Hawkwind Newcastle Tyne Theatre 2004
It was 2004 before I saw Hawkwind again. I realised that it had been remiss of me to go so long without going to see the band, and decided I needed to put that right. So when they came to the Newcastle Tyne Theatre I persuaded David to come along with me to the gig. By now the line-up was a core three-piece of the captain of the spaceship and old-timer Dave Brock, with newer (but by this point in fact not so new) members Alan Davey on bass, and Richard Chadwick on drums. The band were augmented by various guests on record and at some gigs, including Arthur Brown, Simon House, Lene Lovich and Lemmy, all of whom featured on the album of the time Take Me To Your Leader. Incredibly Take Me To Your Leader was Hawkwind’s 23rd studio album. It featured a re-recording of classic track Spirit of the Age, and some new tracks around the traditional space age theme. The live show was pretty impressive with android dancers, the band in white coats, and the stage set a cross between an operating theatre and a space craft. David enjoyed the show, even though he was not at all familiar with any of Hawkwind’s material.
Interestingly David saw lots of links to modern dance music in Hawkwind. They started with the new version of Spirit of the Age, which was a great opener, and the set also included a few old favourites such as Psychedelic Warlords, Angels of Death, Brainstorm, and for the encore Master of the Universe.And a new favourite in Angela Android. Great stuff. It was just like old times, and it brought home to me all of the reasons why Hawkwind were so important to me at one time. Why did I ever stop going to see them?! I guess I grew a little tired and life, work and other things got in the way and were more important at the time. Anyway, it was like being home again in many respects, and I have tried to see Hawkwind regularly since then (although I have missed once or twice ). Setlist: Spirit of the Age; Sword of the East; Greenback Massacre; Psychedelic Warlords; Uncle Sam’s On Mars; The Iron Dream; Out Here We Are; Digital Nation; Assassins of Allah; Angels of Death; Ode To a Time Flower; To Love A Machine; Angela Android; Brainstorm. Encore: Brainbox Pollution; Master of the Universe; Welcome
27 Feb