Hawklords at 100 Club (10 Nov 24)

I have absolutely no idea where time goes! I would have sworn blind that I last saw Hawklords in spring 24 but my calendar is pretty convinced that it was in October 23.

It also told me that the first time I saw them was at 100 Club in November 2014 so this was something of a tenth anniversary. It was also my fifth time of seeing them at 100 Club and the eighth time that I have seen them altogether.

I guess that makes me a fan, certainly enough of one to pay £25 to see them play live again.

Travel worked well and I got to 100 Club just before the 7:30 opening time and joined a couple of dozen of similarly aged people, mostly men.

Getting in early got me the place I wanted at the front next to one of the annoying pillars.

The support band, The Galileo 7, entertained mightily with a distinctly British but hard to categorise sound. They describe themselves as "psych-pop", which works.

This Hawklords was the same lineup as last time with Jerry Richards on guitar and vocals, Mr Dibs on bass and twiddly electronics, and Dave Pearce on percussion. Being a three-piece is not ideal for 100 Club which has an extremely wide stage so they were well spaced out and there was a notable gap in the middle where a front man would have been.

That gap was filled for some songs by Capt Rizz, also a former member of Hawkwind, who made quite a difference with his movement, outfit and singing. 

Hawklords had anew album to promote, Relativity (the appropriate sequel to "Time" and "Space") and I assume that most of the songs that I did not recognise, and there were a lot of them, came from this. I did recognise the occasional Hawkwind classic, e.g. Brainstorm, that made it into the set but these did not differ musically,

I enjoyed their previous gig, at The Forge in Camden, even though it seemed to lack something, perhaps the sound was not quite right or perhaps the venue was too bright, and at 100 Club those niggles were absent and the concert was truly excellent throughout. Even the audience, which can be problematic at times, were on top form.

Hawklords have settled into a nice rhythm with the current line-up and songs and I'll remain a fan for as long as that rhythm continues.

Hawklords at 100 Club (2017)

Hawklords are one of the select few bands that I try to see whenever they play a local venue, which in recent years has been once a year in November. I saw them at the 100 Club on 8 Nov 14 and 6 Nov 16. They played a different venue in November 15 but I had to miss that as I inadvertently booked a holiday for that time.

All the chatter on social media before the gig was about the absence of long time Ron Tree from the tour and I was curious to see what the line-up would be. In the end there was no surprise and the remaining four band members (Jerry Richards, Tom Ashurst, Harvey Bainbridge and Dave Pearce) shared the duties with Jerry doing the lion's share of the work.

Despite leading the team on both vocals and guitar, Jerry took his usual position on the right of the stage with bassist Tom taking the central position and Harvey on the left. The use of a projector meant that only the centre of the stage was lit and that meant only Tom.

Presumably as part of a deliberate plan, Jerry, Tom and Dave all wore black allowing Harvey's psychedelic shirt to stand out even more than usual despite being in relative darkness.

I took a photo of the setlist before the performance and the only tracks I recognised were Right Stuff and Ejection, both oddly from the Bob Calvert side project Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters which none of Hawklords worked on. There were four (out of seven) tracks from their latest album, Six, and three from their previous album, Fusion.

Not knowing the songs did not matter as the sound and construction were familiar enough. Each new tune and rhythm was quickly learned and enjoyed. This was music to dance to or, in my case, sway slightly from side to side to. At times they sounded more like seventies Hawkwind than Hawkwind do these days.

Hawklords played sixteen songs altogether in a set that lasted almost two hours. You do the maths. It was a mighty fine two hours too with Hawklords doing everything that the enthusiastic (and well behaved this time) audience expected and hoped for. It was a very loyal following too and there was an impressive number of Hawklords t-shirts on show.

I suspect that it will be another year before I will be able to see Hawklords again. Not ideal but far better than not seeing them at all.

Hawklords at the 100 Club

I had seen several bands that had grown out of Hawkwind, including Space Ritual and Psychedelic Warlords, as well as several Hawkwind tribute bands like Hoaxwind, but I had never seen Hawklords before.

I had the opportunity to rectify that mistake when they played the 100 Club on the last night of their Infinite Loop tour.

I was not sure what to expect as I knew that they wrote their own music and would obviously be playing a lot of this. What I did not know was how much Hawkwind they would also play, if any. In the end it did not matter very much as there was a common feel to all the songs that they played; I just assumed that the ones I recognised were by Hawkwind and the rest by Hawklords.

I took my usual position at the front and to the left of the stage early on and managed to maintain a good view throughout the concert despite a few incursions by enthusiastic alcohol-fuelled dancers. What I did not know until the band came on was that my chosen position would place me more or less next to lead guitarist Jerry Richards.

Jerry was a revelation!

I knew of Jerry from his Space Ritual days and then he was a timid bass player who hid at the back except when called on for a few vocals. I recall speaking to him briefly once at one of the Notting Hill gigs (in 2009, probably) when he went to the bar to ask for a cup of tea, which he almost apologised for. Here he played lead guitar like a proper lead guitarist. His intricate playing added texture to the music and his bent-knee stance made him look the part.

The other key ingredient for the sound was Harvey Bainbridge keyboards which he played almost motionless in the comparative dark on the far-left of the stage. Not everybody wants to play the rock star.

The line up was completed by Ron Tree on vocals, a ridiculously young bassist and a drummer. If Hawklords had a decent website I could tell you who they were.

The Hawklords album from 1978 was celebrated with a version of Flying Doctor and the other Hawkwind songs that I recognised were (mostly) from this period if not this album. One of my highlights of the show was a spacey instrumental that somehow morphed into Uncle Sam's on Mars from PXR5 (1979).

Adding to the evening was a suitably psychedelic light show. I know the music is the important thing but a good light show always helps and the lack of one is my main complaint against the Borderline.

The few manic dancers aside, everybody was well behaved and there was a good atmosphere in the audience, as there always is when everybody if having a good time. And everybody did have a very good time. All the music, be it by Hawkwind or Hawklords was excellent, and was delivered in a style that was all Hawklords.

Unsurprisingly, Hawklords have now been added to my must-see list of bands.

Hawklords Implosion

After two aborted attempts earlier this year, the Hawklords Implosion, a memorial concert for Barney Bubbles, final landed with a bang at the 229 Club in Great Portland Street.

The event ran from 3pm to 10pm and featured concerts by The Imperial Pompadours, Inner City Unit, Quintessence and Hawklords, as well as Robert Calvert's play about Jimi Hendrix, The Stars That Play With Laughing Sam's Dice. With a line-up like that I was certain to be going!

The afternoon started with us all packed in an unimpressive bunker that looked more as though it was designed to protect Londoners from imminent nuclear destruction rather than entertain anybody. It had a bar though and a Grolsch, even at £3.70 a pint in a plastic vessel, was a welcome relief.

A little while later the truth was revealed and we moved from the cramped ante-room into a proper concert hall with a high stage and lots of space for milling and dancing. As always I headed towards the front.


The Imperial Pompadours were on first with an eclectic set that told a story that I could not follow, not that it matter in the least as the music was good and that is what I was there for.

Nik Turner was back on stage a short while later, this time with Inner City Unit. This was a rockier set and was much appreciated by the crowd most of whom near to me where already very familiar with the music.

Apart from the opening number, which Space Ritual usually play, the songs were all new to me but they were accessible and a lot of fun.

Next it was back into the bunker for the Bob Calvert play. Unfortunately the bunker was very noisy but fortunately I was able to get close enough to the front to hear the two actors. The play impressed me and I'd like to see some performed in a theatre some time.

Quintessence were on the main stage by this time, which helped to clear some of the rowdier elements from the bunker, and I just managed to catch the last part of their last song. That was enough.

Then we had the main act, various Hawkwind legends playing under the name Hawklords with a re-enactment of Space Ritual. With a set list like that and the all-star line-up they could hardly go wrong, and they didn't. It was an excellent and very enjoyable performance. Dancing happened. Lots of it.

I was not too sure what to make of Ron Tree's distinctive vocals but, if nothing else, they served to make the versions quite different from the ones that I am familiar with.

There was time for a little more at the end and I was delighted when we jumped forward a few years to the late 70s' Charisma era with Steppenwolf and Psi Power. And after some input from the happy audience the evening ended with, no surprises, Silver Machine.

It was a long day with plenty of standing and only a packet of mini cheddars for sustenance but boy was it worth it. It was certainly a brave experiment having four sets, and a play, over an afternoon and evening, and it was great to see that bravery so richly rewarded.