2005
Neath - Windsor Club - 01639 644 398Space Ritual72 Windsor Road SA11 1NR - [map]
London - Ladbroke Grove - Inn on the Green - 020 8962 5757Group X = Space Ritual + Friends'X'-mas Party - doors 7.30pm - tickets £15 over the phone above, 07984 420 530 or box office 4-9pm3 Thorpe Close, W10 5XL - [map]
beneath the Westway (A40) between Ladbroke Grove and Portobello Road
Train: Kensal Green
Tube: Ladbroke Grove
MOJO MagazineNik TurnerHello Goodbye (last page), interview by Ian Harrison
Slough - Vikram's Occasions Palace - [map] - 07910 332684VIDEO: Watching the Grass Grow [5:02]GalaktikosFennerFest 2005 closing partyover 18's only, TICKETS £5 online or from 8pm on the door - Galaktikos onstage 9:30pm
London - Astoria - 020 7344 9592Space Ritual + Amon Düül II + Litmus157 Charing Cross Road WC2 8EN - [map]Space Ritual EP launch party
Fri 11 Nov 2005
Shrewsbury - Buttermarket - 01743 231 142Space Ritual + Amon Düül IIHoward Street, SY1 2LF - just by the railway station - [map]doors 8.30pm; showtime 9.30pm
Sat 29 Oct 2005
Porth - Rhondda Hotel - 01443 682388 or 01443 688125GalaktikosHigh Street, Cymmer CF39 9AD - "traditional family pub" - [map]onstage 9pm
Pembrokeshire - Preseli FM 106.7DJ Nik TurnerLast of four of Nik's planned Tuesday evening 7-9 slotsscheduled interwiew with local recording studio entrepreneur/producer/engineers - Jon Turner (no relation) of Back-Bedroom Studio and Wynne Jones of Fflach Studio, both of Cardigan - recounting their adventures in the glamourous world of recording, and playing their choice of music
Pembrokeshire - Preseli FM 106.7DJ Nik TurnerThird of four of Nik's planned Tuesday evening 7-9 slotsinterwiew with Declan Conolly - pillar (he says pillow) of local alternative society - who has always been involved and is still highly active in organising local festivals (both free and other) and all forms of entertainment - who brought the Queens Hall venue in Narberth up to national touring standard for bands, and ran a community wholefood co-op - playing his choice of tunes
Liverpool - Carling Academy - 0870 771 2000Space Ritual + Jalapeños11/13 Hotham Street, Merseyside, L3 5UF - [map]
Pembrokeshire - Preseli FM 106.7DJ Nik TurnerSecond of four of Nik's planned Tuesday evening 7-9 slotsinterwiew with Bill Dent-de-Lion (puppetmaster, Small World Theatre), examining his experiences promoting forestation in desert countries through the medium of puppet workshops and storytelling - as well as working locally in schools in wales - and playing mostly bill's choice of music in a sort of 'Desert Island' format
Pembrokeshire - Preseli FM 106.7DJ Nik TurnerFirst of four of Nik's planned Tuesday evening 7-9 slotsinterwiews with Bill Davies (host of the Blue Rock Festival) and Tony 'Boloni' Cordy (stage manager and kids area consultant, ex-Tibetan Ukranian Mountain Troupe, tree fayres, etc), discussing festivals, local mythology, bluestones, stonehenge, etc., as well as airing demos of bands who played the festival in 2005
Sun 18 Sep 2005
Lyme Regis - Street PartyGalaktikos2-7pm - [map]
Whitland - House swap?Galaktikosdown main street, over train track, 1st right, 1st left, look for track to farm... - [area map]'onstage' 11pm, or thereabouts - 'part of someone's reality tv house swap with granada tv'
Fri-Sat 9-10 Sep 2005
Sonic Rock Festival - Skegness - The Farm - 01754 87144Space Ritual, Arthur Brown, Here & Now, System 7 + many moreaka Bank Farm Country Club, Anderby Road, Chapel St Leonards, PE24 5XH - [area map]advance ticket sales only - not available at the gate - £30 the weekend, £20 the Saturday; under 16's free
Sun 4 Sep 2005
Birdman Festival - IlfracombeSpace Ritualnr Barnstaple - on the waterfront from noon onwards - the lads are playing rather later...
Farmer Phil's Festival - ShropshireSpace Ritualnr Rattlingthorpe - all info on their site
Celtic Blue Rock Festival - Southwest WalesGalaktikos ...piano bar, and 8.30pm other stage...Trefawr Farm, Llanfyrnach, nr Crymych, nr Ceredigion - [map]Community Arts, Crafts & Performance
Big Green Gathering - North Somerset - 01273 723 778Galaktikos - Wednesday or Thursday (TBC)image courtesy Mark Pickthall; collection available on cd
WMUC - FM 88.1 College Park USANik Turner & SpaceseedDJ Sean the Suspect's playlist includes Zombies Return
Sat 30 Jul 2005
Bristol - Black Swan - 0117 939 3334Inosmnia - "4 rooms of fun and frolics"... 10pm-5am - tickets £10/£8 concessions - FFI/Blaggers 07881 530 093 - lighting by Striking Lighting438 Stapleton Road, Eastville BS5 6NR - [map]Galaktikos, The Temple, Martian, Harry Monk, Simmer, Chris Liberator, Millenium Drummer, The Pyramid, Denz, Dubwise, Liquify Soundsystem, The Passage, THG, Pete D, Dpecial K, Mr T, Themoruz Mullered, The Chill, Bunny Boiler, C Chong Noodles, Sixtoe Skoob Patch
Ouseburn Festival - Newcastle - 0191 281 6449Space Ritual9th annual event
Wickerman Festival - ScotlandSpace Ritualnr Kirkudbright, Galloway
WMUC - FM 88.1 College Park USANik Turner & SpaceseedDJ Sean the Suspect's playlist includes Zombies Return
Guildford Festival - SurreySpace Ritual - Sunday the 17th on the 'Uncut' stage...Tickets: online and by telephone on 01483 454 159
Fri 15 Jul 2005
Berg Herzberg Festival - GermanySpace RitualBreitenbach, nr Frankfurt - "Traditional Hippie Convention"
Small Nations Festival - Wales - [area map]Galaktikos + 35 other actsCilycwm, nr Llandovery, Carmarthenshire
Rhythms of the World - Hitchin, Herts - 01462 454 649*GalaktikosBBC Three Counties Radio: 94.7 FM (Aylesbury), 95.5 FM (N. Beds), 98 FM (High Wycombe), 103.8 FM (S. Beds and Herts) and 104.5 FM (Milton Keynes); 1161 AM (Beds), 630 AM (Herts, Bucks...Ęcovers most of the south east).
Saturday 430pm Marketplace Stage; 6pm BBC Three Counties Radio streaming; 7pm jamming in the church with Sonja Kristina (ex-Curved Air) and friends
Workhouse Festival - Mid Wales - tickets: 08454 588 359Space Ritual - Sunday the 3rdLlanfyllin, nr Shrewsbury
Space RitualSkegness - The Farm - 01754 87144aka Bank Farm Country Club, Anderby Road, Chapel St Leonards, PE24 5XH - [area map]
Glastonbury Festival - Worthy FarmGalaktikosLost Vagueness Ballroom 6pm Fri and 2pm Sunday
Small World Stage 10pm Friday
Mandala Stage to be announced...
Merlin, Magic & Mystery Festival - Carmarthen - [map] - 01554 747 519Galaktikos7pm (Coracle racing on the river Towy on Friday the 10th)
Strawberry Fair - CambridgeSpace Ritual
Solva, Pembrokeshire - Village Hall? - [map] - 01437 721 907Galaktikos
Denaby, S. Yorks - The Milestone - 01709 324 066Galaktikosnr Doncaster - formerly 'The Pig' - A630 to Conisborough, then A633 west toward Mexborough, then? - [map]
Paignton - Half Moon - enquiries: 01803 551 385Space Ritual + All Living Fear188-190 Torquay Road, TQ3 2AL - [map]
Falmouth - Princess Pavilion - box office: 01326 211 222July's issue of Record Collector magazine includes a review of this gigSpace RitualMelville Road, TR11 4AR - [map]
rail: Falmouth Town
capacity 400
Nik Turner describes his musical aspirations as "playing free-form jazz in a psychedelic rock band". Here, rejoined with four of his ex-Hawkwind bandmates he's got pretty damn close to his original goals. Turner is older than Methuselah and larger than life. He's a showman, a ringleader and a magician. He could be the next Dr Who. In his various terms of office with Hawkwind, his irrepressible personality soared higher than a tab of acid as he elbowed his performances in-between the blanga guitars of Dave Brock, the pile-driving baselines of Lemmy and the outrageous theatrics of Bob Calvert.
Amongst his Space Ritual comrades he is more subtle - as though mellowed by the leadership of a band. And, there are no other members here that are as in-your-face as Turner. Instead there is the avuncular ex-Skin Alley bassist Thomas Crimble perched now behind a Roland keyboard and the slight figure of Mick Slattery looking like he arrived for a forty-year reunion of a once famous Merseybeat combo.
Laying-on the pressure in the middle, though, are original Hawkwind drummer "Caveman" Terry Ollis (no longer playing in the altogether!) and In Search of Space bassist Dave Anderson. They are under-rehearsed, primitive and improvised, but they're also infectious, matey and having fun.
Driving through a surprisingly long set made-up predominately of early 70s Hawkwind numbers they also show-off a couple of newer numbers of their own, of which "Crime Time" is a particularly catchy and upbeat success. They have an all-new CD in final remix stage and are clearly ready to distance themselves from their origins and spread their own stellar gospel across the land.
Ian Abrahams
Thu 5 May 2005
Southampton - NexusSpace RitualEastgate Street, SO14 3HB - [map]
Sat 30 Apr 2005
Coventry - Jailhouse - tel 024 7622 1274Space RitualGreyhound Inn, 118 Much Park Street, CV1 2LU - [map]
Leeds - New Roscoe - box office: 0113 245 5570Space Ritual ...doors at 8pm, tickets £9 advanceBristol Street, Sheepscar LS7 1DH - [map]
London - 100 Club - 020 7636 0933Space Ritual ...by Club Bang! Bang! - tickets online100 Oxford Street W1D 1LL - [map]
Train: Charing Cross (15 mins), Euston (17 mins)
Tube: Tottenham Court Road (Central & Northern - 3 mins), Oxford Circus (Central, Victoria & Bakerloo)
Bus: directly outside: 7, 8, 25, 55, 98, 176 and N8, N25, N176, N207; 30 metres away: 10, 73, N73
Slough - Vikram's Occasions Palace - 07910 332684Galaktikos ...also: Care in the Community (Slough's favourite anarcho-funketeers); Jose Navarro (Peruvian shamanic puppeteer); Myddle8, Subterfuge Cabaret"The most fanastic Punjabi wedding venue in Europe" - Herschel Street, SL1 1PL - [map]"Rock & Roll, Dancing Girls, Freakshow Entertainment - Dress Up, It's Cabaret, not 'down the pub!'" - Tickets £7 advance/£8 door online from FennerFest and We Got Tickets, in person from the Herschel Arms
Clydach, Swansea - Carpenter's Arms - box office: 01792 84 33 33GalaktikosSA6 5LN - [map]
Godmanchester - Britten ArenaSpace RitualKingsbush Farm, London Road PE29 2NH - nr. Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire
Cambridge - Birthday Biker BashSpace Ritual ...many happy returns...
Sat 9 Apr 2005
Roadburn FestivalTilburg, Netherlands - 013 ClubEurope's foremost psychedelic underground space rock festival makes way for Space Ritual amongst a dozen or so bands on three stages - advance tickets €22.50 - complete line up and details on their web siteMonster multi screen imaging, live and on demand streaming webcasts and web tv in co-ordination with VPRO 3VOOR12 - Streaming online audio of Space Ritual - [1:09:21] 700MBNik & Angie, courtesy Fred Platje - more in the gallery
Bristol - New Trinity Centre - 0117 907 7119Space RitualTrinity Road, St Phillips, BS2 0NW - [map]
Sheffield - Boardwalk - 0114 279 9090Space RitualSnig Hill, S3 8NA - [map]
Plymouth - Plymouth UniversitySpace Ritual
Honiton - Honiton Motel - [map] - 0117 987 3403Space Ritual
Ilfracombe, North Devon - The PhoenixSpace RitualQueens Hotel, High Street - [map]
Finland - Helsinki - On the RocksGood Friday - indoor mini-festNik again guests* with Dark Sun on a bill which includes cohorts Five-Fifteen*Nik features on Dark Sun's 2002 live CD "Silver Machine", and appears on one track each of studio recordings "Six Dimensions of the Electric Camembert" and "Stone Cold Heartbreaker"
Fri 11 Mar 2005
Southampton - The Angel - 023 8033 9186Galaktikos ...onstage 9pm21-22 Palmerston Road, SO14 1LL - [map]
Swansea - Uplands Tavern - [map] - 01792 458 242Galaktikos...onstage 9pm27 Uplands Crescent, Uplands, West Glamorgan, SA2 0PG - live music since 1998 - capacity 330 - a premier venue for unsigned indie and rock acts
KBOO - Portland, Oregon USAHawkwind® Special ...listen in midnight to 6am Pacific (8am-2pm Greenwich)"Volunteer powered, listener sponsored community radio"
Gagliardi Archives - web/radio11am-3pm Eastern USA (0600-1000 GMT) - Re-broadcast of Programme No. 881, "2004 in Review" includes Nik Tuner & Spaceseed, Future Cities Of The Past Part IAural Moon: broadband or dialup; 88.5 & 95.1 FM in the Delaware Valley
Gagliardi Archives - web/radio10pm-2am Eastern USA (0600-1000 Sun 2 Jan GMT) - Programme No. 881, "2004 in Review" includes Nik Tuner & Spaceseed, Future Cities Of The Past Part IAural Moon: broadband or dialup; 88.5 & 95.1 FM in the Delaware Valley