With an extensive solo career spanning dozens of albums, Peter Hammill is certainly more than just the front-man and leader of Van Der Graaf Generator (VdGG). His literate, soul-examining lyrics and his often-anguished vocal delivery make his music perhaps an acquired taste, but his uncompromising artistic vision has shone since his first release, Fool's Mate, back in 1971.
Stylistically, he has forged his own path, touching on progressive rock, punk (before it was even called that), electronic experimentation, intimate singer-songwriter settings, and even opera/musical theatre (with his adaptation of Poe's The Fall of the House of Usher).
Hammill's solo career has coexisted with VdGG's activities. The band was offered a contract by Mercury Records in 1968, that only Hammill signed. When VdGG broke up in 1969 he wanted to record his first solo-album. In the summer of 1969 Hammill had a residency at The Lyceum and played weekly solo-concerts there. Eventually the intended solo-album was released under the VdGG-banner as their first album (The Aerosol Grey Machine). Hammill's first official solo-album was Fool's Mate (1971), containing songs from the early (1967/68) VdGG-days.
When VdGG broke up again in August 1972, Hammill resumed his solo-career. Songs that were intended for VdGG, now ended up on his solo-albums, notably "(In The) Black Room (Including 'The Tower')" (on Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night) and "A Louse Is Not A Home" (on The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage). This to some extent makes it difficult to separate Hammill's solo work during the 1970s from his work with the band (for the majority of both his solo-songs and the band's songs he is credited as the sole songwriter, and some of his solo albums feature all the members of Van der Graaf Generator). In general, however, solo Hammill is concerned with more personal matters, while the band's songs deal with broader themes.
Hammill's Nadir's Big Chance (1975} was a great change from the preceding album, In Camera. Whilst In Camera is characterized by extremely intense and complex songs and even has some musique concrete on it, Nadir's Big Chance is notable for its anticipation of punk rock. In a 1977 radio interview, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album and expressed his admiration for Hammill in glowing terms: "Peter Hammill's great. A true original. I've just liked him for years. If you listen to him, his solo albums, I'm damn sure David Bowie copied a lot out of that geezer. The credit he deserves, just has not been given to him. I love all his stuff"
Over (1977) contains very personal songs about the break-up of a long-term relationship.
Hammill's first solo-album after the 1978 break-up of Van der Graaf was The Future Now. With the next albums, pH7 and A Black Box, the sound got more compact, more new wave. On those albums, Hammill played the drums himself. What followed was 'the K-group'. In later years Hammill would sometimes refer to the band as a "beat group". The K-group consisted of Hammill himself on guitars and piano, with John Ellis on lead guitar, Nic Potter on bass, and Guy Evans on drums and percussion. They recorded the albums Enter K and Patience.
Hammill's early records, like the VdGG albums, were released on Charisma Records. He parted company with them after pH7 (1979), and then released albums on a number of small labels. A Black Box came out on S-Type, a label run by Hammill and his manager Gail Colson. Enter K and Patience appeared on Naive, Skin and Margin on Foundry and In A Foreign Town, Out of Water and Room Temperature: Live on Enigma Records. In 1992 he formed his own label, Fie!, on which all his albums since Fireships have been released. The label's logo is the Greek letter phi (Φ), a pun on PH-I. Ever since the 1970s he has also had his own home recording studio, appropriately called Sofa Sound (his website was later named after the studio).
Musically, Hammill's work ranges from short simple riff-based songs to highly complex lengthy pieces. Mainly because of his refusal to make anything resembling middle-of-the-road music, and the general absence of any smooth or glamorous sounds in his music, there is much debate amongst his admirers whether Hammill is to be considered a part of the so-called progressive rock scene. In many interviews however Hammill himself has stated that he does not want to be put in the progressive rock music label, or any music label at all.
His output is prolific. Many different styles of music appear in his work, among them artful complexity (for instance Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night), avant-garde electronic experiments (Loops & Reels), opera (The Fall of the House of Usher), solo keyboard accompaniment (And Close As This), solo guitar accompaniment (Clutch), improvisation (Spur of the Moment), film music (Sonix), band recordings (Enter K), and slow, melancholic balladry (None of the Above).
Hammill survived a heart attack in December 2003, less than 48 hours after having finished the recording of Incoherence. In 2005, Hammill announced the reformation of Van der Graaf Generator. In 2004 they had recorded a new album, Present, which was released in April 2005, and from May until November 2005 played a series of well received concerts.
Between 2005 and 2007 Hammill has overseen the remastering of almost all of his pre-Fie! releases, and has also started similar work on his more recent catalogue. The last of the Charisma remasters was released in September 2007.
Hammill's solo-career did not end because of the VdGG-reunion. He released his new album Singularity in December 2006. It was the first solo-album he completed after his heart attack, and for a large part it deals with matters of life and (sudden) death.
In 2007 several gigs by Van der Graaf Generator as a trio (minus David Jackson) have taken place in Britain and the rest of Europe, and their new album Trisector was released in March 2008. Hammill's new solo album, Thin Air came out 8th June 2009. Hammill and the band are touring extensively in USA, Japan and Europe these days.
Child
Peter Hammill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
and my eyes don't see too clear;
all I know is I need you here,
if only to shield me from the mood of the world
and hold me and say it doesn't matter....
but I'm like a child whose dreams are shattered,
Crowding round me: images of broken thought,
All I can feel is I'm so alone,
without even your bright eyes to reach into my mind
and say that in my life I've done right,
and I'm like a moonchild in the sunlight.
So cast your thoughts upon me, wherever you are,
that I may feel you close beside me
and hold your hand, for you to guide me
through all these catacombs which freeze me
with their touch;
unknowing, knowing so much, my mind cries out
and I'm like a child when the light's out
With a child's fear of the dark
The lyrics of Peter Hammill's song Child depict a state of confusion and disorientation that come as a result of life's struggles, both internal and external. The singer expresses a need for the presence of another person to help him navigate through the chaos of his thoughts and life events. The image of a shattered dream is central to the lyrics, adding to the sense of hopelessness and despair that the singer feels.
The surrounding imagery is also significant, portraying a landscape that is barren and overrun with decaying plants, reminding the listener of the impermanence of life and how all things come to an end eventually. The singer's fear of darkness is also highlighted, underscoring the vulnerability and helplessness that he feels.
The song is a poignant reflection on the human existence and its struggles, and the need for companionship and support to make it through the worst of times.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know quite what's happening
I'm not sure about what's going on
and my eyes don't see too clear;
I can't see clearly
all I know is I need you here,
I require your presence
if only to shield me from the mood of the world
so that you can protect me from the world's negativity
and hold me and say it doesn't matter....
embrace me and express that nothing else counts
but I'm like a child whose dreams are shattered,
however, I'm akin to a child who has lost hope
Crowding round me: images of broken thought,
My mind is filled with pictures of my broken thoughts
lines of my life now overgrown.
The pathways of my life that are now gone
All I can feel is I'm so alone,
I feel extremely lonely
without even your bright eyes to reach into my mind
There's nobody to understand my thoughts like you do
and say that in my life I've done right,
Speak words of encouragement that I have done the correct thing in my life
and I'm like a moonchild in the sunlight.
Comparing myself to an odd entity being in a circumstance that is unsuited for it
So cast your thoughts upon me, wherever you are,
Think of me wherever you reside
that I may feel you close beside me
So that I may sense your close presence
and hold your hand, for you to guide me
And to take your hand to lead me
through all these catacombs which freeze me
escaping through these treacherous tunnels that paralyze me
with their touch;
including the touch of those that reside there
unknowing, knowing so much, my mind cries out
My mind is shouting, even though I'm aware and aware of much
and I'm like a child when the light's out
At last, I'm still like a child, afraid of the darkness
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PETER HAMMILL, PETER JOSEPH ANDREW HAMMILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind