Van der Graaf Generator Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
- This article is about the band. For the machine used to accumulate electrical charge on a metal globe, see Van de Graaff generator.
The band first formed in 1967 while its members were studying at Manchester University. The three-piece was comprised of Peter Hammill (guitar and vocals), Nick Pearne (organ) and Chris Smith (drums and wind instruments). They secured a record deal, but only one single ('The People You Were Going To') was released before they split up in mid-1969. Along the way, Pearne was replaced by Hugh Banton.
Later in 1969, a new Van der Graaf Generator--Peter Hammill (guitar, piano and vocals), Keith Ellis (bass guitar), Hugh Banton (keyboards) and Guy Evans (drums)--formed during the recording of an album that was originally intended to be a solo effort by Hammill. This album, The Aerosol Grey Machine, was initially only released in the USA.
Further changes in personnel preceded their second album (The Least We Can Do is Wave to Each Other). Ellis left and was replaced by David Jackson (saxophone and flute), while Nic Potter (bass guitar) was added to the line-up. A new sound was established, leaving behind the psychedelic influence of The Aerosol Grey Machine in favour of darker textures influenced by jazz and classical music. The album was well received, and was swiftly followed by H to He, Who Am the Only One. Potter left mid-way through the recording, and the band decided to carry on without a bass guitarist, with Banton substituting with the organ's bass pedals. Robert Fripp of King Crimson contributed guitar to 'The Emperor in His War-Room'.
The Hammill/Banton/Jackson/Evans quartet that resulted from 'H to He' is now considered the 'classic' line-up, and went on to record Pawn Hearts\, which is considered by many to be their finest work. It contains just a few tracks, Lemmings, Man-Erg, the 20 minute concept piece 'A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers' – very much in keeping with the times. The original pressing included the short instrumental tune 'Theme One' which was released as a single and removed from future pressings. The album proved highly successful in Italy, topping the chart there for 12 weeks. The band toured extensively from 1970 to 1972, but this proved too much for Hammill, who left to pursue a solo career.
Without Hammill, the three remaining members recorded an instrumental album with Nic Potter, Ced Curtis and Piero Messina under the name 'The Long Hello'. This album (The Long Hello) was released in 1973.
Hammill's split with the band was not acrimonious, and Banton, Jackson and Evans, among others, all contributed to his solo work at various times. By 1975 Hammill was ready to work with the band again, and three new albums were recorded in just 12 months. Musically, the main difference was that Hammill now played electric guitar rather than piano, and the sound, especially on Godbluff, was harsher in tone.
Following World Record, first Banton and then Jackson departed. Nic Potter returned, and in a typically eccentric move Banton was replaced by a violinist, Graham Smith. The band also shortened its name to 'Van der Graaf'. Only two albums were recorded, one of them live, before the band split for the last time in 1978, again amicably.
One album of 'new' material was released after the split. Time Vaults is a collection of out-takes and rehearsal recordings from the 1972–1975 hiatus. The sound quality varies from demo standard to very poor, and is only recommended to ardent fans of the band.
A formal reunion seems most unlikely, but the classic line-up has occasionally performed since the split. In 1991, they played several songs at a forteith birthday party for David Jackson's wife. In 1996, the quartet appeared on stage during Hammill and Evans's Union Chapel concert to perform 'Lemmings'. In 2003, Banton, Jackson, and Evans joined with Hammill to perform 'Still Life' at the Queen Elizabeth Hall in London.
The band is named after a piece of electric equipment designed to produce static electricity, the Van de Graaff generator. It appears that the misspelling is accidental.
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2 Videography 3 External links |
Discography
Videography
(The latter DVD contains all of the material from the former, which is no longer available.)