WHILE immersing myself in Marc Riley's much-loved BBC6 evening show one night last week, he played Jane Weaver's The Electric Mountain.

Some of the sounds in Jane's great track magically swept me back to the swirling synthesisers of Hawkwind, the masters of the sonic universe who during the 1970s propelled space rock into the main stream of music.

This also reminded me that the Hawklords were playing Kendal's Bootleggers Bar on Thursday, November 15.

Born in 1978, out of the ashes of the Sonic Assassins, Hawklords was the brainchild of the late, great former Hawkwind Robert Calvert. The band's debut release, on the Charisma label, was the album 25 Years On (later editions were released simply as Hawklords. It featured eight excellent tracks, all but one co-written by Robert, and marked a significant departure from the spacey sounds of earlier Hawkwind material. 25 Years On peaked at number 48 in the charts. Two singles were also released: Psi Power and 25 Years.

The Hawklords re-emerged in 2009 with a memorial concert in London for legendary British artist, the late Barney Bubbles, graphic designer for many of Hawkwind's early 1970s albums.

Since 2009 Hawklords have consistently toured Europe and the UK, released two official live concert performances on DVD and have produced six consecutive albums of original music, with album number seven due to be released, worldwide, in October 2018.

They also reset their space-rock clock with the 2017 album release entitled, Six.

From the malevolent maelstrom that is Mind Crime and the intoxicating intrigue of Nightside to the expansive desolation of Los Cavatina, the album breaks the mold with a stark and disturbing, yet sometimes beautiful, body of work, that reaches into spaces where many may fear to tread.

Described by the band as "A study in dystopia and the dark spaces of the mind", it features key former Hawkwind members Harvey Bainbridge (synthesizer, FX and vocals) and Jerry Richards (guitar and vocals), with drummer Dave Pearce, from British psyche-rock band The Bevis Frond, alongside newest band member, bass player Tom Ashurst.

"This record is quite dark in places, yet it reaches for the light, elsewhere: a familiar sound exploring the uncharted territory of the human mind." explained Jerry, . “You can’t have one of these themes without the others; the war cannot be won without the peace that follows, and Love cannot flourish without Peace. All are contingent upon the other and all find their own expression as a symptom of the rest. These are themes which The Hawklords are keen to explore as humanity, once again, faces another ‘Brave New World’ era.”

Hawklords will embark upon a UK tour throughout October and November 2018 promoting their new album Brave New World.

Not to be missed.

Bootleggers on 01539-723824 or email contact@bootleggersbar.com.

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