Retitle - Bootlegs and Tour News

[Star Rats]

To all listmembers,
                The Welcome To The Future site has just been updated to include the 1997
Tour Dates for the UK and the open letter from Doug regarding the new CD
release entitled 'Onward Flys the Bird - Live and Rare'.

In the letter he sent to me to put on the site, there was a PS regarding
certain activity on this group.

The PS went like this:

'PS for all of you that are planning to bookleg Hawkwind, Family and
Friend's albums via BOC/HW, they would be grateful if you didn't.'

Now I've been a fan for many, many years know that most Hawkwind fans have
a private collection of shows on tape, and this in itself does no harm to
the band - we treasure those tapes as some of them are of shows that we've
been to. Most tapes have been swapped between fans for other tapes and
there is only a small percent of boots that have actually been paid for at
record fairs where someone actually does make money from the band without
consent.

I have noticed that there have been some on the BOC-HW list that have been
talking about putting out CDs and CD-rs. In this new age of digital
technology these mainly innocent CDs are easily copied by the unscrupulous
bootleggers that do intend to make a quick buck from the band. If I have
noticed this (and I don't pay a huge amount of attention to the daily
postings on the group), you can bet your bollocks that other people will
and may take action - this doesn't just mean the band themselves by any means.

I am just trying to point out that the list archives are kept for all to
read, that the band are really trying to stop the bootlegs that get
distributed without consent and without any payment to shops/mail order
firms/record fairs etc., and would urge you to keep an eye on things from
now on.

Yours with sincere wishes and in all due respect,
                                                        Star Rats