By Robert M Corich

John Chase Photography

50th Anniversary tour - Live at G Live, Guildford, England on 25th November 2019 and Royal Albert Hall, London, England on 26th November 2019

Ah, Hawkwind, the mighty Hawkwind!
Always an enjoyable pre-Christmas sojourn when in England, this is a band that live seems to always deliver something new while weirdly never really sounding any different than the last time you saw them. This is the band that refuses to die and thank God for that.

Formed in Ladbroke Grove area of London in 1969 with humble beginnings the band went on to encounter multiple staff changes, joins, departures and rejoins, with literally hundreds of album releases, this is a band that has become an institution on the music scene in the UK over its now fifty years of operation.

When my fellow journalist reminded me in mid-November it was almost time for the Hawkwind Christmas pilgrimage and slid the tour schedule in front of me I immediately gravitated towards the final show at the majestic Royal Albert Hall.. who wouldn’t! ‘That’s mine!’ I said gleefully’ ‘It is’ he retorted, ‘I’m busy’ promptly adding ‘so is the day before, it’s only a short train ride away and apparently there are a few friends of Brocky’s playing’. Checking the diary that the dates were free (I’d always move them for this Space Rock extravaganza anyway) I briefly wondered who the odd guests might be.

‘It’s Eric I’ve heard, apparently, he went to school with Brocky’ ‘Eric who?’ I queried, really wondering who Eric was in the big game that is Hawkwind. ‘Clappers, no one outside the circle knows, gotta keep it mum’ was the answer’.

Bit of stunned silence and I asked ‘what will he play I wonder?’ ‘Guitar at a guess’ was the retort said with a grin...
I asked for that, didn’t I?

Wow! Clappers with the ultimate space rockers. I knew we were going to be in for a treat on a couple of songs.

Arriving at the venue I must’ve been the only one with a Clapton shirt on under my coat. Settling into the comfortable seats in this relatively modern venue we waited impatiently. Lights down and, gently glowing, the music starts with the thumping opening track, ‘Motorway City’ from the 1980 release ‘Levitation’ that originally featured the original grumpy old man of rock, Ginger Baker.

‘Flesh Fondue’ followed from their most recent studio effort ‘All Aboard The Skylark’. Fondue sounds like it could easily have come off their 1976 offering ‘Astounding Sounds’ and with lasers firing off everywhere in the venue at almost eye level it was actually quite a surreal effect.

Another track from AATSL in the form of 'Last Man On Earth’ was next and it actually sounded better live than on the album where it seems to have rather average vocal delivery. The lasers looked great during this one however which made up for the relative weakness of the track.

Next up was a Bob Calvert piece, ‘Song Of The Gremlin’ from one of the great ‘lost’ albums of the seventies, ‘Captain Lockheed & The Starfighters’ which was great to hear in all its live glory. This one came across extremely well in the expanse of the Royal Albert Hall, better than Guildford.

A rip-roaring epic mini medley of ‘Born To Go’ and ‘You Shouldn’t Do That’ followed, lights and lasers entertaining us all in the process. More new tracks in the form of ‘65 Million Years Ago’ and ‘In The Beginning’ followed whilst accompanied by a more than satisfying flow of slides and lights. Isn’t it great when a band brings out a new album and is not afraid to try it live! And Hawkwind does this better than most.

The ever-popular ‘Spirit Of The Age’ was next and Mr Brock and Co. delivered this just as any fan world hope and expect. It was a stomper of a track when it first appeared on 1977’s ‘Quark, Strangeness and Charm’ and it’s become an absolute Hawkwind classic over the years. It went down a storm in both venues but with the flying lasers in the expanse of the RAH, it just could not be faulted.

‘The Fantasy At Faldum’ was the last track featured from the new album. This in parts was beautifully dreamy and it worked so well visually from that front row seat in the gods of the RAH. It really shows how well Brock and Co. can deliver both new and old songs with confidence.

Next track is where the two concerts diverged. ‘The Watcher’ played in Guildford featured Eric Clapton taking the stage for the first (and only) time on this tour.
Eric Clapton at a Hawkwind gig!

I’m not sure you can get more surreal a mix at gig anywhere. He stayed on stage and delivered interesting guitar moves on his version of ‘Silver Machine’, that ever-present dedication to its original singer and writer, Lemmy.

At the RAH gigs, Phil Campbell guested on these two numbers along with the closer ‘Master Of The Universe’ which was all in all excellent but was never going to trump the appearance of ‘God’ at the previous night's gig.

Meanwhile back in Guildford, ‘God’ stayed on the stage while the band ripped into a stunning version of ‘Assault and Battery’ and ‘The Golden Void’, ever the crowd-pleasers the lasers and lights were used to excellent effect.

‘Right To Decide’ from 1992’s ‘Electric Teepee’ release was a welcome addition to the set (in Guildford Eric was still participating as he would until the end of the gig). For the encore, we were treated to a rollicking version of one of the bands earliest releases ‘Hurry On Sundown’ followed a rousing version of ‘Master Of The Universe’. Frankly, one could hardly have asked for more out of these gigs. The performances at both venues were superb and with the appearance of Eric Clapton on the entire last half of the set one really couldn’t have asked for more.

From a venue and visual perspective, the Royal Albert Hall gig topped almost anything I have ever seen there, especially from the dead centre front row seat in the Rausing Circle. I was fortunate enough to be given where it made the light and laser show whirling below nothing short of stunning. Add to that the little promotional flags featuring album covers that seemed to be everywhere in the circle, what more could one ask for.

Guildford - 8 out of 10 but adding Eric to the mix gave this an 11 out of 10 for the novelty factor.
Royal Albert Hall - 9.5 out of 10

For those lucky to have witnessed the Clapton appearance it’s sure to go down as one of the weirdest collaborations ever and a show you just had to see to believe.

Fifty years on and Dave Brock’s Hawkwind deserve the accolades they get nowadays. They really are a top-notch act live.

I can’t wait until the next time around.

Tracks 10 thru 16 featured Eric Clapton on guitar at Guildford gig
Tracks 10, 11 & 16 featured Phil Campbell on guitar at RAH gig


Setlist:

Motorway City
Flesh Fondue
Last Man On Earth
Song Of The Gremlin
a. Born To Go / b. You Shouldn’t Do That / c. Born To Go (reprise)
65 Million Years Ago
In The Beginning
Spirit Of The Age
The Fantasy of Faldum
The Watcher
Silver Machine
Assault & Battery
The Golden Void
Right To Decide
Hurry On Sundown
a. Master Of The Universe / b. Welcome To The Future


Robert M Corich December 2019