HW: Hawkwind

[Chris Bates]

Doug (no relation) Bates forwarded from Robert Godwin:

> I have just come off the BOC/Hawkwind mailing list, and I have been reading
> the backlog of messages about all things Hawkwind. I was more than a bit
> distressed by the innuendo that was flying around about Hawkwind and my
> company Griffin Music. I wonder if you would post this message onto the
> mailing list as I am not sure exactly how to do this myself.
> I would like to clarify some facts for the Hawkwind community.

Hey, a community! Wow! I thought we were just geeks with bad haircuts
:-))))

> First: As regards the T-shirt shortage on the last US Tour. Griffin
> manufactured the shirts in quantities that the band wanted. The number was
> based on what was deemed necessary and they were as shocked as we were when
> we had to go back and order more after the first couple of nights. I
> personally attended the first few nights and we were all taken aback by the
> demand.

Wasn't this the point being made? That demand was high, and people were
hacked off at missing out, and wanted to know why? Also the great t-shirt
debate was effectively making the point that HW are more popular in the
US than they (or their management) might realise, and that there is pent-up
demand for albums, merchandise and TOURS!

> Second: Yes Griffin had a problem last month with Doug Smith regarding two
> pieces that were sold on to a discounter.

Ah, it appears that Mr Godwin got caught up in a game of Net Chinese Whispers.
Start a rumour and it'll grow and grow and grow and mutate until it is
unrecognisable. A couple of hundred fans on this mailing list can work
up a fair head of hysteria if we choose to!

> lower price. This was resolved in one afternoon.

Around these parts one afternoon can be 50 panicky emails. Maybe BOC-L
needs to spend some collective time chilling out :-)

> and both will be released simultaneously in the UK and the USA. (Active are
> doing them in the UK. Release date is set for late August.)

And who, pary, is going to explain this one to my bank manager?

> Fourth: Doug Smith has been a great friend to Griffin Music. He trusted us
> when no one else would. He attended many of the shows on the last tour of
> the USA and did his bit to help smooth things along. He has, to his credit,
> finally started to bring the Hawkwind catalog back into the band's control.
> EBS is the band's own label and it was established to take care of them.

DS takes the rap for anything that goes *wrong*. That surely is part
of what he earns his money for. If he didn't cop the flak the band
(esp Dave) would.....

> Hawkwind are getting more attention now than they have for years, and I like
> to think that we at Griffin had a small hand in making that happen.

Very well done. Now how are they going to get some attention here
in the UK? Remember how popular they were in the early 80's with
large tours of 2000 seater venues? Now techno/ambient could potentially
add loads of new fans. So where is everyone?



Chris