Van der Graaf Generator are an English rock band, formed at Manchester University in 1967 by singer–songwriter Peter Hammill. On their 1969 debut album, The Aerosol Grey Machine, they crossed psychedelia with darker, haunted sounds, which they codeified on the 1970 albums The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other and H to […]
Nadir’s Big Chance is the fifth solo album by singer-songwriter Peter Hammill, released in February 1975 on Charisma. He’s backed on all eleven songs by the Pawn Hearts lineup of Van der Graaf Generator, which reformed just prior to the sessions for this album. Sleeve notes: “The way of it is this: I was sitting […]
Fool’s Mate is the debut solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1971 on Charisma. Tracklist: A1. “Imperial Zeppelin” (3:38) A2. “Candle” (4:17) A3. “Happy” (2:36) A4. “Solitude” (4:58) A5. “Vision” (3:15) A6. “Re-Awakening” (3:57) B1. “Sunshine” (4:00) B2. “Child” (4:25) B3. “Summer Song (In the Autumn)” (2:13) B4. “Viking” (4:43) B5. “The Birds” […]
The Aerosol Grey Machine is the 1969 debut album by English psychedelic-rock band Van der Graaf Generator, originally issued on Mercury (USA) and Fontana (Germany). Tracklist: A1. “Afterwards” (4:53) A2. “Orthenthian St (Part I)” (2:23) A3. “Orthenthian St (Part II)” (3:53) A4. “Running Back” (6:32) A5. “Into a Game” (5:56) B1. “Aerosol Grey Machine” (0:56) […]
Skin is the fourteenth solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1986 on Virgin/Foundry. Tracklist: A1. “Skin” (4:12) A2. “After the Show” (4:15) A3. “Painting by Numbers” (4:05)* A4. “Shell” (4:10) A5. “All Said and Done” (3:35) B1. “A Perfect Date” (4:10) B2. “Four Pails” (4:24) B3. “Now Lover” (9:45) *7″ b/w “You Hit […]
Security is the North American title of the fourth eponymous studio album by Peter Gabriel, released on September 6, 1982, on Charisma (UK) and Geffen (US, Canada). Its lead-off single, “Shock the Monkey,” became a staple of early MTV. This is Gabriel’s fourth solo album after his 1975 departure from Genesis. Gabriel self-titled his first […]
Patience is the thirteenth solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1983 on Naive Records Ltd. Tracklist: A1. “Labour of Love” (5:50) A2. “Film Noir” (4:13) A3. “Just Good Friends” (4:20) A4. “Jeunesse d’Orée” (4:45) B1. “Traintime” (4:23) B2. “Now More Than Ever” (5:36) B3. “Comfortable?” (4:52) B4. “Patient” (6:11) Credits: Peter Hammill — […]
Enter K is the eleventh solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1982 on Naive Records Ltd. Tracklist: A1. “Paradox Drive” (4:31) A2. “The Unconscious Life” (5:05) A3. “Accidents” (4:35) A4. “The Great Experiment” (5:05) B1. “Don’t Tell Me” (4:42) B2. “She Wraps It Up” (4:20) B3. “Happy Hour” (9:15) Credits: Peter Hammill – […]
Sitting Targets is the tenth solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1981 on Virgin/PVC. Tracklist: A1. “Breakthrough” (3:57) A2. “My Experience” (3:15) A3. “Ophelia” (3:10) A4. “Empress’s Clothes” (4:03) A5. “Glue” (3:40) A6. “Hesitation” (4:07) B1. “Sitting Targets” (5:22) B2. “Stranger Still” (4:54) B3. “Sign” (3:45) B4. “What I Did” (3:39) B5. “Central […]
pH7 is the eighth solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1979 on Charisma. Tracklist: A1. “My Favourite” (2:52) A2. “Careering” (4:06) A3. “Porton Down” (3:41) A4. “Mirror Images” (3:51) A5. “Handicap and Equality” (3:56) A6. “Not for Keith” (2:25) B1. “The Old School Tie” (5:07) B2. “Time for a Change” (3:15) B3. “Imperial […]
The Future Now is the seventh solo album by musician/vocalist Peter Hammill, released in 1978 on Charisma. Tracklist: A1. “Pushing Thirty” (4:18) A2. “The Second Hand” (3:27) A3. “Trappings” (3:29) A4. “The Mousetrap (Caught In)” (4:04) A5. “Energy Vampires” (2:54) A6. “If I Could” (4:35) B1. “The Future Now” (4:11) B2. “Still in the Dark” […]
Peter Hammill (born Nov. 5, 1948) is an English singer–songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose musical career dates back to the late 1960s. He first rose to prominence as the frontman of Van der Graaf Generator, which he co-founded at Manchester University in 1967. Over the next eleven years, he recorded eight studio albums with the band. […]
The Quiet Zone / The Pleasure Dome is the eighth album by English art-rock band Van der Graaf, released in 1977 on Charisma. The band dropped “Generator” from their nameplate following the departure of organist Hugh Banton and the addition of violinist Graham Smith into the lineup. The album would be the band’s final studio […]
Etceteraville is a U.S.-only album by English New Wave/art-rockers Random Hold, produced by Peter Hammill and released in 1980 on Passport. The album collects three tracks from the concurrent U.K. Polydor release The View From Here, three cuts from the band’s 1979 self-titled EP, one b-side, and two songs unique to this release. Tracklist: A1. “What […]
Pawn Hearts is the fourth album by English symphonic/psych band Van der Graaf Generator, released in 1971 on Charisma. Tracklist: A1. “Lemmings (Including Cog)” (11:39) A2. “Theme One” (2:33)* A3. “Man-Erg” (10:21) B. “A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers” (23:04) –a. “Eyewitness” (2:25) –b. “Pictures/Lighthouse” (3:10) –c. “Eyewitness” (0:54) –d. “S.H.M.” (1:57) –e. “Presence of the […]
