THEORIES, RANTS, ETC

MOJO welcomes letters for publication. Write to: Mojo Mail, Endeavour House, 189 Shaftesbury Ave, London WC2H 8JG. NEW E-mail: mojoreaders@bauermedia.co.uk

Floyd, Hawkwind, prog and thanks for Bowie!

Rally the land to rebellion

I have to say that I really enjoyed your decision to get Roger Waters to revisit Animals [MOJO 282]. The album has always been a totally underrated part of Floyd’s canon, known for its imagery rather than for its music. But its themes and feel are key to their development, so thank you for rehabilitating it. The only downside? I have to say that, as your piece mentioned, its relevance right now is rather frightening… Roger Smythe, via e-mail

What do you see?

With regards to your piece on Pink Floyd’s exhibition, Their Mortal Remains, I laughed out loud at Nick Mason’s dismissal of the idea based on the fact that the band were “a bit short on costumes”. I, for one, want to see Dave Gilmour’s Pig shirt (as shown on page 74 of your issue) housed in a glass case for us all to marvel at! Pauline Jonas, via e-mail

Anti-music missiles

I will give you my house, my car, all of my money – I’ll even sell you my soul and grandmother – if you promise never to publish another feature about Pink Floyd!! Please, please I beg you! Tony Dawson-Hill, via e-mail

I don’t want to alarm you

Your last CD – Pigs Might Fly: A Compendium Of Progressive Sounds [MOJO 282] – was a treat but I am still mystified about your inability to ’fess up and admit that prog was more significant than punk. I am sure you’re standing by to celebrate the one and only Sex Pistols album, but what about the REAL music from ’76 and ’77? By that I mean proper pieces on Genesis’s A Trick Of The Tail, Magma’s Üdü Wüdü, Camel’s Moon Moonmadness, Yes’s Going For The One, Jethro Tull’s underrated Songs From The Wood and even Rush’s A Farewell To Kings. Surely, all great records full of wondrous stories (if you pardon the pun!) and worthy of reappraisal now that ‘prog’ no longer seems to be a pejorative term. Thanks for listening… Philip Harrison, Prof. De Prog, via e-mail

A tickle of joy

Great to read the interview with Dave Brock [MOJO 282]. Gosh, it brought so many memories back. Whilst In Search Of Space is undoubtedly the best musically of their early albums, my fondest memories are associated with that first album, Hawkwind, in 1970. Original pressings of both albums are now collectable, but not massively valuable: copies of Hawkwind on black label Liberty in gatefold sleeve can fetch £45 upwards whilst copies of In Search Of Space, gatefold sleeve (A1/B4 matrix with booklet), can fetch £60. I bought the first album from a small shop in Derby which did hire purchase, good for those of us teenagers with Saturday jobs. Loon pants, tie-dye T-shirts and long hair. There was a club called Clouds which had a rock night on Thursday(s) called Magic Of Ju Ju: saw many a band there that went on to bigger things (for example, very early Genesis at the time of their first album) and the two bands associated with the free music attitude: The Pink Fairies and Hawkwind. Still got copies of the flyers for the club. Then, this album accompanied my, erm, first psychedelic journey, in the garden shed of a friend

of mine that he had been banished to by his parents. Other albums played that night included the first Heron album on the Dawn label (now very valuable); the first album by Gracious on Vertigo (also very valuable) and the first album by Touch on Deram (likewise now very valuable). Still got my copies. Sweet memories… Terry Maunder, via e-mail

Bad scene, lads!

Dave Brock’s assertions in your magazine justifying the inclusion of Sam Fox on-stage at the band’s Hawkestra gig are misguided. She may have been friends with Lemmy and she may have done a charity single with Hawkwind. But so what? She wasn’t a member of Hawkwind, and she shouldn’t have been on that stage. It should have been a proper celebration of that band and all its members. The fact that the entire gig was a bit of a shambles is neither here nor there because Hawkwind have always been capable of fucking up. She just had no place there. And, yes, Dave, I am one of those people who “didn’t like it”. Moonglum Jnr, Morpeth

No time for trivialities

After reading your last issue [MOJO 282] I was reminded of one simple thing: the greatest artists are not always those who reap what they sow. I can give you two examples: The Incredible String Band and Delaney & Bonnie. Two acts deserving of so much more. Both, in fact, artists that should probably be on your cover instead of, er, Stink Floyd… Anyhow, keep up the good work by shining a light on music by those who deserve better. Michael Rogers, via e-mail

Soft, isn’t it?

Am I the only one who feels genuinely sorry for Meat Loaf? I just want to check because after reading your Bat Out Of Hell piece, I feel even more sorry for him than I did before. Enjoyed the piece, though – despite the cheap jibe in your cover line. Whatever you think, it’s still a great album. Steve Evans, via e-mail

If we slip back through time

At last! A mention in MOJO of the greatest band I’ve ever heard: Wigwam! OK, so it was only a clue in your crossword [MOJO 282], but at least it means you are aware of them. This band have a fascinating history that at least rivals those of Fleetwood Mac and Fairport Convention, what with the deaths of members, religious conversions, etc. They have a great discography which if you extend it to the solo releases by individual members absolutely equals any band ever. The three greatest ‘London’ songwriters of all-time are Ray Davies, Pete Townshend and Jim Pembroke of Wigwam. It totally amazes me that no British music mag has ever done an in-depth article on this incredible bunch of real musicians. Love your crossword! Nic Stayt, via e-mail

I can hear my beard growing…

Your photograph of The Boo Radleys in the last issue [Time Machine, MOJO 282] made me feel strangely nostalgic for the mid-’90s when a band like them were able to score a Number 1 album. While I was never really a fan of that entire period of British music, I look back on it with a strangely nostalgic glow. Which is pretty odd since I am only 36. Maybe, after all, I am a child of Britpop? How terrifying. Tim Fellows, via e-mail

Have you got time to rectify?

Great to see Rod Argent reliving the rise and fall of The Zombies in your last issue. But… they are so clearly a band who clearly deserve more than one meagre page in your magazine. Couldn’t you have lopped a couple off that flimsy feature on Prince? They’re nice photos but… Anyway, please sort that out as soon as. Thanks. Steve ‘The Oracle’, via e-mail

Something strange is happening

Future Islands have been my favourite band for the last three years, so reading a piece about them in your latest issue was a real treat. May I suggest that you continue to champion what I consider to be the New Wave Of Outsider Pop (or NWOOP, if you will!). There’s a lot of it about. If you want, I can furnish you with a list. War On Drugs would obviously be on there too. So would Field Music. But that’s just the tip of the iceberg – an iceberg in which you can probably see the refraction of talents as diverse as Lower Dens through to Poliça via Dan Deacon. I could go on. Marcus Stevens, Sussex, via e-mail

Hey! Wait and watch…

I am writing to thank you for the great night you organised around the MOJO screening of the Bowie Ziggy Stardust movie [which happened nationwide on March 7]. What a night it was! Seeing that classic concert on a big screen was a real treat. But so too was seeing Woody Woodmansey in conversation with your editor in the pre-film. Receiving the special collectors’ cover of your magazine was the cherry on the cake! Please can you do another Bowie screening soon? Not sure which film I’d pick, mind. Over to you, MOJO… Sally Evans, via e-mail