Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951)
is an English musician, best known as a guitarist.
He is associated with the
Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo
recordings
A record, recording or records may refer to:
An item or collection of data Computing
* Record (computer science), a data structure
** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity
** Boot sector or boot record, r ...
he has been a member of
Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
,
Gong and
System 7.
History
Bands 1968–75
Hillage was born in
Chingford, which was then in
Essex
Essex () is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the Riv ...
but is now part of
Greater London
Greater may refer to:
*Greatness
Greatness is a concept of a state of superiority affecting a person or object in a particular place or area. Greatness can also be attributed to individuals who possess a natural ability to be better than al ...
. Whilst still at school, he joined his first band, a blues rock band called
Uriel
Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is men ...
, with
Dave Stewart,
Mont Campbell and
Clive Brooks
Clive Colin Brooks (28 December 1949 – 5 May 2017) was a drummer, best known for his work in the English progressive rock band Egg.
Biography Uriel/Egg
Clive Colin Brooks was born in Bow, East London. Answering a ''Melody Maker'' ad in early ...
.
The band split up in 1968 with the other members going on to form
Egg, but they briefly re-united under assumed names to record the album ''
Arzachel'' in 1969. Hillage also guested on Egg's 1974 album ''
The Civil Surface
''The Civil Surface'' is the third and final studio album by the English progressive rock band Egg, originally released in 1974 on Caroline Records. The band had broken up in 1972, leaving some of their favourite stage pieces unrecorded. At or ...
''.
In 1969, Hillage began studies at the
University of Kent
, motto_lang =
, mottoeng = Literal translation: 'Whom to serve is to reign'(Book of Common Prayer translation: 'whose service is perfect freedom')Graham Martin, ''From Vision to Reality: the Making of the University of Kent at Canterbury'' ...
in
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...
, befriending local bands
Caravan
Caravan or caravans may refer to:
Transport and travel
*Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together
**Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop
*Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals
*Convoy, a group of veh ...
and
Spirogyra and occasionally jamming with them. Meanwhile, he wrote songs and, by late 1970, had accumulated enough material for an album. Caravan put him in touch with their manager Terry King, who got Hillage signed with
Deram on the basis of a demo of his material recorded with the help of
Dave Stewart of Egg. In early 1971, Hillage formed
Khan
Khan may refer to:
*Khan (inn), from Persian, a caravanserai or resting-place for a travelling caravan
*Khan (surname), including a list of people with the name
*Khan (title), a royal title for a ruler in Mongol and Turkic languages and used by ...
with bassist/vocalist Nick Greenwood, formerly of
Crazy World of Arthur Brown.
Although future
Gong and
Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.
Career
In mid 1972 the band grew out of a line-up of ex-members of blues/jazz/rock band Del ...
drummer
Pip Pyle was involved in the early stages, the line-up finally settled with the inclusion of organist Dick Heninghem and drummer Eric Peachey,
both of whom had recently collaborated on Greenwood's solo project ''
Cold Cuts'', recorded in California in 1970 but belatedly released in 1972.
Following a series of concerts throughout 1971, several of them supporting label mates Caravan, Khan began recording their debut album in November, by which time Heninghem had left, forcing Hillage to bring in his former bandmate Dave Stewart to play the keyboard parts.
By the time ''
Space Shanty'' came out in May 1972, Canadian Val Stevens (formerly of Toronto's popular soul-rock band
Grant Smith & The Power
Grant Smith & The Power were a popular Canadian (from Toronto) rock-soul outfit from the 1960s that had a hit with a cover of Jackie Edwards' "Keep On Running" (previously a big hit for The Spencer Davis Group) and was also a training ground for m ...
) had filled the vacancy, making his debut on a short European tour (including a televised appearance at the Montreux Festival) and continuing with a UK tour supporting Caravan in June.
By then, musical disagreements between Hillage and Greenwood culminated with the latter's departure. Hillage decided to form a new line-up with a slightly different direction, retaining the services of Peachey and asking Stewart back, and adding
Nigel Griggs (later of
Split Enz
Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built a ...
) on bass. New compositions by Hillage and Stewart were added to the repertoire, including "I Love Its Holy Mystery", which would form the basis of Hillage's later ''Solar Musick Suite''. Hillage broke up the band in October 1972.
Hillage promptly joined
Kevin Ayers' new live band Decadence, participating in Ayers' 1973 album ''
Bananamour
''Bananamour'' is the fourth studio album by Kevin Ayers and it featured some of his most accessible recordings, including "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" and his whimsical tribute to Syd Barrett, " Oh! Wot A Dream". After ''Whatevershebringswesi ...
'' (Harvest, May 1973) and touring the UK and France for two months. Having in the meantime become a fan of Gong after meeting
Daevid Allen, hearing ''
Camembert Electrique
''Camembert Electrique'' ( French: ''Electric Camembert'') is the second studio album by the progressive rock band Gong, recorded and originally released in 1971 on the French BYG Actuel label. The album was recorded at Château d'Hérouville ne ...
'' and Allen's solo album ''
Banana Moon
''Banana Moon'' is the debut solo album by Australian singer/songwriter/guitarist and Gong leader Daevid Allen, released in July 1971 on the French BYG Actuel label. The album is sometimes referred to as ''Bananamoon'' and it was also reissued as ...
'', as well as meeting his longtime partner
Miquette Giraudy through Allen, Hillage stayed in France after the Ayers tour to join the band.
In January 1973, he took part in the sessions for ''
Flying Teapot'', the first installment of the "Radio Gnome" trilogy, and soon after graduated to full-time membership with the departure of bassist/lead guitarist Christian Tritsch. The 'classic' line-up of Gong was now in place, with
Daevid Allen,
Gilli Smyth
Gillian Mary Smyth (1 June 1933 – 22 August 2016) was an English musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong, and Planet Gong and released several solo albums and albums in collaboration with other members of Gong. In Gong, s ...
,
Didier Malherbe,
Tim Blake,
Mike Howlett and
Pierre Moerlen, and recorded two further albums, ''
Angels Egg'' and ''
You'' (the latter also featuring Giraudy).
In June 1973, Hillage (along with Pierre Moerlen) participated in the debut live performance of
Mike Oldfield's ''
Tubular Bells'' at
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall (QEH) is a music venue on the South Bank in London, England, that hosts classical, jazz, and avant-garde music, talks and dance performances. It was opened in 1967, with a concert conducted by Benjamin Britten.
The Q ...
. Both Hillage & Moerlen also took part in a live-in-studio performance filmed for the
BBC's ''Second House'' series, filmed in November 1973. The BBC performance is available on Oldfield's ''
Elements'' DVD.
From August 1974 to February 1975 Hillage worked on his debut solo album ''
Fish Rising'' at
Manor Studios
The Manor Studio (a.k.a. The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford.
Overview
The Manor and its outbuildings are listed Grade II on the Na ...
with the group, less Allen and Smyth, and contributions from others such former as Khan bandmate Dave Stewart.
Blake left Gong at the beginning of 1975 due to tensions with Allen, then Allen abruptly left in April. Hillage continued with the group, but he increasingly became uncomfortable feeling that Virgin wanted him to assume a leadership role which he saw at odds to the group's communal essence.
After a Marquee gig on 21 December, he left to set-up his own band, although he did contribute to the sessions of their next album ''
Shamal''.
Solo 1976–79
For his first post-Gong solo work, Hillage and Giraudy relocated to
Woodstock, New York in May and June 1976 to record with
Todd Rundgren and his band Utopia on ''
L'', which included covers of "
Hurdy Gurdy Man" and "
It's All Too Much" that became integral to his live set. The album was released on 24 September and spent 12 weeks on the
UK album chart peaking at #10. Needing to tour to promote the album, he put together a band with Christian Boulé (guitar),
Clive Bunker (drums),
Colin Bass (bass), Paul Hodges (keyboards) and Basil Brooks (synthesiser, flute). They debuted supporting
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
at a free
Hyde Park, London
Hyde Park is a Grade I-listed major park in Westminster, Greater London, the largest of the four Royal Parks that form a chain from the entrance to Kensington Palace through Kensington Gardens and Hyde Park, via Hyde Park Corner and Gre ...
concert on 18 September,
then toured heavily in Britain and France to promote the album including a
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance ...
''
In Concert'' broadcast. In January and February 1977 they supported
Electric Light Orchestra
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop, classical ...
on their US tour and appeared on the German television music programme
Rockpalast
''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and ja ...
in March.
In May 1977, Hillage was part of a live performance of
Mike Oldfield's ''
Tubular Bells'' in
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...
with the
Scottish National Orchestra
The Royal Scottish National Orchestra (RSNO) ( gd, Orcastra Nàiseanta Rìoghail na h-Alba) is a British orchestra, based in Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of the five national performing arts companies of Scotland. Throughout its history, the Or ...
.
He participated in the
Gong re-union concert in Paris as part of the trilogy band, a solo set and also accompanied Blake.
In late summer, Hillage produced
Nik Turner
Nicholas Robert Turner (26 August 1940 – 10 November 2022) was an English musician, best known as a member of space rock pioneers Hawkwind. Turner played saxophone and flute, as well as being a vocalist and composer. While with Hawkwind, T ...
's ''
Xitintoday
''Xitintoday'' (pronounced as Exit into day) is a studio album released by Nik Turner's Sphynx in 1978. It was produced by Steve Hillage (listed as Stiv Hillage).
In the Winter of 1976-7, after Turner had been dismissed from Hawkwind, he travele ...
'' album which featured contributions from other Gong members,
Harry Williamson and drummer
Andy Anderson. Hillage also contributed to Williamson's protest single "Nuclear Waste" issued as The Radio Actors with lead vocals by
Sting
Sting may refer to:
* Stinger or sting, a structure of an animal to inject venom, or the injury produced by a stinger
* Irritating hairs or prickles of a stinging plant, or the plant itself
Fictional characters and entities
* Sting (Middle-earth ...
.
During the US tour Hillage had taken an interest in funk music and became disheartened that he was being perceived as "progressive rock" and so deliberately chose to move in that direction.
He had met
Malcolm Cecil of
Tonto's Expanding Head Band who he felt may help in his pursuit of a new style and in July they entered the
Record Plant
The Record Plant is a recording studio established in New York City in 1968 and currently operating in Los Angeles, California. Known for innovations in the recording artists' workspace, it has produced highly influential albums, including Blo ...
studio in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
to record ''
Motivation Radio''. A new band was put together with
Reggie McBride on bass and Joe Blocker on drums, although
Curtis Robertson Jr. took over bass duties for the live dates. The album was issued in September and the band toured through to November visiting Germany, France and Britain.
Retaining his touring band, from December into February 1978 he recorded the album ''
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
'' co-produced with
Nick Mason at
Ridge Farm Studio and
Britannia Row Studios.
For the supporting tour, he refreshed his band with Anderson (who had made an appearance on the album) being joined by
John McKenzie on bass and Boulé rejoining from the ''L'' touring band. On 25 August, Hillage guested with
Sham 69 during their performance at the
Reading Festival,
Hillage felt he was nearing exhaustion by mid-1978 so chose to reflect on the live shows that had been recorded and compile the album ''
Live Herald''. With Anderson and McKenzie from the ''Green'' tour, he recorded some studio sessions at the end of the year to be included on one side of the album, then promoted its February 1979 release with live dates including an appearance on ''
Rock Goes to College
''Rock Goes to College'' (RGTC) was a BBC series that ran between 1978 and 1981 on British television. A variety of up-coming rock oriented bands were showcased live from small venues and broadcast simultaneously on television and radio during a ...
'' and a BBC Radio 1 ''
In Concert'' broadcast.
In January 1979, Hillage and Giraudy recorded the commissioned album ''
Rainbow Dome Musick'' at Om Studios, consisting of two side-long beatless instumentals described as "a relaxing and pleasantly divergent journey through a sorted spectrum of instruments".
The album was issued on 13 April and performed for the ''Festival for Mind Body and Spirit'' at
Olympia London that month, Rainbow Dome was a concept created by Rupert Atwill.
Stewart and Paul Francis joined replacing Boulé and McKenzie respectively, and this line-up played the 1979
Glastonbury Festival. The group recorded ''Open'' at Ridge Farm Studio in August with a guest contribution from
Jean-Philippe Rykiel, released on 12 October followed by a tour of Britain, Germany, France and Holland through to December.
Producer 1980–89
During the 1980s, Hillage worked as a record producer, working for artists such as
Simple Minds,
It Bites,
Murray Head,
Nash the Slash,
Real Life
Real life is a phrase used originally in literature to distinguish between the real world and fictional, virtual or idealized worlds, and in acting to distinguish between actors and the characters they portray. It has become a popular term on the ...
,
Cock Robin,
Tony Banks and
Robyn Hitchcock.
In 1982, Hillage and Giraudy issued the albums ''For To Next'' and ''And Not Or'', the last studio albums issued under Hillage's own name. The titles were derived from
BASIC programming language and reflect the pair's movement into computer-based music production, this being mainly synthetic except for Hillage's guitar.
He returned to producing in the 1990s, working on
The Charlatans 1994 album ''
Up to Our Hips''.
Electronica 1989–present
After hearing the likes of
The Orb
The Orb are an English electronic music group founded in 1988 by Alex Paterson and Jimmy Cauty. Known for their psychedelic sound, the Orb developed a cult following among clubbers "coming down" from drug-induced highs. Their influential 19 ...
playing his 1979 ambient record ''
Rainbow Dome Musick'', Hillage and Giraudy began performing in the early 1990s as ambient dance act
System 7.
They soon became part of the underground dance scene in London and Hillage was also a key figure in getting the
Glastonbury Festival to recognise the dance scene and set up the Dance Tent, which he programmed in its first year. Hillage also produced in the 1990s a
raï musical show called '
1, 2, 3 Soleils', featuring Algerian singers
Faudel,
Rachid Taha and
Khaled. He also arranged many songs of
Latifa
Latifa or Lateefa is a feminine Arabic (لٓطِيفٓة) given name which means "gentle" or "pleasant". It corresponds to the masculine Latif.
Notable persons Lateefa
* Lateefa Al Gaood, Bahraini politician
* Lateefah Simon, American activis ...
.
In November 2006, he made a surprise return to the Gong fold when he and Giraudy performed with (most of) the "classic era" lineup of Gong performing a set consisting almost entirely of material from the Radio Gnome Trilogy and
Camembert Electrique
''Camembert Electrique'' ( French: ''Electric Camembert'') is the second studio album by the progressive rock band Gong, recorded and originally released in 1971 on the French BYG Actuel label. The album was recorded at Château d'Hérouville ne ...
at the Gong Unconvention at the
Melkweg in Amsterdam.
In January 2007, four of his albums – ''Fish Rising'', ''L'', ''Motivation Radio'' and ''Rainbow Dome Musick'' – were released in the UK remastered on CD, each, except the latter, with previously unreleased bonus tracks. In February 2007, ''Green'', ''Live Herald'', ''Open'' and ''For To Next/And Not Or'' followed, similarly remastered with bonus content.
Hillage and Giraudy's participation in the Gong Unconvention was reprised in a small number of concerts held by Gong in London in June 2008, where Hillage and Giraudy were among the line-up which also included Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth, and Mike Howlett. At these concerts, Hillage would often open the show performing "Steve Hillage Band" material, as he had at the Uncon. Hillage and Giraudy worked most recently on their 2009 album
2032 (which Hillage also produced), and has continued to tour with the band throughout 2009 and 2010. After the 2010 tour, citing musical differences, Steve & Miquette again parted ways with Gong.
His next association with Gong was a guest guitar solo on the title track of their 2016 album "Rejoice! I'm Dead", their first album recorded after the death of Daevid Allen. Though no longer featuring any original members, the current lineup of
Kavus Torabi (guitar/vocals),
Fabio Golfetti (guitar/vocals),
Dave Sturt (bass),
Ian East (saxophone/flute) and Cheb Nettles (drums/vocals) had the blessing of Allen (along with the blessing of other surviving members) to continue using the Gong name. Soon after, Hillage made a few guest appearances at Gong gigs (sometimes being billed as ''Gong featuring Steve Hillage''), culminating in late 2018 with the announcement that Hillage & Giraudy had tapped the current lineup of Gong to be their backing band/opening act for a series of Steve Hillage Band shows in 2019. Continued touring plans for 2020, however, were halted in the wake of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
Hillage also collaborated with
Ozric Tentacles on the 2004 album ''
Spirals in Hyperspace''.
Hillage played live with
Hawkwind in December 2015 at The Coronet, London, and also played a one-hour set with
Dave Brock and
Tim Blake of the band at Hawkwind's Hawkeaster festival in
Morecambe
Morecambe ( ) is a seaside town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster district in Lancashire, England. It is in Morecambe Bay on the Irish Sea.
Name
The first use of the name was by John Whitaker in his ''History of Manchester'' (1771), ...
, Lancashire at Easter, 2018.
"Light in the Sky", from his 1977 album ''Motivation Radio'', was used as the theme for ''
The Sunday Night Project'' on
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
.
Hillage played on a cover of
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John (born Reginald Kenneth Dwight; 25 March 1947) is a British singer, pianist and composer. Commonly nicknamed the "Rocket Man" after his 1972 hit single of the same name, John has led a commercially successful career a ...
's "Rocket Man" on
William Shatner
William Shatner (born March 22, 1931) is a Canadian actor. In a career spanning seven decades, he is best known for his portrayal of James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' franchise, from his 1965 debut as the captain of the starship ''Enterpris ...
's 2011 release ''
Seeking Major Tom''.
Hillage won the "Visionary" award at the 2013 Progressive Music Awards.
Discography
* (1975) ''
Fish Rising'' –
UK No. 33
* (1976) ''
L'' – UK No. 10
* (1977) ''
Motivation Radio'' – UK No. 28
* (1978) ''
Green
Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...
'' – UK No. 30
* (1979) ''
Live Herald'' – UK No. 54
* (1979) ''
Rainbow Dome Musick'' – UK No. 48
* (1979) ''
Open
Open or OPEN may refer to:
Music
* Open (band), Australian pop/rock band
* The Open (band), English indie rock band
* Open (Blues Image album), ''Open'' (Blues Image album), 1969
* Open (Gotthard album), ''Open'' (Gotthard album), 1999
* Open (C ...
'' – UK No. 71
* (1979) ''
Aura
Aura most commonly refers to:
* Aura (paranormal), a field of luminous multicolored radiation around a person or object
* Aura (symptom), a symptom experienced before a migraine or seizure
Aura may also refer to:
Places Extraterrestrial
* 1488 ...
'' - compilation
* (1982) ''
For To Next'' – UK No. 48
* (1982) ''
And Not Or''
* (1991) ''Ggggong-Go Long (Double Album)'' - unofficial release
* (1992) ''
BBC Radio 1 Live: Steve Hillage Live in Concert''
* (2003) ''
Light in the Sky'' - compilation
* (2004) ''
Live at Deeply Vale Festival 1978''
* (2008) ''Evan Marc & Steve Hillage – Dreamtime Submersible'' (Somnia Records)
* (2015) ''Madison Square Garden 1977'' (Cleopatra Records)
* (2017) ''Düsseldorf'' (Madfish Records) - recorded 1979-03-28 at Philips Halle, Düsseldorf (live)
* (2019) ''The Golden Vibe'' (Madfish Records) - recorded 1973-05 at Pavillon du Hay, Sens, France (the Gong house)
References
External links
Awave, official system 7 website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hillage, Steve
1951 births
Living people
People from Chingford
Canterbury scene
English rock guitarists
English male guitarists
Virgin Records artists
Caroline Records artists
English record producers
Progressive rock guitarists
Space rock musicians
Alumni of the University of Kent
Musicians from Kent
Gong (band) members
Uriel (band) members
Khan (band) members
National Health members