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.
Empress
Peter Hammill Lyrics
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Such a powerful drug to make you so naked and clean.
And you want to tell her
There's so much to disclose
This idea you've got to sell her
A new set of empress's clothes.
Who was that woman in the masquerade,
Do those eyes still give you fever?
Who was that woman in the mystery-play,
Do you still want to please her?
Where is the woman who can offer escape,
Do you look for your freedom?
You see her ref.
You want her to wear that finery,
The style that's never seen,
You're trying to break the deadlock
Of this strangle holding scene...
Oh, look,
A new set of empress's clothes!
The here and now stands in your way;
You carry the bell, book and candle...
She won't make you go
But she won't let you stay ref.
You want her to wear that finery,
The style that's never seen;
You're trying to break the deadlock
Of this strangleholding scene;
She makes you want to confess it all -
You don't know what it means,
But she makes you see,
Empress's clothes.
The central theme of Peter Hammill's song "Empress's Clothes" is the idea of perceived power and control, and the longing to break away from it. The opening line sets the scene for the song, describing a woman who has entered the scene with an enticing presence, portrayed through the use of perfume being compared to a "thuggie scarf". The woman is seen as a powerful entity, as there is a reference to her being able to make individuals feel "naked and clean", emphasizing her magnetism.
As the song continues, the singer seems to be addressing the woman, attempting to appeal to her desire for a new set of clothes, or a new beginning. There are allusions to past encounters with unknown women who have left an indelible mark on his life, as he advances his hopes of escape from the stranglehold of the present moment. The idea of the "Empress's Clothes" is further elaborated as a metaphor for a new facade, a new set of behaviours to be worn to fit in, but also to break free of an old self. The woman is perceived as this all-knowing entity who can offer the singer freedom from past shackles, leaving him feeling like he needs to confess everything.
Overall, the song hints at the paradoxical nature of power and control, and the desire to break free of it. There is a sense of vulnerability juxtaposed with strength and the idea of control itself is portrayed as a kind of illusion. The song underscores the idea of how our past experiences continue to affect our lives, and how we see people as threats or saviours based on our experiences.
Line by Line Meaning
She's here now, perfume coiled like a thuggie scarf
The fragrance of the woman makes you feel intoxicated and exposed.
And you want to tell her
You have a desire to reveal something to her.
There's so much to disclose
You have a lot of secrets to tell her.
This idea you've got to sell her
You want to convince her to believe in something.
A new set of empress's clothes.
You want her to embrace a new and extravagant lifestyle.
Who was that woman in the masquerade,
You are asking about a woman you saw in a costume party.
Do those eyes still give you fever?
Are you still attracted to her?
Who was that woman in the mystery-play,
You are inquiring about a woman who performed in a staged puzzle game.
Do you still want to please her?
Are you still trying to make her happy?
Where is the woman who can offer escape,
You are searching for a woman who can help you break free from something.
Do you look for your freedom?
Are you seeking to be free from a certain situation?
You see her ref.
You see a reflection of her.
You want her to wear that finery,
You want her to adorn herself in extravagant clothing.
The style that's never seen,
You want her to try something new and unique.
You're trying to break the deadlock
You're struggling to get out of a strained situation.
Of this strangle holding scene...
You're trying to escape from a suffocating environment.
Oh, look,
An exclamation of surprise or excitement.
A new set of empress's clothes!
You finally found a new lifestyle to suggest to her.
The here and now stands in your way;
The present situation is an obstacle to your plans.
You carry the bell, book and candle...
You're carrying equipment used during a religious or spiritual ceremony or ritual.
She won't make you go
She won't force you to leave.
But she won't let you stay ref.
But she won't let you continue on as you are.
She makes you want to confess it all -
She makes you feel a strong urge to confess your secrets.
You don't know what it means,
You don't fully understand your feelings towards her.
But she makes you see,
But she makes you understand something new.
Empress's clothes.
You associate her with grandeur and royalty.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PETER HAMMILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind