Hawkwind are back bigger and bolder than ever with their 37th studio album, There Is No Space For Us, and they have no plans to hang up their silver machines just yet. The current line-up discuss the results of harnessing the latest technology for the greater good of art, their plans for the near-future, and why they won’t be dropping the classic tunes from their live shows any time soon.

Words: Julian Marszalek

Hawkwind, L-R: Magnus Martin, Doug MacKinnon, Dave Brock, Richard Chadwick, Tim ‘Thighpaulsandra’ Lewis.

Images: Richard Nash

As the progenitors of the form lovingly known as space rock, it can become a little too easy to second-guess Hawkwind, a band who, like post-punk pioneers The Fall, occupy that rare space where the prefix of ‘The Mighty’ is regularly and justifiably applied. After all, with the vapour trail that’s been left in their sonic wake since they blasted off from the countercultural mission control of Ladbroke Grove in the 60s through the free festival circuit of the 70s and beyond, Hawkwind haven’t exactly applied subtlety to their aesthetic in the shape of album titles that include In Search Of Space, Space Ritual and Space Bandits. More recently, a string of albums with an increasing focus on dystopian themes that began with 2016’s The Machine Stops through to last year’s Stories From Time And Space seem to confirm the stereotype that’s settled around the image of Hawkwind. But stereotype them at your peril. Since the turn of the decade, which saw a global pandemic knock the world off its axis along with the rise of populist demagogy and a geo-political landscape that’s turned once-accepted certainties on their head, Hawkwind have consolidated their aural and thematic strengths thanks largely to what’s arguably their most solid line-up since the celebrated days of their mid-70s prime. So, while singer-guitarist Dave Brock remains at the helm with longtime drummer Richard Chadwick, the addition of guitarist and keyboardist Magnus Martin, electronics wizard Tim ‘Thighpaulsandra’ Lewis and bassist Doug MacKinnon have all added a muscularity that startles and satisfies. And the fact they can draw from adversity to create There Is No Space For Us, their 37th studio album, proves that they’re far from resting on their laurels. “We did an impromptu gig at the Forum in Bath last summer when one of the support bands didn’t turn up,”, says Magnus Martin from Hawkwind’s studio on Dave Brock’s farm in Devon as he explains the origins of the latest addition to Hawkwind’s sprawling back catalogue. “Tim, Dave and I did an ambient electronic set, which we sort of made up as we went along. We all quite enjoyed that experience, so, when we went home, we started working in that direction.”