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Centigrade 232
Robert Newton Calvert: Born 9 March 1945, Died 14 August 1988 after suffering a heart attack. Contributed poetry, lyrics and vocals to legendary space rock band Hawkwind intermittently on five of their most critically acclaimed albums, including Space Ritual (1973), Quark, Strangeness & Charm (1977) and Hawklords (1978). He also recorded a number of solo albums in the mid 1970s. CENTIGRADE 232 was Robert Calvert's first collection of poems.
- GenresPoetry
82 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1977
12 people want to read
About the author
Robert Calvert
40 books7 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
Robert Calvert (9 March 1945, Pretoria, South Africa - 14 August 1988) was a writer, poet, and performer.
Calvert moved to England when he was two years of age and attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street Theatre group Street Dada Nihilismus.
He was best known as the lead singer, poet and frontman of Hawkwind intermittently from 1972-1979 during which time he co-wrote their hit single "Silver Machine" and directed their Space Ritual Tour.
Calvert suffered from bipolar disorder, at one point being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
During periods away from Hawkwind duties, and after finally leaving the group in 1979, Calvert worked on his solo career, his creative output including albums, stage plays, poetry, and a novel. His first solo album, Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, attained mainstream success.
His other musical collaborators include Michael Moorcock, Brian Eno, Arthur Brown, Jim Capaldi, Steve Pond, Inner City Unit, Vivian Stanshall, Nektar, John Greves, Adrian Wagner, Amon Düül II, and Spirits Burning (posthumously).
Calvert died of a heart attack in 1988 in Ramsgate, England.
Robert Calvert (9 March 1945, Pretoria, South Africa - 14 August 1988) was a writer, poet, and performer.
Calvert moved to England when he was two years of age and attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street Theatre group Street Dada Nihilismus.
He was best known as the lead singer, poet and frontman of Hawkwind intermittently from 1972-1979 during which time he co-wrote their hit single "Silver Machine" and directed their Space Ritual Tour.
Calvert suffered from bipolar disorder, at one point being sectioned under the Mental Health Act.
During periods away from Hawkwind duties, and after finally leaving the group in 1979, Calvert worked on his solo career, his creative output including albums, stage plays, poetry, and a novel. His first solo album, Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters, attained mainstream success.
His other musical collaborators include Michael Moorcock, Brian Eno, Arthur Brown, Jim Capaldi, Steve Pond, Inner City Unit, Vivian Stanshall, Nektar, John Greves, Adrian Wagner, Amon Düül II, and Spirits Burning (posthumously).
Calvert died of a heart attack in 1988 in Ramsgate, England.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
May 16, 2019
The only rock lyricist who, to my knowledge, was also a credible poet. This collection is an absolute must-read. It includes the charming 'Swing' and the evocative 'Circle Line.' The horrendous misogyny that so disfigured his only novel, 'Hype', is, thankfully, either absent or so close to absent that I didn't spot it. If he'd not passed away so terribly young, I think this gives us a better idea of where Calvert's creativity would have led him than does his work with Hawkwind, 'Captain Lockheed' etc. Though quite a few of the pieces, slightly or more-than-slightly adapted, wound up as Hawkwind or 'Lockheed' lyrics, you do not need to be a Hawkwind fan to appreciate this - In fact, some of the stuff is more likely to appeal to fans of, say, Robert Wyatt, Ivor Cutler or Billy Bragg.
Displaying 1 of 1 review