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| Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1974 | |||
| Recorded | March 1973 – January 1974 | |||
| Studio |
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| Length | 42:24 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Producer | Roy Thomas Baker | |||
| Robert Calvert chronology | ||||
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| Review scores | |
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| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [1] |
Captain Lockheed and the Starfighters is a 1974 satirical concept album by Robert Calvert, the former frontman of British space-rock band Hawkwind. It consists of a mixture of songs and comic spoken interludes.
The concept was based on the German Air Ministry's purchase of the Lockheed F-104G Starfighter, which was eventually nicknamed Widowmaker by Luftwaffe pilots. In German service these planes had a poor safety record, with 262 out of 916 Luftwaffe Starfighters lost in accidents during the aircraft's time in service, which lasted from the early 1960s until the mid-1980s.[2]
Musicians who appeared on the album include members of Hawkwind, The Pink Fairies, Brian Eno (although not credited as Eno), Arthur Brown and Adrian Wagner. The spoken sketches are primarily performed by Calvert, Viv Stanshall and Jim Capaldi.
"Ejection" (coupled with "Catch a Falling Starfighter") was released as a single, although both songs are slightly different versions to those on the album. "The Widow's Song" was included in the libretto and Calvert had hoped to record it with Nico singing. It wasn't recorded at the time but it was eventually recorded in 1984 with Calvert's wife Jill Riches on lead vocals and included on the Hawkwind, Friends and Relations Vol.3 compilation.
The album has been re-released in the late 1990s by BGO Records and is currently available on Eclectic Records (ECLCD1056) with bonus tracks.
- ^ AllMusic review
- ^ "[2.0] F-104 In Foreign Service (1)". Vectorsite.net. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 9 February 2012.