Peter Hammill

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Ealing, West London, England (1948 – present)

Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948, in Ealing, West London, England) is a singer-songwriter, and a founding member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Most noted for his vocal abilities, his main instruments are guitar and piano. He also acts as a record producer for his own recordings, and occasionally for other artists.

With an extensive solo career spanning dozens of albums, Peter Hammill is certainly more than just the front-man and leader of Van Der Graaf Generator (VdGG). His literate, soul-examining lyrics and his often-anguished vocal delivery make his music perhaps an acquired taste, but his uncompromising artistic vision has shone since his first release, Fool’s Mate, back in 1971.

Stylistically, he has forged his own path, touching on progressive rock, punk (before it was even called that), electronic experimentation, intimate singer-songwriter settings, and even opera/musical theatre (with his adaptation of Poe’s The Fall of the House of Usher).

Hammill’s solo career has coexisted with VdGG’s activities. The band was offered a contract by Mercury Records in 1968, that only Hammill signed. When VdGG broke up in 1969 he wanted to record his first solo-album. In the summer of 1969 Hammill had a residency at The Lyceum and played weekly solo-concerts there. Eventually the intended solo-album was released under the VdGG-banner as their first album (The Aerosol Grey Machine).

Tagged as:

progressive rock, singer-songwriter, art rock, experimental, progressive
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Fool's Mate
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Nadir's Big Chance
Peter Hammill
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Over
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The Silent Corner And The Empty Stage
Peter Hammill
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Top Tracks

1	Vision full track	65
1	The Birds full track	65
3	Nadir's Big Chance full track	58
4	Happy full track	56
5	Wilhelmina full track	51
6	Modern full track	50
7	Autumn full track	49
8	Crying Wolf full track	47
9	Imperial Zeppelin full track	46
10	Candle full track	43
11	Again full track	42
12	Solitude full track	34
12	Re-awakening full track	34
12	Been Alone So Long full track	34
15	Sunshine full track	32

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Hyacinth-H wrote:
last month

http://www.lastfm.pl/music/Peter+Hammill/+images/37833281 people, make this photo get higher! :)

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MaciekWobbler wrote:
last month

"beautiful concert in Dresden!" YES INDEED....

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vicarios wrote:
last month

beautiful concert in Dresden!

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molly_polliwog wrote:
last month

i'm a girl and i like him lots.

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iturra wrote:
December 2009

Thin Air--- gran disco 40 años de vigencia... grande Peter!!!

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MarsAudiac wrote:
December 2009

In verità suonerà anche domenica 6 dicembre a Borgomanero in provincia di Novara...

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MaciekWobbler wrote:
November 2009

Czy ktoś z Polski wybiera się na koncert w Dreźnie?

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Clashnroller wrote:
October 2009

Get some Skeletons of Songs.

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idas15 wrote:
September 2009

and me too! I'm a girl too! :D (and I can't imagine someone whose singing would impress me more than the Hammill's one. if you know a more expressive singer, tell me!)

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tin_jones wrote:
September 2009

...some of girls do :) he's in my top-10

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han3nah wrote:
September 2009

Of course they do.He is one of my favourite artist.

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-273C wrote:
September 2009

You are wrong. They do.

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Didacvs wrote:
August 2009

WTF!!! Girls doesn´t listen to Hammill?

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TheMusicalVito wrote:
August 2009

God

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klapwokkel wrote:
August 2009

If Peter Hammill existed, what would his name be?

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TheMusicalVito wrote:
August 2009

If God existed, his name would be Peter Hammill.

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rottmadgers wrote:
August 2009

"Silent Corner" is great, but I still think it is "Nadir's Big Chance" ftw.

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Maz1982 wrote:
July 2009

PH is more creative than all gods combined. Silent corner is one of my all time favourites.

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LiquidEternity wrote:
June 2009

Just below this is me being confused. Also of note of the stellar variety are Undone and The Mercy. It's not as strong as Incoherence, but there's a good chance it'll soon easily rival Singularity.

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LiquidEternity wrote:
June 2009

I'm liking Thin Air, but I'm not loving it as much as the last couple. Of course, I did supplement that purchase with Typical, which I'm finding downright fascinating. Either way, If We Must Part Like This and Your Face on the Street are stellar tunes.

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