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The story behind the record cover - Over (1977) - PETER HAMMILL

"Early eighties. As a graduate, for a while, you thought you could change society. But the oil crisis plunged Western Europe into a deep economic crisis. Unemployment was huge, no corporation nor institution was waiting for you. The group of friends fell apart. Couples were having children. The ones who could find the happiness of a job moved to another city. The relationship with my girlfriend had reached a dead end after seven years. As a country boy I decided to leave for Rotterdam. The chances of finding work there were considerably greater. I was able to find a squat through an acquaintance. I can still see myself sitting there in the windowsill. It could have been a copy of Peter Hammill's cover. I only had an acoustic guitar. I could not count on the future and I could not trace the past. My happiness had burst like a bubble. Who else could have interpreted this situation better musically than Peter Hammill? Peter Hammill was the frontman of the band Van der Graaf Generator. I didn't really know this music very well, it was quite inaccessible. It's not really proper 'singing' what Hammill does. He's really pouring out his emotions over you. Fear, anger and sadness; screaming, shouting or murmuring, he conveys his message in his music. And the music of Van der Graaf Generator, and later his solo albums, is not exactly harmonious. It's more experimental in nature, like King Crimson. I came into contact with Peter Hammill through Robert Fripp's "Exposure". A friend of mine had bought this LP in 1980 and we found ourselves in a similar situation. The two of us celebrated Christmas in Groningen. The city was cold and deserted. The neighbors were not at home, so "Exposure" could be played at the loudest volume our amplifier could produces. Peter Hammill cried out in the song Disengage (set yourself free). We screamed along at the top of our lungs. Back in Rotterdam I went to the record store. That's where Peter Hammill looked at me from the cover of his 1977 LP "Over". One of the best albums in his long career. He has made more than 40 albums. The song About refers to a failed relationship. His girlfriend Alice broke up with him. He had to get rid of his pain and grief over the break-up, thus "Over" was born. His guitar, the 'Meurglys III', standing in the corner on the windowsill, is his only friend. The only one he can trust. This is what he sings in a song on Van de Graaf Generator's LP, "World Record". Back in my squat, I was immediately sold. "Over" was a mirror of my state of mind at the time. I often sat on the windowsill, but no one took any pictures. After a few months I regained control of my life. Found a job in humanitarian aid and love returned to my life once again. Peter Hammill became my hero in the 1980s. I owned all of Van der Graaf Generator's and Peter Hammill's albums. I bought his books "Killers, Angels, Refugees" and "Mirrors, Dreams and Miracles", which contain all his lyrics. They remain forever in my bookcase. The pages are stuck together with adhesive tape. I translated every single lyric and knew them by heart. Time Heals is a track from the same album. Looking back at the eighties, that is certainly true. The Netherlands slowly emerged from recession. Technology was introduced. Home computers and internet came to us. Peter Hammill continued on with his career and attracted a host of followers. The same faces appeared at every single show in the Netherlands. A nice detail: Marillion frontman Fish is also a big fan of Peter Hammill's. Just watch the back cover of Marillion's "Fugazi" album. Lying on the floor are two Peter Hammill LP's; one of them being "Over". Hammill is now 72 years old. He still performs with Van der Graaf Generator. I was supposed to see him perform last year at the Paradiso in Amsterdam. Unfortunately at the time a new crisis was imminent. Last time Peter Hammill performed at the Boerderij in Zoetermeer was back in 2012. Who knows, the Boerderij management might persuade him to perform in Zoetermeer once again. An icon in the music world, playing live in Zoetermeer, wouldn't it be great. But please hurry up, because according to Hammill himself, he has already reached his 'autumn', as he sings prophetically on "About", in the song Autumn. Long time ago I exchanged my squat for a beautiful pre-war town house. Sometimes I sit on the windowsill, but nowadays only out of sheer contentment." By Gerrit-Jan Vrielink Translation Alex Driessen  

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