Rapid Fire - Steve Hillage
Now primarily a producer and techno-shaman, guitarist Steve Hillage first came to attention with hippy-collective Gong, playing an important role in their rise to prominence. Hillage made especially notable contributions on Gong's ‘Gnome Invisible Trilogy’ albums and toured extensively, before setting out on a solo career in 1975. After releasing such hippy fare as ‘Fish Rising’, ‘L’ and ‘Green’, as well as the ambient classic ‘Rainbow Dome Musick’, he retired from playing live, to produce other artists. A chance meeting with Alex Patterson of the Orb, however, led to the creation of techno-trancers System 7, who continue to be active today. Guy Oddy puts questions to him from our readers and contributors…
Loads of bands, from the Butthole Surfers to Neil from the ‘Young Ones’ BBC TV show and yourself, have covered Donavan’s ‘Hurdy Gurdy Man’ over the years. Which is your favourite version?
(Kyle, New Zealand)
Steve Hillage: “The original and my own.”
You always seemed to be photographed in one hippy hat or another during the 1970s. Where did you get them from?
(Pat, Hemel Hempstead)
SH: “They were specially made for people in Gong by a German lady called Doris.”
Which of the bands that you’ve played with over the years was the most fun to be part of?
(Anna Q, Surrey)
SH: “Gong and System 7
And the least fun?
(Anna Q, Surrey)
SH: “Brian Eno and Rashid Taha was the hardest. I really like their music but it was the most like hard work..”
Gong have been described as “the missing link between the progressive thrust of English ‘60s psychedelia and the iconoclasm of punk”. Do you think that that is a fair comment?
(Fred Dalton, London)
SH: “That's a load of bollocks. Whoever said that got it totally wrong.”
A number of your solo albums from the 1970s have just been re-released, how do you view them from your present perspective?
(Guy Oddy, Beatmag)
SH: “I'm really proud of them.”
Have you ever been ballooning?
(Thomas H Green, Beatmag)
SH: “No, I did get offered the chance by Richard Branson, at a party, but I never felt the urge.”
When you've got the munchies in the early hours of the morning, what do you reach for in your fridge?
(Les Pendle, Birmingham, Alabama)
SH: “Cheese or yogurts.”
What's the largest crowd you've ever played to?
(Stephan Naslette, Paris)
SH: “Well, the audience at Queen's Hyde Park gig in 1976 was several hundreds of thousands.”
Have you ever been arrested?
(Dan Founder, Birmingham, UK)
SH: “No. I've been invited to a [Police] interview but never arrested.
Do you have any phobias?
(Tomas, Ohio)
SH: “I'm not very keen on watching medical operations on the TV.”
Vinyl, cassettes, CDs or downloads. What do you prefer?
(Mike, Norwich)
SH: “These days its CDs, downloads or CDs burned from downloads.”
Have you ever met any of your heroes?
(Steve, Leicester)
SH: “I've met a few, but my favourite was meeting Mike Banks of Underground Resistance in Detroit. He is also a guitarist and had played with George Clinton in the late '70s. In fact, we have talked about working together, but it hasn't happened yet.”
What was the best party you ever attended?
(Thomas H Green, Beatmag)
SH: “It's hard to say, I've been to quite a lot.”
How did you enjoy playing with the Orb?
(Baljinder, Birmingham)
SH: “I always enjoy working with Alex (Patterson), he’s a real soul brother. In fact, I would have played with them more but I always seemed to be doing something else already.”
How was touring the States with ELO in the late 1970s?
(Jay, London, UK)
SH: “Interesting. I'm not ELO's biggest fan. While I was on that tour I was listening to a lot of funk, a lot of Parliament and Funkadelic, and this tour exposed the racism and narrow-mindedness that was in the American prog scene at the time. People asked me what I was listening to and couldn't understand me listening to black artists.”
I've heard that you played with Sham 69 at the 1978 Reading Festival. How did that come about?
(Steve Mairland, Devon, UK)
SH: “A magazine had set up a ‘punks versus hippies’ confrontational-type article. Unfortunately for the journalist, I actually got on with Jimmy Pursey. We ended up jamming, and they asked me if I wanted to play with them at Reading a month later.”
What made you quit playing live at the end of the 1970s?
(Matt, Sydney, Australia)
SH: “I got bored with it and I wanted to get into producing more fully.”
Does working with your Mrs (Miquette Giraudy) in System 7 cause any tension at home? (Dave Nolan, London)
SH: “No, we have our ups and downs, like anyone, but we've found a chemistry that works.”
How did you enjoy being a student at Kent University in the early 1970s?
(Ellen, Cardiff, UK)
SH: “I enjoyed it, but I enjoyed playing music more, so I left after a couple of terms.
Do you prefer John Coltrane or Charlie Parker?
(Peter Gitane, New York)
SH: “John Coltrane.”
Which football team do you support?
(Nick, Coventry, UK)
SH: “Tottenham Hotspur.”
Do you have a favourite Abba song?
(Kerry, Birmingham)
SH: “Dancing Queen.”
Which guitarist do you listen to the most at home?
(Guy Oddy, Beatmag)
SH: “Hendrix.”
Which tune do you enjoy playing most of all?
(Graham Reynolds, Aylesbury, UK)
SH: “There’s a couple. System 7's ‘Planet 7’ and the Beatles’ ‘It's all too much’ [also on Steve Hillage’s album ‘L’].”
Do you miss the days of playing old blues standards with your schoolmates?
(Per Askert, Dunstable, UK)
SH: “I still play them to amuse myself and, without blowing my trumpet, I'm pretty good at them.”
How did you find Todd Rundgren when you worked together on your ‘L’ album? (Luke, Bristol)
SH: “He was really stimulating and interesting to work with. In fact, I'd really like to work with him again.”
How did events like the Megadog nights you played with System 7 compare with the psychedelic gigs that you did with Gong twenty years before?
(Ian Jenkins, Manchester)
SH: “The stuff with System 7 is a direct evolution and development of what was happening with Gong earlier. You should read the book ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’; there’s a whole chapter on the influence of the '70s scene on dance music.”
What's your favourite means of transport?
(Niamh, Birmingham)
SH: “I’d like to walk everywhere, but it's not very practical for long journeys. Mechanically though, I really like the Japanese bullet train.”
Do you like reggae music?
(Eddie, Trindad & Tobago)
SH: “Yes, I like roots stuff for the feel and dancehall for the sound. I do have some problem with some of the lyrics in dancehall though.”
What do you think of the phenomenon of bands getting back together 30 years after they’ve originally gone their separate ways?
(Ashley, LA)
SH: “It doesn't really apply to Gong, because we never really split up. We get together and play an event called the Unconvention, the last one was in Amsterdam in November. It was really fun. That said, I hear that the Who are pretty good at the moment.”
If you had a time-machine where would you go and why?
(Matt, Glasgow)
SH: “1,000 years into the future, to see where it all ends up.”
What was the last album you listened to?
(Thomas H Green, Beatmag)
SH: “A new, unreleased album by Minilogue. They’ve also got a really good video on YouTube.”
Do you have a speciality dish that you can cook?
(Natalie Kanasali, Portugal)
SH: “I’m not a great cook but I can roast a chicken.”
Do you generally use an alarm clock, if so, when is it set?
(Des, Dublin)
SH: “Quite often. I’m a bit of a nightowl and when I set the alarm often depends on when I go to bed.”
What sort of sweets did you enjoy when you were a kid?
(Mark Jones, Liverpool)
SH: “Sherbert lemons.”
What's your favourite tipple?
(Sue, Manchester)
SH: “A Brazilian drink, called Caipirinha.”
Do you prefer the Star Wars or Lord of the Rings movies? Why?
(John, Leeds)
SH: “Lord of the Rings because I got a bit tired of Star Wars. I’m not really a big fan of either though.”
Do you have any antiques?
(Sharon Leyton, Colchester)
SH: “No, I’m not a collector of antiques at all.”
On 15 January 2007, Virgin/EMI is re-releasing Steve' Hillage’s solo albums ‘Fish Rising’, ‘L’, ‘Motivation Radio’ and ‘Rainbow Dome Musick’. ‘Green’, ‘Live Herald’, ‘Open’ and ‘For To Next - And Not Or’ follow on 15 February.
System 7 are presently in the studio, recording new material.
