''Freq'' is a 1985 album by English singer and musician Robert Calvert. It was recorded during the time of the

UK miners' strike (1984-1985) UK miners' strike may refer to: *UK miners' strike (1893) *South Wales miners' strike (1910) *National coal strike of 1912 *UK miners' strike (1921) *UK miners' strike (1953) *UK miners' strike (1969), a widespread unofficial strike *UK miners' str ...

and in between the songs it features snippets of

field recordings Field recording is the term used for an audio recording produced outside a recording studio, and the term applies to recordings of both natural and human-produced sounds. It also applies to sound recordings like electromagnetic fields or vibrat ...

by Calvert with miners on a picket line, with Calvert displaying his sympathy for their cause. The lyrics cover various themes, only "All the Machines are Quiet" and "Picket Line" being explicitly concerned with the miners' strike. "Ned Ludd" is a reworking of a track which was originally part of his stage play ''The Kid from Silicon Gulch'

taking its name from

Ned Ludd Ned Ludd is the legendary person to whom the Luddites attributed the name of their movement. In 1779, Ludd is supposed to have broken two stocking frames in a fit of rage. When the "Luddites" emerged in the 1810s, his identity was appropriated ...

who inspired the

luddite The Luddites were a secret oath-based organisation of English textile workers in the 19th century who formed a radical faction which destroyed textile machinery. The group is believed to have taken its name from Ned Ludd, a legendary weaver ...

movement in 1811, it deals with Calvert's ambivalent attitude to the impact of new technologies on people's lives. The music saw a movement away from his previous work as a frontman of a

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

group towards a

minimalist In visual arts, music and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in post– World War II in Western art, most strongly with American visual arts in the 1960s and early 1970s. Prominent artists associated with minimalism include Do ...

electronic Electronic may refer to: *Electronics, the science of how to control electric energy in semiconductor * ''Electronics'' (magazine), a defunct American trade journal *Electronic storage, the storage of data using an electronic device *Electronic co ...

sound. The tracks "Lord of the Hornets" and "The Greenfly and the Rose" were recorded as demos in preparation for Calvert's '' Hype'' album, but they were issued as a single by Flicknife Records (FLS204) in 1980. The band used for this session is a unique combination of former

Hawkwind Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard ...

members, except for Gary Cooper who was Calvert's literary agent at the time.

Track listing

All titles written by Robert Calvert.

Side 1

#"Ned Ludd" – 4:57 #(talk) – 1:31 #"Acid Rain" – 5:06 #(talk) – 2:37 #"All The Machines Are Quiet" – 5:33

Side 2

#(talk) – 1:12 #"Picket Line" – 3:27 #(talk) – 1:06 #"The Cool Courage of the Bomb Squad Officers" – 5:21 #(talk) – 1:06 #"Work Song" – 3:54

Bonus tracks

#"Lord of the Hornets" – 3:52 #"The Greenfly and the Rose" – 3:39

Personnel

Original album

*Robert Calvert – 5-string guitar, treated harmonica, percussion, keyboards, drums, electronic Simmons drums, vocals *Jill Riches – keyboards, vocals *Philip G. Martin – guitars *Ray Davis – programming

Bonus tracks

*Robert Calvert – vocals *

Huw Lloyd-Langton Richard Hugh "Huw" Lloyd-Langton (6 February 1951 – 6 December 2012) was an English musician, best known as the guitarist for the rock band HawkwindStrong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 466 at various times. ...

– guitar *

Steve Swindells Steve Swindells (born 21 November 1952) is an English singer-songwriter, keyboardist, party organizer, club promoter and journalist. Life and career Early life Swindells grew up in the Bath and Bristol area, dropping out of art college to play ...

– keyboards *Gary Cooper – bass on "The Greenfly and the Rose" * Lemmy – bass on "Lord of the Hornets" * Simon King – drums

Credits

*Recorded: August 1984, Computer Music Studio, London *Matt Green: Remix on Cleopatra version.

Release history

*January 1985: UK, Flicknife Records (SHARP 021), vinyl *June 1992: UK,

Anagram Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

(CDMGRAM55), CD with bonus tracks *June 1994: US,

Cleopatra Records Cleopatra Records is an American independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1992 by Brian Perera. The record label has since grown into a family of labels, including Hypnotic Records, Purple Pyramid Records, D ...

(CLEO 9467-2), CD with bonus tracks

References

External links

aural-innovations.com
– lyrics {{Authority control 1985 albums Robert Calvert albums UK miners' strike (1984–1985)