Ah ... memories of Hawkwind ...

Saw them at festivals in the mid 80s ... (bit of a blur, to be honest ...)

A few of us used to play games of Risk at a mate's house on Sundays

and he would always play the albums PXR5 and Quark, Strangeness and Charm

- their 'punky phase', I used to think.

Early 90s ... Literally the same day I had got together with a new girlfriend from Cornwall,

we saw them at Finsbury Park ... entering a marquee, tripping off our heads as they

broke into 'Sonic Attack' ... that didn't radiate fun times for us, so we sped off across London

to watch UK Subs play on the waste ground of a squatted estate in Elephant and Castle.

In the early 2000s ... The Pistols were playing one of their cash-in gigs at Chrystal Palace.

I was living locally (Gipsy Hill), so me and a mate bunked our way in, using quarter

bottles of brandy as a bribe for the bored looking security women from Brixton ...

Bit of a surprise when the band opened with 'Silver Machine'

Was watching an old show on Talking Pictures recently. 'Callan' from 1971, I think.

A hipster assassin walks into his flat and immediately puts Hawkwind on the turntable,

turning the volume right up - that familiar swirly sonic banshee sound of the keyboards

as the bass and drums kick in - and I just thought ... "Yeah, It must've sounded ultra - modern

for the time ... literally the rock band from outer space

P.s. - I always enjoy the stories of people who 'were there', but slightly out of the main spotlight -

so here's an interesting interview with STACIA BLAKE