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.
Confidence
Peter Hammill Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
somewhere you'll find the wanted man
blank-faced and wary of conversation with himself.
Around the ring of confidence
they're dancing to a different tune;
the others seem so confident,
why don't you take a leaf from the storm we're passing through?
In confidence we sail across the seven seas
"I'm in good form, I'm feeling fine,"
responsibly how well you do –
there's nothing I can say about
the usual cocktail of public faith and private taboo.
In confidence the trick is there for all to see –
In confidence the key!
Oh, don't anyone let the cat out of the bag,
don't anyone admit to human frailty.
Someone let the cat out of the bag.
Confidentially we learn we're not alone,
in lack of confidence we're not alone,
in lack of confidence we're not alone.
Behind the smile of confidence
somewhere you'll find the mortal man
waving his arms in some urgent secret semaphore...
So I'll face the world with confidence,
I'll toughen up my point of view,
what better way to live a life,
what other way can there be of seeing this thing through?
In confidence the trick, in confidence the game,
the thing that makes us tick –
in confidence the flame!
Inside the ring of confidence
somewhere you'll find a stone-age man
lost in the forest with darkness falling,
striking his flint to hold back
the roaring, the alien, the world.
We are not alone.
The lyrics to Peter Hammill's song "Confidence" delve into the complex nature of confidence and the façade that often accompanies it. The opening verses suggest that behind the smile of confidence lies a hidden, vulnerable side of ourselves that we may choose to conceal from the world. The image of the "wanted man" who is "wary of conversation with himself" suggests that we may be running from something, hiding behind a mask of confidence in order to avoid facing our inner demons.
The chorus of the song speaks to the notion of sailing across the sea of confidence and using it as a weapon or shield to protect ourselves. Hammill seems to be implying that there is power in confidence, but also a danger in relying on it too heavily. The idea that someone let the cat out of the bag and revealed their own lack of confidence suggests that we are all vulnerable, and that perhaps it is our shared experiences of insecurity that bring us together.
The final verse touches on the primal nature of confidence, and suggests that even as we have evolved over time, we still carry with us an innate sense of fear and survival. The image of the stone-age man striking his flint in the darkness is a powerful metaphor for the ways in which we struggle to hold back the chaos and uncertainty of the world around us.
Overall, "Confidence" is a thought-provoking exploration of the nature of self-worth and our relationship to the world around us. Through its complex imagery and lyrical nuance, the song invites us to examine our own concepts of confidence and to consider the role it plays in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
Behind the smile of confidence
Somewhere hidden beneath the facade of confidence
somewhere you'll find the wanted man
You'll find the person who is seeking to be accepted, loved, and wanted
blank-faced and wary of conversation with himself.
They put on a brave face, but they are guarded and cautious even when they are alone
Around the ring of confidence
In the midst of those who exude confidence
they're dancing to a different tune;
They are operating on a different wavelength - one that others can't tap into
the others seem so confident,
Others may appear to be sure of themselves and their abilities
why don't you take a leaf from the storm we're passing through?
Why don't you learn from the difficulties that we're facing and grow stronger?
In confidence we sail across the seven seas
We journey through life with an air of assurance
to hide behind the veil – in confidence the key!
We use confidence as a defense mechanism to cover up our insecurities
"I'm in good form, I'm feeling fine,"
We put on a show of being in a good state of mind
responsibly how well you do –
It's up to you to handle your life's responsibilities and succeed
there's nothing I can say about
There's no clear solution or answer to this complex issue
the usual cocktail of public faith and private taboo.
The mix of what society deems acceptable and what we keep hidden from view
In confidence the trick is there for all to see –
The deceptive nature of confidence is apparent to everyone
In confidence the key!
Confidence is an essential part of our persona
Oh, don't anyone let the cat out of the bag,
Don't reveal the truth or let others know our weaknesses
don't anyone admit to human frailty.
Don't confess to our vulnerability or limitations as humans
Someone let the cat out of the bag.
Someone disclosed sensitive information that should have been kept hidden
Confidentially we learn we're not alone,
Privately, we realize that we're not the only ones struggling with self-doubt
in lack of confidence we're not alone,
We're not the only ones with low self-esteem or feeling unsure of ourselves
in lack of confidence we're not alone.
Others share our fears and uncertainties
Behind the smile of confidence
Behind the guise of being self-assured
somewhere you'll find the mortal man
We're all human and susceptible to mistakes, weaknesses, and death
waving his arms in some urgent secret semaphore...
Expressing our innermost emotions and needs in a cryptic manner
So I'll face the world with confidence,
I'll overcome my doubts and tackle life with optimism and boldness
I'll toughen up my point of view,
I'll be resolute and unyielding in my beliefs and convictions
what better way to live a life,
What other way is there than to have faith in ourselves and our abilities?
what other way can there be of seeing this thing through?
What other approach is there to accomplishing our goals and fulfilling our dreams?
In confidence the trick, in confidence the game,
Confidence is both a skill and a strategy to navigate life's challenges
the thing that makes us tick –
Confidence is a driving force that animates us and propels us forward
in confidence the flame!
Confidence is a burning passion that fuels our endeavors
Inside the ring of confidence
In the circle of self-assured individuals
somewhere you'll find a stone-age man
There's still a part of us that is primitive and instinctual
lost in the forest with darkness falling,
Overwhelmed by our anxieties and fears
striking his flint to hold back
Using our limited resources to prevent the darkness from engulfing us
the roaring, the alien, the world.
The chaos, the unfamiliarity, and the unpredictability of the world are daunting
We are not alone.
We are all in this together and can support and learn from each other
Contributed by Anna H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.