Spirit of the Age is a 1977 song by the UK rock group 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 was originally recorded and issued on the album Quark, Strangeness and Charm

Quark, Strangeness and Charm

Quark, Strangeness And Charm is the seventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1977. It spent 6 weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at #30....

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The lyrics of the song are composed of two of 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...

's science fiction poems, the first verse being the "The Starfarer's Despatch", which he had recited at shows whilst being the "resident poet" in the band in 1971, and the second being the "The Clone's Poem". Both of these poems were published amongst a collection of his poetry issued as Centigrade 232

Centigrade 232

Centigrade 232 is an album of poems by English writer and musician Robert Calvert, recorded in 1986 and released in 2007. The poem Centigrade 232 was set to music by Spirits Burning in 2001...

, published by Quasar in 1978. Throughout the song is a rhythmic electronic pulse. This repeated sound is the Morse Code for SOS (dot-dot-dot,dash-dash-dash,dot-dot-dot).

The song was a popular addition to the band's live set and even remained after Calvert's departure from the band in 1979. A more aggressive version of the song with vocals by Brock was issued on the Live Seventy Nine album in 1980.{cn}}

1993 Mixes

The song was subject to various remixes and issued as the Spirit Of The Age - Solstice Mixes EP in June 1993 on 4-Real Records (4R1). Mixes were by Astralasia (Marc Swordfish, Nosmo) and produced by Salt Tank

Salt Tank

Salt Tank are two English record producers, David Gates and Malcolm Stanners, plus percussionist Andy Rose, from Surrey. Their music ranges from laid-back trance, such as their hit single "Eugina" to tougher sounds.-Biography:The trio recorded several singles, before signing a recording contract...

 (David Gates & Malcolm Stanners).

12"

1. "Spirit Of The Age" Full Vocal Mix (Calvert/Brock) – 9:56
2. "Spirit Of The Age" Hard Trance Mix (Calvert/Brock) – 8:43
3. "Spirit Of The Age" Cyber Trance Mix (Calvert/Brock) – 9:52
4. "Spirit Of The Age" Flesh To Phantasy Mix (Calvert/Brock) – 12:06

CD

1. "Spirit Of The Age" Radio Edit (Calvert/Brock)
2. "Spirit Of The Age" Full Vocal Mix (Calvert/Brock)
3. "Spirit Of The Age" Cyber Trance Mix (Calvert/Brock)
4. "Spirit Of The Age" Flesh to Phantasy Ambient Remix (Calvert/Brock)

2004 single

In 2004 the band recorded a new studio version of the song which was issued as a single in two different formats. The first verse featured a vocal by tabloid journalist Matthew Wright who, while interviewing the band on a London radio show, had revealed that he was a big fan of the band. This version was included on their Take Me to Your Leader

Take Me to Your Leader (Hawkwind album)

Take Me To Your Leader is the twenty-third studio album by UK rock group Hawkwind. Released in 2005, it was their first studio album in 8 years. It featured guest appearances by Arthur Brown, Lene Lovich, the TV presenter Matthew Wright and past member Lemmy...

album.

CD1

1. "Spirit Of The Age" (Calvert/Brock) – Radio Edit
2. "Angela Android" (Chadwick) – Live Version
3. "Assassins of Allah" [aka "Hassan-i Sabbah"/"Space is Their (Palestine)"] (Calvert/Rudolph/Brock) – Live Version

CD2

1. "Spirit Of The Age" (Calvert/Brock) – Live Version
2. "Paradox" (Brock) – New studio version