HW: Important XMAS Show Announcement - to RIK AND HW crew!

[Paul Mather]

On Wed, 12 Dec 2001, M Holmes wrote:

=> Kenneth Magnusson writes:
=>
=> > Hahaha !
=> >
=> > This will be interesting, collectors from all over the world will get
=> > tickets but will not be able to attend and thus HW will play before a
=> > sold out but empty hall
=>
=> It's headed that way. Could someone please tell the band that Voiceprint
=> are pissing off the folks who pay their wages?
=>
=> If there was any way to get worse publicity than Nik managed with that
=> dumb CD release, then this has gotta be it. Congratulations folks. This
=> is stupidity way above and beyond the call of duty.

This whole affair reminds me why I'm glad I'm no longer a kollector.  (I
came to the shock realisation long ago that my life could still be
complete without owning, or even having heard, every official Hawkwind
release.:)  But this latest band offer must be hell on kollectors who,
for a variety of reasons (money, prior obligations, health problems,
etc.) can't be at the gig.  I feel bad for them, especially kollectors
outside the UK!

I know the Xmas party gig is a special event, and the charitable in me
thinks this offer is actually a very nice gesture to those that attend,
to make it even more "extra special"---kind of like a Xmas present from
the band for attending.  But, a small cynical voice also notes there was
no stipulation about the ticket stub being a used ticket stub, making me
wonder if the vested interest is in ensuring ticket sales rather than
rewarding gig attendance.  (I know, terribly cynical...)

Like I said, this is hell on the diehard kollectors.  But, before they
give up all hope, they should consider the following:

1) The probability of any given Hawkwind track not ending up on multiple
subsequent scattered releases is vanishingly small.  (See Codex for
details.:)  It's likely that although *perhaps* this CD won't see
subsequent wider release, that its content won't crop up as filler here
and there somewhere down the line.

2) Hawkwind have just created an instant bootleg.  Look for another
_Masters of the Universe_ (Xmas 2001) to crop up from a bootlegger with
an eye for a hungry kollector market.

3) Expect this disc to appear on eBay post haste for kollectors who want
an original copy.  Non-kollectors just wanting the music will no doubt
simply blag theirs onto CD-R and sell the original.  Given the sometimes
high prices that out of print Hawkwind CDs often command, who knows,
maybe this could be one way of financing a ticket to the Xmas gig
(recoup your ticket price by selling the CD to American kollectors who
can't go)?...

Like I said, I'm glad I'm no longer a kollector.  I hope this release is
not the start of a trend...

Cheers,

Paul.

e-mail: paul at gromit.dlib.vt.edu

"Without music to decorate it, time is just a bunch of boring production
 deadlines or dates by which bills must be paid."
        --- Frank Vincent Zappa