Scientist Schtick: Lullaby to a Lab Coat

Hawkwind at the Astoria.

There was a riot on the previous night in the Astoria when Baby Shambles did not turn up and the audience smashed up the venue, so it must have been a bit fraught today for Hawkwind, setting up for tonight's gig. In the end it was a big success and I bet most people would not have known. 

Hawkwind fans are an anarchic bunch of malcontents now spanning three generations and I had no trouble picking them out from the ordinary public in Totty Court tube and along Charing Cross Road, even though very few of the fans dressed as aliens, clones or scientists which we were supposed to for tonight. 

Support groups often have a hard time with the Hawkwind audience so all credit to The Vs, an all-girl band who held the crowd with some solid guitar work, followed by Dumpy's Spacenutz which was him doing an extended solo to a driving backing. Hawkwind did an apocalyptic version of Psychedelic Warlords (Disappear in Smoke) and the usual old favourites like Brainbox Pollution, Spirit of the Age and - speaking of sex - new numbers Angela Android and Loving the Machine interpreted very well by the dancers: he gives her a flower and she responds, confused, with various programmed actions, eventually letting him fix the flower in her hair. Alan Davey presented a treatment of a newly-discovered Calvert tape with live music over Bob intoning his poem Ode to a Time Flower. Someone came on and did a very good reading of Bob's Ten Seconds of Forever. Hammering versions of Brainstorm, Angels of Death... all good stuff. Mini mosh pits opened at intervals. Dave Brock was enjoying himself, mostly playing guitar at the front of the stage and not hidden behind banks of synthesisers like he was in the 90s. Richard Chadwick on drums. Someone else on synthesisers. 35 years on, still great. I hope this gig was recorded! (flyer)