"Silver Machine" | ||||
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Single by Hawkwind | ||||
B-side | Seven By Seven | |||
Released | 9 June 1972 | |||
Format | 7" Vinyl record | |||
Recorded | 13 February 1972 | |||
Genre | Space rock, hard rock | |||
Length | 4:39 | |||
Label | United Artists Records | |||
Writer(s) | R.Calvert/Dave Brock | |||
Producer(s) | Dr Technical | |||
Hawkwind singles chronology | ||||
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"Silver Machine" | ||||
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Single by Hawkwind | ||||
from the album Choose Your Masques | ||||
B-side | Psychedelic Warlords | |||
Released | 27 August 1982 | |||
Format | 7" Vinyl record | |||
Recorded | Rockfield Studios, Summer 1982 | |||
Genre | Space rock | |||
Label | RCA/Active Records | |||
Writer(s) | R.Calvert/D.Brock | |||
Producer(s) | Pat Moran and Hawkwind | |||
Hawkwind singles chronology | ||||
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"Silver Machine" is a 1972 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind. It was originally released as a single on 9 June 1972, reaching No. 3 on the UK singles chart. The single was re-issued in 1976, again in 1978 reaching No. 34 on the UK singles charts, and once again in 1983 reaching No. 67 on the UK singles charts. The original mix has been re-released on the remasters version of In Search of Space.
"Silver Machine" was recorded live at a Greasy Truckers benefit gig at The Roundhouse, London on 13 February 1972 and this version was released on the Various Artists compilation album Glastonbury Fayre and the 2007 box set of Greasy Truckers Party. Overdubs were applied and mixing took place at Morgan Studios with Douglas Smith and Dave Robinson overseeing the process. Dave Brock took production credits using an alias of Dr Technical. The sleeve was designed by Barney Bubbles (uncredited). Stacia appears prominently in the music video.
The music was composed by Dave Brock who used his then wife Sylvia Macmanus' maiden name for credits to put pressure on his publishing company to improve his deal. The verse is an 8-bar Rock and Roll boogie whose riff is an adaption of the standard riff that can be heard on the likes of Johnny and the Hurricanes' "Red River Rock" ( sample ).
[The Greasy Truckers] was about my third gig, and I didn't know what I was doing. I hadn't done any rehearsals and I thought that Silver Machine was a Chuck Berry number – really. – Simon King