Nik Turner

Music Home >> Music Genres >> Undetermined Music



< < < < < > > > > > More Info on Nik Turner Similar Undetermined Music Search Artistopia

Biography

Nik Turner (born Nicholas Turner, 26 August 1940, Oxford , Oxfordshire , England ) is a British people|British musician, best known as a founding member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind . Turner plays saxophone s, flute , sings and is a composer. While with Hawkwind, Turner was known for his experimental free jazz stylisations and outrageous stage presence, often donning full makeup and Ancient Egypt -inspired costumes.

1940-69: Early years

Turner was born in Oxford in August 1940 to a theatrical family, although his father was working in a munitions factory. At the age of 13 his family moved to the Kent seaside resort of Margate where he would work at the local funfair during the summer holiday season, befriending another seasonal worker Robert Calvert . His first influences were Rock and Roll and the films of James Dean .

He went on to complete an engineering course and then undertook one voyage in the Merchant Navy. He then set about travelling around Europe picking up menial jobs, and it was during a stint as a roustabout in a travelling music circus in 1967 that he made the acquaintance of Dave Brock in Haarlem , Netherlands .

He had two years of clarinet and saxophone lessons in the early 1960s but never considered himself good enough to pursue it seriously. However, whilst travelling around Europe he encountered some free jazz players in Berlin who impressed upon him the importance of expression over technical proficiency, and it was then that he decided that what he "wanted to do was play free jazz in a rock band".

1969-76 and 1982-84: Hawkwind

Turner, owning a van, had originally offered his services as a roadie to the newly formed Hawkwind. However, when the band discovered his passion for the saxophone he was offered a position in the band to add to the overall weirdness of their sound.

Of his playing, Turner admitted that "it's the overall feel rather than the individual parts of the music that we're interested in. I don't have any illusions about my technical ability. I tend to use it as an electronic medium rather than an instrument". He became an active and vocal member of the band, pulling in friends such as Dik Mik, Calvert and Barney Bubbles , and involving the band in community and charity projects, sometimes to the chagrin of the others.

NME - September 1972

He was a member of the band during their most commercially successful and critically acclaimed period, writing or co-writing some of their most popular songs such as "Brainstorm" and "Master of the Universe". However, complaints about his playing over other members of the band despite numerous requests to modify his behaviour eventually led to his dismissal in November 1976.Saga of Hawkwind, Carol Clerk, Publisher: Music Sales Limited, ISBN 1-84449-101-3

In 1982 during the recording of Choose Your Masques , Brock invited Turner to the recording sessions and he was asked to front the band for the album's tour. Turner's second stint in the band lasted just over 2 years and although some live albums and videos were released, the band did not undertake any studio recording. At the end of 1984 while preparing material for the The Chronicle of the Black Sword album, he was sacked once again.

1977-86: Sphynx and Inner City Unit

After leaving Hawkwind the first time, Turner holidayed in Egypt and while visiting the Great Pyramid of Giza he was given three hours inside the King's Chamber to record some flute music. On returning to England, Steve Hillage cleaned up the tapes and assembled the Sphynx band featuring Hawkwind's Alan Powell , Gong's Mike Howlett and Tim Blake , and Harry Williamson to record music augmenting the original flute tracks while Turner adapted lyrics from the Egyptian Book of the Dead . The album was released as Xitintoday on Charisma records in 1978 and the band toured, played festivals including Deeply Vale Festivals (later released as a CD), Glastonbury Festival (part of which was broadcast BBC television) and his own themed Bohemian Love-In all day festival at the Roundhouse.

With Williamson he conceived the "Nuclear Waste" single featuring many of the Sphynx musicians and a lead vocal by Sting (musician)|Sting . He then guested on the album Fairy Tales by Williamson and Gilli Smyth 's project Mother Gong, and out of this he, Mo Vicarage and Ermanno Ghisio-Erba (a.k.a. Dino Ferari ) formed Inner City Unit with Trev Thoms and Dead Fred . The band recorded the albums Pass Out and Maximum Effect before collapsing due to certain members drug problems. Turner and Dead Fred had stints in Hawkwind before regrouping to release the albums New Anatomy , The President Tapes and the EP Blood and Bone .

1987-99

Turner's next project was Nik Turner's Fantastic All Stars, a sax and Hammond organ driven jazz and rhythm and blues band. They gigged for several years, eventually releasing the album Kubanno Kickasso! .

Turner and Twink (musician)|Twink got together for some impromptu live performances under the name Pinkwind, two CDs of which were released on Twink's own record label without the permission of Turner.

In 1993 Turner was approached by Pressurehed and Helios Creed to record another version of his Sphynx project using the original flute tracks, resulting in the album Sphynx . This partnership then developed further, regularly touring in the US performing a set of Hawkwind-centred material sometimes featuring Genesis P-Orridge , Jello Biafra and former Hawkwind members Simon House , Del Dettmar and Powell. One studio album Prophets of Time was released in 1994 followed by the live CD and DVD Space Ritual 1994 Live and another live CD Past or Future? in 1996. Out of this set of musicians formed the band Anubian Lights, centred around Len Del Rio and Tommy Greñas from Pressurehed with contributions from Turner, Dettmar and House, as did the band Spiral Realms centred around House and Rio.

2000-present

On 21 October 2000 at the Brixton Academy a 'Hawkestra' event took place, featuring nearly all past members of Hawkwind. Disagreements between various participants led to any restaging of the event being unlikely, but Turner did stage a further event under the banner 'The Greasy Truckers Party featuring members of the Hawkestra' on 21 October 2001 at the London Astoria. Out of this a loose band formed, performing further gigs and eventually using the name xhawkwind.com. An appearance at Guilfest in 2002 led to confusion as to whether this actually was Hawkwind, sufficiently irking Brock into taking legal action to prohibit Turner from trading under the name Hawkwind, a case which Turner lost. The band settled on the name Space Ritual and are still currently active.

Turner has resurrected another version of Inner City Unit with Thoms, performing irregular gigs. He also fronts the "psychedelic latino-funk" band Galaktikos. He continues to attend festivals playing and guesting whenever possible and is an eager contributor to other band's projects, such as recording an album and touring with US space rockers Spaceseed in 2004, and live appearances with UK dance outfit Akahum at BGG Shareholders Party & HEADS Haiti Benefit show. Living in Carmarthen, he often busks playing his saxophone in Cardiff city centre during weekend nights.

After playing at "Hawkfan Festival" in Hamburg in 1997 and the Space And Rock Festival - Rocksjon, Jonkoping, Sweden in 1998 with the Finnish space rock group Dark Sun, they moved to play at Tavastia Club, Helsinki, Finland. This resulted in the live album , Ice Ritual , which was released in 2000.

Discography

:''For Turner's work as a member of Inner City Unit, see the Inner City Unit article. For his work as a member of Space Ritual, see the Space Ritual (band) article.

As a member of Hawkwind

1970 – Hawkwind (album)|Hawkwind

1971 – In Search of Space

1972 – Doremi Fasol Latido

1973 – Space Ritual

1974 – Hall of the Mountain Grill

1975 – Warrior on the Edge of Time

1976 – Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music

1980 – The Weird Tapes#Volume 3: Hawkwind Free Festivals|Weird Tapes Volume 3 – live 1975-77

1981 – The Weird Tapes#Volume 5: Hawkwind Live 1976-77|Weird Tapes Volume 5 – live 1976-77

1982 – Choose Your Masques – guests on "Void City" only

1982 – The Weird Tapes#Volume 6: Hawkwind Live 1970-73|Weird Tapes Volume 6 – live 1970-73

1983 – The Weird Tapes#Volume 8: Live 1966-73|Weird Tapes Volume 8 – live 1966-73

1983 – The Text of Festival – live 1970-1971

1983 – Zones (album)|Zones – live 1980 and 1982

1984 – This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic – live 1980 and 1984

1984 – Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin – live 1973

1984 – Space Ritual Volume 2 – live 1972

1987 – Out & Intake – outtakes and live 1982-1986

1991 – BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (Hawkwind album)|BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert – live 1972

1995 – Undisclosed Files Addendum – live 1984 and 1988

1997 – The 1999 Party – live 1974

1999 – Atomhenge 76 – live 1976

2000 – Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2 – live 1982

Solo and collaborative projects

1978 – Nik Turner's Sphynx – Xitintoday (Charisma, CDS4011)

1993 – Nik Turner – Sphynx (Cleopatra, CLEO21352)

1994 – Nik Turner – Prophets of Time (Cleopatra, CLEO69082)

1995 – Nik Turner – Space Ritual 1994 Live (Cleopatra, CLEO95062) and video-DVD (Cherry Red, CRDVD136) – live

1995 – Pinkwind – Festival Of The Sun (Twink Records, TWK CD2) – live

1995 – Anubian Lights – Eternal Sky (Hypnotic, CLEO96032)

1996 – Hawkfairies – Purple Haze (Twink Records, TWK CD5) – live

1996 – Anubian Lights – The Jackal and Nine EP (Hypnotic, CLEO 9666-2)

1996 – Nik Turner – Past or Future? (Cleopatra) - live

1997 – Nik Turner – Sonic Attack 2001 (Dossier, 8480) – compilation album of Cleopatra material

1998 – Anubian Lights – Let Not The Flame Die Out (Hypnotic, CLP 0346-2)

2000 – Nik Turner's Sphynx – Live At Deeply Vale (Ozit/Morpheus) – live 1978

2001 – Nik Turner's Fantastic All Stars – Kubanno Kickasso (Ozit/Morpheus, niktcd334)

Guest appearances

1974 – Robert Calvert – Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters (United Artists, UAG 29507)

1975 – Robert Calvert – Lucky Leif and the Longships (United Artists, UAG 29852)

1975 – Michael Moorcock & Deep Fix – New Worlds Fair (United Artists, UAG 29732)

1979 – Gilli Smyth|Mother Gong – Fairy Tales (Charly, CHRL 5018)

1981 – Robert Calvert – Hype (album)|Hype (A-Side, IF 0311)

1981 – Mother Gong – Robot Woman

1981 – Sham 69 – The Game (Polydor, 5033)

1982 – Catherine Andrews – Fruits (Cat Tracks, PURRLP2)

1982 – The Astronauts – Peter Pan Hits The Suburbs (Genius)

1982 – Big Amongst Sheep – Terminal Velocity (Rock Solid)

1983 – Underground Zero - The Official Bootleg

1994 – Psychic TV – Pagan Day (Cleopatra)

1994 – Helios Creed – Busting Through the Van Allen Belt (Cleopatra, CLP 9465-2)

1995 – The Stranglers – The Stranglers & Friends Live in Concert – live 1980

1995 – Sting (musician)|Sting and the Radioactors – Nuclear Waste (Voiceprint, BP181CD) – recorded in 1978

1996 – The Moor – Flux (Bishop Garden Records, BGR 03.1996.01 RM)

1997 – Nigel Mazlyn Jones , Guy Evans and Nik Turner – Live (Blueprint, BP250CD) – live

1999 – Dark Sun – Ice Ritual (Burnt Hippie records, BHR-004)

1999 – 46000 Fibres – The 5th Anniversary Concerts: Set 3 (TRI 3/3)

1999 – Babylon Whores – King Fear (Necropolis Records )

2001 – Blue Horses – ''Ten Leagues Beyond World's End

2003 – The Jalapeños – Tear It Up (3D Discs 0002)

2004 – Spaceseed – Future Cities Of The Past Part 1 (Project 9 Records)

2004 – Michael Moorcock and the Deep Fix – Rollercoaster Holiday (Voiceprint, VP351CD) – demos recorded in 1975

2005 – Muzak – Saturnia (Elektrohasch, ATHG-4127)

2009 - Space Mirrors - Majestic-12: A Hidden Presence (Sleaszy Rider, SR-0082)

Various artists

1983 - " Field Marshal Slug ; Punk Sax Live Genius. - Live.

1985 – Hawkwind, Friends and Relations#Volume 2 – Twice Upon A Time|Hawkwind, Friends and Relations Volume 2 – " The Man with the Golden Arm "

1995 – Saucerful of Pink: A Tribute to Pink Floyd – "Careful With That Axe Eugene"

Copyright Citations

This article is licensed under the GNU License
Click here for original article: Nik Turner


1. Inner City Unit 2. Robert Calvert 3. Steve Hillage

Undetermined Music Artists