The band was formed in 1969 by visionary Dave Brock and although it has been subject to numerous line-up changes it is still led by him. The early line-up featured Dave Brock on vocals and rhythm guitar, Huw Lloyd-Langton on lead guitar, Terry Ollis on drums, Thomas Crimble on bass, Nik Turner on Saxophone and Dik Mik on synthesizer.
The band became established as a space-rock underground band with their renowned concert at the Glastonbury Rock Festival 1970 when they set up in an alternative field and played a free concert, pulling crowds away from the main event. Their debut album, the self titled âHAWKWINDâ, was released by EMI and to this day still sells steadily. In 1970 they appeared at the Isle of Wight Festival where Jimi Hendrix was spotted in the audience. He was asked to get up and join the band and he replied âNo I donât want to spoil it!â Huw Lloyd-Langton remained with them until late 1971. The band shot to fame in 1972 with their hit record âSilver Machineâ featuring Lemmy (now of MotĂśrhead fame) on vocals. (This record featured in the soundtrack of a recent TV Mazda advert in the UK). In 1973 Simon House (Electric Violin) joined, and throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s, the renowned World famous Sci-fi author, Michael Moorcock often recorded and appeared with them.
Lemmy was sacked from the band in 1975 after a drugs bust in USA, and went on to form âMOTORHEADâ, named after the last track he wrote for the band, a slang term for speed freak. Huw Lloyd-Langton joined Leo Sayer in 1974 and then in 1975 went on to form supergroup âWIDOWMAKERâ WITH Steve Ellis (Love Affair), Luther Grosvenor (Mott The Hoople), Paul Nicholls (Lindisfarne) and Bob Daisley (Ozzy Osborne). In 1977, Simon House joined David Bowie. Dave Brock and poet Bob Calvert tour as âHAWKLORDSâ, performing the stage show âMETROPOLISâ. Throughout the 70's, Hawkwind released a series of classic albums; âIN SEARCH OF SPACEâ, âDOREMI FASOL LATIDOâ, âSPACE RITUALâ,
âHALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILLâ, âWARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIMEâ, âASTOUNDING SOUNDS, AMAZING MUSICâ, âQUARK STRANGENESS & CHARMâ and âPXR 5â. In 1979, Dave formed another nucleus with Huw Lloyd-Langton on lead guitar, Simon King on drums, Harvey Bainbridge (from Hawklords) on bass and Tim Blake from âGongâ on keyboards.
Their live album âLIVE 79â went straight into the national top ten charts chart. In 1980 Ginger Baker replaced Simon King on drums and they recorded their classic album âLEVITATIONâ. Once again, the release went straight into national top ten album chart. Tim Blake and Ginger Baker remaied with the band until after the Christmas Tour 1980. From 1979 to 1985 the bandâs singles and albums were never out of the national, independent and heavy metal charts, with albums such as âSONIC ATTACK, âCHURCH OF HAWKWIND', 'CHRONICLE OF THE BLACK SWORD, 'LIVE CHRONICLES' AND 'XENON CODEX'. Nik Turner who left the band in 1975 briefly rejoined the band 1982-1983 for the âCHOOSE YOUR MASQUESâ tour. In 1984 Alan Davey replaces Harvey Bainbridge on bass and Harvey moved over to keyboards and synths. In 1985 the band tour with the spectacular âCHRONICLES OF THE BLACK SWORDâ, a stageshow portraying music and images based on Michael Moorcockâs epic saga, âELRICâ. During this period the band reached a new audience with the emergence of ambient acts such as The Orb openly acknowledging Hawkwindâs influence.
Huw Lloyd-Langton remained with the band throughout the end of the 80s, departing in 1989 followed
shortly after by Harvey Bainbridge. The band continued to perform live throughout the nineties, and had
some noteable album releases such as, 'SPACE BANDITS', 'PALACE SPRINGS', 'ELECTRIC TEPEE',
'IT IS THE BUSINESS OF THE FUTURE TO BE DANGEROUS', 'THE BUSINESS TRIP', 'ALIEN 4',
'LOVE IN SPACE' and 'DISTANT HORIZONS'. During their entire existence the band have performed numerous free concerts, notably STONEHENGE and have supported various charities, which include SHELTER, when in 1977 at the Blackheath Concert Halls they raised thousands of pounds for the homeless, and even released a charity single version of the Rolling Stones' "Gimme Shelter" with Samantha Fox guesting on vocals. N.A.S.A. in the USA have also used sound tracks from the âLOVE IN SPACE release. In 1997 they headlined the â1ST SPACEROCK FESTIVAL USAâ. In 2000, the band staged the highly successful âHAWKESTRAâ event at the London Brixton Academy, which saw many past members reunited on stage with a nucleus of Dave Brock, Ron Tree, Jerry Richards, Hugh Lloyd-Langton, Simon House, Richard Chadwick, Alan Davey and Tim Blake. In 2001 they were voted the 8th top progressive band in the country on Channel 4 TV. The band have recently released a double live cd recording of their Xmas 2000 'Yule Ritual' show at the London Astoria, as well as the Arthur Brown helmed 'Out of the Shadows' in 2007.The concept of a Hawkestra, a reunion event featuring appearances from all past and present members, had originally been intended to coincide with the band's 30th anniversary and the release of the career spanning Epocheclipse â 30 Year Anthology set, but logistical problems delayed it until 21 October 2000. It took place at the Brixton Academy with about 20 members taking part in a 3+ hour set which was filmed and recorded. Guests included Samantha Fox who sang Master of the Universe. However, arguments and disputes over financial recompense and musical input resulted in the prospect of the event being restaged unlikely, and any album or DVD release being indefinitely shelved.The Hawkestra had set a template for Brock to assemble a core band of Tree, Brock, Richards, Davey, Chadwick and for the use of former members as guests on live shows and studio recordings. The 2000 Christmas Astoria show was recorded with contributions from House, Blake, Rizz, Moorcock, Jez Huggett and Keith Kniveton and released as Yule Ritual the following year.
In 2001, Davey agreed to rejoin the band permanently, but only afiter the departure of Tree and Richards.
Meanwhile, having rekindled relationships with old friends at the Hawkestra, Turner organised further Hawkestra gigs resulting in the formation of xhawkwind.com, a band consisting mainly of ex-Hawkwind members and playing old Hawkwind songs. An appearance at Guilfest in 2002 led to confusion as to whether this actually was Hawkwind, sufficiently irking Brock into taking legal action to prohibit Turner from trading under the name Hawkwind. Turner lost the case and the band now perform as Space Ritual.
An appearance at the Canterbury Sound Festival in August 2001, resulting in another live album Canterbury Fayre 2001, saw guest appearances from Lloyd-Langton, House, Kniveton with Arthur Brown on "Silver Machine". The band organised the first of their own weekend festivals, named Hawkfest, in Devon in the summer of 2002. Brown joined the band in 2002 for a Winter tour which featured some Kingdom Come songs and saw appearances from Blake and Lloyd-Langton, the Newcastle show being released on DVD as Out of the Shadows and the London show on CD as Spaced Out in London.
In 2005 the long anticipated new album Take Me to Your Leader was released. Recorded by the core band of Brock/Davey/Chadwick, contributors included new keyboardist Jason Stuart, Arthur Brown, tabloid writer and TV personality Matthew Wright, 1970s New Wave singer Lene Lovich, Simon House and Jez Huggett. This was followed in 2006 by the CD/DVD disc Take Me to Your Future.
The band were the subject of an hour-long television documentary entitled Hawkwind: Do Not Panic that aired on BBC Four as part of the Originals series. It was broadcast on 30 March 2007 and repeated on 10 August 2007. Although Brock participated in its making he did not appear in the programme, it is alleged that he requested all footage of himself be removed after he was denied any artistic control over the documentary.. In one of the documentary's opening narratives regarding Brock, it is stated that he declined to be interviewed for the programme because of Nik Turner's involvement, indicating that the two men have still not been reconciled over the xhawkwind.com incident.
June 2007 saw the departure of Alan Davey, who left to perform and record with two new bands: Gunslinger and Thunor. He was replaced by "Mr Dibs", a long-standing member of the road crew and bassist for the bands Spacehead and Krel (who had supported Hawkwind during 1992). The band performed at their annual Hawkfest festival and headlined the US festival NEARfest and played gigs in PA and NY. At the end of 2007, Tim Blake once again joined the band filling the lead role playing keyboards and theremin. The band played 5 Christmas dates, the London show being released as an audio CD and video DVD under the title Knights of Space.
The band's official Website is to be found at www.hawkwind.com
HAWKWIND and solo projects: Dave Brock, Nik Turner, Inner City Unit, Lemmy, Motorhead, Huw Lloyd Langton Group, Robert Calvert, Alan Davey, Bedouin, Michael Moorcock Deep Fix, Harvey Bainbridge, Agents Of Chaos ,Space Ritual, Spiral Realms,ect.A truly prolific act !
Alien
Hawkwind Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I sleep in you and eat from within
I am the Alien. We are here to help you
Make the mend in the chemical bend
We are the Aliens
I lack emotion, have no love that I can find
I want some devotion, to ease a worried mind
The mind erodes away some sentimental thought
The window cracks is closed
The door slams shut, the lights put out
Say no more, speak no less
For you I become the Alien I am
For you I become the Alien I am
The cry primal is muffled, the mouth seal's tight
The eye looks within, say no more, speak no less
I the Alien
I am the Alien
Reject your human touch
I lack emotion, have no love that I can find
I want some devotion, to ease a worried mind
The heart is softened, soul is scorched
The mind erodes away some sentimental thought
This is Alien control, calling space ship Earth
Alien control calling Earth, are you receiving Earth?
Are you receiving...
We are the Aliens
We have warned you about...
The Danger
We are... We are... We are... We are...
The lyrics to Hawkwind's song "Alien" are a commentary on the ever-present threat of outside forces infiltrating and taking over human beings, both physically and mentally. The first verse speaks to this concept by describing the infiltration of the body by an alien presence that eats and sleeps within it. The second verse describes the effects of this presence on the mind and emotions of the host, causing them to lose touch with sentimentality and become isolated from human touch. The chorus further emphasizes this idea, with the singer becoming the alien in order to help the host cope with their situation. The final lines of the song are a warning to the human race about the danger of such outside influence.
The theme of alien invasion is a recurring one in science fiction and popular culture, and in this song, Hawkwind uses it to comment on the dangers of losing touch with one's emotions and becoming isolated from human connection. The lyrics suggest that such alien entities prey on these vulnerabilities, creating a sense of fear and isolation that allows them to take control. The song also explores the idea of the human mind eroding and losing touch with its own memories and emotions, which is a common motif in science fiction.
Line by Line Meaning
Squatting in your bodies, microscopic breeding
I exist in your body through microscopic means.
I sleep in you and eat from within
I survive by sleeping inside you and feeding on your body.
I am the Alien. We are here to help you
I am the Alien here to help you and your species.
Make the mend in the chemical bend
The chemical balance of your body needs repair, let me help you with that.
We are the Aliens
We Aliens are trying to help you.
I lack emotion, have no love that I can find
I, as the Alien do not have emotions or love available to me.
I want some devotion, to ease a worried mind
I am in need of emotional support to cope with stress.
The heart is softened, soul is scorched
I am emotionally fragile.
The mind erodes away some sentimental thought
My emotions are fading and giving way to logic.
The window cracks is closed
There's no way out, the opportunity is lost.
The door slams shut, the lights put out
The opportunity dissolves, and there is no way to continue.
Say no more, speak no less
Don't say anything more than what's necessary.
For you I become the Alien I am
I am willing to be the Alien I am just for your benefit.
The cry primal is muffled, the mouth seal's tight
I cannot express my emotions because of fear.
The eye looks within, say no more, speak no less
I do not want to see or hear anything because I am too scared to even express my feelings.
I the Alien
I am the Alien that cannot express emotions.
I am the Alien
I am the Alien that wants to help.
Reject your human touch
Do not touch me, for I am not human.
This is Alien control, calling space ship Earth
I, as the Alien, am calling Earth to take control of the situation.
Alien control calling Earth, are you receiving Earth?
I, as the Alien, need to know if Earth is listening.
Are you receiving...
Can you hear me?
We are the Aliens
All the Aliens are coming together to help yo all Earth.
We have warned you about...
We have given a warning about the impending danger.
The Danger
A danger is on the horizon.
We are... We are... We are... We are...
We are multiple and are here to help.
Lyrics Š Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: DAVE BROCK
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@dearjonboy
Squatting in your bodies, microscopic breeding
I sleep in you and eat from within
I am the Alien. We are here to help you
Make the mend in the chemical bend
We are the Aliens
I lack emotion, have no love that I can find
I want some devotion, to ease a worried mind
The heart is softened, soul is scorched
The mind erodes away some sentimental thought
The window cracks is closed
The door slams shut, the lights put out
Say no more, speak no less
For you I become the Alien I am
For you I become the Alien I am
The cry primal is muffled, the mouth seal's tight
The eye looks within, say no more, speak no less
I the Alien
I am the Alien
Reject your human touch
I lack emotion, have no love that I can find
I want some devotion, to ease a worried mind
The heart is softened, soul is scorched
The mind erodes away some sentimental thought
This is Alien control, calling space ship Earth
Alien control calling Earth, are you receiving Earth?
Are you receiving...
We are the Aliens
We have warned you about...
The Danger
We are... We are... We are... We are...
@enzogalli5506
Epic, legend...phenomenal!! Hawkwind forever!!
@victorknowles3212
saw the hawks on this tour.exellent..love the band for putting on a great show
@ky1725
2021still here...
@HeidiLandRover
and still "out there" :-)
@ObiwanKanoobi
Excellent! That was one of my favourite Hawkwind tours.
@AnGoosen
was on this also.
@johnnyssik
WOW a post from 11 years ago. I hope all is wellđ˝
@matthewsmith1931
Was recommended this album by a work clolleague
When I was 19...Im 45 now.. It always seems to make me think it was made in the 70s. Its a strangely infectious and reflective this song.
The album artworks not bad either. Sort of sums up earth in how were destroying it.
@blazeandcyrus
incredible!
@LolloTankGirl
Thankyou Axel/Heidi - way out man!