| Track | Album |
|---|---|
| Imperial Zeppelin | Fool’s Mate |
| (In The) Black Room/The Tower | Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night |
| Been Alone So Long | Nadir’s Big Chance |
| Red Shift | The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage |
| Flight | The Margin |
| Patient | The Margin |
| Four Pails | Skin |
| Sleep Now | And Close As This |
| A Way Out | Out Of Water |
| I Will Find You | Fireships |
Peter Hammill photo by Luciano Viti (Rome 1984)
By the time I discovered Peter Hammill’s music in 1983 after seeing him in the support slot at Marillion’s Hammersmith Odeon gig he’d already been releasing records for 14 years. Following that show I started to hunt down his albums. The first one I came across was Nadir’s Big Chance and while the LP as a whole is great there was no doubt which song absolutely stood out from the rest. Been Alone So Long spoke very loudly indeed to this 19-year-old.
Next up was a two for one cassette that featured Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night and The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage albums. From the first selection (In The) Black Room/The Tower is just a Gothic tour de force, one of the best things he ever did. Moving on to side two (in old money) we find Red Shift, a dreamy spacey drift through the Cosmos while Peter ruminates on the meaning of Everything and Time etc. Y’know the usual stuff. Also features guitar by the late Randy California.
By this point I’d found his debut Fool’s Mate and although it’s a touch lightweight I’ve always had a soft spot for the opener Imperial Zeppelin. A co-write with Judge Smith of course and a pointer towards the latter’s epic Curly’s Airships.
In early 1985 I bought my first contemporaneous Peter Hammill LP, The Margin. A live release that sounded very odd to my ears at first on account of all the applause having been edited out. Nevertheless, the side-long Flight was an intense and enthralling listen that held me rapt. Also from this set is the excellent Patient. Not much to add apart from the fact that I just really like the dynamics of that song.
I love Four Pails from Skin. Written by Judge Smith and Max Hutchinson with a heartfelt vocal from Peter. The song explores the opposing beliefs of life as just a collection of chemicals that, once expended, cease to exist, or that our personalities go on after physical death to some form of afterlife (I think!).
Peter’s second album from 1986, And Close As This, contains the lovely Sleep Now. A lullaby for his daughters as their father contemplates them growing up and leaving the fold. As a dad to a (now 30-year-old) daughter, I’m always moved by this song.
A Way Out is allegedly about the suicide of Peter’s brother. I’ve no idea if that’s true but the song certainly conjures up feelings of limits being reached, running out of time/road etc. Definitely the best thing on the Out Of Water album.
And finally, I’ve picked I Will Find You from the Fireships album. It was released at the same time that I got married and so has a sentimental attachment to that period. Nice melody too!
There’s so much more in Peter’s catalogue but these ten selections probably represent that period when I was most intensely interested in his work.
Peter Hammill has released over forty ˈsoloˈ and collaborative studio albums since 1971. This top 10 has been selected from Fool’s Mate (1971), Chameleon In The Shadow Of The Night (1973), The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage (1974), Nadir’s Big Chance (1975), The Margin (live album 1985), Skin (1986), And Close As This (1986), Out Of Water (1990), Fireships (1992).
Sofa Sound: An Official Peter Hammill Website
Van der Graaf Generator website
Public Facebook Group for fans of Peter Hammill & Van der Graaf Generator
“Rock and Role: The Visionary Songs of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator” by Joe Banks (Kingmaker Publishing, 520 pages, 2025)
Toppermost #368: Van der Graaf Generator
Toppermost #1,192: Judge Smith
Andrew Holloway is semi-retired. As a younger man, he played drums in a covers band for just over 10 years. He still enjoys listening to music and reading, especially history. You can follow him on Bluesky.
TopperPost #1,193
Judge Smith
Had been meaning to check out Peter’s music for a long time. This excellent piece gives me the perfect place to start digging in.
An almost impossible task to select a top 10 from such a hugh catalogue of songs and one I shied away from, so well done for doing so. I can’t argue with any of your selections, all worthy of a place. Thanks for doing this and allowing me a pleasant wander down memory lane.