Peter Hammill

Peter Hammill - English singer‐songwriter

Person from United Kingdom

Genres: ambient, art rock, experimental rock, progressive rock, rock, rock opera, singer-songwriter, rock music

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About Peter Hammill

Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founding member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer-songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings, as well as occasionally producing those of other artists. In 2012, he received the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards. Hammill was born in Ealing, West London, and moved with his family to Derby at the age of twelve. He attended Beaumont College and later studied Liberal Studies in Science at Manchester University. Hammill has stated that his grandfather was originally from Pakistan. Hammill’s solo career has run concurrently with his work in Van der Graaf Generator. In 1968, the band was offered a contract by Mercury Records, which only Hammill signed. When the band temporarily disbanded in 1969, he pursued a solo project and performed weekly at The Lyceum in London. The recordings from this period were eventually released under the Van der Graaf Generator name as their first album, "The Aerosol Grey Machine". Hammill’s first official solo album, "Fool's Mate" (1971), featured material written during the early Van der Graaf Generator years. After Van der Graaf Generator disbanded in August 1972, Hammill continued his solo career. Songs originally intended for the band appeared on his solo albums, including "Black Room" on "Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night" and "A Louse Is Not a Home" on "The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage". He is generally credited as the sole songwriter for both his solo and the band's material, although some of his solo albums feature contributions from Van der Graaf Generator members. His solo work often explores personal themes, while the band’s music tends to address broader concepts. His 1975 album "Nadir's Big Chance" marked a stylistic shift from the preceding "In Camera", anticipating punk rock elements. John Lydon of the Sex Pistols expressed admiration for Hammill’s work, citing it as influential. The 1977 album "Over" contains songs reflecting the end of a long-term relationship. Following the 1978 disbandment of Van der Graaf Generator, Hammill released "The Future Now" and contributed vocals to Robert Fripp’s solo debut "Exposure" (1979). Subsequent solo albums, including "pH7" and "A Black Box", incorporated a more compact, new wave-influenced sound, with Hammill performing drums himself. During the early 1980s, Hammill formed the K group, a band featuring himself on guitar and piano, John Ellis on lead guitar, Nic Potter on bass, and Guy Evans on drums and percussion. The group recorded "Enter K" and "Patience". Hammill’s live performances are known for their variability in song selection, arrangements, and musicians involved, with concerts rarely following a traditional tour format. Live recordings include "The Margin" (1985) with the K group, "Room Temperature" (1990), "There Goes The Daylight" (1993), and "Veracious" (1998). Hammill has also performed solo concerts with guitar and keyboards since 1969. Hammill’s early albums, including those with Van der Graaf Generator, were released on Charisma Records. He left the label after "pH7" (1979) and released albums on smaller labels before founding his own label, Fie! Records, in 1992. All of his albums since "Fireships" have been released through this label. Hammill’s home studio, Sofa Sound, has been the basis for his recordings and his website. In 1991, he released the opera "The Fall of the House of Usher", a collaboration with Judge Smith, with a reworked version released in 1999. He received the Italian Tenco Prize for songwriting in 2004. In 2005, Hammill participated in the reformation of Van der Graaf Generator and continued to release solo albums, including "Singularity" (2006), "Thin Air" (2009), "Pno, Gtr, Vox" (2011), "Consequences" (2012), "Other World" (2014, with Gary Lucas), "In Amazonia" (2019, with Isildurs Bane), "In Disequilibrium" (2021, with Isildurs Bane), and "In Translation" (2021), a covers album reflecting his response to Brexit and including songs by various European composers and songwriters. Studio albums Fool's Mate (1971) Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night (1973) The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage (1974) In Camera (1974) Nadir's Big Chance (1975) Over (1977) The Future Now (1978) pH7 (1979) A Black Box (1980) Sitting Targets (1981) Enter K (1982) Loops and Reels (1983) Patience (1983) Skin (1986) And Close As This (1986) In a Foreign Town (1988) Out of Water (1990) The Fall of the House of Usher (1991) Fireships (1992) The Noise (1993) Roaring Forties (1994) X My Heart (1996) Sonix (1996) Everyone You Hold (1997) This (1998) None of the Above (2000) What, Now? (2001) Unsung (2001) Clutch (2002) Incoherence (2004) Singularity (2006) Thin Air (2009) Consequences (2012) ...All That Might Have Been... (2014) From the Trees (2017) In Translation (2021)

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