Almost four decades after his untimely passing, Robert Calvert is still more remembered as a lead singer of HAWKWIND than the master storyteller he was. However, aficionados cherish the South African’s first two albums, the conceptual "Captain Lockheed And The Starfighters" and "Lucky Leif And The Longships" from, respectively, 1974 and 1975, while paying much less attention to his next endeavor, “Hype” from 1981, possibly because its subject matter seemed rather prosaic.
Hype
It should have been prosaic, of course, the record effectively providing a soundtrack to the musician’s novel of the same title, a fictitious tale of the rise and fall of a rock star. Not really a rarity, the platter has seen a few reissues over the years, one from 2003 augmenting the original tracklist with four bonus tracks, yet a new expansion, to be released on November 27th, offers more – not only demos and alternative variants but also an outtake and a live cut. An obscure classic featuring such luminaries as Nik Turner, Simon House and Michael Moorcock and deserving rediscovery.
1. Over My Head
2. Ambitious
3. It’s The Same
4. Hanging Out On The Seafront
5. Sensitive
6. Evil Rock
7. We Like To Be Frightened
8. Teen Ballad Of Deano
9. Flight 105
10. The Luminous Green Glow Of The Dials Of The Dashboard (At Night)
11. Greenfly And The Rose
12. Lord Of The Hornets
bonus tracks – CD only:
13. Couldn’t Go On (Hype sessions)
14. Over My Head (rough demo)
15. Hanging Out On The Seafront (alternate version)
16. Flight 105 (instrumental demo)
17. Lord Of The Hornets (demo)
18. Lord Of The Hornets (Rat Scabies remix)
19. Evil Rock (live in Acklam Hall – January 28th, 1982)
20. Newsbeat interview segment (1981)
