"Quark, Strangeness and Charm"
Single by Hawkwind
from the album Quark, Strangeness and Charm
B-side"The Forge of Vulcan"
Released29 July 1977
RecordedRockfield Studios, February 1977
GenreSpace rock
Length3:06
LabelCharisma Records
Songwriter(s)Robert Calvert/Dave Brock
Producer(s)Hawkwind
Hawkwind singles chronology
"Back on the Streets"
(1977)		 "Quark, Strangeness and Charm"
(1977)		 "Psi Power"
(1978)

"Quark, Strangeness and Charm" is a 1977 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind, being the title track from the Quark, Strangeness and Charm album.

The title references quarks which are sub-atomic particles; "strangeness" and "charm" are playful terms used by physicists to refer to how many strange and charm quarks are within a particle. The lyrics take a humorous look at certain famous physicists' romantic failures.

1977 single

It was released as a single in the UK (CB305) on 29 July 1977, being a slightly different version to the one on the album. Some European copies had a different B-side, such as Germany, which featured "The Iron Dream" instead. The single version was subsequently included on the 1980 Repeat Performance compilation album.

At the time Hawkwind shared the same management as Marc Bolan and so were given a slot on the Marc Granada Television programme to promote it. Brock declined to appear, either being unwilling to drive to Manchester for the filming or holding a long time grudge against Bolan. For the pre-recording of the music on this show, Shaw played guitar while Calvert mimed playing guitar during the filming.[1]

Track listing

  1. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (Calvert/Brock) – 3:06
  2. "The Forge of Vulcan" (House) – 3:05

Personnel

Credits

Live versions

The song only briefly featured in Hawkwind's live set in 1977 with one recording surviving, released on both the Hawkwind Anthology and Weird Tape Volume 2 albums. It was briefly resurrected at the end of 1993 for the tour of the It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous album and remained until the end of 1994.

1994 EP

Quark, Strangeness and Charm
EP by
Hawkwind
ReleasedSeptember 1994
Recorded1994
GenreSpace rock
LabelEmergency Broadcast System Records
ProducerHawkwind
Hawkwind EPs chronology
Decide Your Future EP
(1993)		 Quark, Strangeness and Charm
(1994)		 Area S4 EP
(1995)

In 1994, Hawkwind recorded a new version of the song with significant rewriting of the music. This version was also included on the album The Business Trip.

Track listing

  1. "Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Red Planet Radio Mix) – 2:43
  2. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (Calvert/Brock) – 6:24
  3. "Black Sun" – 9:34
  4. "Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Martian Conquest Mix) – 6:53

Personnel

  • Dave Brock – guitar, vocals, keyboards, synthesisers
  • Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals, synthesisers
  • Richard Chadwick – drums, percussion
  • Astralasia – remixes

Release history

  • Sep 1994 – UK – Emergency Broadcast Sysrem Records – 12" vinyl (EBT 110) and CD (EBCD 110)
  • Nov 1994 – USA – Griffin – CD (GCD 312-2)

Other versions

A new acoustic version of "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" was included on The Road to Utopia (2018), produced and arranged by Mike Batt with additional orchestrations.[2]

Cover versions

The Stranglers' Jean-Jacques Burnel has long been an admirer of the song, stating it was "a song I'd really fucking wish I'd written". He has performed versions of the song with Three Men and Black.[3]

References

  1. ↑ The Saga of Hawkwind, Carol Clerk, p. 179.
  2. ↑ "Hawkwind: Road To Utopia". Cherry Red Records. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  3. ↑ The Saga of Hawkwind, Carol Clerk, p. 176.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.