Nadir's Big Chance
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Nadir's Big Chance
''Nadir's Big Chance'' is the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975. It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator (of which Hammill was the singer and principal songwriter) and ''Nadir's Big Chance'' is actually performed by the reformed Van der Graaf Generator line-up. The album's songs vary greatly in style, as acknowledged by Hammill in the sleeve notes, which refer to "the beefy punk songs, the weepy ballads, the soul struts". In a 1977 Capital Radio broadcast, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album, "The Institute of Mental Health, Burning" and "Nobody's Business", and expressed his admiration for Hammill. The album includes two of Hammill's most frequently performed ballads at concerts and radio interviews, "Been Alone So Long" (written by Judge Smith) and "Shingle Song", and a reworking of Van der Graaf Generator's first single from 1968, "People You Were Going To". The a ...
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Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings and occasionally those of other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards. Biography Early life Peter Hammill was born in Ealing, West London, and moved with his family to Derby when he was 12. He attended Beaumont College and Manchester University, where he studied Liberal Studies in Science. Hammill has stated that his grandfather was originally from Pakistan. Early career Hammill's solo career has coexisted with Van der Graaf Generator's activities. The band was offered a contract by Mercury Records in 1968, that only Hammill signed. When Van der Graaf Generator broke up in 1969 he wanted to record his first solo album. In the summer of 1969 Hammil ...
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Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994. After Van der Graaf Generator, he has written songs, stage musicals and operas, and from the early 1990s on he has released a number of solo CDs, including three "Songstories". Biography Early years In 1967, with Peter Hammill, Judge Smith founded the band Van der Graaf Generator. He was originally a singing drummer and percussionist (sometimes playing a typewriter),Album notes for four-double CD box ''The Box'' by Van der Graaf Generator (2000), page 6. Virgin Records but after drummer Guy Evans joined the band, Smith realized that there wasn't a great deal left for him to do, since his role was reduced to being a backing vocalist. After recording the first Van der Graaf Generator-single ("People ...
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1975 Albums
It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. Haldeman and John Ehrlichman are found guilty of the Watergate cover-up. * January 2 ** The Federal Rules of Evidence are approved by the United States Congress. ** Bangladesh revolutionary leader Siraj Sikder is killed by police while in custody. ** A bomb blast at Samastipur, Bihar, India, fatally wounds Lalit Narayan Mishra, Minister of Railways. * January 5 – Tasman Bridge disaster: The Tasman Bridge in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia, is struck by the bulk ore carrier , killing 12 people. * January 7 – OPEC agrees to raise crude oil prices by 10%. * January 10–February 9 – The flight of ''Soyuz 17'' with the crew of Georgy Grechko and Aleksei Gubarev aboard the ''Salyut 4'' space station. * January 15 – Alvor Agreement: Portugal ...
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Peter Hammill Albums
Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a surname (including a list of people with the name) Culture * Peter (actor) (born 1952), stage name Shinnosuke Ikehata, Japanese dancer and actor * ''Peter'' (album), a 1993 EP by Canadian band Eric's Trip * ''Peter'' (1934 film), a 1934 film directed by Henry Koster * ''Peter'' (2021 film), Marathi language film * "Peter" (''Fringe'' episode), an episode of the television series ''Fringe'' * ''Peter'' (novel), a 1908 book by Francis Hopkinson Smith * "Peter" (short story), an 1892 short story by Willa Cather Animals * Peter, the Lord's cat, cat at Lord's Cricket Ground in London * Peter (chief mouser), Chief Mouser between 1929 and 1946 * Peter II (cat), Chief Mouser between 1946 and 1947 * Peter III (cat), Chief Mouser between 1 ...
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Guy Evans
Guy Randolph Evans (born 17 June 1947) is an English drummer and a member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Career Whilst at the University of Warwick (1965–68), Evans played in the university band which was called The New Economic Model. The band, which mainly played American soul music of the 1960s, played at all the university dances and supported bands such as Pink Floyd and The Move. There is a picture of Evans with the rest of the New Economic Model in "Van der Graaf Generator – The Book". Evans has been a member of Van der Graaf Generator from 1968 until 1978, and since their reformation in 2005. In addition to his work in Van der Graaf Generator, Evans has collaborated with other musicians, frequently with other (ex-) members of Van der Graaf Generator, as on '' The Long Hello'' project and in the K Group. He also works with a group called Echo City constructing "sonic playgrounds", outdoor constructions which can be used to make music, man ...
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Hammond Organ
The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated sound by creating an electric current from rotating a metal tonewheel near an electromagnetic pickup, and then strengthening the signal with an amplifier to drive a speaker cabinet. The organ is commonly used with the Leslie speaker. Around two million Hammond organs have been manufactured. The organ was originally marketed by the Hammond Organ Company to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the wind-driven pipe organ, or instead of a piano. It quickly became popular with professional jazz musicians in organ trios—small groups centered on the Hammond organ. Jazz club owners found that organ trios were cheaper than hiring a big band. Jimmy Smith's use of the Hammond B-3, with its additional harmonic percussion feature, inspired a ...
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Hugh Banton
Hugh Robert Banton (born April 1949) is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator. Career Banton was born in April 1949 in Yeovil, Somerset, into a musical family. His father played the piano, his mother regularly sang along to music on the radio, and two uncles were church organists. He started playing the piano at age four, and began taking formal lessons at age seven. He was influenced by the family classical record collection and by music heard on Radio Luxembourg. In his teens he studied classical piano and organ while attending Silcoates School in Yorkshire under Dr Percy G. Saunders, the organist at Wakefield Cathedral. He continued to enjoy both rock 'n' roll and classical music. After leaving school, he trained as a television engineer with the BBC in Evesham, and subsequently in London. He joined Van der Graaf Generator in May 1968 when the group (then consisting of just ...
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David Jackson (rock Musician)
David Nicholas George Jackson (born 15 April 1947), nicknamed Jaxon, is an English progressive rock saxophonist, flautist, and composer. He is best known for his work with the band Van der Graaf Generator and his work in Music and Disability. He has also worked with Peter Gabriel, Keith Tippett, Osanna, Judge Smith, David Cross and others. Van der Graaf Generator Jackson was a member of the English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator for most of the 1970s and for their 2005 reunion tour. His speciality was then electric saxophones, using octave devices, wah-wah and powerful amplification. Style His saxophone-playing is characterized by the frequent use of double horns, playing two saxophones at the same time, a style he copied from Rahsaan Roland Kirk (whose style and technique influenced Jackson). He also plays flutes and whistles. In the ''NME'', reviewer Jonathan Barnett called David Jackson "the Van Gogh of the saxophone – a renegade impressionist, dis ...
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Hohner Clavinet
The Clavinet is an electrically amplified clavichord invented by Ernst Zacharias and manufactured by the Hohner company of Trossingen, West Germany, from 1964 to 1982. The instrument produces sounds by a rubber pad striking a point on a tensioned string, and was designed to resemble the Renaissance-era clavichord. Although originally intended for home use, the Clavinet became popular on stage, and could be used to create electric guitar sounds on a keyboard. It is strongly associated with Stevie Wonder, who used the instrument extensively, particularly on his 1972 hit " Superstition", and was regularly featured in rock, funk and reggae music throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Modern digital keyboards can emulate the Clavinet sound, but there is also a grass-roots industry of repairers who continue to maintain the instrument. Description The Clavinet is an electromechanical instrument that is usually used in conjunction with a keyboard amplifier. Most models have 60 keys ran ...
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The Love Songs (Peter Hammill Album)
''The Love Songs'' is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Charisma Records in 1984. The album is a compilation of ballads from Hammill's previous solo albums, re-recorded in new versions; all reworked, redubbed and remixed to form this album. The lead vocals were replaced on all tracks, except "Been Alone So Long". All tracks were based on the original multitracks, except "Again" and "If I Could", which are based on live K Group performances taken from the Margin Tour. Track listing All songs written by Peter Hammill, except where indicated. #"Just Good Friends" - 3:55 #"My Favourite" - 3:00 #"Been Alone So Long" ( Chris Judge Smith) - 5:02 #"Ophelia" - 3:09 #"Again" - 3:34 #"If I Could" - 4:59 #"Vision" - 3:16 #"Don't Tell Me" - 4:40 #"The Birds" - 3:41 #"(This Side of) The Looking Glass" - 6:58 Original albums The tracks were taken from these albums: # ''Patience'' # '' PH7'' # ''Nadir's Big Chance'' # '' Sitting Targets'' # ''In Camera'' # ''The Future No ...
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PH7 (Peter Hammill Album)
''pH7'' is an album by Peter Hammill, originally released on Charisma Records in September 1979. It was Hammill's eighth solo album and his last release on the Charisma label. The song "Porton Down" refers to the Porton Down military research facility in Wiltshire, England, while the lyrics of "Imperial Walls" are a translation of the first few lines of the Anglo-Saxon poem "The Ruin". The song "Not For Keith" is a tribute to Keith Ellis, a former member of the band Van der Graaf Generator, who had then died just recently. "Cover note: The photographs were all taken late at night in NYC. As we left Dan's he photographer'splace in search of a cab Graham mithand I ran into some trouble from which, frankly, we were lucky to escape...". "My Favourite" was re-worked for Hammill's 1984 album '' The Love Songs''. "Faculty X" is a reference to extrasensory perception in the books of Colin Wilson. Track listing All tracks composed by Peter Hammill; except where noted. In 20 ...
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The Future Now
''The Future Now'' is the seventh studio album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1978. It was the first solo album Hammill released following the 1978 breakup of his band Van der Graaf Generator, although he had released numerous solo albums while VdGG were active. The album contains twelve short songs, several in the new wave style of VdGG's last studio album, ''The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome''. The album cover shows a set of photographs by Brian Griffin, portraying Peter Hammill with half of his moustache and beard shaven. "If I Could" was re-worked for Hammill's 1984 album '' The Love Songs''. Track listing ;Bonus tracks:Recorded live at the All Souls Unitarian Church, Kansas City, on 16 February 1978 #"If I Could" #"The Mousetrap (Caught In)" Personnel *Peter Hammill – guitars, vocals, keyboards, harmonica, electronics * David Jackson – saxophone (1, 2, 12) * Graham Smith – violin (5, 6, 12) Technical *Peter Hammill - recording engineer ( ...
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