Hawklords’ blend of cosmic space rock might carry some hallmarks of the band its members were once a part of, but that’s where the similarities end. Back in 2018, with the release of ninth album, Time, guitarist Jerry Richards told Prog the story behind it and showcased their new line-up...
The Hawklords were born in 1978 when three Hawkwind members – guitarist Dave Brock, frontman Robert Calvert and drummer Simon King – broke away for the album 25 Years On. When Hawkwind rebooted, to all intents and purposes the Hawklords appeared dead. This wasn’t so, although it took 30 years to prove the theory.
In 2008, saxophonist Nik Turner rallied a group of Hawkwind alumni for a tribute gig to Calvert, who had passed two decades earlier. When, the following year, a similar memorial show for artist and designer Barney Bubbles took place, it became evident that this new version of Hawklords had legs of their own. And so it has proved.
Time – the band’s 10th album since debut We Are One in 2012 – was made by a floating line-up largely comprising Hawkwind personnel from the past. At the heart of it all is Jerry Richards, a guitarist who racked up five years on board the ’Wind starship at the last millennium’s tail end, and who would walk through walls for the ’Lords’ cause.
The Hawklords take their music to the people, travelling the length and breadth of the country to perform in small to mid-sized venues, their space rock adventures enhanced by a cosmic liquid light display.
Okay, stop us if you’ve heard this one before…
To state the blindingly obvious, the 40-foot, neon-lit elephant in the room is that Hawkwind connection, though Richards offers not a hint of apology – neither does their music deserve contrition.
“People can compare us to Hawkwind all they like,” the musician observes. “Both of our bands operate in the same time stream, but they’re in a cross-connected multiverse. There’s a wormhole that connects us both.”
In a previous interview with Prog circa the Brave New World album in 2018, Richards made the bold assertion that Brock had “given his blessing” for the existence of the Hawklords, the name being “available for use”. Did he receive any comeback from the other side on those claims?
“We stand in The Light and all communications from The Dark Side are truly welcome,” Richards replies somewhat cryptically. “The Hawklords only came about because [Nik] Turner wanted to help a family member of Calvert who was in great trouble. Dave did give us permission to use the name, in fact he suggested it.
“When this band started it was all former members of Dave’s band,” he continues. “We were and remain Hawklords; everyone who’s been in the band [Hawkwind] is a Hawklord – Dave [Brock] is a Hawklord. It’s just that now, because of legal wrangling, I own the trademark. It was the safest place to be because I represent the band’s interests. We operate in a manner that is harmonious; we are certainly not acrimonious [towards Hawkwind]. I consider Dave Brock the most underrated vocalist this country has ever produced.”
Richards is the sole remaining ever-present since the band reunited in 2008, and he has toiled to keep things going through one line-up change after another. Would it be possible to portray Jerry as Hawklords’ own equivalent of Dave?
“That could be a double-edged sword, but in some ways you’re right,” he smiles. “In the spirit of [beat poet] Neal Cassady and Ken Kesey of the Merry Pranksters [also author of One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest] I’m a non-navigator. Having been in this game for 40 years, my ethos came out of the free festivals scene. I believe that if you treat people with the respect that you yourself would like to be treated, doors open up.”
Given the sheer volume of comings and goings since ’08, could the unthinkable happen? How would Richards feel if someday the Hawklords sacked him?
“Well, they can have a go, I suppose,” he deadpans cheerily. “The thing is, nobody in this band has ever been sacked, they’ve always left and we are all still mates.”
The album’s theme of “observations of life, seen through the prism of time” came to Richards as the planet ground to a halt. “Lockdown felt a bit like doing time because we were stuck inside and the whole world went quiet,” he explains. “There were no cars on the road or people in the street, it was extraordinary. And that’s when the idea of time travel began to percolate.”
Time was created remotely, its production handled jointly by the long-serving Paul Sampson along with Richards and Dead Fred, the band’s current keyboardist (who’s had two spells as a member of Hawkwind).
“The only way to have made this record was by file transferring, though fortunately Fred and I are used to working that way,” Richards explains. “Both of us are on one other’s wavelength, and what I really like about Fred is that he isn’t backward in coming forward with ideas.”
Sure enough, Fred instigated the house beats of his dance remix of the track Turn You On, and a dollop of punk rock attitude permeates the spacey groove of To The New Age. Another of record’s most compelling moments is Take Off Your Mask, its theme of face coverings and disguise conceived pre-pandemic by Richards, with lyrics from Dead Fred. Richards insists it isn’t a comment on social distancing.
“Both narratives are conveyed, I think,” he proposes. He adds, “It’s a conversation between one section of society and another that believes it should be more or less responsible, depending on your view.”
A purple patch of form – each of their most recent records were excellent – is heightening awareness of the Hawklords. Now featuring ex-Hawkwind frontman and bassist Mr Dibs, their newest line-up resumes gigging with a proposed handful of October shows, before a 21-date UK tour in spring ’22. As that profile rises, will they play bigger, more prestigious halls, or is a grassroots connection part of their ethos?
“It’s critical, really,” Richards emphasises. “The biggest crowd that I ever played to was around 150,000 people with Hawkwind at a festival in the Loire Valley. That was insane, but some of my favourites were far, far smaller. It feels fantastic when you don’t need a microphone to reach the back. Our stage show is an audio-visual experience. We’d love to play Wembley, of course we would, but I don’t see it happening next year. You never know… maybe before I turn 80!”
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