Hawkwind
In 1969, Slattery and Brock continued jamming together and with whoever else was around. The genesis of Hawkwind was in their meeting with bass player John H Harrison (born 28 May 1942 died 26 May 2012), who was also taking an interest in experimental music after stints in more conventional bands such as the Joe Loss Band. A music paper advert brought in teenage drummer Terry Ollis, while friends Nik Turner and Dik Mik were invited to join the band on saxophone and electronics respectively after the pair had originally offered their services as roadcrew.
From the outset, Brock's intentions for the band was to marry simple three-chord rock music with experimental electronic music. He cites his influences for the band at the time as The Moody Blues, Steve Miller Band and the krautrock scene of Kraftwerk, Neu! and particularly Can.
Brock remained Hawkwind's musical focus and primary songwriter throughout its existence. He has little interest in lyrics and much of the time has benefited from collaborating with lyricists such as Robert Calvert and Michael Moorcock. Although being the only ever-present member of band, there have been times, particularly in the early days when the line-up was fluid, when he would miss gigs such as the 1971 Glastonbury Festival. On stage, his preference is to remain at the back and let others take centre stage and be the focus of attention, to the point where he will often employ dancers, mime artists and fire eaters to fill that space. At other times (particularly in their early days), the entire band is totally obscured by their light show, a tactic also employed by Pink Floyd from their formation through 1969.
The band are based in Devon where they rehearse and record in a converted barn named Earth Studios.
Dave has used a variety of guitars over the years, but has steadfastly used Westone (guitars) for over 25 years. A Westone Spectrum LX since 1985 (custom painted by Alan Arthurs, with a portion of the Space Ritual LP cover), and previously had a Westone Paduak-1 from 1982 until 2008, custom painted by Guy Thomas after the St. Albans gig of the 1984 winter tour, with the Warrior on the Edge of Time LP cover.
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