Centigrade 232
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''Centigrade 232'' is an album and a book of poems by English writer and musician Robert Calvert, recorded in 1986 and released in 2007. The poem Centigrade 232 was set to music by Spirits Burning in 2001. Some titles were set to music by
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 ...
and issued as ''The Brock/Calvert Project'' in 2007.


Overview

Calvert had regarded himself first and foremost as a poet and writer and his original involvement with the English 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 hard ...
from 1971 was as a lyricist and narrator of "space-age poetry" at gigs. It was later as a solo performer and his second spell with Hawkwind from 1976 that he had become more recognised as being a singer and front-man of a rock band, but he continued actively writing poems and plays during this time. In 1977 a collection of his poems were compiled and published by Quasar books, the title being (allegedly) the temperature at which writing paper burns "signifying the writer destroying his rough drafts".www.aural-innovations.com
– The works of Robert Calvert – part III: 1976 – '78
This is an allusion to the
Ray Bradbury Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery fictio ...
novel ''
Fahrenheit 451 ''Fahrenheit 451'' is a 1953 dystopian novel by American writer Ray Bradbury. Often regarded as one of his best works, ''Fahrenheit 451'' presents an American society where books have been personified and outlawed and "firemen" burn any that ar ...
'' and possibly the film thereof, 451 °F being equivalent to 232 Centigrade. Some of the poems are pieces he had performed with Hawkwind during the ''
Space Ritual ''The Space Ritual Alive in Liverpool and London'' (commonly known as ''Space Ritual'') is a 1973 live double album recorded in 1972 by UK rock band Hawkwind. It is their fourth album, reached #9 in the UK album charts and briefly dented the ...
'' show, such as "The First Landing on Medusa" which was performed as "The Awakening". Others would be adapted into Hawkwind songs, such as "The Starfarer's Despatch" and "The Clone's Poem" which were combined into " Spirit of the Age". The poem "Circle Line" won the
Capital Radio Capital London is a radio station owned and operated by the Global media company as part of its national Capital FM Network. As Capital Radio it was launched in the London area in 1973 as one of Britain's first two commercial radio stations. ...
Poetry Award in 1975. The book received a launch party at Battersea Arts Centre, London, which also featured performances from
Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...
lyricist Pete Brown and
Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...
's
Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966) ...
and
Gilli Smyth Gillian Mary Smyth (1 June 1933 – 22 August 2016) was an English musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong, and Planet Gong and released several solo albums and albums in collaboration with other members of Gong. In Gong, she ...
. In 1986 Calvert started issuing cassette tapes of his work under the imprint of Harbour Publications. One of these tapes was the full recitation of the ''Centigrade 232'' collection. Other releases comprised recitations of the unpublished ''Earth Ritual'' poems collection and two music tapes, ''Blueprints from the Cellar'' Volumes 1 and 2, which contained home demos of songs, some of which would be released in completed form on the albums '' Freq'' and '' Test Tube Conceived''. Calvert's ''Centigrade 232'' tape recitation was first used with music on the second Spirits Burning album ''Reflections in a Radio Shower'', released in 2001.
Don Falcone Don Falcone (born November 5, 1958) is an American producer and multi-instrumentalist, and the guiding light behind the Spirits Burning space-rock collective. In Spirits Burning and other offshoot bands and projects, his primary collaborations ...
took the original recording of Calvert reading his poem ''Centigrade 232'' and integrated it into the track ''Drive-By Poetry''. Lines from another Centigrade 232 poem ("Ode To A Crystal Set") appear on the CD's opening track ''Second Degree Soul Sparks''. In October 2007,
Voiceprint Records Voiceprint Records was a British independent record label based in England, founded in November 1990 by Rob Ayling. They specialised in re-releasing old material, especially progressive rock, but also had new releases, under the Resurgence and B ...
re-issued ''Centigrade 232'' in a package containing both a reprint of the 1977 book and a CD of the 1986 recitations. Voiceprint Records label head Rob Ayling passed a copy of the cassette tape of Calvert's recitations to
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 biogra ...
and asked him to set some of the titles to music. The music was played by the then current line-up of Hawkwind, but some titles were lost at the mixing stage delaying the release until August 2007.www.davebrockrobertcalvertproject.com
– The Brock/Calvert Project official mini-site
The release was credited to the Brock/Calvert Project.


Centigrade 232 album


Track listing

All titles by Robert Calvert ;The First Landing on Medusa #"Swing" #"Ode to a Crystal Set" #"The First Landing on Medusa" #"Ode to a Time Flower" #"Some Sketches of a Hand" #"The Starfarer's Despatch" #"Song of the Gremlin" #"The Pause" #"The Clone's Poem" #"Centigrade 232" #"Fahrenheit 451" #"The Naked And Transparent Man Gives Thanks" ;Buster Keaton and the Virgin Sperm Dancer #"Dance Steps" #"Lines for a Conception Card" #"Lady with a Looking Glass" #"The Siren" #"Buster Keaton and the Virgin Sperm Dancer" #"Your Time" #"A Refusal To Mourn The Removal, By Surgery, Of Two Benign Tumours" #"Circle Line" #"An Unposted Letter" ;The Urban Mountaineer #"The Clerk" #"Cleaning A Rapidograph" #"A Letter of Complaint to the Council" #"Fly on the Screen" #"The Recovery" #"Nail Biter" #"Mountaineering in Suburbia" #"The Last Kitten" #"Caterpillar" #"Snowfall" #"Insomnia" #"Storm" #"Overslept" #"The Day We Hunted Birdsong" #"Fountains in the Park" #"Coots" #"Ragworm in a Rock Pool" #"Shell" #"Beachcombing" ;Ragworm in a Rock Pool #"Seagulls (1)" #"Seagulls (2)" #"Recollections of a Seaside Love Affair" #"The Drowned Man" ;The Red Baron Regrets #"Churchill's Secret Rock Deal" #"The Red Baron Regrets" #"John Keats at Margate" #"Voodoo Child (In Memory of Jimi Hendrix)" #"The Legend of Ezra Pound"


Use by Spirits Burning


Tracks with Calvert

Calvert appears on two tracks on the CD Reflections In a Radio Shower. All words by the vocalists and lyricists on the track. All music by all personnel on the track. *Track 1: "Second Degree Soul Sparks" *Track 3: "Drive-By Poetry"


Personnel

*
Daevid Allen Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015), known professionally as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian musician. He was co-founder of the psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966) ...
– track 1 guitar, end vocals' track 3 haiku voice * Robert Calvert – track 1 recitation of lines from "Ode To A Crystal Set"; track 3 "Centigrade 232" reading *Michael Clare – track 1 bass *
Don Falcone Don Falcone (born November 5, 1958) is an American producer and multi-instrumentalist, and the guiding light behind the Spirits Burning space-rock collective. In Spirits Burning and other offshoot bands and projects, his primary collaborations ...
– track 1 bass synth, samples, outro vibes; track 3 bass, digi scrubs, chorus *Carl Howard – track 3 main synth *Jerry Jeter – track 3 guitar *Roger Neville-Neil – track 1 and 3 lyricist *Steve Palmer – track 1 swirling synths; track 3 additional synth and Mac sounds *Neil Pinnock – track 1 and 3 didgeridoo *Bruce Smith – track 3 drums * ST 37 – track 3 intro crashes and godzilla spikes *Thom The World Poet – track 1 and 3 vocals * Trevor Thoms – track 1 guitar *Paul Williams – track 1 vibes, synths, trons


Use by The Brock/Calvert Project


Track listing

All words by Robert Calvert. All music by
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 biogra ...
, except 9 and 11 by Brock and Jason Stuart #"First Landing on Medusa" #"The Siren" #"Ode to a Timeflower" #"Small Boy (The Swing)" #"Centigrade 232" #"Dance Steps" #"The Naked and the Transparent Man Gives Thanks" #"The Cupboard" #"Long Time Friend" #"Letter of Complaint to the Council" #"Locked In" #"Some Sketches of a Hand"


Personnel

* Robert Calvert – recitation *
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 biogra ...
– guitar, synths, keyboards, vocals *Jason Stuart – keyboards * Alan Davey – bass *Richard Chadwick – drums *Trixie Smith – vocals


Release history

*1977 – Quasar Publications – book *1986 – Harbour Publications – Cassette tape *2001 – Gazul Records (GA 8647.AR) – Spirits Burning ''Reflections in a Radio Shower'' CD *October 2007 – Voiceprint Records (VP403CDMO) – CD and book *August 2007 – Voiceprint Records (HAWKVP42CD) – ''The Brock/Calvert Project'' CD


References

{{Authority control 2007 albums Robert Calvert albums Hawkwind albums