Behind A Shed In A Garden In Norbury

Hawkwind's vocalist Robert Calvert suffered from some terrible episodes of poor mental health and was eventually diagnosed with bipolar. As a child he dreamed of being a fighter pilot and when this didn't happen began to dip into bohemian London of the 1960s. His combined interests in psychedelia, poetry and science fiction led him to Hawkwind. He left in 1973 after being hospitalised under the Mental Health Act, rejoined in 1975 and then left again in 1979. Along the way he recorded several solo albums including in 1981 an album called Hype. Hype was tied in to a novel of the same name, telling the fictional story of the rise and fall of a rock 'n' roll star. 

Lord Of The Hornets is the last song on Hype and was also released as a 7" single. It is a buzzing, pounding, overloaded song full of striking lines and memorable imagery, about the man who is the Lord of the Hornets. Norbury is in south London, sandwiched between Streatham and Croydon. It would not surprise me at all if the living God of stinging insects lived in a suburb of south London. 

'Asleep in a hive in the base of a hollow tree
Behind a shed in a garden in Norbury
And when he whispers commands in his megaphone
They swarm to his call and he knows that he's not alone

He's lord of the hornets

As a tiger wing drones in a hive of industry
Each has a place and will be what it must be
Queen's a machine on a larva production line
Laying antenna-ed troops on the stings in a paper mine'

Lord Of The Hornets

Michael Moorcock, science fiction and fantasy author and a key figure in the New Wave of British sci fi plays guitar on Hype. Moorcock also played with Hawkwind and Blue Oyster Cult and had his own band, The Deep Fix. Additionally he is one of the stars of Half Man Half Biscuit's legendary 1989 single Dickie Davies Eyes. A bit of a one off in the HMHB back catalogue musically, it fades in slowly led by organ rather than the Wirral group's usual three chord indie guitar rumble. Nigel Blackwell pulls together more great lines and British cultural references than any other contemporary songwriter could manage- funnier than Mark E Smith, more relevant than Nick Cave, not racist like Morrissey, Nigel Blackwell is the true voice of British post- punk lyricists (I am aware obviously that Nick Cave is not British). 

Dickie Davies Eyes

As the organ comes in, ascending and descending chords and a rattling drum picks up the beat Nigel kicks us off with Tolkein and Moorcock

'Mention The Lord Of The Rings just once more
And I’ll more than likely kill you
Moorcock, Moorcock, Michael Moorcock you fervently moan'

He then brings us Brian Moore (1) and the London Planetarium, Roger Dean (2), Cadbury's Flake adverts (3), oral sex (3), romanticised dreams about the living and the dead and 'a Romany bint in a field with her paints/ suggesting we faint at her beauty... But she's got Dickie Davies Eyes'. (4)

(1) Brian Moore- a football commentator and TV presenter. Covered nine world cups. 

(2) Roger Dean- artist and designer. Famous of his album covers for 1970s prog bands

(3) Cadbury's Flake- the crumbliest, flakiest chocolate... tastes like chocolate never tasted before'

(4) Dickie Davies- TV presenter most famous for being the anchorman of World Of Sport from 1968 to 1985. Darts, rugby, snooker, horse racing, wrestling- he covered it all with a streak of white in his quiff and a twinkle in his eye. 

Rare Weatherall 'Hidden Library 003 Lord Of The Hornets'

This is Lord Of The Hornets, a cover of the song by former Hawkwind member Robert Calvert. I posted the original back at the start of this blog. Lord Of The Hornets is the second and last Hidden Library single (Hidden Library 003). According to the label on the 7" this song and the b-side are credited to Jnr Poon, a pseudonym (according to Discogs amongst other sources) for Weatherall and Tenniswood. Released back in 2002 this would make it the first vocal by Weatherall (if it is him singing), sometime before The Double Gone Chapel lp. There was an interview somewhere where AW claimed a Hidden Library single was coming out featuring 'some mates' but I've no idea if that was this, or if that ever came out. If anyone can clear these matters up a small group of Weatherall anoraks would probably be grateful. Or at least satisfied that a small crumb of knowledge has been added to the file in their brains labelled 'Weatherall'.

This blew me away when I got hold of it in my early internet shopping days- I played it endlessly. The electro crunchiness, the buzzing hornet noises, the vocals. It took sometime for me to find out it was a cover, and some more time to get hold of the original- ebay 7", couple of quid, and recently a cd/digital re-release. I seem to remember thinking at the time that if this had proper promotion and a big record company behind it, it could've been a massive hit. Listening to it again now I'm not so sure- can't quite see the British music buying public going for this in large numbers, certainly not the people who buy what Weatherall himself called 'Top Shop music for Hollyoaks people' a while back on Lamack's Roundtable. Regardless, this is one of the gems of the RGC back catalogue, was only manufactured in small quantities (500 copies), and may or may not be Andrew Weatherall, but it deserves to be heard by more people. Enjoy.


lord_of_the_hornets.mp3

Robert Calvert 'Lord Of The Hornets'

Odd but good- Hawkwind offshoot Robert Calvert's Lord Of The Hornets.

'Asleep in a hive in the base of a hollow tree
Behind a shed in a garden in Norbury
And when he whispers commands in his megaphone
They swarm to his call and he knows that he's not alone

He's lord of the hornets'



Lord Of The Hornets.mp3