITCHED ON IF I HAVE ONE WITH ME. I DON'T PLAN TO PRINT PEOPLE'S UNGUARDED CONVERSATIONS BUT THE TAPES SOMETIMES PROVIDE A USEFUL REMINDER OF THINGS DISCUSSED.
ANYWAY THE TALE OF HUW'S NOSE IS THAT HE GOT INTO A VERY HEATED ARGUMENT WITH A GUY, AND THE GUY STUCK ONE ON HIM. LOFTY ( THE CREW BOSS ) WANTED TO TEACH THE GUY THE ERROR OF HIS WAYS BUT HUW STOPPED HIM BECAUSE HE FELT THAT IT WAS HIS OWN FAULT. HE SAID TO ME AT LEICESTER, "I SHOT MY MOUTH OFF AND THE GUY SHUT IT FOR ME, MAYBE IT'LL TEACH ME A LESSON." THIS WAS ABOUT A WEEK BEFORE THE READING GIG AND IT DIDN'T SEEM ANY PROBLEM UNTIL SHORTLY BEFORE THE GIG, WHEN IT STARTED TO BLEED AND YOU KNOW THE REST.
I MANAGED TO ATTEND FIVE OF THE GIGS, NAMELY PETERBOROUGH, LEICESTER, IPSWICH, HAMMERSMITH ( FIRST NIGHT ) AND LOUGHBOROUGH. ALTHOUGH THE GIGS WERE BASICALLY THE SAME, THERE WERE, AS YOU MIGHT EXPECT, VARIATIONS AT EACH GIG. AT THE GIGS SEEN BY ME, THE VARIATIONS WERE ALL WITHIN THE LIGHTS, WITH DIFFERENT COMBINATIONS OF SLIDES BEING USED FROM NIGHT TO NIGHT AND THE CARTOON SOMETIMES BEING SHOWN WITH PSYCHEDELIC WARLORDS AND SOMETIMES WITH SHOT DOWN IN THE NIGHT. ALSO, AT THE FIRST HAMMERSMITH CONCERT, BOB CALVERT WANDERED ONSTAGE TO HANDLE VOCALS ON SONIC ATTACK. AT OTHER CONCERTS, THE SONGS VARIED, SOME VENUES GOT URBAN GUERRILLA IN PLACE OF MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE AND SOME GOT BOTH, AND SOME GOT VIRGIN OF THE WORLD INSTEAD OF AN UNTITLED PIECE OF SYNTHESISER MUSIC .... ALL THE GIGS WHICH I WENT TO GOT MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE AND THE UNTITLED PIECE. FOR THE BENEFIT OF OVERSEAS FANS UNABLE TO SEE THE TOUR, THE GIGS I WENT TO WENT SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
LOTS OF STAMPING AND SHOUTING FROM THE HALL PACKED TO CAPACITY, FOLLOWED BY A LOUD CHEER WHEN THE LIGHTS WERE DIMMED AND THE SHADOWY FIGURE OF HARVEY CREPT ONTO THE STAGE AND INSERTED THE INTRODUCTION TAPE INTO THE RECORDER AND ACTIVATED IT. THE HALL ROCKED WITH THE CHEERS AS THE TAPE BEGAN TO PLAY AND THE BUILDING WAS FILLED WITH THE DRONE OF THE SYNTHESISERS AND MUFFLED VOICE INTONING, WORDS TOO DISTORTED TO BE UNDERSTOOD. THEN AN EVEN LOUDER CHEERING, CLAPPING AND STAMPING OF FEET AS DAVE, HUW AND MARTIN CAME ONTO THE STAGE.
THE VOICE STOPPED, LEAVING A LOOPED SYNTHESISER SEQUENCE COMING FROM THE SPEAKERS AS THE BAND GOT READY TO PLAY. HUW BEGAN WITH A FEW NOTES LEADING INTO MOTORWAY CITY AND AFTER A FEW MOMENTS, DAVE JOINED IN, WITH HARVEY AND MARTIN. AT THE SAME TIME THE LIGHTS SPRANG INTO LIFE.
THERE WERE TWO SOURCES OF THESE ( LIGHTS ). CHAMELEON LIGHTING LTD HANDLED THE NORMAL STAGE LIGHTING, WHILE JOHN PERRIN SUPPLIED THE MARVELS ON THE SCREEN BEHIND THE BAND. JOHN USED TO WORK WITH JONATHON SMEETON IN EARLIER DAYS OF HAWKWIND AND SO HAS LOTS OF EXPERIENCE ON WHICH TO DRAW, PLUS A WEALTH OF NEW IDEAS. WHILE CHAMELEON BEGAN THE BARRAGE OF FLASHING LIGHTS AND EVER CHANGING COLOURS ( AN IMPRESSIVE SIGHT IN THEMSELVES AND OPERATED BY A GUY WHO's HANDS SEEMED TO BE CONSTANTLY ON THE MOVE ), JOHN STOPPED THE SERIES OF NUMBERS ( 1, 2, 3, 4 ) THAT HAD BEEN ALTERNATING ON THE SCREEN AND BEGAN THE REAL DISPLAY. FOR THE SONG IT WAS A WINGED DRAGON FLAPPING IT'S WINGS AND DIPPING IT'S HEAD WHILE THE TONGUES OF FIRE ROSE FROM THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN AND FLICKERED TO THE TOP. FROM A DISTANCE IT LOOKED VERY GOOD INDEED, WHILE AT CLOSE QUARTERS IT WAS POSITIVELY AWESOME, AS I FOUND WHEN I TOOK A SHORT CUT JUST BEHIND THE SCREEN AFTER THE LOUGHBOROUGH GIG HAD GOT UNDER WAY.
WHEN THE FINAL NOTES OF MOTORWAY CITY HAD DIED AWAY, THE DRAGON AND THE FLAMES FADED AND WERE REPLACED BY A DAVID HARDY SLIDE SLIDE OF AN ALIEN LANDSCAPE. BLEEPS, BURPS AND RIPPLES RUMBLED ACROSS THE STACKS OF SPEAKERS AND DAVE STEPPED UP TO HIS MIC. "THIS IS CALLED ANGELS OF DEATH".
MY MEMORY AT THIS POINT IS LESS THAN I WOULD LIKE IT TO BE DUE TO THE FACT THAT I FIND THE "LIVE" PERFORMANCE OF THIS SONG TO BE SO EXCITING THAT I JUST LOSE MYSELF IN IT EVERY TIME. IT GIVES THE CHANCE FOR DAVE TO MAKE THE MOST OF HIS VOCALS, WHILE THE DRIVING BEAT OF THE SONG GENERATES THE EXCITEMENT. I THINK THE BACKGROUND SLIDE WAS OF A YELLOW STONE OLD BUILDING, BUT MY EYES WERE DRAWN HYPNOTICALLY TO THE DEATHEAD WEARING A CAP OF THE STYLE WORN BY GERMAN OFFICERS IN WORLD WAR II. THIS MENACING SKULL GREW RAPIDLY LARGER, THEN SMALLER, ADVANCING AND RECEDING, BRAINWASHING. NO DOUBT A GOOD MANY FANS COULD GIVE A MORE DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THAT SLIDE WHICH SUPPORTED THE DEATHEAD, OR I COULD ASK THE BAND WHEN THEY GET BACK FROM EUROPE ( WHICH IS WHERE THEY ARE, AS I TYPE THIS ) , BUT I DON'T THINK THAT DEGREE OF DETAIL WOULD MAKE THAT SONG ANY THE GREATER. I FEEL THAT WAS IS ONE OF THE HIGHLIGHTS OF THE SHOW, SIMPLY FOR THE ATMOSPHERE THAT IT CREATED. TO MY MIND "ANGELS OF DEATH" COMBINES THE ZEST OF CURRANT HAWKWIND WITH THE DRIVE AND AIR OF MENACE ASSOCIATED WITH THE HAWKWIND OF THE EARLY SEVENTIES. ON RECORD I FIND IT A POWERFUL NUMBER BUT ON STAGE, FROM THOSE FIRST STRAY GUITAR NOTES, IT HAS A HAUNTING QUALITY WHICH SETS IT APART FROM MANY OF THE OTHER SONGS. IN THE FOREGROUND THE BAND PLAY THEIR WILD AND RECKLESS MUSIC, WHILE BEHIND THEM, CIVILISATION CRUMBLES AND THE DEATHEAD IS COMING TO GET YOU.
THE MUSIC ENDED AND THE SUDDEN DISAPPEARANCE OF THE PICTURES ON THE SCREEN JOLTED ME BACK TO REALITY. A FEW SYNTHESISER SWIRLS AND ONE OF DAVE BROCK'S FAVOURITES CHUGGED INTO BEING. PSI POWER .... ONE OF THE FEW SONGS TO SURVIVE THE HAWKLORDS ERA AND THE ONLY ONE STILL IN USE. THE SONG ITSELF WAS SUNG PRETTY MUCH AS IT HAD FOR THE LAST FOUR YEARS. ONLY THE VISUALS WERE NEW .... AND WHAT A SPECTACULAR DISPLAY IT WAS TOO! THE BACKDROP WAS TINTED BY RED AND PURPLE LIGHTS, WHICH RIPPLED AS THE HUGE CURTAIN ON WHICH THE SLIDES WERE PROJECTED, SWAYED. ONTO THIS WAS PROJECTED THE SLIDE OF A BEAUTIFUL FACE, THE EYES STARING PIERCINGLY AT THE AUDIENCE. SET IN THE FOREHEAD WAS THE FACE OF A SCREAMING BABY. THIS IN ITSELF WAS A COMMANDING SCENE, BUT THEN A POINT OF LIGHT APPEARED BETWEEN THE EYES OF THE ADULT FACE AND FROM THIS POINT BEAMS OF LIGHT RADIATED AND THEN REVOLVED. THIS WAS THE KIND OF LIGHTING SUPPORT THAT "PSI POWER" HAS BEEN WAITING FOR ALL THESE YEARS AND IT WAS WORTH THE WAIT. YET AGAIN MY ATTENTION WAS HELD BY THE SCREEN AND THE SONG SEEMED TO BE OVER ALMOST AS SOON AS IT HAD BEGUN. IN FACT, THE WHOLE SHOW WAS LIKE THAT. ALTHOUGH EACH GIG LASTED FOR BETWEEN AN HOUR AND THREE QUARTERS AND TWO HOURS, NONE OF THEM SEEMED TO ME, TO LAST FOR MORE THAN AN HOUR. I SUPPOSE THAT MUST BE A GOOD SIGN.
"CODED LANGUAGES" CAME NEXT AND WAS AIDED BY SLIDES OF BLACK AND WHITE DIAGRAMS WHICH, FOR SOME REASON THAT ESCAPES ME, WERE SHOWN BACK TO FRONT AS THEY FLASHED ON AND OFF THE SCREEN. I SUPPOSE THEY SUITED THE TEXT OF THE SONG BUT THEY WERE THE ONLY SLIDE FOR WHICH I HAD NO LIKING. THEY REMINDED ME OF THE BLACK, WHITES AND GREYS OF THE HAWKLORDS TOUR AND I DIDN'T CARE MUCH FOR THAT LIGHTSHOW. STILL, AT LEAST THE DIAGRAMS ALLOWED ME TO CONCENTRATE MORE FULLY ON THE MUSIC AND I HAVE TO ADMIT THAT HARVEY MADE A VERY GOOD JOB OF THE VOCALS. IT'S AS WELL THAT HE DID BECAUSE ONE COULDN'T HELP COMPARING HARVEY'S PERFORMANCE ON STAGE TO THAT OF MIKE'S ON THE ALBUM. FORTUNATELY MIKE AND HARVEY HAVE IN COMMON THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE VERY QUIET VOICES WHEN TALKING BUT THEY HOLLER AS LOUD AS THEY CAN WHEN SINGING. THE SONG CAME TO A CLIMATIC ENDING AMIDST LOUD CHEERING AND THE DIAGRAMS AND SUPPORTING PATTERNS FADED FROM THE SCREEN.
THE STAGE LIGHTING DIMMED TO SUBTLE COLOURS AND FANTASY SCENES GRADUALLY CAME INTO BEING ON THE SCREEN. THE SOUNDS OF GUITARS AND SYNTHESISERS ROLLED SLOWLY AND MAJESTICALLY FROM THE SPEAKERS, BRINGING A SHARP CONTRAST TO THE PREVIOUS SONGS. THE AUDIENCE WAS SILENT AND STOOD OR SAT IN RAPT ATTENTION AS WHAT WAS POSSIBLY THE BEST SONG OF THE ENTIRE SET UNFOLDED. "THE GOLDEN VOID" CAME AS AN UNEXPECTED AND RARE TREAT AS IT WAS PERFORMED, AT TIMES FLOWING WITH GRACEFUL DIGNITY AND AT OTHER TIMES RACING ALONG WITH A SENSE OF DESPERATION AND URGENCY AND AT ALL TIMES WITH DAVE'S VOICE PUSHED TO IT'S LIMITS, WHICH HAS THE EFFECT OF MAKING THE MOST OF HIS ABILITY. ALL TOO SOON FOR ME, THE SONG SLOWED AND CRUISED GENTLY TO A HALT AS STYLISHLY AS IT HAD BEGUN.
THEN, STRIDENT CRIES FROM THE SYNTHESISERS DRIFTING INTO SOUND OF STRONG WINDS BLOWING THROUGH THE HALL, RUSHING FASTER AND FASTER. AT LEICESTER, AT THIS POINT, THERE WAS AN EXTRA EFFECT. SYTHS, GUITARS AND DRUMS WERE USED TO CREATE A GROWING RUMBLING WHICH GREW IN INTENSITY UNTIL THE WHOLE VENUE WAS TREMBLING. A STARFIELD WAS PROJECTED ONTO THE SCREEN AND AS THE NOISE AND VIBRATION REACHED A PEAK THE STARFIELD SHUDDERED AND SLOWLY FELL AWAY TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SCREEN. THE EFFECT WAS WEIRD TO SAT THE LEAST. IT WAS AS THOUGH WE WERE ALL SITTING IN A VAST SPACECRAFT AND THE STAGE WAS THE CONTROL ROOM. THE SCREEN WAS A HUGE VIEWPORT AND WE WERE WATCHING THE UNIVERSE SLIP BY AS OUR CRAFT TOOK OFF. WHEN I TOLD HARVEY OF THIS AMAZING EFFECT AFTERWARDS HE SEEMED SURPRISED BY IT, SO I GATHER IT MUST HAVE BEEN A SPUR OF THE MOMENT IDEA OF JOHN PERRIN'S, INSPIRED BY THE EFFECTS OF THE MUSIC.
ANYWAY, EITHER ON EARTH OR IN SPACE, THE STARFIELD SOON VANISHED, THE ROARING DIED AWAY AND WE CRUISED ONWARDS. A WHITE BIRD APPEARED ON THE SCREEN, WINGS BEATING STEADILY AS IT FLEW ON, GETTING EITHER NEARER TO US OR FURTHER FROM US. THE BAND LAUNCHED INTO AN ENERGETIC VERSION OF "MAGNU" AND SOON TURNED IT INTO A LONG INSTRUMENTAL POUNDING OF THE KIND ASSOCIATED WITH THE BEST HAWKWIND CONCERTS. MEANWHILE THE BIRD FLEW TIRELESSLY ON BEFORE AN EVER CHANGING BACKDROP OF SPACESHIPS, SATELLITES AND PLANETARY SCENES. AFTER A WHILE IT FADED FROM VIEW AS THE SONG CAME TO AN END AND THE SYNTHESISERS MADE THE LINK TO THE NEXT SONG.
"DUST OF TIME" CAME COMPLETE WITH LIQUID LIGHTSHOW. CURVED SHAPES OF WHITE, RED, YELLOW, BLUE AND GREEN OOZED ACROSS THE SCREEN IN MOLTEN FASHION. A SLOW MOTION DISPLAY OF COLOURS INTERTWINING, JOINING AND SEPARATING AND EVERY COMBINATION QUITE ORIGINAL. ALL VERY GRACEFUL AND CAPTIVATING. ONCE AGAIN THE SCREEN CHALLENGED THE BAND FOR THE CENTRE OF ATTENTION.
NEXT CAME AN UNTITLED SYNTHESISER PIECE FROM DAVE AND HARVEY. THIS THEY LARGELY MADE UP AS THEY WENT ALONG AND SOMETIMES IT WORKED AND SOMETIMES IT DIDN'T. AT LEICESTER, HAMMERSMITH AND IPSWICH, IT WORKED A TREAT AND WAS REALLY INTERESTING, WHILE AT LOUGHBOROUGH IT DIDN'T COME OFF AT ALL..... BUT THEN AGAIN A LOT OF THINGS WENT TO POT AT LOUGHBOROUGH.... GUITAR STRINGS BROKE A NUMBER OF TIMES, INSTRUMENTS WERE NOT TUNED PROPERLY, THE HALL WAS TOO SMALL FOR THE LIGHT SHOW AND SO ON. TOWARDS THE END OF THE SYNTHESISER TRACK , DAVE REALISED THAT HIS ROADIE HAD TAKEN HIS GUITAR BACK TO THE DRESSING ROOM TO RE- STRING AND TUNE IT AND HAD NOT BROUGHT IT BACK. DAVE HURRIED OFF TO GET IT, LEAVING HARVEY TO THINGS GOING, BUT BY THAT TIME THE TUNE WAS FLAGGING SO HUW STEPPED UP AND STARTED TO PLAY PSYCHEDELIC WARLORDS AND WE WERE TREATED TO THE AMUSING SITE OF DAVE RACING BACK TO THE STAGE AND TRYING TO PLUG HIS GUITAR IN AND STRAP IT OVER HIS SHOULDER AT THE SAME TIME. A REAL HASSLE FOR DAVE, BUT THE AUDIENCE ENJOYED IT.
THE SYNTHESISER PIECE WAS ACCOMPANIED BY A VARIETY OF SLIDES SHOWING A PLANET, A SPACECRAFT, AN ASTRONAUT AND VARIOUS DISPLAYS OF COLOUR. PSYCHEDELIC WARLORDS WAS SUPPORTED BY A VERY AMUSING BLACK AND WHITE CARTOON OF A GUY UNDERGOING A CRAZY FANTASY NIGHTMARE WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF HIS DENTIST'S GAS.
AT MANY GIG'S THE CARTOON WAS SHOWN DURING "SHOT DOWN IN THE NIGHT" BUT AT LEICESTER THIS SONG WENT WITH AN ASSORTMENT OF FANTASY SCENES, INCLUDING A PICTURE OF ELRIC. THESE LATER FADED AND WERE REPLACED BY A DISPLAY OF COLOURED HEXAGONS, FRONTED BY A CHARGING TIGER.
"SONIC ATTACK" FOLLOWED THE USUAL INTRODUCTION OF NOISE AND CHAOS SETTLING DOWN INTO THE 1981 VERSION OF THE SONG. WITH THE STAGE IN VIRTUAL DARKNESS, A LIGHT SET BEFORE THE DRUMS BEGAN TO REVOLVE, SENDING A NARROW BEAM OF LIGHT SWEEPING AROUND THE HALL LIKE A TINY SEARCHLIGHT. HARVEY CHANTED THE VOCALS AND THE NUMBER SETTLED DOWN INTO A TYPICAL HAWKWIND POWERFUL INSTRUMENTAL. I'M NOT CRAZY FOR THE RE-VAMPED VERSION BUT I CONCEDE THAT IT OK ON STAGE. AT HAMMERSMITH, BOB CALVERT TURNED UP TO TAKE THE VOCAL SPOT FOR THIS ONE SONG, BUT WAS CLEARLY NOT AT EASE WITH IT AND SOON ABANDONED IT... MOST UNLIKE HIM! HE TRIED TO PERFORM THE SONG IN THE TRADITIONAL MANNER, AGAINST THE 1981 MUSIC, FOR A COUPLE OF MINUTES, THEN UTTERED "DO NOT PANIC" A FEW TIMES AND WANDERED OVER TO WHERE DAVE WAS RUNNING AMOK WITH HIS SYNTHESISER. BOB SPOKE TO DAVE FOR A FEW MINUTES AND QUIETLY LEFT THE STAGE. AS THE NUMBER REACHED IT'S CLIMAX, A PLANETSCAPE APPEARED ON THE SCREEN AND AS THE SOUND PEAKED WITH TERRIFIC VOLUME THE PLANETSCAPE GREW LARGER. THE ROARING FROM THE BANKS OF SPEAKERS DIMINISHED AS THE SCENE "GREW CLOSER" AND WE FOCUSED ON A PATCH ON THE GROUND. THE MUSIC SLOWLY DIED, THE SCREEN STEADIED AND WE "LANDED". IT WAS AS DRAMATIC AS THE "TAKE-OFF".
THE HALL WAS COMPARATIVELY QUIET FOR A FEW MOMENTS, THEN ALL HELL BROKE LOOSE FOR THE FINAL NUMBER OF THE MAIN SET. THE BAND LAUNCHED INTO A FRANTIC VERSION OF "BRAINSTORM" AND THE BRILLIANT WHITE STROBE LIGHTS CAME INTO PLAY. THIS YEAR HOWEVER, THE STROBES WERE SET FACING THE AUDIENCE AND WE GOT A TASTE OF WHAT THE BAND HAVE TO TO PUT UP WITH. AT FIRST IT WAS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE TO LOOK TOWARDS THE STAGE, UNTIL MY EYES BECAME ADJUSTED TO THE HARSH LIGHTS AND CONSTANT FLICKERING WHICH RAPIDLY CAST EACH PART OF THE HALL INTO LIGHT AND SHADE. THE SCENE KEPT CHANGING SO FAST THAT IT WAS HOPELESS TRYING TO FOCUS ON ANY SINGLE OBJECT. FORTUNATELY THE STROBES WERE ONLY KEPT ON FOR SHORT PERIODS, EXCEPT AT LOUGHBOROUGH WHERE THEY STAYED ON FOR ALMOST THE ENTIRE SONG.... SOMETHING OF A DAZZLING EXPERIENCE!
A SHORT BREAK FOR THE CROWD TO SHOUT THEMSELVES HOARSE AND STAMP THEIR FEET AND THE BAND WERE BACK ON FOR THE ENCORE. ON THE SCREEN THE SILVER SURFER RODE HIS BOARD TOWARDS US, BEFORE A BACKDROP OF COLOURED STARS AND PLANETS, WHILE THE BAND PLAYED "SILVER MACHINE" AT IT'S BEST, PARTICULARLY AT HAMMERSMITH WHERE EVEN THE 500 CAPACITY THEATRE WAS MORE THAN FILLED BY THE GATHERING ROAR OF SOUND PRECEDING THE SONG. "SILVER MACHINE" MERGED INTO "MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE" AND WITHIN A FEW MINUTES, ALL TO SOON, THE SHOW WAS OVER.
IT SEEMS TO BE AGREED THAT AMONG HAWKWIND FANS THAT THIS HAS BEEN THE BEST TOUR FOR MANY YEARS ( ALTHOUGH IT HASN'T BEEN A FAVOURITE WITH EVERYBODY ), WITH SOME SAYING IT WAS THE BEST SINCE '77, OTHERS '76, OTHERS SINCE THE SPACE RITUAL AND SOME THINK IT IS THE BEST THAT HAWKWIND HAVE EVER DONE. THE ONLY REAL DISPUTE IS A FAIRLY EVEN SPLIT ON WHETHER OR NOT THERE SHOULD BE A KEYBOARD PLAYER. WELL, I DON'T REALLY MIND EITHER WAY. CERTAINLY A KEYBOARD PLAYER WOULD BE ABLE TO ADD TO THE SOUND ON STAGE AND MAKE LIFE EASIER FOR THE BAND, BUT THIS MAY NOT BE THE BEST THING. IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE CASE WITH HAWKWIND THAT THEY TRIUMPH IN THE FACE OF ADVERSITY. GIVE THEM A POWER CUT OR A MANPOWER SHORTAGE AND THEY SEEM TO REVEL IN WORKING HARD TO KEEP THINGS GOING. I THINK IT COULD HAPPEN THAT A KEYBOARD PLAYER MIGHT MAKE THE REST OF THE BAND SETTLE BACK AND RELAX, WHEREAS BEING THAT MAN SHORT FORCES THEM TO BE IMAGINATIVE AND TO PUT THAT MUCH EXTRA INTO THEIR PLAYING. STILL WHO KNOWS WHAT THE FUTURE MAY BRING? YOU JUST NEVER KNOW WITH HAWKWIND!