By RL Thornton: This is the second part of an interview with Damon Knight Grand Master Michael Moorcock about his career in music. Previously, we talked about his early career in music, his initial experiences with Hawkwind, and his album New Worlds Fair with his band the Deep Fix. Next we discuss his other work with Hawkwind, his songs for Blue Oyster Cult, and his current recordings with Spirits Burning.

NOTE: For those not familiar with the people or bands that he mentions, you can click on the link to see their Wikipedia entry (or other webpage if necessary).

Part 2:

Q: You mentioned how easy it was to do your part in Hawkwind’s Warrior On The Edge Time, which was based on your idea of the Eternal Champion. How did that album come about? What was the collaboration between you and the band like?

Michael Moorcock: Dave asked for an idea for a concept album and tour. That’s what I came up with. All my stuff by and large, links in some way!

Q: My guitarist friend Clay wanted me to ask you about your impression of then Hawkwind bassist Lemmy, who was fired just before Warrior was issued.

Michael Moorcock: Lemmy [founder of Motorhead] and I were good friends. Firing him was a big mistake for Hawkwind and a big boost for Lemmy’s career!

Q: From what I can tell, after working with Calvert on some of his albums, the next big project of yours was with Hawkwind on their Chronicle of The Black Sword. What role did you play in making that album and what did you think of the end result?

Michael Moorcock: I was working with Nicky on the project. When Nicky was fired during that project I lost interest. My last gigs with the band were at Hammersmith Odeon. I said nothing about it to Dave but with Lemmy AND Nik gone, I had decided to stop performing with Hawkwind. The result was patchy AND Dave was tricky about it. I pulled my contributions from the first issue of the album.

Q: So Hawkwind actually played Worldcon (ConSpiracy 1987 in Brighton) and one participant called them “Michael Moorcock’s band.” What do you recall of that concert?

Michael Moorcock: I saw Dave [Brock] and someone else, I think, while I was signing but I hadn’t been aware of it until Dave said ‘You coming to play with us, Mike.’ I didn’t feel like it and so I didn’t. I was staying at another hotel some distance out of Brighton. They were always, by the way, Dave’s band. Deep Fix was more a ‘project’ than a band, as such. It included Langdon Jones and Pete Pavli as well as Martin Stone.

Q: At this point, could you talk a little bit about your work with Blue Oyster Cult over the years (i.e. “The Great Sun Jester,” “Veterans Of The Psychic Wars,” “Black Blade”)?

Michael Moorcock: Eric Bloom and other band members like my stuff so they asked for some lyrics. I had some and I sent them… Since then I’ve stayed in touch with several band members!

Q: In 2012, the Deep Fix released some previously recorded demo sessions under the name “The Entropy Tango & Gloriana Demo Sessions.” Why did you issue those recordings?

Michael Moorcock: Because I was asked to. But by the time it was too late Pete Pavli objected. Felt very sorry about that.

Q: Next, you and your friends recorded a Deep Fix album “Live At The Terminal Cafe.” How did that come about and what did you think about the results?

Michael Moorcock: Very old friend Martin Stone and I had wanted to do a record and we eventually had the time in Paris with a couple of good musicians who also lived there, so we rented a rehearsal studio and put the backing tracks down in Montmartre. A local friend of mine, Sean Orr, did fiddle and Don [Falcone] did final production. It went very well indeed.

Q: And most recently, you worked with Don Falcone and his space-rock collective Spirits Burning on musical adaptations of your Dancers At The End Of Time books. How did this project come about?  

Michael Moorcock: Albert had wanted to do this project for a while and he and Don decided to do it. As with Time Centre, I can no longer play guitar or banjo etc. My neuropathic hands just won’t do it any more, so I have to play harmonica, kazoo, whistle and sing! St James’s Infirmary was done that way.

My next project with Alan Davey producing will be redoing a bunch of songs by me and Calvert. I love Robert’s songwriting and my own could do with improvement, so that’s a project for this year. Tomorrow, I do the final work on END and am much looking forward to finishing that project. Albert, Don etc. have done a superb job!

Q: Thank you very much!