''The Earth Ritual Preview'' is a 1984 (see

1984 in music This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1984. __TOC__ Specific locations *1984 in British music * 1984 in Norwegian music Specific genres * 1984 in country music *1984 in heavy metal music * 1984 in hip hop music ...

) EP by the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

space rock Space rock is a music genre characterized by loose and lengthy song structures centered on instrumental textures that typically produce a hypnotic, otherworldly sound. It may feature distorted and reverberation-laden guitars, minimal drummin ...

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 ...

. It spent two weeks on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

peaking at #86. The EP is included on the remastered version of '' The Chronicle of the Black Sword'' album. The EP was a taster for a proposed full blown ''Earth Ritual'' album and tour, that would have involved Robert Calvert and Barney Bubbles, as a follow-up to 1972's ''

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 ...

''. However, the project was delayed in favour of ''The Chronicle of the Black Sword'' collaboration with

Michael Moorcock Michael John Moorcock (born 18 December 1939) is an English writer, best-known for science fiction and fantasy, who has published a number of well-received literary novels as well as comic thrillers, graphic novels and non-fiction. He has worke ...

, then abandoned following Calvert's death in August 1988. The EP is dedicated to Bubbles, who committed suicide just prior to its release. The group's line-up was in flux at the time, with guitarists

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

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. ...

and bassist

Harvey Bainbridge Harvey Frederick Bainbridge (born 24 September 1949, Dorset) is an English people, English bass guitar, bass and Keyboard (instrument), keyboard player. He is best known as the bass player and keyboard player in Hawkwind. Career Bainbridge's f ...

being the constant. Saxophonist Nik Turner and keyboardist Dead Fred had joined the group, although neither appeared on any of these recordings, they were part of the touring group. Former bassist Lemmy makes a guest appearance on "Night of the Hawks". The group had tried a succession of drummers: Andy Anderson had been suitable but left to join

The Cure The Cure are an English rock band formed in 1978 in Crawley, West Sussex. Throughout numerous lineup changes since the band's formation, guitarist, lead vocalist, and songwriter Robert Smith has remained the only constant member. The band's ...

; Lloyd-Langton Group drummer John Clark plays on "Dragons and Fables", but Brock felt he was unsuitable for the group; drum technician Robert Heaton plays on "Green Finned Demon", but he was committed to his own group New Model Army; and the track "Night of the Hawk" uses a drum loop. For the tour, Rick Martinez drummed but he was replaced part way through by Clive Deamer. The group undertook a 35 date UK tour in February and March 1984 to promote the album, with support from Bronz. Various former members, including Lemmy, Moorcock and Dave Anderson, made guest appearances at various shows. The Ipswich Gaumont show on 9 March was filmed and released as '' Night of the Hawks''.

Track listing

A-Side

#"Night of the Hawks" (Brock)*

B-side

#"Green Finned Demon" (Calvert/Brock)* #"Dream Dancers" (Brock/Bainbridge) #"Dragons & Fables" (Lloyd-Langton) * The 7" single version features a shortened version of "Night of the Hawks" and "Green Finned Demon" as the sole B-side track

Personnel

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected strin ...

, keyboards,

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

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 ...

, keyboards,

;guests * Lemmy -

on "Night of the Hawks" * Rob Heaton - drums on "Green Finned Demon" * John Clark - drums on "Dragons & Fables"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Earth Ritual Preview, The Hawkwind albums 1984 EPs Space rock EPs