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Ok, so I like Hawkwind, what else do I listen to? Here are some of my other favorites :
These are just some of my favorites. I'll extend the list as I have the time, so watch out for Status Quo, Runrig and many more coming to a webpage near you...
Rush
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I came across Rush in the mid '70s when I went through a 'live double' phase - I bought a whole bunch of live double LPs. One was All the World's a Stage, and I never looked back. I've got all their albums except Farewell to Kings, plus a few compilation albums, I think, with Hold Your Fire being my favorite, although Red Barchetta (off Moving Pictures) is my fave track. Fiat (Italian car maker) have released a car they call the Barchetta. One day I'm going to buy me a red one, and only play the one track in it... Red Barchetta's web-page has a short story called 'A Nice Morning Drive which is the inspiration for the song (alledgedly...). It's a pretty good story anyway. This is their official website and fan club. There are also a host of unofficial sites and pages as befits a very popular band. I've seen them live only twice. The first time was back in early 1979 when I was at uni. A great Geordie by the name of Fred Guy persuaded me and two girls to go see their Hemispheres tour at the Apollo Theatre, my only time there. The second time was the Hold your Fire tour around 1988/89. Fantastic shows, especially the second one, a true audio-visual experience. |
Camel
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This is another band I came across in my 'live double' phase. They play a mixture of themed jazz-rock sort of stuff. The live album A Live Record is still my favorite, but The Single Factor, Stationary Traveller, Pressure Points and I Can See Your House From Here are all really good. There is an excellent unofficial website which enjoys the support of Camel Productions. I've seen them live a few times in the early 80s, and they put on a good show. |
Motorhead
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Motorhead were introduced to me by the same person who introduced Hawkwind to me (Peter Mearns, aka Murns). He got into them as an offshoot of Hawkwind, as they were formed by Lemmy, ex bass player. Anyway, I'd always like hard rock, so Motorhead was quickly added to my list of fave bands. Initially a trio with Lemmy, Fast Eddie on guitar and Phil (Philthy Animal) Taylor on drums, but played for a while with two guitarists. Lemmy has a very distinctive bass style, playing almost like it was a rhythm guitar. Very fast, very loud. A quick Motorhead story. Me and Pete were off to the Motorhead gig in Aberdeen, around '78/'79. Pre-gig we went into the bar next door for a pint (or so...). A crowd had gathered around the desktop video game, and there was Lemmy, playing against one of the locals. I went up to the bar to get the pints, standing behind some lad with longish hair and wearing a suede jacket with the long fringes on the sleeves and shoulders. Anyway, this guy gets his drinks and steps back, right on my foot. He apologies, and it's only then I look who it is. Fast Eddie just apologized to little, old me! Wow! That's one of the things about Motorhead, they were just guys at a gig - except they happened to be on the stage. I've seen Motorhead three or four times, and their shows are quite spectacular - the Bomber tour featuring a large bomber shaped, steel framed structure that used twirling lights for propellors and would rise and bank to the music. The next tour (Ace of Spades?) had the curtain open to an empty stage, with the entire stage being on a platform lowered to the real stage. At the end they all rose back into the roof. Terrific! As to albums, their earlier stuff is their best, it has a rawer edge to it. After Fast Eddie left and Brian Robertson joined it wasn't the same. Here's the Official Motorhead site. It's pretty good and features a Q & A section with Lemmy, which is good for a laugh. |
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I'm not entirely sure how I got into Level 42, but Mark King's distinctive bass style soon had me hooked. I've got most of their albums, just a couple of compilations missing. They have an official website, and a host of unofficail ones. Cathy and I went to see them at Edinburgh Playhouse in '87, a great gig. |
Big Country
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A Scottish band that were quite popular for a short while, but went quiet. I thought they were defunct, but apparently they are still around. They don't appear to have an official website, but Wonderland is a rather good unofficial one. |
Led Zeppelin
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Probably one of the greatest bands ever. I first came across them when I was at school when a friend was Zep daft. Any time we were round at his house he would put Zep on the record player. It kind of seeps into the brain... It was only when I was looking for links that I realized just how few albums they ever released, only 10, plus a couple of compilations. They range from solid heavy rock to beautiful acoustic tracks. They will, however, be eternally remembered for their classic track Stairway to Heaven. I almost went to see Zep at Knebworth many years ago with some friends. At the last minute something came up and we never went. Within a few months Bonzo Bonham was dead and we never would see them... There is no official website for Zep, only loads of unofficial ones. |
Mike Oldfield
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Mike Oldfield burst onto the music scenes with his Tubular Bells composition to almost universal acclaim in 1973. I wasn't into music at that time and it was only several years later, 1977, that I became aware of Oldfield when a fellow pupil, Brian Watts, was raving about a remixed boxed set of his work being released. As it happened the Sunday Times was doing a special promo and I sent off for it. I was quickly hooked on the collection, featuring Tubular Bells, Hergest Ridge (my favorite), Ommadawn and collection of bits and pieces. If you want to hear a bit of Oldfield's music then check out Ralf Erhard's Mike Oldfield page. He has some background music, which normally is pretty crap, but this is really good. There is also an official magazine. It's amazing what you find out on the Internet when you start looking. Here's a MIDI file of the first half of Tubular Bells. It's not the real thing, but it's pretty good. |
Marillion
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I was first exposed to Marillion by the brothers Gordon, Jeremy and Richard (thanks guys!). It wasn't until their Misplaced Childhood album, however, that I thought they were worth listening to. Their live album, The Thieving Magpie (La Gazza Ladra), is one that is well worth getting. It features the whole of Misplaced Childhood on the second side, and some tracks from my favorite, Clutching at Straws, including my alltime favorite track, Sugar Mice. In 1988 their front man, Fish, left and they were never the same. To some (me included) Fish was Marillion. They are still going and have an Official website. |
Genesis
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Another of the world's greatest bands. Why is it that so many of my favorite bands have been around for long times? I've managed to see Genesis only once, back in about 78/79. The tour dates had been released for some time, and excitement in Aberdeen was high - it was rare for such a big group to come that far north. The queue outside the ticket office had started about 4pm the day before the tickets went on sale at 9am. A couple of the guys had volunteered to get the tickets for everyone, being limited to 4 per person. They arrived just after 9am to find a big queue and a small queue, so they joined the small queue and got tickets. Most people in the big queue didn't, so what went on? Apparently the theater had decided to split the queue into two - lower and upper seats. However, someone in the queue took the sign to sleep on during the night so only one queue ever formed - until the morning. We weren't worried, we had our tickets. Rumours abounded as the date came around: tickets were being exchanged at 250GBP (remember this was 20 years ago, when a quid would get 3 pints of beer, 3 packets of chips and change); most of the best tickets had been assigned to corporates; the theater manager's daughter was giving away tickets to all her friends at primary school. Who knows what the real truth was. I don't have a lot of the earlier Genesis albums. Apart from Genesis Live (1973), which I quite like, I start with Trick of the Tail, an excellent album. Seconds Out, a live double (again!) is especially good. The album that followed the division of the band, And then There Were Three, is, perhaps, my favorite, or maybe it's Duke. After Duke Genesis went through a dull patch in my opinion. I only got back into them with Invisible Touch. They have an official web-site, as well as a plethora (good word!) of unofficial ones. |
Clannad
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I'd heard of Clannad through the Robin of Sherwood tv series (UK), but never heard anything else, when some friends persuaded me to go a Clannad gig (didn't take much persuading, though, because Mel Collins was playing sax - he's ex-Camel so I was favorably disposed to them before they even started.). This was one of the best gigs I've ever been to. I went out the next day and bought their latest album, Macalla. They have an Official web-site |
Jethro Tull
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I'm not entirely certain who it was turned me onto Jethro
Tull, but it was probably Murns, but a few of my mates at uni listened to
them, and I was probably dragged along to a gig before I had really started
listening to them. The first Tull album I remember listening to was Bursting
Out, a rumbustious live album if ever there was. I've now seen them several
times and they seem to get better each time.
Cath and I went to see them once at the Tarlair Festival at MacDuff and I wished that I'd bought a tour shirt. As usual with these shirts there was a list of tour dates on the back which read something like 'Rome, Turin, Milan, Barcelona, MacDuff, London'. Talk about the sublime to the ridiculous... As for albums, Bursting Out must be my favorite. It brings back so many memories of Tull concerts I've been to. M.U. is a good compilation with many of their most well loved tracks. Most of my Tull albums are from Broadsword and the Beast (good album) on, and they are all good. They don't seem to have an official web-site, but Laufi's web-site is well worth a visit, with news, tour dates, reviews and all sorts of other info. Check out my review and pics from their gig at Portland Rose Garden |