Peter Hammill



Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English singer-songwriter. He is a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator.

Quotes

 * "Obviously we're English middle-class chaps - there's not much voodoo chile about us."
 * On the time Van der Graaf Generator supported Jimi Hendrix. "Peter Hammill: Heart attack music" Interview with The Independent, 27 June 2004
 * "It is actually, in a way, an incredibly mundane experience. Not everyone has a heart attack but everyone has something or other, so I'm not remotely special. Just because I write songs doesn't make it a better or worse near-death experience."
 * Interview with Mike Barnes, The Wire, March 2007

Song Lyrics

 * Re-awakening isn't easy when you're tired. Don't push me: I was taught self-expression when I was a child
 * "Re-awakening" on Fool's Mate (1971)
 * The streets seemed very crowded, I put on my bravest guise I know you know that I am acting, I can see it in your eyes.
 * "La Rossa" on Still Life by Van der Graaf Generator (1976)
 * These words are not enough to save my soul, they just mock me from the mirror.
 * "This side of the Looking-Glass" on Over (1977)
 * She's here now, perfume coiled like a thuggee scarf
 * "Empress's Clothes" on Sitting Targets (1981)
 * If we were always here and now, electric shiver in the spine, how could we turn away, see life as grey and drab? How come we don't see what we have?
 * "Now Lover" on 'Skin'' (1986)