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 ‘HAWKWIND’, 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 ‘No I don’t want to spoil it!’ Huw Lloyd-Langton remained with them until late 1971. The band shot to fame in 1972 with their hit record ‘Silver Machine’ featuring Lemmy (now of Motörhead 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 ‘MOTORHEAD’, 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 ‘WIDOWMAKER’ 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 ‘HAWKLORDS’, performing the stage show ‘METROPOLIS’. Throughout the 70's, Hawkwind released a series of classic albums; ‘IN SEARCH OF SPACE’, ‘DOREMI FASOL LATIDO’, ‘SPACE RITUAL’,
‘HALL OF THE MOUNTAIN GRILL’, ‘WARRIOR ON THE EDGE OF TIME’, ‘ASTOUNDING SOUNDS, AMAZING MUSIC’, ‘QUARK STRANGENESS & CHARM’ and ‘PXR 5’. 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 ‘Gong’ on keyboards.
Their live album ‘LIVE 79’ went straight into the national top ten charts chart. In 1980 Ginger Baker replaced Simon King on drums and they recorded their classic album ‘LEVITATION’. 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 band’s singles and albums were never out of the national, independent and heavy metal charts, with albums such as ‘SONIC ATTACK, ‘CHURCH 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 ‘CHOOSE YOUR MASQUES’ 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 ‘CHRONICLES OF THE BLACK SWORD’, a stageshow portraying music and images based on Michael Moorcock’s epic saga, ‘ELRIC’. During this period the band reached a new audience with the emergence of ambient acts such as The Orb openly acknowledging Hawkwind’s 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 ‘LOVE IN SPACE release. In 1997 they headlined the ‘1ST SPACEROCK FESTIVAL USA’. In 2000, the band staged the highly successful ‘HAWKESTRA’ 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 – 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 !
Green Finned Demon
Hawkwind Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With a wand of whales' bone
The submarine magician is returning to his home
His slow hair floats around him
And his cloak spreads like a flower
The submariner has the oceans in his power
Green finned demon take me down
He speaks the bubbling language
Of everything that swims
He knows the eightfold secret
Of the Octopus's limbs
His skin is silver scales
And his hair is green as weed
His eyes are phosphorescent
A sea-horse for his steed
Green finned demon take me down
Green finned demon take me down
Captain Nemo knew him
In his underwater deep
He understands the meaning
Of the dolphins' joyful leap
Green finned demon take me down
The lyrics of "Green Finned Demon" are a vivid description of a mythical and mystical submariner, who is endowed with supernatural powers over the ocean. The lyrics depict him wielding a wand made of whales' bone and drawing the moon towards him, which seems like a symbolic gesture of his command over the elements. The song then describes the submariner's physical features and attributes. His hair flows gently around him and his cloak spreads like a flower. He has silver scales for skin, green hair like seaweed, and his eyes are phosphorescent. The submariner speaks the bubbling language of sea creatures and knows secrets about the octopus' limbs. He is accompanied by a sea-horse, which he rides like a steed, emphasizing his mastery of the ocean.
The refrain of the song repeatedly calls out to the "Green Finned Demon," urging him to "take me down" beneath the waves. This reflects a sense of awe and wonder in the face of the submariner's powers and the ocean's mysteries. The last verse references Captain Nemo, a character from Jules Verne's famous novel "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea," adding a literary allusion to the song's already rich and imaginative texture. Overall, the lyrics of "Green Finned Demon" are a celebration of the beauty and awe-inspiring power of nature, embodied in the supreme and mystical figure of the green finned demon.
Line by Line Meaning
He Draws the moon towards him
The submarine magician has the power to control the moon's movements with a wand made out of whale's bone.
With a wand of whales' bone
The magician's wand, which is used to control the moon, is made from the bones of whales.
The submarine magician is returning to his home
The magician, who has complete control over the oceans, is returning to his underwater home.
His slow hair floats around him
The magician's hair moves slowly and gracefully around him as he moves through the water.
And his cloak spreads like a flower
The magician's cloak opens up and spreads around him like a blooming flower.
The submariner has the oceans in his power
The magician has complete control over the oceans and everything that resides within them.
Green finned demon take me down
The singer is asking the green finned demon to take them down into the depths of the ocean.
He speaks the bubbling language
The magician can communicate with every creature that lives in the water.
Of everything that swims
The magician can speak the language of all aquatic animals, no matter their size or type.
He knows the eightfold secret
The magician has knowledge of the eight different limbs of an octopus.
Of the Octopus's limbs
The magician understands the intricacies of an octopus and its eight limbs.
His skin is silver scales
The magician's skin is covered in shiny, silver scales.
And his hair is green as weed
The magician's hair is green like seaweed.
His eyes are phosphorescent
The magician's eyes glow in the dark waters of the ocean.
A sea-horse for his steed
The magician rides a sea-horse through the ocean.
Captain Nemo knew him
The famous captain Nemo was aware of the magician's existence and his power.
In his underwater deep
Captain Nemo knew about the magician and his abilities while living in his underwater home.
He understands the meaning
The magician comprehends the true meaning of a dolphin's happy leap out of the water.
Of the dolphins' joyful leap
The magician fully understands why a dolphin jumps out of the water in a playful or joyous manner.
Contributed by Lucy N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Bill D. in Iowa
Another masterpiece from the crew of spaceship Hawkwind.
guy turnell
Another timeless song, Dave. Fab.
A Bren
Superb, like the way bass accompanies the lead on this
Robbsart
p.s
have since bought album natch needed to for the vid lol
Robbsart
was introduced to this after meeting a mutual fan at a gig. she asked me to do a video...
this was the result.
xMaria67x
Still loving this !
Robbsart
You're the reason it was made xx
angus mcintyre
Total bliss ! Grew up listening to the " golden age " of all the 70's Hawkwind albums ! Seen them live 1980-86 many many times from the (legendary Glasgow Apollo to Stonehenge 1984) great memories... "Thanks for the return journey back" Put together beautifully !
Tsunami Tube
@mick taylor I was there but only 4 years old..
Turning 40 this year and still a fan :)
Rob Calvert on vocals just has a great sound..
I can feel all the paranoia that he had inside seeping through the music.
The story of rob with the samurai sword and a hand grenade while the band tried to escape in Germany is crazy!
What a fucking legend!!!!
Hennessy - The Urban prophet
Excellent as always,,