The signature Van der Graaf Generator sound in the 1970s was a combination of Peter Hammill's distinctive and dynamic voice and David Jackson's electronically-treated saxophones, generally playing over thick chordal keyboard parts (such as Hammond organ and/or clavinet). Van der Graaf Generator albums tended to be darker in atmosphere than many of their prog-rock peers (a trait they shared with King Crimson, whose guitarist Robert Fripp guested on two of their albums), and guitar solos were the exception rather than the rule.
Hammill is the primary songwriter for the band, and the line between music written for his solo career and for the band is often blurred.
The band first formed in 1967 while its members were studying at Manchester University. The three-piece was comprised of Peter Hammill (guitar and vocals), Nick Pearne (organ) and Chris Judge Smith (drums and wind instruments). The group was named after a piece of electric equipment designed to produce static electricity, the Van de Graaff generator. The name was suggested by early member, Chris Judge Smith (the misspellings are accidental). On the basis of a demo, this blues- and jazz-influenced first incarnation were offered a recording contract with Mercury Records.
In 1968, Pearne was replaced by Hugh Banton. The band were able to secure Tony Stratton-Smith as a full-time manager. Through him, the band acquired a bass guitar player, Keith Ian Ellis. Drummer Guy Evans joined not too long afterward. This line-up recorded a series of demos for Mercury, before releasing a single ("People You Were Going To" b/w "Firebrand") on Polydor Records. The single was withdrawn under pressure from Mercury, since it violated the contract band members Hammill and Smith signed the previous year. Judge Smith left the band, amicably, shortly after the recording of the single.
Although the band performed on BBC Radio 1's Top Gear radio show in November, and was touring successfully, it broke up in June 1969. Pressures leading to this included financial difficulties, the theft of the band's gear and transport in London, combined with Mercury's refusal to let the band record and Stratton-Smith's refusal to let the other members of the band sign to Mercury too (only Hammill remained now of the original three who had signed with Mercury).
In July 1969, Hammill went to record his first solo album at Trident Studios. Banton, Evans, and Ellis joined him as session musicians. Through a deal worked out by their manager, Hammill's intended solo album, The Aerosol Grey Machine, was released by Mercury under the band's name in return for releasing the band from their contract. The album was initially only released in the United States with hardly any promotion at all, so sales were minimal.
Ellis left (eventually joining Juicy Lucy and a very brief incarnation of Iron Butterfly among others) and was replaced by Nic Potter, and David Jackson (saxophones and flutes) was added to the line-up. Tony Stratton-Smith formed Charisma Records and signed the band as his first act. Before recording their second album, The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other.
A new sound was established, leaving behind the psychedelic influence of The Aerosol Grey Machine in favour of darker textures influenced by jazz and classical music. The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other was well received, and was swiftly followed by H to He, Who Am the Only One. Potter left mid-way through that recording, and the band decided to carry on without a bass guitarist, with Banton on hand and feet bass pedals. Robert Fripp of King Crimson contributed guitar on the song, "The Emperor in His War-Room".
The Hammill/Banton/Jackson/Evans quartet that resulted from H to He, Who Am the Only One is now considered the 'classic' line-up, and went on to record Pawn Hearts. The album contains just three tracks, "Lemmings", "Man-Erg" and the twenty-three-minute concept piece "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". Fripp again provided a cameo appearance on guitar. The album proved highly successful in Italy, topping the chart there for twelve weeks. The single "Theme One" was a success in Italy too, an instrumental piece, originally written by the Beatles producer George Martin as a fanfare for the BBC radio station Radio 1, later to appear on U.S. pressings of Pawn Hearts. They toured Italy for a while, but the shows were plagued by different extremist organizations from Red Brigade to neo-fascists. The band toured extensively from 1970 to 1972, but a lack of support from the record company and also financial difficulties caused the band to implode, and Hammill left to pursue a solo career.
The three remaining members recorded an instrumental album with Nic Potter, Ced Curtis, and Piero Messina, under the name The Long Hello. Their self-titled album (The Long Hello) was released in 1974.
Hammill's split with the group was amicable, and Banton, Jackson and Evans, among others, all contributed to his solo work at various times. By 1975, the members of the band were ready to work with each other again, and they recorded three new albums in just twelve months. The sessions were produced by the band themselves (all previous Van der Graaf Generator albums had been produced by John Anthony at Trident Studios), and displayed a somewhat tauter, more streamlined sound. Godbluff in particular saw Hammill making significant use of the Hohner clavinet keyboard. Still Life followed within the same year.
At the end of 1976, following World Record, first Banton and then Jackson departed in 1977. Nic Potter returned to replace Banton, and in a typically eccentric move Jackson was replaced by a violinist, Graham Smith (formerly of Charisma folk-rock band String Driven Thing). This line-up produced the album The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome. The band also shortened its name to Van der Graaf. Charles Dickie then joined the band on cello, documented on the live double-album Vital. By the time Vital was released, in the summer of 1978, the band had already split, because of lack of record company support in the United States and financial difficulties.
In 1982 a collection of out-takes and rehearsal recordings from the period 1972-1975 was released (initially on cassette only), called Time Vaults. These are not studio-quality recordings.
Banton, Jackson and Evans all made occasional appearances on Hammill's solo albums following the 1978 split, and the classic line-up also played occasionally together. In 1996, the quartet appeared on stage during a concert by Hammill and Evans at the Union Chapel in London to perform "Lemmings" (the whole recording was released as The Union Chapel Concert in March 1997). In 2003, Banton, Jackson, and Evans joined with Hammill to perform the song "Still Life" at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London. Both of these appearances were unannounced to the audience in advance.
Following the Queen Elizabeth Hall performance, discussions between the band members led to writing and rehearsal of new material in mid-2004. A double CD, Present, containing this material was released in April 2005. A reunion concert took place at the Royal Festival Hall, London, on the 6th May 2005, followed by several European dates in the summer and autumn of 2005. The concert in Leverkusen, Germany on the 5th November 2005 was filmed for a TV show ("Rockpalast") and was broadcast on the 15th January 2006. A DVD from that concert had been announced on Hammill's website in 2006. However, so far only one track thereof, "Wondering", has been officially released (on a DVD that came with the Rockpalast anniversary edition of the German magazine Eclipsed in June 2007).
Hammill stated in a December 2005 newsletter that there were no plans for further recordings or performances by the classic Van der Graaf Generator line-up. In September 2006, Hammill announced that the band would be continuing as a trio, for live and studio work, without Jackson.
A live album, Real Time, was released on the 5th March 2007 on Hammill's label, Fie! Records. It contains the entirety of the band's 2005 concert at the Royal Festival Hall.
In April and July 2007 the band played as a trio in different places in Europe. A concert on the14th April 2007 in the Melkweg in Amsterdam was recorded and streamed on the FabChannel website.
The first trio recording, Trisector, was released on the 17th March 2008. Live concerts were played in Europe in March and April, and in Japan in June, among them, one at the Gouveia Art Rock Festival. There were further concerts in January 2009 in Europe, and it was announced that the band would play several concerts in Canada and the United States in 2009, among them one at NEARfest in 2009. It was the first time Van der Graaf Generator had visited the United States since 1976.
Afterwards
Van der Graaf Generator Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In viscous pools of joy, relaxing, we glide
It's all too beautiful
For my mind to bear.
And, as we shimmer into sleep, something's unshared.
But, seeing the flower that was there yesterday,
A tear forms just behind the soft peace of your shades
For a message to slip
But between the dying rails of peace
You trip.
The petals that were blooming are just paper in your hand;
Your eyes, which were clear in the night, are opaque as you stand
It was too beautiful
For it to last
These visions shimmer and fade out of
The glass.
The lyrics of Van der Graaf Generator's song "Afterwards" is a reflection upon the transience of beauty and happiness. The song begins by describing a moment where the singer is with their companion, gazing into their eyes and enjoying the bliss they share. However, this perfect moment cannot be maintained as the world is ultimately "too lonely" for this moment to last. The singer witnesses the withering of a flower, and this situation appears to serve as an analogy for the impermanence of all things beautiful. As the flower withers, the companion's eyes that were previously clear and bright become opaque, and the transient nature of beauty is again emphasized. The song concludes by suggesting that all visions of beauty inevitably fade away.
The utilization of metaphors throughout the song is striking. The flower that is initially described in the song is an ambiguous symbol that represents something fleeting, such as beauty or happiness, which ultimately withers away. Moreover, the "dying rails of peace" highlight how peace is both fragile and fleeting. The imagery of the "viscous pools of joy" creates an atmosphere of euphoria and bliss that contrasts with the growing sense of melancholy throughout the song. Ultimately, the song highlights the complexity of human emotions and the notion that beauty and happiness are just fleeting experiences in one's life.
Line by Line Meaning
You stare out in yellow eyes larger than my mind;
Your gaze is fixed and intense, with an otherworldly quality that exceeds my ability to comprehend.
In viscous pools of joy, relaxing, we glide
Together, we are immersed in a thick, almost tangible sensation of pleasure and contentment, as if it were a substance allowing us to float in carefree bliss.
It's all too beautiful
The experience is so overwhelmingly lovely that it becomes difficult to bear.
For my mind to bear.
My mind, while trying to grasp the full extent of this beauty, struggles to handle the emotions and sensations involved.
And, as we shimmer into sleep, something's unshared.
As we driftingly fall asleep together, I sense that there is something you are not telling me, something you are withholding in the moment.
But, seeing the flower that was there yesterday,
However, when you look upon the flower that was present before, which has now wilted, a glimmer of sadness and regret flashes across your features.
A tear forms just behind the soft peace of your shades
You almost cry, yet what is visible behind the protective layer of peaceful, sunglasses-wearing disguise speaks volumes.
The world's too lonely
Perhaps you feel that the world is too empty and isolating to share your true emotions with somebody else, causing you to feel isolated.
For a message to slip
The message that you want to convey is too difficult to express, as it may be too personal, you don't trust me or you don't want to be judged.
But between the dying rails of peace
However, there is a small window of opportunity within the confines of this world - a moment of vulnerability.
You trip.
You feel anxious and uncertain, and perhaps this weighs on you, causing you to stumble and fall, losing control in the way you portray your emotions.
The petals that were blooming are just paper in your hand;
In the end, the petals of the flower that held so much beauty are now crumpled and dead, and you hold nothing but remnants of what was so lovely - memories, sadness and emptiness.
Your eyes, which were clear in the night, are opaque as you stand
Your once transparent, clear eyes now obscure something deeper within you, showing an emotional transition from feeling elated to distressed
It was too beautiful
The experience was so marvelous, so intense and filled with emotion, and now you can only reminisce and compare your current emotions to those you felt in that moment.
For it to last
Unfortunately, the beauty and transcendence that was present in that moment is something that is difficult to maintain, due to how rare and exceptional it was.
These visions shimmer and fade out of the glass.
As quickly as it came upon us, this experience is now quickly leaving us behind, fading into memory and away from the present moment.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: PETER HAMMILL, PETER JOSEPH ANDREW HAMMILL
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@pansykishibe4284
You stare out in yellow eyes larger than my mind;
In viscous pools of joy, relaxing, we glide…
It's all too beautiful
For my mind to bear
And, as we shimmer into sleep, something's unshared
But, seeing the flower that was there yesterday
A tear forms just behind the soft peace of your shades…
The world's too lonely
For a message to slip
But between the dying rails of peace
You trip
The petals that were blooming are just paper in your hand;
Your eyes, which were clear in the night, are opaque as you stand
It was too beautiful for it to last…
These visions shimmer and fade out of
The glass
The petals that were blooming are just paper in your hand
@agegroot5666
Magic,one of the best songs ever heard,full of emotion, a musically heaven. Could something been done better? Pity lots of people haven't heard it and never will.
@danielacarlotti5360
I agree with you!
@michaelgove9349
Van Der Graaf have done a lot more ambitious and groundbreaking stuff, but this is one I always come back to. It has a subtle magic of its own.
@FobosLee
Yes! It's absent on Apple Music!!! I couldn't find it there.
@susannaxxx7894
The power of music !!! it makes you travel through time and smile to think that you was only 9 years old , beautiful !!!
@andreabertoldo9628
From the first album it is clear that they would become great. Hammill Genius.
@ashratempel5094
Masterpiece from the summer of my years.
@fernandoramos8346
Audição de alto nível!
@JStormWaters
Mind-blowing. That song wasn't composed...it was out there in the Universe & these guys discovered it! & nobody else could have done that....
@frankzegers8599
Amazing song from a brilliant band.