Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters
Encyclopedia
Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters was a 1974 satirical
concept album
by Robert Calvert
, the former frontman of British space-rock band Hawkwind
. It consists of a mixture of songs and comic spoken interludes.
The concept was based on the German Air Ministry's purchase of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, colloquially known as the Widowmaker. In German service these planes had a poor safety record, with 270 of almost 635 Luftwaffe Starfighters lost in accidents during the aircraft's time in service, which lasted from the early 1960s until the mid 1980s. The Starfighters had inherently challenging flight characteristics, possibly made worse by a number of ill-considered modifications made by the manufacturers at the behest of the Germans in order to clinch the sale.
Musicians who appeared on the album include members of Hawkwind
, The Pink Fairies, Brian Eno
(although not credited as Eno), Arthur Brown
and Adrian Wagner. The spoken sketches are primarily performed by Calvert, Viv Stanshall and Jim Capaldi
.
"Ejection" (coupled with "Catch a Falling Starfighter") was released as a single, although both songs are slightly different versions to those on the album. "The Widow's Song" was included in the libretto and Calvert had hoped to record it with Nico
singing. It wasn't recorded at the time but it was eventually recorded in 1984 with Calvert's wife Jill Riches on lead vocals and included on the Hawkwind, Friends and Relations
compilation.
The album has been re-released in the late 1990s by BGO Records and is currently available on Ecletic Records (ECLCD1056) with bonus tracks.
except where stated.
Monster Magnet
did a cover of "The Right Stuff" on their 2004 album, Monolithic Baby!
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
by Robert Calvert
Robert Calvert
Robert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
, the former frontman of British space-rock band Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
. It consists of a mixture of songs and comic spoken interludes.
The concept was based on the German Air Ministry's purchase of the Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, colloquially known as the Widowmaker. In German service these planes had a poor safety record, with 270 of almost 635 Luftwaffe Starfighters lost in accidents during the aircraft's time in service, which lasted from the early 1960s until the mid 1980s. The Starfighters had inherently challenging flight characteristics, possibly made worse by a number of ill-considered modifications made by the manufacturers at the behest of the Germans in order to clinch the sale.
Musicians who appeared on the album include members of Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....
, The Pink Fairies, Brian Eno
Brian Eno
Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
(although not credited as Eno), Arthur Brown
Arthur Brown (musician)
Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
and Adrian Wagner. The spoken sketches are primarily performed by Calvert, Viv Stanshall and Jim Capaldi
Jim Capaldi
Nicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
.
"Ejection" (coupled with "Catch a Falling Starfighter") was released as a single, although both songs are slightly different versions to those on the album. "The Widow's Song" was included in the libretto and Calvert had hoped to record it with Nico
Nico
Nico was a German singer, lyricist, composer, musician, fashion model, and actress, who initially rose to fame as a Warhol Superstar in the 1960s...
singing. It wasn't recorded at the time but it was eventually recorded in 1984 with Calvert's wife Jill Riches on lead vocals and included on the Hawkwind, Friends and Relations
Hawkwind, Friends and Relations
The Hawkwind, Friends and Relations series of albums was released in the early 1980s containing live and studio performances by Hawkwind and related bands....
compilation.
The album has been re-released in the late 1990s by BGO Records and is currently available on Ecletic Records (ECLCD1056) with bonus tracks.
Track listing
All songs by Robert CalvertRobert Calvert
Robert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
except where stated.
- "Franz Josef Strauss, Defence Minister, reviews the Luftwaffe in 1958" – 1:40
- "The Aerospaceage Inferno" – 4:35
- "Aircraft Salesman (A Door in the Foot)" – 1:41
- "The Widow Maker" (Dave BrockDave BrockDavid Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...
, Calvert) – 2:42 - "Two test pilots discuss the Starfighter's performance" – 0:41
- "The Right Stuff" – 4:23
- "Board meeting (seen through a contract lense)" – 0:58
- "The Song of the Gremlin (part one)" (Arthur BrownArthur Brown (musician)Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
, Calvert, Wagner) – 3:21 - "Ground Crew (last minute reassembly before take off)" – 3:17
- "Hero with a Wing" – 3:20
- "Ground Control to Pilot" – 0:52
- "Ejection" – 3:35
- "Interview" – 3:55
- "I Resign" – 0:27
- "The Song of the Gremlin (part two)" (Brown, Calvert, Wagner) – 3:10
- "Bier Garten" – 0:38
- "Catch a Falling Starfighter" – 2:54
Bonus tracks
- "The Right Stuff" (extended version) – 8.07
- "Ejection" (single version) – 3.47
- "Catch A Falling Starfighter" (single version) – 3.00
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet
Monster Magnet is an American stoner rock band. Hailing from Red Bank, New Jersey, the group was founded by Dave Wyndorf , John McBain and Tim Cronin...
did a cover of "The Right Stuff" on their 2004 album, Monolithic Baby!
Monolithic Baby!
Monolithic Baby! is the sixth studio album by Monster Magnet, released in 2004. It is a follow up to 2000's God Says No. It would also be the first album featuring bassist Jim Baglino...
Musicians
- Robert CalvertRobert CalvertRobert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
- vocals - Arthur BrownArthur Brown (musician)Arthur Brown is an English rock and roll musician best known for his flamboyant, theatrical style and significant influence on Alice Cooper, Peter Gabriel, Marilyn Manson, George Clinton, Kiss, King Diamond, and Bruce Dickinson, among others, and for his number one hit in the UK Singles Chart and...
- vocals on "The Song of the Gremlin" parts 1 and 2 - Paul Rudolph - lead and rhythm guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
(all), bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
on "The Song of the Gremlin" parts 1 and 2, "Hero with a Wing" - Dave BrockDave BrockDavid Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...
- lead guitar on "The Widow Maker" - Lemmy - bass guitar
- Nik TurnerNik TurnerNik Turner is a British musician, best known as a founding member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner plays saxophones, flute, sings and is a composer...
- saxophoneSaxophoneThe saxophone is a conical-bore transposing musical instrument that is a member of the woodwind family. Saxophones are usually made of brass and played with a single-reed mouthpiece similar to that of the clarinet. The saxophone was invented by the Belgian instrument maker Adolphe Sax in 1846... - Brian EnoBrian EnoBrian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno or simply as Eno , is an English musician, composer, record producer, singer and visual artist, known as one of the principal innovators of ambient music.Eno studied at Colchester Institute art school in Essex,...
(as Brian Peter George St John La Baptiste De La Salle) - SynthesizerSynthesizerA synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones... - Del Dettmar - synthesizer
- Adrian Wagner - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
on "The Song of the Gremlin" parts 1 and 2 - Simon KingSimon King (musician)Simon King is an English drummer most noted for his work with Hawkwind. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine 'Sounds' as 'definitive rock drummer.'...
- drumsDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person .... - Twink AlderTwink (musician)John Charles Alder , better known as Twink, is an English drummer, singer and songwriter who was a central figure in the English psychedelic movement, and an actor.-Early life and career:...
- Funeral drumDrum kitA drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
on "Catch a Falling Starfighter" - The Ladbroke Grove Hermaphroditic Voice Ensemble - back up vocalsBacking vocalistA backing vocalist or backing singer is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists...
Actors
- Vivian StanshallVivian StanshallVivian Stanshall was an English singer-songwriter, painter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his surreal exploration of the British upper classes in Sir Henry at Rawlinson End, and for narrating Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells.-The great...
- most leads (e.g. Ground Control, Bright Mechanic) - Jim CapaldiJim CapaldiNicola James "Jim" Capaldi was an English musician and songwriter. His musical career lasted more than four decades. He co-founded Traffic in Birmingham with Steve Winwood, and the band's psychedelic rock was influential in Britain and the United States...
- American Salesman, Recruiting Officer, Dim Mechanic - Robert CalvertRobert CalvertRobert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...
- Pilot - Tom Mittledorf
- Richard Elen (mis-credited as "Richard Ealing")
Recording
- Technicians: Phil Brown, Frank Owen, Rufus Cartwright, Anton Matthews, Phil Chapman
- Producer: Roy Thomas BakerRoy Thomas BakerRoy Thomas Baker is a multiple award-winning Anglo-American music producer, songwriter, arranger and Recording Academy Governor, who has produced Platinum and Gold certified pop and rock records from the 1970s to the present.- Career :Baker began his career at Decca Records in England at the age...
- Studios: Island, OlympicOlympic StudiosOlympic Studios was a renowned independent commercial recording studio located at 117 Church Road, Barnes, South West London, England. The studio is best known for the huge number of famous rock and pop recordings made there from the late 1960s onward....
, Radio LuxembourgRadio LuxembourgRadio Luxembourg may refer to:*Radio Luxembourg , a Long Wave commercial radio station that began broadcasting from the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in 1933...
(dialogue) between March 1973 and January 1974 - Mixing: Trident StudiosTrident StudiosTrident Studios was a British recording facility, originally located at 17 St. Anne's Court in London's Soho district. It was constructed in 1967 by Norman Sheffield a drummer of former 1960's group The Hunters and his Brother Barry....
Sleeve
- Concept: Bob Calvert
- Art Directions: Pierre TubbsPierre TubbsPierre Tubbs is a British songwriter and music producer. One of his biggest successes is "Right Back Where We Started From" recorded by Maxine Nightingale. He also co-wrote the J.J...
- Illustrator: Stanislaw Ferdandes
External links
- www.starfarer.net: libretto
- www.headheritage.co.uk: The Book of Seth review