"Quark, Strangeness and Charm" is a 1977 song by the UK rock group

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 ha ...

, being the title track from the '' Quark, Strangeness and Charm'' album. The title references

quark A quark () is a type of elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. All common ...

s which are sub-atomic particles; "

strangeness In particle physics, strangeness ("''S''") is a property of particles, expressed as a quantum number, for describing decay of particles in strong and electromagnetic interactions which occur in a short period of time. The strangeness of a parti ...

" and "

charm Charm may refer to: Social science * Charisma, a person or thing's pronounced ability to attract others * Superficial charm, flattery, telling people what they want to hear Science and technology * Charm quark, a type of elementary particle * Cha ...

" are playful terms used by physicists to refer to how many

strange Strange may refer to: Fiction * Strange (comic book), a comic book limited series by Marvel Comics * Strange (Marvel Comics), one of a pair of Marvel Comics characters known as The Strangers * Adam Strange, a DC Comics superhero * The title cha ...

and

quarks are within a particle. The lyrics take a humorous look at certain famous physicists' romantic failures.

1977 single

It was released as a single in the UK (CB305) on 29 July 1977, being a slightly different version to the one on the album. Some European copies had a different B-side, such as Germany, which featured "The Iron Dream" instead. The single version was subsequently included on the 1980 '' Repeat Performance'' compilation album. At the time Hawkwind shared the same management as

Marc Bolan Marc Bolan ( ; born Mark Feld; 30 September 1947 – 16 September 1977) was an English guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was a pioneer of the glam rock movement in the early 1970s with his band T. Rex. Bolan was posthumously inducted into ...

and so were given a slot on the ''

Marc Marc or MARC may refer to: People * Marc (given name), people with the first name * Marc (surname), people with the family name Acronyms * MARC standards, a data format used for library cataloging, * MARC Train, a regional commuter rail system o ...

Granada Television ITV Granada, formerly known as Granada Television, is the ITV franchisee for the North West of England and Isle of Man. From 1956 to 1968 it broadcast to both the north west and Yorkshire but only on weekdays as ABC Weekend Television was it ...

programme to promote it. Brock declined to appear, either being unwilling to drive to Manchester for the filming or holding a long time grudge against Bolan. For the pre-recording of the music on this show, Shaw played guitar while Calvert mimed playing guitar during the filming.

Track listing

# "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (Calvert/Brock) – 3:06 # "The Forge of Vulcan" (House) – 3:05

Personnel

Robert Calvert Robert Newton Calvert (9 March 1945 – 14 August 1988) was a South African- British writer, poet, and musician. He is principally known for his role as lyricist, performance poet and lead vocalist of the space rock band Hawkwind. Early lif ...

–

vocal The human voice consists of sound made by a human being using the vocal tract, including talking, singing, laughing, crying, screaming, shouting, humming or yelling. The human voice frequency is specifically a part of human sound producti ...

, percussion *

Dave Brock David Anthony Brock (born 20 August 1941) is an English musician. He plays electric guitar, keyboards, bass and oscillators. He is a founder, sole constant member and musical focus of the space rock group Hawkwind.Allmusic– Dave Brock biog ...

– electric lead and rhythm guitars *

Simon House Simon House (born 29 August 1948 in Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England) is a British composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. Career Before his time with H ...

– acoustic and electric pianos * Adrian Shaw –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...

* Simon King –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

Credits

* Recorded at

Rockfield Studios Rockfield Studios is a residential recording studio located in the Wye Valley just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire, Wales. It was originally founded in 1963 by brothers Kingsley and Charles Ward. Facilities Rockfield is a two- ...

, February 1977 * Produced by Hawkwind * Engineered by Dave Charles

Live versions

The song only briefly featured in Hawkwind's live set in 1977 with one recording surviving, released on both the ''

Hawkwind Anthology The ''Hawkwind Anthology'' series of records were originally issued mid-1980s containing live and outtake material from Hawkwind's career to that date. Dave Brock compiled the package, essentially a best of ''The Weird Tapes'', for rele ...

'' and '' Weird Tape Volume 2'' albums. It was briefly resurrected at the end of 1993 for the tour of the '' It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous'' album and remained until the end of 1994.

1994 EP

In 1994, Hawkwind recorded a new version of the song with significant rewriting of the music. This version was also included on the album ''

The Business Trip ''The Business Trip'' is a 1994 live album by the English space rock group Hawkwind. It was recorded at the Slough gig of the group's 1993 tour to promote the ''It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous'' album. Although credited as ...

''.

Track listing

#"Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Red Planet Radio Mix) – 2:43 #"Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (Calvert/Brock) – 6:24 #"Black Sun" – 9:34 #"Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Martian Conquest Mix) – 6:53

Personnel

*Dave Brock – guitar, vocals, keyboards, synthesisers *Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals, synthesisers *Richard Chadwick – drums, percussion * Astralasia – remixes

Release history

*Sep 1994 – UK – Emergency Broadcast Sysrem Records – 12" vinyl (EBT 110) and CD (EBCD 110) *Nov 1994 – USA – Griffin – CD (GCD 312-2)

Other versions

A new acoustic version of "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" was included on '' The Road to Utopia'' (2018), produced and arranged by

Mike Batt Michael Philip Batt, LVO (born 6 February 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician, arranger, record producer, director and conductor. He was formerly the Deputy Chairman of the British Phonographic Industry. Having achieved substantia ...

with additional orchestrations.

Cover versions

The Stranglers The Stranglers are an English rock band who emerged via the punk rock scene. Scoring 23 UK top 40 singles and 19 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are one of the longest-surviving bands to have origin ...

Jean-Jacques Burnel Jean-Jacques Burnel (born 21 February 1952) is an English musician, producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist and co-lead vocalist with the English rock band The Stranglers. He is the last founding member to remain in the band. ...

has long been an admirer of the song, stating it was "a song I'd really fucking wish I'd written". He has performed versions of the song with Three Men and Black.The Saga of Hawkwind, Carol Clerk, p. 176.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Quark, Strangeness And Charm (Song) Hawkwind songs 1977 singles Songs written by Robert Calvert Songs written by Dave Brock 1977 songs Charisma Records singles 1994 EPs