What BOC/HW connection????

[Andy Gilham]

A frequently asked question if ever there was one... :)

Actually, I'm with Troy, BOC and HW were my two favourite bands by miles back
when I was a student (sometime in the Cretaceous Era), and before then I was
into Moorcock, so this list supplies nearly all my on-line needs...

It *is* hard to define the connection, with the exception of Moorcock...  for
instance, Bolle Gregmar, who would gladly die for BOC, is very rude indeed
about Hawkwind!  The refusal to "dumb down" must be high on the list of
similarities - the eschewal of "gonna rock you all night long" lyrics in
favour of, eg, "it flies sideways through time", or "the seasons don't fear
the Reaper" (just to look at their biggest hits).  And not all the lyrics of
either outfit are sf, by any means.  (One of the main reasons "Let Go" gets
such abuse, I'm sure, is that it insults the intelligence of the listener.
 And recall the roasting "silicon chip in my head" got last year.  We - the
fans of both groups - *care* about the lyrics.)

In terms of sounds, they went in quite different directions (and HW are still
evolving, even if BOC ground to a halt long ago), but surely both bands in
their way owe a large debt to the Detroit bands (MC5, Stooges)?

- Andy