Nik Turner: The Man Who Brought Space Rock to Earth
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Nik Turner: the real pioneer of Space Rock. His story…
More videos about legendary Rock heroes: • Rock n Roll Stories
Legendary Hawkwind saxophonist and flautist Nik Turner has passed away in Wales at the age of 82. Nik was a founding member of Hawkwind and one of the most influential musicians in psychedelic/space rock. He was a friend and colleague for almost 50 years. I reveal the meaning of his nickname, The Mighty Thunder Rider.
Nik Turner RIP.
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Saw Nik many, many times over the years, either with Hawkwind, Inner City Unit, the All Stars and even solo. I met and spoke to him on many occasions. A lovely, lovely bloke. Last time I saw him was when he used to busk on Queen Street in Cardiff around 1998/1999/2000. Whatever Hawkwind track i asked him to play he would oblige. The music world could certainly do with more of his type.
Nik Turner was a complete one-off and is missed by so many. As you say, he was a genuinely great guy…
I first saw Nik Turner when he was fronting Inner City Unit, at an open air gig in my hometown. I'd gone with the other members of the band I was in, and the keyboard player came running over and said "You've got to come and see this guy - he hasn't got enough notes on his sax! He's going mad on it!" Over we went, and saw Nik with a guiatrist playing a lovely Telecaster, a bass player (who, I think was wearing a gas mask), drummer, and possibly keyboard player. Nik's sax had little petals painted around the bell, which gave me the idea to get the bell of my sax painted up like a sunflower when the lacquer started coming off. They did a great set.
In later years I saw him with Space Ritual several times at The Brook in Southampton, and also in London - I'm not sure what the name of that band was, possibly his all-stars.
All were great performances, especially the Space Ritual one where Del Dettmar was special guest!
Nik was a totally original and talented musician and (above all) a very nice guy. I helped Space Ritual get gigs for a while, but frankly, the Hawkwind set is so complicated, and there were so many problems that I had to stop! Thanks for sharing those fantastic memories…
Farewell Nik and thanks for all the great memories.
RIP Nik Turner: you will be missed.
Nik a True believer and Free Spirit and for my was so important with the Best Classic Hawkwind Era 1970-1975' !! Godspeed 👍🎶🎤🎷🎼✌
Indeed he was. A true legend and a lovely guy. RIP Nik
I played in Inner City Unit from '79 until the last gig at Niks Funeral, I loved that man, he was a lot more than his image would have you believe.. a very clever man who I miss every day. They say never meet your heroes, I owe my life to having met Nik.
I quite agree and hello (again). Nick was a good friend to lots of people, including myself, and hear the knack of calling me whenever I was a little bit down. How we knew, I will never know!
RIP Nik Turner.
I loved Nik so much. He truly was the spirit of Hawkwind. I started off feeling like he was unnecessary to the Hawkwind sound. One day I just completely got where his playing was coming from and was hooked forever! Saw him once at a festival playing solo sax in a bar at silly o’clock in the morning stoned out of his tree and not missing a note. Perfect.
Nik gave up getting stoned a log time ago, was probably just tired, RIP Nik.
More than anything, I think Nik gave Hawkwind their heart and soul, and that wild energy that was so important in the early days. Aside from him bringing jazz ideas into the songs, and his unusual use of saxophone in a band like that (flute was more common), Nik's presence played a major part in lifting Hawkwind above the mundane and ordinary.
Yes, Nik told me a couple of years ago that getting stoned required way too much energy and he needed all the energy he had just to function in his "old age"! I know how he felt. 😀
@@junglie Thanks for that. It was about 15 years ago but I’m sure you’re right. I’m glad he had a long life.
@@Crinklechip-s Me too met him lots of times with lots of his bands & he always had time for you & always turned down a smoke.
When I was a teenager in London in the 80s, the two bands I would see the most were Inner City Unit and Here and Now. Stoned innocent Frankenstein.
I was probably at most of those gigs. Cheers!
Sadly missed ,loved this guy ,never had the chance to play with him or meet him ,but fom interviews he comes across as a real human being
Nik was great: very self-assuming but totally eccentric.
Hawkwind est le groupe qui a accompagne tout mes trips. Un groupe extraterrestre une tribu galactique. OM SHANTI. Tank you brothers
Nik Turner a toujours suggéré que son travail en particulier venait de l'extérieur de l'ordinaire et même de ce monde. Merci d'avoir commenté!
Still sad Nik's gone, he was lovely. Memorial gig Feb 10th at The Brunswick Hove, looking fwd to that, Nik's spirit will be strong. That Thunder Rider story cracked me right up btw, there was me thinking of The Mighty Thunder Rider as a cross between a Marvel superhero and an Egyptian god....still do, mind, just with added flatulence that's all..
😆 😂
Cheers! Nik will be sadly missed: he really was a great guy. I’ll try and make the memorial gig if I possibly can. Thanks!
I remember goin to one of his shows in Minneapolis, and played for over 4 hours!! Incredible musician and frontman!!
Nik was an incredible artist and a great friend
Köszönöm
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lovely tribute to a great guy.
Thanks very much for saying so. I didn't realise how much I would miss talking to Nik. Our chats were erratic and not very frequent but always memorable.
I can't claim to know all about the UK prog rock bands that flourished in the late '60s and early '70s, or these larger-than-life personalities like Wilko and Nik Turner. There are large gaps in my knowledge of this period. Mr. Jim Driver is bringing me up to speed. 🤔🧐😜🎓📚📜
Thanks for the kind words, Ramon: much appreciated!
I only found out Niki died a few weeks ago. Was early last year I downloaded Niki & Kuba's jam. Niki was definitely 'The Spirit' of Hawkwind. as said by Michael Moorcock in the BBC$ Hawkwind doco Brock wouldn't appear in because he couldn't get the BBC to ban Nik Turner from appearing. I can't believe how badly Brock betrayed him & the band going behind everyones back to copywrite the band's name & recordings to himself solely to gain all rights unless the song was specifically copy written into its writers name like 'D-Rider' has Nik Turner next to it & 'Motorhead' has Lemmy Kilmister next to it. Brock has betrayed the Spirit Of Hawkwind. Long live Niki Turner in the minds of man. Loved Hawks since 1972 at 14.
Nik and Dave had a very complex relationship from the very early days and he and I talked about it several times. I was very much in the "Nik" camp and this led to me unable to book the official Hawkwind for many years. Ironically, when I finally did (with Nik's semi-'blessing) the event was cancelled due to COVID and never actually took place!!
@@JimDriver Oh bloody covid, wrecked that booking as well as a lot of people's health & the collective West's economy. It was actually The Suns Of Arqa I was thinking of that I only saw Niki collaborating with, not Kuba, only a few years ago uploaded on TH-cam. I don't think Hawkwind would've reached the heights they did without Niki imo
Yes nick turner was brilliant . . I did speak to him many years ago by phone he siad we should have a jam but it never came about, must have been around 2003ish. Nick had del detmar come over from across the atlantic. me and alan meet him at the phoenix exeter alan knew del from a brighton gig earlier. del had his ems synth he entertained us while the band had a rest, he got these amazing sounds out of this ems. at the end of the gig i asked him how he got such sounds and he told the secret he was playing through harmonisers. . .I spoke to Terry Ollis at Glastonbury assembly rooms the next week, terry said that there was a mixing desk recording, I would love a copy of this because when the band was playing we could not hear the lead guitarist mick slattery so i informed the mixing desk guy and he turn his level up so we could hear ok . . . . ..it was a great gig . .
All the ex-Hawkwind/Space Ritual members were friendly and helpful in my experience, Nik most amenable of all…
Seen Nik in various bands over the years. Finally got to chat with him when he was on the first Hawklords MK2 tour. He was first out after the gig, at the merch stand. Looked pretty exhausted and when I asked him what keeps him going, without even thinking he said: It's what I do, innit.
Saw him on the last Hawklords tour too, a couple of years ago. Looked really struggling, but enough energy to give us Brainstorm at the end.
He was a ball of energy, almost up to the end…
Met Nic and Stace before a show. They invited me backstage. spent al the time rolling up, 8 skins, and did for next two years when they were down my way. Nic was cool. .
One of life's gentlemen. RIP Nic. ❤
Great video, used to chat with Nik on Facebook, always wanted to see him live but never got the chance! Such a shame, he was a one of a kind! True talent and so down to earth.
Nik was a great guy and a very natural musician. He was one of a kind and will be missed.
@@JimDriver totally, he always wished me a merry Xmas and invited me to his gigs, I was going to to go see him couple years ago in Glastonbury at the King Arthur but it ended up not going ahead around the time of the lockdown nonsense and unfortunately that would have been my last opportunity to see him! But he's one of those people still feel he's around, and always listening to his music, me and my dad and uncle had a improv spontaneous jam of D Rider yesterday which was good fun as you just feel his energy around when do things like that... He was the spirit of hawkwind without a doubt, had the right philosophy for sure.. And just loved playing, that's what it's all about 😊
Ich hatte die Ehre Space Ritual auf dem Roadburn Festival und auf dem Burg Herzberg Festival jeweils als Headliner sehen zu dürfen ; und sie haben alles 🚀 weggeblasen , total abgeräumt ! Ich konnte mit ihm reden , Fotos machen , und er hat mir meine Hawkwind Space Ritual LP signiert ( For Oliver Best Wishes Stay High + Name ) . Die schönen Fotos und das Album bedeuten mir unendlich viel . 🐦⬛
Schön, dass Sie mit Space Ritual und Nik so positive Erfahrungen gemacht haben. Danke für Ihren Kommentar und schauen Sie bitte weiter vorbei. Cheers!
So sad so very sad .And poor old wilko too . end of an era .
Yes, I might not be quite so sad when one of the Gallaghers pops off (assuming I don't go first, of course)… 😀
Hello to the Nik Turner Dave Brock Hawkwind UNION and all other cosmic eternal peoples, the recent midsummers eve/day Stonehenge free festival gathering 2024, was a cosmicly amazing successful event , I was there and pleased to see all the free natural eternal peoples of the infinite wild natural eternal cosmos enjoying themselves, there WILL DEFINATELY soon be the return of the Stonehenge free festivals FOR ETERNITY , REGULARLY, and ALL other free festivals also FOR ETERNITY , the IMPORTANT thing is, the more the natural wilderness returns back to the northern side/edge of Stonehenge (where the small "barrow hills" and traditional pyramid stage/ main festival site area is), i.e. the tarmac, roads, fences, artificial things e.t.c. being taken up, and the natural mud, turf and other plants growing back,, the sooner the better, and the Stonehenge free festivals Will DEFINATELY return even MORE sooner
it is PRIMARILY NECESSARY for the northern plains tundra/fields ( i.e. where the main free festival, pyramid stage , small" barrow hills" usually is) to become completely natural wilderness again , there will still be a route to the south of Stonehenge for traffic travelling east to west/ west to east, and yet that route will eventually have the tarmac removed e.t.c. also , and then just become a flat dry smooth natural mud route that vehicles can STILL use 100% safely o.k. at the same speeds as before, (that southern only (east to west/west to east) road re-naturalisation (eventually back to a vehicle safe flat dry mud road) is in the more distant future, but to the sides and northern edges all around Stonehenge ,re-naturalisation back to completely natural tundra is VERY DEFINATELY IMMINENT and IMPORTANTLY it is better NOT to actually scorch/burn the actual turf/grass soils e.t,c. in any way , we are elf minimalist-tech eco-friendly(primarily) peoples, Stonehenge is here for ETERNITY , and so are we ALL, and so is all our eco friendly cosmic eternal music equipment e.t.c. any planes, helicopters, U.F.O. , other craft e.t.c. e.t.c. in the sky and space is ONLY Soviet Union Russian, so rest assured EVERYTHING is o.k. and 100% ECOFRIENDLY, see you soon and a DEFINIATE eco friendly free festival ETERNITY ABSOLUTELY GUARANTEED
Thank you for sharing your experience at the Stonehenge Free Festival! It was and is an awesome event.
hawkwinds sound died after nik left.strange they never got another sax player.
I think the clue is that Dave Brock doesn't play saxophone! At least, as far as I know! I have a vague recollection of Nik telling me he might have been asked to teach him at one time but that's all that is - a very vague memory… 🎸
@@JimDriver not so long ago hawkwind played at epic studios norwich one sunday night.they played the the full album warrior on the edge of time with guest sax player.brilliant.
0:47 saw Hawkwind in 1984 at the Mayfair, Newcastle. Nik was carried onto the stage in a coffin and appeared looking a lot like this 😂
Thanks for your input! Nik was a great showman : we'll not see his like again. RIP Nik Turner.
Nik and Wilko in the same week ??????????????? RIP Nik..
Yes: two icons of British Rock music taken within a few days. RIP Nik and Wilko…
Funhouse records margate. Bonkersly influential in my life... a handful of mandies goes a long long way! Xxx
I was 😀in Margate on Wednesday night…
NIK TURNER IS ALIVE AND ETERNAL C.C.C.P. S.S.S.R. RUSSIA SOVIET UNION RED STAR ETERNALS ETERNITY
Always done too earth top feller met him early 70s Brixton n Herne Hill any tales about Angel
Nick and Angel and the guys were always very supportive of me. I'm sure I get round to doing more about what we got up to back in those days… ☺️
Tell us about Rob Calvert?
I wish I could! Bob andd I didn't have a much to do with each other, I'm afraiud. I usually spoke with Nik about stuff that included him…
Ironic that Brock trademarked the name, since Hawkwind was a nickname for Nik Turner originally, based on his habit of spitting ~ hawking ~ and excessive flatulence.
One of them was a businessman first and musician second; the other was a musician through and through with not an ounce of business sense! I'll leave you to work out which is which. Thanks for taking part!
@@JimDriver Yes, I see where you’re going with that comparison, but every ship no matter how anarchic needs a captain and despite some questionable decisions, I do give Brock credit for staying the course. Turner was far more the ‘hurry on sundown, see what tomorrow brings’ character. And quite honestly, the number of folk who would had said in 1969 that Brock would still be playing with Hawkwind 55 years later almost without a break could be counted on the fingers of one thumb!
yeahi entered the hawky spaceritually icu music, and well it shaped my future , which eneviabley had me working the labour of love at mandala stage glastonbury , a dave goodman tribute space ,twas clive from spacegoats that enabled the opertunity for me to serve , so i did my bit only to realised i was surrounded by my legendary heros all the founders minus brock , were crew , washing dishes etc jamming , yup mik slatterly terri olis simon house and trhe mystro himself , he was less grounded than the others so was only stationary for not long , his jamming he took in his shoulder and walked into spaces create magic then onto next , that was a decade ago , just before i left u.k , and he was jamming mandela right up to 2019 , Melissa its chief manager was saying , one of a kind ive been heavily influenced by and gladly cosmic man :) was honour to have had his fellowship at grassroots level in his later years
Yes, very lucid, Lucid. Thanks for leabving your thoughts.
Born to go nic keep flying on love & peace xxxx
Indeed. RIP Nik xxxx
I lived in T Valley HEE HEE / used to get smashed in Camarthen and Llandeilo and Trip out ///
And why not? I always preferred Narberth, myself… 😀😉