Hawkwind

In 1969, guitarist Dave Brock, guitarist Mick Slattery and drummer Terry Ollis gathered saxophonist Nik Turner and synthesist Michael "Dik Mik" Davies; and after a few name and personnel changes, they launched the ultimate underground band, Hawkwind. The band came to the attention of Doug Smith of Clearwater Productions (via DJ John Peel) after opening (as "Group X") for High Tide at a gig Smith organized at All Saints Hall in Notting Hill. Demos were then recorded at EMI Studios (as Hawkwind Zoo), and Huw Lloyd-Langton then replaced Slattery. Signed to United Artists, their debut album was produced in April of 1970 by the recent ex-Pretty Thing Dick Taylor. The bulk of the album, a big live jam known as "Sunshine Special," was separated into tracks for the record. It's total psychedelic improvisation, akin to Pink Floyd's early sonic excursions. But the key to its uniqueness is Hawkwind's relative lack of musical proficiency; they managed to use this handicap as a gateway to originality, though maybe the drugs also helped. Though perhaps initially at odds with other progressive groups, Hawkwind would experience a musical "progression" over the next several albums. The record is bookended by two tracks, the perennial favorite "Hurry on Sundown," an upbeat folksy number, and its cousin "Mirror of Illusion," both forged from Brock's days as a busker. Like all their albums for United Artists, it saw release in both the UK and US. Bassist John Harrison left the band shortly before the album's release, the first of a myriad of personnel changes for the band.