For several millennia Hawkwind have been the beating heart of the free festival movement. Appearing at the legendary 1971 Glastonbury festival, with a certain David Bowie, they became torch bearers for a movement that morphed into the New Age Travellers and for a brief period lit up the headlines until it was mercilessly crushed by the Thatcher government along with the miners, trade unions and any dissenting voices along the way. It’s apex was the annual Stonehenge solstice parties that were not complete without the Hawks hammering through a set of space rock classics. Nik Turner was there throughout. The enigmatic and wiry saxophonist lending his vocals, style, brass and all round pizzaz to the Hawkwind juggernaut. He brings his New Space Ritual to the Robin and along with it a raft of classic Hawkwind tunes, we’re expecting some Inner City Unit anthems too. Last time we saw Nik Turner was thirty years ago in the early hours in a field in Hay on Wye performing naked yoga. Watch out Bilston. Mothers Earth Experiment will provide noisy support.

Sun 8 Jan 7pm at Robin 2, 20-28 Mount Pleasant, WV14 7LJ Bilston £15 www.facebook.com/

Sun 8 Jan
Words:
Giles Logan
Published on:
Fri 2 Dec 2016