25 Years On

25 Years On
Studio album by Hawklords
Released	6 October 1978 (1978-10-06)
Recorded	June–August 1978
Studio	Langley Farm, Devon
Genre	New wave pop
Length	34:21
Label	Charisma
Producer	Dave Brock, Robert Calvert
Hawkwind chronology
Quark, Strangeness and Charm (1977) 25 Years On (1978) PXR5 (1979)
Singles from 25 Years On
"25 Years" Released: 18 May 1979

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music

25 Years On is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind, released in 1978. The band released it under the name "Hawklords" for legal reasons, as there was a dispute over ownership of the name "Hawkwind" at the time. It reached No. 48 on the UK album charts. It was originally titled 25 Years On and the first 25000 were pressed as this until the band decided to simply call it Hawklords. Subsequent re-releases have reverted to the name 25 Years On and the band also now use this name on their website.

A new remix and surround mix of the album by Steven Wilson was released in 2023 by Atomhenge records as part of the Days Of The Underground boxed set.

Background and recording

Hawkwind had self-imploded on a US tour earlier in the year leaving only Robert Calvert, Dave Brock and Simon King to embark on this project. They were joined by Harvey Bainbridge who had played bass in Devon group Ark who in turn had performed with Calvert and Brock as the Sonic Assassins, and by keyboardist Steve Swindells who had been in Pilot. During the Devon recording session King returned home to London and was replaced by Martin Griffin (also from Ark), but King subsequently returned giving the band two drummers. Simon House had left the earlier band to join David Bowie but contributed violin to the sessions, as did noted British jazz trumpeter Henry Lowther. Road manager Les McClure also has a cameo.

The music is perhaps as far removed from space rock as the band would ever get, these tracks being tightly arranged pieces more in tune with New Wave of the time rather than the band's history. Lyrically this is Calvert's most diverse dealing with themes such as telepathy ("Psi Power"), skydiving ("Free Fall"), Australian drug misuse ("Flying Doctor"), heroic bravery ("The Only Ones") and espionage ("The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid"). There is a light-hearted playfulness to these tracks, with only the lyrics of "The Age of the Micro Man" hinting at the bleak cold futuristic factory workers concept that Calvert and Barney Bubbles put together for the stage show of the album. The programme was reproduced in the CD booklet of the Atomhenge re-release.

"Psi Power" and "25 Years" were released as singles but are slightly different versions than those that appeared on the album.

New acoustic versions of "Flying Doctor", "Psi Power" and "The Age of the Micro Man" were included on The Road to Utopia (2018), produced and arranged by Mike Batt with additional orchestrations.

On 31 March 2023, Atomhenge Records (via Cherry Red) issued a new Steven Wilson mix and surround mix of the album as part of Days Of The Underground (The Studio & Live Recordings 1977-1979) 8CD/2BR boxed set. This set also included the Hawklords live album and previously unissued video recordings of "PSI Power" and "25 Years".

Track listing

Side 1

1. "Psi Power" (Robert Calvert, Dave Brock) – 6:06
2. "Free Fall" (Calvert, Harvey Bainbridge) – 5:13
3. "Automoton" (Calvert, Brock) – 1:13
4. "25 Years" (Brock) – 4:31

Side 2

5. "Flying Doctor" (Calvert, Brock) – 5:38
6. "The Only Ones" (Calvert, Brock) – 4:14
7. "(Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid" (Calvert) – 3:55
8. "The Age of the Micro Man" (Calvert, Brock) – 3:31

Atomhenge bonus tracks

9. "PSI Power" [single version] – 4:26
10. "Death Trap" [single mix] (Calvert, Brock) – 3:52
11. "25 Years" [single mix] – 3:30

Atomhenge bonus CD: "The Sonic Assassins"

1. "Over the Top" (Calvert, Brock, Bainbridge, Paul Hayles, Martin Griffin) – 7:50
2. "Magnu" (Brock) – 3:12
3. "Angels of Life" (Brock) – 1:12
4. "Freefall" (Calvert, Bainbridge) – 7:56
5. "Death Trap" (Calvert, Brock) – 4:30
6. "The Only Ones" [acoustic demo] (Calvert, Brock) – 4:38
7. "(Only) The Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid" [demo] (Calvert) – 3:31
8. "Flying Doctor" [live studio rehearsal version] (Calvert, Brock) – 5:37
9. "25 Years" [take one] (Brock) – 8:00
10. "Assassination" – 3:56
11. "Freefall" [take two] (Calvert, Bainbridge) – 5:28
12. "Only the Dead Dreams of the Cold War Kid" [take two] (Calvert, Brock) – 3:16
13. "The Age of the Micro Man" [take one] (Calvert, Brock) – 5:44
14. "Automoton" [full extended version] (Calvert, Brock) – 2:33
15. "Digger Jam" – 2:38

Personnel

Hawklords

• Robert Calvert – lead vocals, acoustic guitar (track 7)
• Dave Brock – acoustic and electric guitar, keyboards, backing vocals
• Harvey Bainbridge – bass guitar, backing vocals, synthesizers
• Steve Swindells – keyboards
• Simon King – drums (tracks 4,7,8), Congas (track 6)
• Martin Griffin – drums (tracks 1,2,5,6)

with

• Simon House – violin (tracks 6,7,8)
• Henry Lowther – trumpet (track 1)
• Les McClure – whisper voice (track 4)

Credits

• Recorded: Ronnie Lane's Mobile Studio at Langley Farm, Devon.
• Produced: Robert Calvert and Dave Brock. Engineered by Dennis Smith, Neil Fawcus and Neil Mount.
• Mixed at Wessex Studios, London. Engineered by Tim Friese-Greene and Mike Shipley.
• Sleeve by Barney Bubbles and Brian Griffin.
• CD 1 tracks 9–10: A & B sides of "Psi Power" single, released as Charisma CB323 in October 1978
• CD 1 track 11: A-side of "25 Years" single, released as Charisma CB332 in May 1979
• CD 2 tracks 1–5: Sonic Assassins: Recorded at the Queens Hall, Barnstaple on 23 December 1977
• CD 2 tracks 6–15: Unreleased session tapes: Recorded at Langley Farm, Devon between June and August 1978

Charts

Chart (1978)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)	48

Release history

• October 1978: Charisma, CDS4014, UK vinyl. Initial copies came with an inner sleeve.
• August 1982: Charisma, CHC10, UK vinyl
• April 1989: Virgin, CDSCD4014, UK CD
• January 2009: Atomhenge (Cherry Red) Records, ATOMCD2006, UK 2CD
• 31 March 2023: Atomhenge (Cherry Red) Records, ATOMCD101050, UK 8CD/2BR

External links

• Atomhenge Records
• Starfarer Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine – reviews, October 1978