Hawkwind Live In Nottingham 1990 CD

By the end of the 80's, after numerous line up changes, arguments over royalties and the death of Robert Calvert it looked like the end of Hawkwind. But with yet another new line up, the album Space Bandits was issued on Castle to great acclaim, with the band's date sheet fuller than ever, playing dates with the new breed of festival acts such as Ozric Tentacles. This gig was recorded at the band's spiritual home Glastonbury at 5 a.m. in the Travellers Field, it is previously unreleased and includes a blend of old and new material.

This two-CD set contains previously unavailable material from two concerts held in 1990. This is a lesser-known period of Hawkwind, the one that immediately followed the death of Robert Calvert (1988) and introduced the group's first-ever female lead singer, Bridgette Wishart. The first concert is actually a TV appearance on the British show Bedrock taped in January. Sound quality is very good. The lineup consists of Dave Brock, Harvey Bainbridge, Alan Davey, Simon House, Richard Chadwick, and Wishart, who at that point was not fully integrated to the band -- she danced more than she sang. The set list includes four tracks from the album Space Bandits, soon to be released at the time. "Out of the Shadows" and "Images" sound very assured. There are also good renditions of "Angels of Death" and "Night of the Hawks," plus the inevitable (and satisfactory) "Assassins of Allah." The group plays in good shape, not pristine. The date and location of the second show are not mentioned anywhere. It clearly begins at "Lives of Great Men," the fourth cut on disc two. Sound quality falls down a couple of steps as it shifts from a wide stereo picture to what appears to be mono (or a very narrow stereo). Wishart assumes her leading role, so it must date from a few weeks later. There are many repeats between the two sets, especially the sequence "Out of the Shadows," "Snake Dance," "Night of the Hawks," and "The 7th Star." It scales down the potential interest of the album for casual fans. "Void of Golden Light," "Utopia," and "Back in the Box" have been rarely documented in the past. ~ François Couture

Hawkwind: Dave Brock (vocals, guitar, synthesizer); Alan Davey (vocals, bass, synthesizer); Harvey Bainbridge (vocals, synthesizer); Bridgett Wishart (vocals); Simon House (violin); Richard Chadwick (drums, percussion).