HW: with and without when

[Jon Browne]

In message <Pine.SUN.3.91.960606112925.10450A-100000 at helios.dmu.ac.uk>, 
Maxine Wesley <mxw at DMU.AC.UK> writes
>When I listen to Hawkwind I hear music not personalities, yet the
>music is made by all individuals past and present who have played so I
>can only conclude that 'Hawkwind' is not a mammalian
>entity but the music itself irrespective of ownership. If I see NT and
>the music _sounds_ like Hawkwind then I'm perfectly in my right to nod my
>head in satisfaction and say "Yep, that's Hawkwind alright"
>
>
>.02 worth
>
>
>Maxine

I do agree largely, and even Dave admits the band is good, but you have 
to put yourself in Dave's position. I mean, what's the point of laying 
out £x,000 in tour support for a May tour, if "Hawkwind" have just been 
through town three weeks earlier. Not *everyone* is going to see both 
shows and not *everyone* is going to know the full story, in order to 
make an informed decision. As it goes Nik is my favorite Hawk. And some 
of the *best* gigs I've ever seen in my life were Inner City Unit shows, 
who, on average usually turned in a more exciting show than the Hawks' 
IMO. In fact, the best Hawkwind gig I ever saw was Stonehenge '84, 
largely due to Nik's theatrics (and the new bass player!) but Dave's put 
his *life* into Hawkwind, year after year, and it really is going to 
undermine the group's efforts if _anyone_ else goes out as "Hawkwind".

As has been said, it really is a legal issue. And  I don't think Dave is 
being petulant in wishing to prevent his intellectual property being 
usurped. In fact, I would be astonished if he irresponsibly allowed Nik 
to walk off with what amounts to his life's work. It's nothing to do 
with a materialistic attitude, the injunction was clearly a defensive 
measure.

I trust Nik still gets whatever royalties he's due from the tracks he 
wrote. I'm sure he isn't being ripped by Doug, Dave or anyone else. But 
in all honestly why would he call his new band Hawkwind if it wasn't 
*money* at the end of the day? I'm surprised he's coming the innocent, 
like he didn't know what he was doing. I'm surprised by the whole affair 
really, considering how brilliant everything Nik's done is. I would 've 
thought he'd have more pride than that. Space Ritual is a fine name for 
the band, too.
-- 
Jon Browne