Site History
1998 & 1999 Updates      2000 & 2001 Updates
2002 Updates      2003 Updates      2004 Updates      2006 Updates      2007 Updates
30/12/05 Peter Hammill announces the end of "this incarnation" of Van der Graaf Generator in his latest newsletter.
12/12/05 Added a ticket for the Brussels gig on 27th September 1976 to the Live List. Thanks to Keith Richards.
25/11/05 Added some more pictures to the Gardone Riviera gig page (July 18th 2005). These are mostly of the band rehearsing in the afternoon. Thanks to Alberto Terrile.
Also to the Leverkusen Jazztage gig page (November 5th 2005). Thanks to Dieter Riemann.
And to the St Petersburg gig page (October 25th 2005). Thanks to Chris Vysotskaya.
23/11/05 Added a few more dates from May/June 1973 to the Live List from an advert supplied by Adrian Haegele.
Also added a ticket for the 16th March 1977 gig in Köln, courtesy of Bernhard Bischoff.
A small error in The Book - on page 75, the picture with Senta Berger at Munich Airport includes members of the band Mighty Baby, not Mighty Bird as captioned.
22/11/05 Added more pictures to the Crossing Border Festival page. Thanks to Gijs Boink/Michael Heesbeen, Michel and Eva Faber, and Antoinette Saman for the pictures.
21/11/05 Added a page for the Crossing Border Festival gig on November 19th 2005 in The Hague, Holland. Thanks to Rene and Anette Bos, and Herman Permentier for the pictures.
19/11/05 Added pages for the Glasgow ABC gig on November 12th 2005 (11/11), (Thanks to John Nadin for some of the pictures), and the Manchester Bridgewater Hall gig on November 13th 2005.
16/11/05 Added a page for the Gateshead gig on November 11th 2005 (11/11). Thanks to all who contributed.
14/11/05 The Book is available! Details and Ordering facility here.
08/11/05 The Book will be available shortly but in the meantime The Poster is available now - Details and Ordering facility here.
06/11/05 Added a page for the Leverkusen Jazztage gig yesterday. Thanks to Herman Permentier, Reiner Ullmann and Alex Meinlschmidt for the material.
04/11/05 Added a couple of things to the World Record page: an advert in NME that proclaimed "Chart Entry" and another review of the Wondering single. Thanks to Mark Vernon for the latter.
31/10/05 Added more stuff to the Moscow on the 26th October page. Thanks to Mikayel Abazyan and Alexey Rodin for the additional material.
27/10/05 Started pages for the two Russian gigs: St Petersburg on the 25th October and Moscow on the 26th October.
10/10/05 Added a picture of Jaxon in Sarzana, Italy, August 10th 1975 to the Live List.
08/10/05 Added some pictures of the legendary Salle Wagram, Paris, gigs of May 29th and 30th 1975 (I'm not sure which one).
This page is also accessible from the Live List and the 1975 European tour page. Thanks to Jean-Marie Saunier for the pictures.
07/10/05 Added some pictures of the famous Rimini gigs of August 9th 1975 to the Live List. Thanks to Silvio Amenduni and Simone Mazzilli.
06/10/05 Added a backstage pass for one of the Roundhouse gigs of 18/19th April 1976 to the Live List. This is dated "Mon 18 April", which is not correct as the 18th was a Sunday, but they did play on Monday the 19th as well. Thanks to Dave Jaxon.
05/10/05 Added a backstage pass for the November 1976 UK tour to the Live List. This has appeared elsewhere - in The Box, and also the re-masters - but this is a better image. Thanks to Dave Jaxon.
04/10/05 Thanks to Mikayel Abazyan for a scan of the setlist of Judge Smith's Cobden Club gig.
03/10/05 Added a couple more pictures from 1972 to the First Generation Pictures page. If anyone knows where these were taken then please let me know. They are of the same gig.
Pictures from 1968 to 1972 were originally on one page but I have now split them into two groups: 1968 to 1969 and 1969 to 1972 (the early days and first generation).
26/09/05 Added a poster for the "New London Pop Tour" (aka the "German Overalls" or "Kosmos" tour) concert in Frankfurt to the Live List. There is some confusion over the date - a ticket is dated May 17th 1971, but the tour listing and poster say May 4th.
25/09/05 Added the picture from the inner gatefold (without overlying text) to the Fool's Mate page.
23/09/05 Added the picture that's on the back of the H to He re-master to the Early Pix page (near the bottom).
22/09/05 Added some more pictures of the gig at the Lycabettus Theatre, Athens on July 21st 2005. Thanks to Dorian.
21/09/05 Added an advert for the April 1971 tour to the Six Bob Tour page. From David Jackson's personal collection.
20/09/05 Added a great artefact to the Live List from May 27th 1973 - a "Servizio" ticket for the gig, stamped "Peter Hammill" and authorised by Gordian Troeller. From David Jackson's personal collection.
19/09/05 Added a poster for the Oct/Nov 1977 UK tour to the Live List and the Quiet Zone page. Thanks to Sean Couchnoise.
13/09/05 Thanks to Paolo Soriani for some stunning pictures from the VdGG show in Rome.
11/09/05 Added the Spanish version to the Maida Vale page. Thanks to Joost de Heer for the scans.
09/09/05 Added a nice picture of the band before the Liverpool show to the Liverpool Philharmonic page. Thanks to Allan Openshaw for the picture.
The Book news.
27/08/05 Added the Mojo July 05 Readers' Top Ten piece to the Present page.
Also added two 2005 interviews with Peter Hammill - the first appeared in Guitar and Bass magazine and has been added to The Guitars of Peter Hammill page; the second appeared in Record Collector and can be read on the Peter Hammill page.
26/08/05 I've now sorted through all the photos and artefacts from the May/June/July gigs and have added stuff to all the pages. The links can be found on the Live List. Updates include some excellent pictures by Ed Clarke, one of the roadcrew. These appear on the appropriate pages but can also be seen at www.edclarke.org.uk.
22/08/05 Thanks to everyone who has sent in pictures from the July tour. I've started to sort through them and have added further pictures to the WOMAD Sicily and Melkweg Amsterdam pages - more to come.
On an historical note - we finally nailed the date for the famous "Bellaria" gig at a hotel near Rimini - July 30th 1972.
17/08/05 Further gigs have now been confirmed for Russia, UK, Holland and Germany in Oct/Nov 2005. See the front page for information.
27/07/05 Added a page for the gig at the Melkweg, Amsterdam on July 23rd.
23/07/05 Added a page for the gig at the Lycabettus Theatre, Athens on July 21st.
22/07/05 Added a page for the gig at the Gardone Riviera Teatro del Vittoriale on July 18th, and at the WOMAD festival in Sicily on July 15th.
15/07/05 Added a page for the gig at the Paris Bataclan, on July 12th.
11/07/05 Added a page for last night's gig at the Liverpool Philharmonic.
10/07/05 Added a page for last night's gig at the De Montfort Hall.
09/07/05 Added a page for last night's gig at the Shepherds Bush Empire.
28/06/05 Added Peter Hammill's reading of In Babelsberg at the Genoa Poetry Festival (June 14th 2005) to the MP3 Page.
22/06/05 Added a link to the Italian Study Group's website's Dark Figures Running page. You can now order the book by credit card on their website.
21/06/05 Spin CD's are offering the re-mastered World Record, The Quiet Zone and Vital (to be released on July 25th) for £11.99 each, or you can pre-order all three for £30. Click on the links for bonus material, although in the case of Vital this just entails the original double LP being released in its entirety (the earlier CD was missing one or two tracks).
The recording of the Royal Festival Hall show on May 6th 2005 will be released on CD later in the year.
18/06/05 Thanks to Jonathan Killick for the review of the re-mastered Pawn Hearts that appeared in NME.
16/06/05 Added some more pictures (courtesy of Emilio and Kiribiri) of Monday night's VdGG show in Rome.
Thanks also to Emilio for a picture of Peter and Max at the Genoa Poetry Festival on June 14th, added to the Live List.
14/06/05 Added some pictures (courtesy of Herman Permentier and Angelo Provera) of Monday night's VdGG show in Rome.
12/06/05 Added some pictures (courtesy of Andrea Tolin and Emilio/the Italian Study Group and Sergei Petrushanko) of Saturday night's VdGG show in Milan. Grazie.
08/06/05 Added a link to the online review on the All About Jazz website to the Present page.
Also added the Classic Rock review of the Royal Festival Hall concert.
07/06/05 More information has come to light about the VdG French tour in November 1977. Two dates added (Poitiers 18th and Toulouse 21st), two changed (Nimes 22nd and Grenoble 23rd) and one doubtful (Bordeaux 20th). All changes made to the Live List. It also appears that gigs in Cambridge on Oct 25th 1977 and Exeter on Nov 8th were cancelled (actually - it wasn't!). Thanks to Mark Vernon for the Rock et Folk advert and other useful artefacts, including a ticket for Dunstable on Nov 13th 1977.
02/06/05 I've put together a page devoted to Judge Smith's new album The Full English which features a review by Jim Christopulos and an interview with Judge about how the album came together.
30/05/05 Added the piece from yesterday's Sunday Times to the Reunion News page.
27/05/05 Added pictures from two German magazines (Apr 2005) to the Reunion News page. Thanks go to Adrian.
12/05/05 Added some more pictures to the VdGG at the RFH page. Thanks go to Sue Banton. There is also some information about the instruments they were playing at the RFH.
11/05/05 Added tickets for the VdGG gigs at the QEH, London on September 7th 1976, and in Leuven, Belgium on March 8th 1977. Thanks to Joseph Vanormelingen for the tickets and for pointing out that the latter gig took place in Belgium and not in Norway as originally thought.
10/05/05 Added reviews from today's Guardian and Independent to the VdGG at the RFH page.
07/05/05 Oh what a night! New page: VdGG at the RFH. There are also some bits and bobs on the Live List, including a piece in Time Out entitled "10 things you might not know about Peter Hammill and his prog-not-prog mavericks". (most of number four, as we all know, isn't true)
04/05/05 Added pieces from MOJO and Classic Rock (May 2005) to the Reunion News page.
02/05/05 A big thanks to Ian "Mr Date" Laycock for finally nailing the French tour of November 1977.
And thanks for a bunch of ads/listings:
Burtons 10th Oct 70, Maidstone 4th Dec 70, Uxbridge 2nd July 71,
Worcester 13th and the Roundhouse 15th August 71,
Marquee 7th, Groovesville 12th and Hammersmith 15th Sep 71,
Guildford 3rd Oct 71.
29/04/05 Added a link to the review in the Morning Star to the Present page, plus the Present German postcard, and The Room!
24/04/05 Added today's reviews in the Sunday Observer, Sunday Times and the Independent On Sunday to the Present page.
Also the review in Friday's Sun.
22/04/05 Added today's review in the Guardian and the Record Collector review to the Present page. Spin CD's hope to send out the album today.
21/04/05 Added a couple of flyers for Present.
15/04/05 Information about the bonus tracks on the first three re-masters, The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other, H to He Who Am The Only One and Pawn Hearts is now posted, and Spin CD's are offering a good deal if you pre-order all three.
The same deal is now being offered by Spin CD's for the second batch of re-masters, namely Godbluff, Still Life and Fool's Mate (bonus tracks also listed on the album pages).
Sofa Sound will also be taking pre-orders nearer the release date.
14/04/05 Added a review of Present by Jim Christopulos.
12/04/05 Information about the bonus tracks on the first three re-masters, The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other, H to He Who Am The Only One and Pawn Hearts is expected shortly, but in the meantime Spin CD's are offering a good deal if you pre-order all three. Sofa Sound will also be taking pre-orders nearer the release date, and are taking pre-orders now for Present.
Spin CD's are also giving away posters with the first fifty pre-orders of Present.
09/04/05 Added a review in Uncut magazine to the Present page. I'm deliberately not displaying the actual articles in their entirety so that you go out and buy the magazines.
06/04/05 Added a bit more information to the Present page, having now heard the album. Hopefully a full review will appear soon, but in the meantime I've added what they say in May's MOJO mag.
29/03/05 Added a ticket for the VdGG gig in Lyon, France on November 18th 1975 to the Live List. Thanks to Serge.
Serge also says that the Lyon gig of 26th May 1978 actually took place on the 29th May, so the Live List has been changed.
25/03/05 Added six pictures of Peter Hammill at The Other End in New York on 17th February 1978 to the Live List. Three are on the main page and three on the PH In The USA page. Pawn Hearts Society Archive material.
17/03/05 Thanks to Francis and Mazug for some pictures of Judge Smith taken last weekend in Italy, added to the Where they are now page.
16/03/05 Thanks again to Trevor Watson for a ticket and a new date, 23rd May 1970, Durham University.
15/03/05 Added two tickets to the Live List, one for PH's gig in Newcastle (support to Brand X) on 24th September 1978 and one for the Van der Graaf Generator gig in Redcar on 30th October 1977 - thanks to Trevor Watson.
12/03/05 Added a ticket for PH's late gig at the Troubadour, Feb 3rd 1978, to the Live List - thanks to Elliott Kowitz.
01/03/05 Peter Hammill has released a new Newsletter containing information about recent activity and the VdGG reunion - you can read it at www.sofasound.com.
22/02/05 Some information has become available about the forthcoming double CD so I have created a Present page.
I also added two new dates to the Live List - 22nd September 1976, Uden, Holland and 26th September 1976, Liege, Belgium.
15/02/05 Thanks to Hugh Banton for this piece about the reunion in the Manchester Evening News, added to the Reunion News page.
14/02/05 See the Johnny Rotten page for a piece that appeared in February's MOJO magazine entitled "The Roots of the Sex Pistols".
This page is also accessible via the Nadir's Big Chance page.
11/02/05 Added some Subterraneans pictures to the Where they are now page. Guy Evans playing guitar!
29/01/05 Thanks to Alex and Marc for tickets for Paris Olympia, 26th June 1972 and Paris Mutualité, 25th November 1975. This last one appears to have solved the problem over whether the second date was the 23rd or 25th.
Also added listings from the NME's "On The Town" to support Godbluff tour gigs in Cardiff, London (Thames Poly), Derby and Manchester.
And whilst we are on dates - thanks to Peter Verheggen for letting me know about VdGG at the Hammerveld Jazz Festival in Holland, 8th August 1971. Not Belgium as previously listed.
21/01/05 See the Where they are now page for info about Judge Smith's gig on 6th May, and his new CD release.
19/01/05 Thanks to Sean for an advert for the Van der Graaf Victoria Palace gig of 16th October 1977, added to the Live List. It's also an advert for Quiet Zone.
14/01/05 Thanks to Nic Dafis for a clipping from Classic Rock about the reunion.
13/01/05 In case you missed it on the front page, it looks as if VdGG will be playing further gigs in the UK and Europe during July and August.
Van der Graaf Generator Reunion.
07/01/05 Thanks again to Alan for this Italian Poster for the Ravenna gig of 25th May 1972.
Plus some possible new dates added to the Live List.
08 MAY 72 Switzerland, St. Gallen, Club Africana (cancelled according to Willi)
12 MAY 72 England, Ross-on-Wye, Harvey's
17 MAY 72 Germany, Frankfurt, Zoom Club
06/01/05 Thanks to Alan Hutchinson for this clipping from Uncut about the reunion.
03/01/05 Check out the News Page for yet another mention in the Guardian.
02/01/05 Check out the News Page for another mention in the Guardian.

Home