B

Lots of folks think singer/guitarist Peter Hammill was the man behind Van Der Graff Generator (named after a piece of machinery that generates static electricity). Wrong. The band was actually the brainchild of student-cum-drummer Chris Judge-Smith. While attending Manchester University, Judge-Smith decided to try forming a band. Inspired by a brief vacation in San Francisco, when he returned to school, Judge-Smith convinced Peter Hammill and keyboardist Nick Peame to join him in a musical endeavor. As Van Der Graff Generation, the line up quickly went through a series of changes. By 1968 Judge-Smith had been replaced by Guy Evans, Hugh Banton replacing Peame and bass player Keith Ellis being added to the group.

In the wake of a 1968 single ('People You Were Going To' b/w 'Firebrand Polydor catalog number 56758), the band called it quits. Hammill went into the studio planning to cut a solo effort, but quickly called in his former band mates and when released in 1969, "The Aerosol Grey Machine" was creditte as a Van Der Graff Generator product.

Valentine

45:

1 Time/Leader Of The Band (Track 2094 104) 1972

An obscure band comprising five guys.

The Valkyries

Personnel:

JOHN ADAMS drms A

ALLAN BURTON bs A B C D

TONY CONWAY sax A B C

IAN HUNTER lead gtr A B C D

BILLY MAY gtr A B

GORDON TEMPLETON drms B

TERRY McCLUSKER drms C D

BILLY BURTON sax D

45:

1 What's Your Name?/Rip It Up (Parlophone R 5123) 1964

An obscure beat recording which is now of minor interest to some collectors. The 'A' side was a Little Richard song and the group were one of the least well known from Liverpool's Merseybeat era. McClusker was later in The Roadrunners.

Compilation appearances include: What's Your Name? and Rip It Up on Rare 60's Beat Treasures, Vol. 2 (CD).

(Vernon Joynson/Arthur Davies)

Valley Of Anchor

ALBUM:

1 A DOOR OF HOPE (Dovetail DOVE 18) 1975 R1

A Christian progressive folk album featuring mostly female vocals and entirely self-penned material. The disc is housed in a great gatefold fantasy sleeve design.

Vamp

Personnel incl:

ANDY CLARK organ A

MICK HUTCHINSON ld gtr A

VIV PRINCE drms A

PETE SEARS bs A

45s:

1 Floatin'/Thinkin' Too Much (Atlantic 584 213) 1968

2 Green Pea/Wake Up And Tell Me (Atlantic 584 263) 1969

NB: (2) Unissued.

Including two former Sam Gopal's Dream members, Pete Sears and former Pretty Things' drummer Viv Prince, Vamp conjured up a suitably laid back, hypnotic atmosphere on Floatin'. Rumours of a 15 minute version of Floatin' abound. Viv Prince had earlier been with The Pretty Things and Bunch Of Fives. He later played with Denny Laine. Andy Clark and Mick Hutchinson teamed up in Clark-Hutchinson and Clark was also in Upp. Pete Sears went on to US bands Silver Metre and Jefferson Starship.

Compilation appearances include: Thinkin' Too Much on Magic Spectacles (CD); Floatin' on Perfumed Garden, Vol. 1 (LP & CD) and Electric Sugar Cube Flashbacks (CD).

The Vampires

45:

1 Do You Wanna Dance/My Girl (Pye 7N 17553) 1968

A one-off pop 45. The 'A' side is a weak cover of The Beach Boys' hit with falsetto vocals. My Girl is given similar treatment on the flip side. The group were Irish and both sides of the 45 can also be heard on Sequel's Irish Rock - Ireland's Beat Groups 1964-1969 (CD).

Tommy Vance

45s:

1 You Must Be The One/Why Treat Me This Way (Columbia DB 7999) 1966

2 Off The Hook/Summertime (Columbia DB 8062) 1966

This guy was later a DJ for Radio London and Radio One. Generally in this era DJs were better deployed broadcasting than making records. Both 'A' sides were Rolling Stones' compositions.

Van Der Graaf Generator

Personnel:

PETER HAMMILL keyb'ds, vcls, gtr A B C D E

NICK PEAME organ A

CHRIS SMITH drms A

HUGH BANTON keyb'ds, gtr, bs B C D E

KEITH ELLIS bs B C

GUY EVANS drms B C D E

DAVE JACKSON sax D E

NIC POTTER bs D

ALBUMS:
(up to 1976)

1(C) AEROSOL GREY MACHINE (Fontana 6430 083) 1969 -

2(D) THE LEAST WE CAN DO IS WAVE TO EACH OTHER (Charisma CAS 1007) 1970 R1 47

3(D) H TO HE, WHO AM THE ONLY ONE (Charisma CAS 1027) 1970 SC -

4(E) PAWN HEARTS (Charisma CAS 1051) 1971 SC -

5(-) 1968-71 (Compilation) (Charisma CS 2) 1972 -

6(E) GOD BLUFF (Charisma CAS 1109) 1975 -

7(E) STILL LIFE (Charisma CAS 1116) 1976 -

8(E) WORLD RECORD (Charisma CAS 1120) 1976 -

NB: (1) was originally a US-only release until Fontana released it here in 1975. (2) - (8) were all reissued by Charisma during the early eighties. (1) reissued on CD (Repertoire REP 4647) 1997, and both sides of their debut 45 are tagged on the end. (2) reissued on CD (Charisma CASCD 1007) 1987. (3) reissued on CD (Charisma CASCD 1027) 1988. (4) reissued on CD (Charisma CASCD 1051) 1988. (6) reissued on CD (Charisma CASCD 1109) 1988. (7) reissued on CD (Charisma CASCD 1116) 1987. (8) reissued on CD (Charisma CASCD 1120) 1988. Also relevant is Time Vaults (Thunderbolt/Demi-Monde CDTB 106) 1993, a collection of demos and rehearsal tapes from the band's dormant era between 1971 and 1975 and I Prophesy Disaster (Virgin CDVM 9026) 1993, a compilation of some of their 45 and album tracks. Maida Vale (Band Of Joy BOYCD 008) 1994 compiles material from the BBC's archives. Other compilations have been First Generation (Virgin COMCD 2) 1987 and Second Generation (Virgin COMCD 3) 1987 and Now And Then (Thunderbolt CDTB 042) 1988, which is also on album.

45s:
(up to 1976)

1 People You Were Going To/Firebrand (Polydor 56758) 1968

2 Refugees/The Boat Of Millions Of Years (Charisma CB 122) 1970

3 Theme One/W (Some PS) (Charisma CB 175) 1972

4 Wondering/Meurglys III (Charisma CB 297) 1976

Peter Hammill formed this band whilst studying at Manchester University in 1967. Line-up (A) was very short-lived, Peame left before any recordings took place. Line-up (B) included former Koobas' bassist, Keith Ellis, and recorded the People You Were Going To 45 for Polydor. It was their only recording for that label and is now very rare and highly sought-after by fans of the band. Shortly after, they had all their equipment stolen and split up.

Hammill embarked on a solo career but soon invited Banton and Evans back to assist him on what eventually became the first Van Der Graaf Generator album, Aerosol Grey Machine. Originally released in the USA on Mercury it was only available as an import in the UK until Fontana released it here in 1975. There were also two versions of the album yet the catalogue numbers and track listings were identical. One version included Necromancer, the other Squid I, an instrumental. Necromancer was also released on a 45 with Afterwards. The 45, which was only released in the US, is now another sought-after item. This debut album certainly wasn't stunning and made little impression commercially but it is worth a spin. Soon after its release Keith Ellis departed for Juicy Lucy and in the incestuous world of British rock Nic Potter, who had played with Guy Evans in the final version of The Misunderstood, replaced him. Dave Jackson (from Heebalob, who Chris Smith had left to form) also joined up on sax.

"People You Were Going To," Judge-Smith left Van Der Graaf Generator, which by then consisted of Hammill, keyboardist Hugh Banton, bassist Keith Ellis and drummer Guy Evans. The group soon split, and in 1968 Hammill entered the studio, ostensibly to record a solo album; however, he ultimately called in his ex-bandmates for assistance, and when The Aerosol Grey Machine appeared, it did so under the Van Der Graaf Generator name.

Beginning as a Peter Hammill solo effort following the dissolution of the first Van Der Graaf Generator, this quickly recorded album brought Hammill together with producer John Anthony and caused the reformation of the band (which immediately thereafter shifted personnel once again). A raw, energetic effort that sometimes did little to show off the young Hammill's talents, the album nevertheless has some fine moments that hint at the possibilities for future releases. The fact remains, mind you, that the second album, The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other, is far superior. CD versions of this album appeared in 1996 and 1997, both including additional material such as the first (and very rare) Van Der Graaf Generator single, and the previously unreleased VDGG recording of "Ferret and Featherbird."

Orthenthian Street - "The street in question does not exist, although a search for it, and the hotel we believed it to hold among its houses, took well over an hour: symptomatic, perhaps, of life in bands! This was the first song of mine which dealt - if obliquely - with that lifestyle and the endless vistas of motorways and assorted potential destructions. If it is claustrophobic and inconclusive then that only serves to further its point."

Aquarian - "This song has a chequered history of assorted titles and intentions: originally to be a celebration of the incoming Aquarian Age, it went through a phase of being a hymn to an assorted band of troubadours bound together under the aegis of a certain record company. After the sufferance of no little trial and tribulation at the hands of this concern, I had no regrets as I withdrew my lyrical support from it and re-engaged the song on its old rails. Pitfalls abound in any eulogising songs, and since this time I have been more concerned with my doubts in songs rather than with certainties which are fickle as the seasons.
The first performance of this song was on platform 6 of Derby Midland Station (a fine institution), to a surprisingly rapt audience of porters, fellow-travellers and Chris Judge Smith."

Octopus - "These lyrics, dealing with a similar case of disorientation and inability to over-view, were written in the snow-besieged Students' Union of Southampton University. The original Octopus took the form of a mural in the flat of the lady concerned and it is, in a way, validatory that the relationship was neither consummated nor clarified."
- Peter Hammill from Killers, Angels, Refugees (1974)

"On Monday I was asked to produce an L.P. for the Van der Graaf Generator, by Thursday we were in the Studio. Up until that time I had vaguely seen the band play the Speakeasy (the playground of the stars) and at the Marquee (the playground) and had heard them perform Octopus on the radio, one Sunday afternoon. I had no idea what numbers we were going to do, or any conceptions of a 'production'. What resulted is what happens when a group 'blows' in a studio. I hope some of it comes through, as we all had a good time. I hardly knew any of the group, but during and after two sessions, became a friend. Peter Hammill was doing all the singing and playing his guitar, and being cool (in the nice way). Hugh Banton ate bananas and drank milk, played piano and organ well and pottered about murmering. Keith Ellis smiles, played his bass and was a nice person. Guy Evans hammered away, intelligently on his drums, and laughed a lot. Jeff played flute on a track or so, and was very quiet.
An assorted crowd of loons were the atmosphere, were the vocal group, were happy and were quiet, during the playback Rob engineered professionally, everyone worked hard."

Biography

by Jason Ankeny

Although Ellis was replaced by Nic Potter and woodwind player David Jackson, the reconstituted group continued on for 1969's The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other. After 1970's H to He Who Am the Only One, Potter departed; the Generator recorded one more LP, 1971's Pawn Hearts, before Hammill left for a solo career, putting an end to the group. After five solo efforts, however, Hammill again reformed Van Der Graaf Generator in 1975 for Godbluff. Following a pair of 1976 albums, Still Life and World Record, Banton and Jackson exited; as simply Van Der Graaf, the band recorded The Quiet Zone with new violinist Graham Smith. After a 1978 live set, Vital, the group officially disbanded, although most members made appearances on Hammill's subsequent solo records. Twice during the 1990's, Van Der Graaf also reunited for one-off gigs.

Summary

The first album of Van der Graaf Generator was released in the US in 1969. In Europe it was only released very late in 1974. This European pressing did contain the track Necromancer, while Giant Squid was not present on this pressing. New to this release is an old version of Ferret and Featherbird also to be found on In Camera. Also note that on the vinyl versions Orthenthian St. is a two part track.

The music

After all this talk on releases and whatever happened let's now talk of the music on this what was originally supposed to be the first PH solo album. Compared to the other VDGG albums, even compared with the follow up The Least We Can Do...., is that it sounds a lot more sixties than whatever else was done by the band.

Now, I'm rather a fan of the band and this album should be seen as a historic document, a way of seeing how things led up to the later more chaotic and confronting VDGG. Although I like it less than most VDGG albums, this is not because I think the band is watered down or tired (something that I did find sometimes on the very late VDGG/VDG albums), but the style is still so much influenced by the sixties, that it sometimes seems a different band, although already a good one. Most of the tracks can stand the test of time and for instance Into A Game is quite a heavy track with very busy drumming and the second part sounding rather improvised. The titletrack is a very odd track and cannot be considered seriously and also the following psychedelic tracks Black Smoke Yen and Aquarian can not really capture my attention.

Necromancer is a bit of a doubter because the chorus is a bit well naive, but at leats part of this track it has also some very good moments.

On the other hand there's at least one track Octopus that already advented was what to follow later: desperate, frightening, frightened and dissonant, it holds what VDGG later stood for.

Conclusion

With an extensive booklet on the story of the band and this album this is a necessary release to all those VDGG and PH fans out there. Although by far not the strongest album of the band this is still a nice album, that is more in the vein of PH solo and also still very much with the roots in the sixties, than anything they did later. The music isn't too loud or claustrophobic and confronting as that later work, but the bite in the vocals of Hammill is already present when they render his heartfelt songs. Nostalgia rides again.

Next time they might try to find that early VDGG single Firebrand/People You Were Going To and include it in some package. They missed that opportunity here.

Listening to this stuff again, in the course of the remastering and preparation for this release, all the waves of time, tide and emotion swept over me. If the circumstances surrounding the recording of "The Aerosol Grey Machine" had been any different they could scarcely have been less strange; if they had been other than they were then many lives (principally my own) would have gone off on diverse courses. This collection of recordings, therefore "far off" - as they are - "in time and space", is essential in terms of any subsequent story or adventure, musical or otherwise, in which VdGG or I became involved. The seeds of everything else were sown here or hereabouts. As far as i know, the whole of the following tale has never been told, at least publicly, before now....

What follows is to the best of my recollection. It's not totally reliable and the chronology may be somewhat fluid, but you should get some flavour of the times....

1968. You have to bear in mind that this was a fundamentally different planet. Turmoil in hearts and minds, Vietnam still in full swing, nuclear annihilation still an imminent possibility, riots in the streets, the possibility of absolute change an aspiration on the wind... Music still The Thing. I was in my first year as a Liberal Studies in Science student at Manchester, running around with the Drama Department and the Left... and with Chris Judge Smith and Nick Pearne. These two and I constituted the VdGG of this era. If memory serves, we only actually performed as a trio once, when we were bottled off stage (by medical students, of course); we had already lost our bass player, Maggie, who departed in shards of screams during a dress rehearsal at the moment when Judge emerged from behind his drum kit in full costume/Latex mask/blood capsule effect, looming towards her at the climax of a Werewolf tune. I suspect that Nick also began to question his commitment to the cause at this stage. Judge and I, however, were committed. We continued as a duo. We played at the magic village (prop: Roger Eagle, later of Eric's), supporting Tyrannosaurus (later, T) Rex among others. The general view seemed to be that we were permanently tripping. (Whether this was to do with the fact that Judge was using a manual typewriter as percussion for a significant part of the set ... takka-takka-ding!.... is a matter for conjecture in another universe.) We did contrive to acquire a manager: enter Caleb Bradley, a fellow student. Perhaps we would have been wise to take a deep breath when we saw the sign adorning the door of his bed sit: "Void is All". It was 1968... we didn't. We only wanted to Do Music.

Caleb did not get to do much for us, but has an essential part to play in this story. He promised us some recording time. This turned out to be a mono session recorded at his parents' house (while they were away) somewhere on the South Coast. The guitar amp I'd been assured would be there turned out to be a TV set. I had to play in the garden to minimise the buzz. I don't have a copy of the resultant tape, but I'm fairly convinced it would have been unconvincing. Armed with it, however, Bradley managed to bend the ear of Lou Reizner (RIP), then the representative of Mercury Records in the happening-if-hard-to-understand-from-a-US-perspective UK. A Contract was in the offing.

Probably it was not just the tape. Judge and I had spent some time in London after our demo experience with Caleb and somehow or other ended up at John Peel's flat regaling him with a song or so. I'm not sure if the typewriter was present or not at this stage. Some time later he entered us in his "A to Z of the Perfumed Garden" as being a (possibly the only) "V" item of interest. I guess that was enough to swing it for Lou.... As I say, the UK and London was hard to understand on that other, 1968, planet.

Somewhere around this time, Judge and I began, not before time, to have our doubts about Caleb Bradley. We did not want to be signed to him, or for him to sign us up to somebody else. Cue Lawyers? Heavies? A gentle word? Tantrums? In fact, cue the two of us rushing down to London, avec amps, avec drum kit, avec Latex mask, up the stairs of the Knightsbridge block, into the office and...play. To Lou, behind his desk. Demo tapes? Promo videos? Marketing packages? Not in those days. Lou must have been somewhat taken aback, but this escapade clinched The Deal.

So it came to pass that the Mercury contract was directly with us; the nineteen-year-old (under-age), legally unrepresented, eager Van der Graaf Generator, Judge and I. A good contract? Good points? Publishing involved as well? Erm... It was a contract; a 1968 contract. For all that, we thought, we were going to make records. Lou took us to the Playboy Club for a Spanky and Our Gang reception. The club didn't take to kindly to my voluminous candy-pink flares and skimpy top, but they let us in... provided I wore the proffered tie. Big Time, yes?

On a positive note, we were shortly also going to be a bit more of a group. Hugh Banton, the brother of a friend of ours from Manchester, agreed to join us as organist. He - as violently opposed to Judge and I as you like - was a Real Musician. From our first meeting in his flat above an Ice Cream Parlour in North End Road, West Ken, we were an increased unit. We didn't do a lot of rehearsal but made lots of plans. We were sent - at Mercury's expense - to Bournemouth for a photo session. Infrared film. HB dressed as Beethoven. Judge somewhere in Transylvania. Myself in the aforementioned flares and some kind of feather-headress. All (we thought) fairly normal stuff for the times....

great things to come. Think of this album like the first two YES albums or GENESIS' "Trespass". The lineup is a bit different from their classic albums, this album featured guitarist/vocalist Peter HAMMILL, drummer Guy Evans, keyboardist Hugh Banton, and bassist Keith Ellis (who quickly hopped on to a band called JUICY LUCY). Notice that David Jackson is absent on this album. Some anonymous figure by the name of John provided a little flute.

This album is more of a proto-prog/psych/folk type of offering. It was intended to be a Peter HAMMILLl solo album (since VdGG broke up) but since VdGG reformed, it became a VdGG album. Strangely the album did not initially receive a British release, the US print on Mercury is the original pressing. It later appeared in Britain on the Fontana label in the 1970s (as well as Vertigo over in Italy). The album still has good material on it, like "Aquarians", "Octopus", "Necromancer", "Running Back". The title track is one of the rare times the band showed a sense of humor. "Aquarians" seems to have more strong hippie overtones than what is normal for the band. "Octopus" is by far the most progressive song on this album, with extended organ solos. Certainly this album shows that many of the late '60s psychedelic elements have not left, but it's still a nice album worth having. Of course, start with "H to He" or "Pawn Hearts" before you come here.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR The Aerosol Grey Machine
Review by Fernando Raffani @ 11:10:30 PM EST, 2/19/2004
PROG REVIEWER

— The songs in this album aren´t so complex as in Pawn Hearts, but it´s a very good album, with good psychedelic influences and beautiful and dark melodies that marked the sound of Van der Graaf Generator. Very good album, recomended to all VdGG fans.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR The Aerosol Grey Machine
Review by Hugues Chantraine @ 7:55:07 AM EST, 2/4/2004
PROG REVIEWER

— for those (like me) who had big problems getting into this band , this is an invaluable album to enter this dark and gloomy wonderworld but this is only a first step as this an unusual album for VDGG (read the liner notes- they explain this better than I could) so nothing is sure even if you like this one.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR The Aerosol Grey Machine
Review by carl @ 9:12:44 PM EST, 9/21/2004

— Debut albums are never a great place to start off with because usually the band members are just getting use to each other and are experimenting with different sounds in an attempt to find their given niche. This album is no exception. However, if you're a big VDGG fan, this is reccommended, just avoid it if you're new to the band, because it isn't the best or the most interesting.

VAN DER GRAAF GENERATOR The Aerosol Grey Machine
Review by Jeppe @ 8:24:38 AM EST, 5/26/2004

— This record was amogst the first VdGG I ever heard, I was a little disappointed. Having heard pieces of masterpieces like Pawn Hearts & H to He..., I guess I expected a little more from this extraordinary band. But anyway as a debut this isn't at all bad, certainly better than Genesis' debut "From genesis to revelation." Some of the tracks are a bit dull and do not add anything interesting to this album. But tracks like the psychedelic "Aquarian" the more fierce "Octopus" and the beautiful "Afterwards" truly gives a clue of what to expect from a band like this. This day we can all be glad that a man like Tony Stratton-Smith (who also discovered Genesis) had an ability to spot talent like this.