Peter Hammill, NEARFest Bethlehem PA, 2008 by Lrheath
I
In my last article for The Jam Files, “Fugazi: How Marillion’s ‘Difficult’ Second Album Changed My Life,” I mentioned that I saw Marillion live at Edinburgh’s Playhouse in April 1983. This concert not only confirmed my liking for Marillion, but it introduced me to the unique sound of their supporting act, Peter Hammill. In contrast to Marillion’s more mainstream prog rock, Peter Hammill’s stripped-back sound emphasized his distinctive voice and the complexity of his poetic and philosophical lyrics, such as those of "The Comet, The Course, The Tail.”
They say we are endowed with free will
At least that justifies our need for indecision
But between our instincts and the lust to kill
We bow our heads in submission.
Afterwards, I started collecting Peter Hammill’s music. In the 1970s, Hammill was the vocalist and lyric writer of Van Der Graaf Generator. From 1971 onwards, he released a series of solo albums with members of Van Der Graaf Generator backing him. His sound was very austere compared to other prog rock. It was dominated by Hugh Banton’s churchlike organ, David Jackson’s twin saxophones and Guy Evans’ ferocious drumming; the perfect accompaniment to Peter Hammill’s lyrics of existential dread, for example in “Still Life.”
Take away the fear of death
and all you’re left with is a round of make believe.
Van Der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill had a devoted following in the UK, but were more popular on the European continent where their intellectually challenging music was widely appreciated.
Among other musicians Peter Hammill is widely respected. The bleakness of Hammill’s lyrics probably influenced Fish’s on the album Fugazi. In 1978, on the album, The Future Now, Peter Hammill anticipated the song “Fugazi” with his song “Mediaeval” which ends with these words:
And God lives in the underground silos
Hanging on for Judgement Day;
If we don't open our eyes pretty soon
Well, then the Dark Ages will be here to stay.
Yet Peter Hammill’s music resonates with musicians in many different genres, including David Bowie, Magazine, The Associates, The Cure, Marc Almond and Simple Minds. One of the most surprising people to name him as an influence was Britain’s most famous punk rocker—Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols.
II
By the summer of 1977, the Sex Pistols had become the most notorious band in Britain. They had burst into the wider public consciousness at the end of 1976, when, invited to replace Queen on an afternoon TV show, they embarked on a profanity-laced interview with the host Bill Grundy. “The Filth and the Fury” proclaimed the Daily Mirror. The intensity of their guitar-led sound, paired with Johnny Rotten’s impassioned lyrical delivery shook up the British music scene. Their first single, “Anarchy in the UK,” soared into the Top 10.
As Britain prepared to celebrate the Silver Jubilee, the 25th anniversary to the accession to the throne of Queen Elizabeth II in June 1977, the Sex Pistols marked the occasion by releasing their version of the National Anthem, “God Save The Queen.” Its release caused great offense, with politicians and newspapers lining up to express their condemnation of the band.
The BBC’s pop music station, Radio 1, banned the record and commercial stations also refused to play it. Nevertheless, its sales should have taken it to the # 1 position in the charts; however, the charts were manipulated to keep “God Save the Queen” at # 2, while Rod Stewart’s cover of “The First Cut is the Deepest” stayed at # 1 over the Jubilee period.
Despite the simplicity of the music and the intensity of Johnny Rotten’s vocals, the lyrics of “God Save The Queen” are deceptively sophisticated. After the challenging opening lines, “God Save the Queen/the fascist regime,” as the song continues, the lyrics develop a broader critique of contemporary life as seen from the perspective of young men from working class backgrounds living on suburban housing estates:
Oh when there's no future
How can there be sin
We're the flowers
In the dustbin
We're the poison
In your human machine
We're the future
Your future.
These lyrics show a thoughtfulness about human existence that was at odds with the image of anarchy the Sex Pistols presented. There was more to the music of Johnny Rotten than his dyed hair and ripped trousers might suggest.
One person who recognized that there was more to John Lydon (Johnny Rotten’s real name) was then Capital One DJ, Tommy Vance. On July 16, 1977, he interviewed John about his musical influences. Tommy Vance picks up an album, says, “Peter Hammill, who is this guy?” Johnny Rotten replies “You’d be surprised.” Peter Hammill, as a middle class prog rocker, writing long melodic songs of lyrical complexity, was exactly the sort of musician punks were expected to despise.
The album was Peter Hammill’s Nadir's Big Chance, released in 1975.
III
Everything in Peter Hammill’s life and music before Nadir’s Big Chance would put him firmly in the genre known as “progressive rock.” As soon as you hear the opening track, though, the music is in a very different realm, one in which it is easy to imagine the teenage Johnny Rotten receiving this influence.
“Nadir's Big Chance,” the title track, opens the album. Two years before punk became dominant, a guitar riff explodes and introduces lyrics of defiance that the Sex Pistols would follow. The first verse sets the tone:
I've been hanging around, waiting for my chance
To tell you what I think about the music that's gone down
To which you madly danced – frankly, you know that it stinks
I'm gonna scream, gonna shout, gonna play my guitar
Until your body's rigid and you see stars.
Then verse 3 is one that Johnny Rotten might have written himself:
Now's my big break – let me up on the stage
I'll show you what it's all about; enough of the fake
Bang your feet in a rage, tear down the walls and let us out!
We're more than mere morons, perpetually conned
So come on everybody, smash the system with the song
Come on everybody, smash the system with the song!
The energy of punk is reflected in one of the tracks Johnny Rotten had Tommy Vance play, “Nobody's Business.” The song’s chorus reflects the sense of futility that fueled punk:
Oh, you're nobody's business
Oh, oh, oh, you're nobody's business
And the patterns of your life
Are suddenly twisted and torn
And gone are all the clothes that you've worn
Just like yesterday's papers
You're tired and forlorn.
While the Sex Pistols burst like a thunderclap over the surface of British rock in the late 1970s, in Nadir’s Big Chance, Peter Hammill was pioneering the musical and lyrical terrain that punk and new wave would inhabit in the late 1970s and 1980s.
IV
Tensions between Johnny Rotten, the other members of the band and their manager, Malcolm McLaren, led to him leaving the Sex Pistols in January 1978.
After leaving the Sex Pistols “Johnny Rotten” reverted to his own name John Lydon and founded Public Image Limited, a more experimental band, that recorded eight albums between 1978 and 1992. Public Image broke up and reunited again in 2009. In between, Johnny Rotten reunited with the remaining Sex Pistols and their original bassist Glen Matlock, undertaking several tours between 1996 and 2008.
Peter Hammill continued to record and tour as a solo artist as well as with a reunited Van Der Graaf Generator. In 2003, he had a heart attack; further ill health in 2022 caused him to cease live performances.
Since my first exposure to Hammill’s music, I purchased some of his albums. I also saw him play live during the 1990’s. His performances bore out the description of critics who described Peter Hammill as “the Jimi Hendrix of the voice.” Peter Hammill’s lyrics have influenced my writing through the years.
For more on Peter Hammill: https://www.sofasound.com/
For more on the Sex Pistols: https://www.sexpistolsofficial.com/
Originally from London, Phil Kemp now resides in Iowa City, IA. Phil is a published poet, whose poems have been published in Adelaide Literary Magazine and featured in Iowa City's Poetry in Public program as well as a novelist and essayist. Phil owns and manages an independent publishing company, Little Feline Press and writes The Little Feline on Substack. Little Feline Press is found on these platforms: Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.