A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers ('70)




1970 Written in London/Germany/Worth
a. Eyewitness b. Pictures/Lighthouse c. Eyewitness d. S.H.M. e. Presence of The Night f. Kosmos Tour g. (Custard's) Last Stand h. The Clot Thickens i. Land's End (Sineline) j. We Go Now.

Recordings:

1971 Pawn Hearts LP Recorded at Trident Studios, London July-Sept 1971
1972 Belgium TV Broadcast on UK/Europe TV Released on DVD in 2003
1977 John Peel session Maida Vale 4 Studios, "The Medley" recorded Oct 24, 1977, Broadcast November 2, 1977
1978 The Marquee, London January, 1978; "The Medley" recorded for "Vital" released in July.
2012 Recorded Live for the "Merlin Atmos" Live cd/lp released in 2015.

Releases:

1971 "Pawn Hearts" lp on Famous Charisma Label October 1971
1976 "Pawn Hearts" Double Cassette with "Still Life" Album
1978 'Vital' The Medley' of "Lighthouse Keepers/The Sleepwalkers"(Live) July 1978
1986 First Generation 2 cd's (Compilation)(Virgin)
1992 "Pawn Hearts" cd with bonus tracks.
1993 "I Prophecy Disaster" "The Medley" (compilation)
2000 "The Box" VdGG compilation (Lp version from Pawn Hearts)
2003 Belgium TV (1972) released on DVD ("Masters From the Vault" and "Godbluff Live")
2015 "Merlin Atmos" lp/cd (Live)
2015 'The Medley' from the John Peel Session (1977) included on 'After The Flood' (BBC Sessions cd)

Live and In Concert:

1972 VdGG Belgium TV Studio Played live and recorded in 2 parts (Released on the above dvd's)
1977 VDG "The Medley" fall tour of the UK/Europe and recorded for the John Peel Sessions
1978 Peter Hammill Solo in North America; February and June (Medley)
1978 Van der Graaf January, May and June (Medley)
1979 Peter Hammill and Graham Smith 'The Medley' Feb/March (June in France)(Medley)
1980 Solo (Medley)
1983 Peter Hammill and David Jackson 'The Medley' (Israel August 1983)
2013 Van der Graaf Generator (Peter Hammill/Hugh Banton/Guy Evans) Europe /UK Played every concert.

Peter Hammill from Sounds Music Magazine:

"It's just the story of a lighthouse keeper, that's it on it's basic level. And there's this narrative about his guilt and his complexes about seeing people die and letting people die, and not being able to help. In the end—well, it doesn't really have an end, it’s really up to you to decide.

He either kills himself or he rationalizes it all and can live in peace… Then on the psychic/religious level it’s about him coming to terms with himself, and at the end there is either him losing it all completely to insanity, or transcendence; it’s either way at the end… And then it’s also about the individual coming to terms with society—that’s the third level"

David Jackson Interview "It was something that was waiting to happen." The end piece "We Go Now: is his."

a complete surprise.....we had a crisis meeeiot g one ha;f with sparklers and one ha;lf with candles,