April 03, 2007

WHO GIVES A SHIT ABOUT HAWKWIND?

I've been arguing with a die hard Hawkwind fan about the BBC4 Documentary about them the other day. I've looked on line and haven't seen much about it so I thought I'd throw in my tuppence worth...

When it was manifest fairly near the beginning that Dave Brock wasn't going to appear, I feared it would be the ex-members doing a hatchet job on him. I've read before what Nick Turner has to say, and have spoken to people who have been involved with Dave Brock who have negative things to say about him none of which I am prepared to repeat here.

As the documentary unfolded I was surprised how little Dave Brock was mentioned, the others just telling their stories. I thought it was a fairly good document of the earliest and most successful incarnation of the band, as good as they could do without Brock. My Hawkwind fan friend thought it was a hatchet job on Brock, and that Dave Brock "is" Hawkwind.

"When Brock insisted Nick Turner wasn't involved why did they then choose to include Nick Turner instead of Dave Brock?" he asked angrily.

"But if it was a hatchet job, why didn't it go into detail about Turner's extensively recorded allegations about Brock?" I asked.

"Lawyers..."

I don't know. Neither of us do but its fun to argue about. Tim Cummings behind the scenes story is here. As I say, I thought there would be lots of argument online. Maybe no one gives a shit about Hawkwind.

1 comment:

Steve Kimmitt said...

I have seen the Hawkwind docu a couple of times and it is prob as good as you could get without the involvement of Dave Brock . Having said that , you have to remember that Brocks contribution to Hawkwind as the only constant member, and its main songwriter throughout its history , cannot be overestimated . Any docu without his participation is an incomplete compromise . Quite simply , as your friend says, Brock is Hawkwind , and if he decides to pack it all in ,then the band will cease to exist in other than name only . It would become almost a tribute band .The fans will doubtless have good words to say about the contributions made by the ex members shown in the documentary but individually each of them has proven to be easily replaced with perhaps the exception of Lemmy . Brocks songs , vocals and guitar playing were what has always best defined the band and its sound .