Дэвид Брок: Ұлыбританиялық музыканттың өмір жолы мен шығармашылығы

English musician

David Anthony Brock (born 20 August 1941) is an English musician. He plays electric guitar, keyboards, bass and oscillators. He is a founder of, the sole constant member of and the musical focus of the space rock group Hawkwind. Brock was honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the annual Progressive Music Awards in 2013.

Brock was born in Isleworth, Middlesex. His childhood was spent in Feltham, Middlesex; he attended the Longford Secondary Modern School (now called Rivers Academy). His father's brother introduced him to music, giving him a banjo at the age of twelve, and a school art teacher encouraged him in his learning. Brock's influences at this time included Fats Domino and Humphrey Lyttelton. After leaving school in 1959, he undertook several jobs including work as a capstan setter, before moving to an animation company, Larkin Studios. He pursued his interests in music at night, although with no initial intentions of it becoming a career, attending clubs such as Eel Pie Island, playing New Orleans trad jazz and blues, and busking with friends such as Eric Clapton, Keith Relf, Jeff Watson and Mick Slattery (born
Michael Daniel Slattery, 15 February 1946, Richmond upon Thames died 17 March 2023). He formed a trio with pianist Mike King and harmonica player Luke Francis (born 1943, Newcastle upon Tyne) called the Dharma Blues Band; this group recorded versions of Sonny Boy Williamson II's "Dealing with the Devil" and Pete Johnson's "Roll 'Em Pete" for Blues Anytime Vol. 2 (Immediate, IMCP015) in 1966, and backed travelling American blues singers such as Memphis Slim and Champion Jack Dupree. The band would continue without Brock, recording an album in 1967. Quitting his daytime job, he travelled around Europe earning money by busking, sometimes with harmonica player Pete Judd. With guitarist John Illingworth (born John Michael Illingsworth, 11 October 1942, Sheffield), Brock and Judd formed The Famous Cure, touring in the Netherlands, and again after Slattery had replaced Judd in 1967, also having a hit single with "Sweet Mary"/"Mean Mistreater". With the psychedelic scene burgeoning in London and the band using LSD, their music changed with them starting to use electric instruments and effects units. In 1968 he resorted to busking for a living and, on the back of the success of Don Partridge's hits "Rosie" and "Blue Eyes", performed in January 1969 at the Buskers' Concert at the Royal Albert Hall, contributing "Bring It On Home" to The Buskers album (Columbia, SX6356). In April and May, Brock joined the Buskers tour of the UK, which travelled around the country to each venue in a red London Transport double decker bus.

In 1969, Slattery and Brock continued jamming together and with whoever else was around. The genesis of Hawkwind was in their meeting with bass player John A Harrison (born 28 May 1942, died 26 May 2012), who was also taking an interest in experimental music after stints in more conventional bands such as the Joe Loss Band. A music paper advert brought in teenage drummer Terry Ollis, while friends Nik Turner and Dik Mik were invited to join the band on saxophone and electronics respectively after the pair had originally offered their services as roadcrew. From the outset, Brock's intentions for the band was to marry simple three chord rock music with experimental electronic music. He cites his influences for the band at the time as the Moody Blues, Steve Miller Band and the krautrock scene of Kraftwerk, Neu! and particularly Can. Doctor Technical was an "alter ego" created by Brock for his production credit on "Silver Machine". He has regularly used the alias since at various times, notably for the album Church of Hawkwind. He has also used the aliases Dr Hasbeen and Sylvia Macmanus (his second wife's name). Brock has remained Hawkwind's musical focus and primary songwriter throughout their existence.