HW: Saying goodbye

[J Strobridge]

Dear Dale,

Star Rats writes:

> Well, yes you got my name right but I'm a little sceptical about posting
> anything to the group because things get pretty out of hand.
>
> Suffice to say that the promoter in question is being brough to bear, the
> current tour itinery is up on the site and you will see that advertsments
> for the gigs have been distributed.
>
> In light of this and other events on the list (and due to the large amount
> of non-Hawkwind mail I already receive by being on it), I will not be
> participating in the list in the future. Any questions about the band's
> activities can be sent to Star_Rats at hawkwind.com or viewed from the web
> site, which is updated as soon as I receive new information from either
> EMI, the band or EBS.
>
> Signing off,


You probably won't get this in time but I'm sorry to see you are leaving
and I'm sorry you feel this way and I'm particularly sorry you are
taking so personally what are, after all, just people's opinions.

Maybe they are wrong opinions - maybe they are so astronomically wrong
and ill-informed that they resemble nothing more divorced from reality
than the opinion (widely held) that no man has ever stood upon the
surface of the Moon.   But such is the nature of things.   If people
*are* misinformed then surely all it needs is to point this out.  You are
clearly MUCH closer to the band and its organisational structure than
many other folk I know and I would respect your opinion even as a simple
"you are completely wrong in every sense in this instance" statement.
And if you wish to say nothing more than that then, fine, there's no
requirement to expand on details or to take misinformed opinion as an
insult either to the band or anyone else.

In fact, two immediately interesting points did seem to me to emerge:

Firstly: that people care about the band and are desperate to offer
advice, opinions, views or anything else that might help out.
These may be misdirected but it's a bit harsh to condemn folk for
caring.

Secondly: that people hold the opinions they do.   Whether these views
are right or wrong, the fact is that this is how people view the
situation.   If they are wrong then something in the profile of how the
band is presented to people is wrong.   If this *is* the case then
perhaps it is something that needs looking at urgently.    Maybe some
quiet sensible public relations would do more than anything else to
help.   But then Hawkwind have never really been much into the
public relations scene (as far as I am aware!).

As I say I'm sorry you feel annoyed enough to leave but also many thanks
for the contributions you have made while being here.

jill

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J.D.Strobridge at ed.ac.uk                         eset08 at holyrood.ed.ac.uk
                                                ELIJSA at srv0.arts.ed.ac.uk
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