Quark, Strangeness and Charm (single)
Encyclopedia
"Quark, Strangeness and Charm" is a 1977 song by the UK rock group Hawkwind
Hawkwind
Hawkwind are an English rock band, one of the earliest space rock groups. Their lyrics favour urban and science fiction themes. They are also a noted precursor to punk rock and now are considered a link between the hippie and punk cultures....

, being the title track from the Quark, Strangeness and Charm
Quark, Strangeness and Charm
Quark, Strangeness And Charm is the seventh studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1977. It spent 6 weeks on the UK albums chart peaking at #30....

album.

The title references quark
Quark
A quark is an elementary particle and a fundamental constituent of matter. Quarks combine to form composite particles called hadrons, the most stable of which are protons and neutrons, the components of atomic nuclei. Due to a phenomenon known as color confinement, quarks are never directly...

s which are sub-atomic particles; "strange" and "charm" are playful terms used by physicists to define characteristics of quarks. The lyrics take a humorous look at certain famous physicists' romantic failures.

1977 Single

It was released as a single in the UK (CB305) on 29 July 1977, being a slightly different version to the one on the album. Some European copies had a different B-side, such as Germany which featured "The Iron Dream" instead. The single version was subsequently included on the 1980 Repeat Performance
Repeat Performance (album)
Repeat Performance were a series of budget compilation albums issued by Charisma Records in 1980. The first of the series was a Various Artists compilation, subsequent albums showcased an artist on the label...

compilation album.

At the time Hawkwind shared the same manangement as Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...

 and so were given a slot on the Marc
Marc (TV series)
Marc is a British television series presented by T. Rex lead singer Marc Bolan. It was produced in Manchester by Granada Television for the ITV network....

Granada Television
Granada Television
Granada Television is the ITV contractor for North West England. Based in Manchester since its inception, it is the only surviving original ITA franchisee from 1954 and is ITV's most successful....

 programme to promote it. For some reason Brock declined to appear either being unwilling to drive to Manchester for the filming or because he held a long time grudge against Bolan. For the pre-recording of the music on this show, Shaw played guitar whilst Calvert mimed playing guitar during the filming.

Track listings

  1. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (Calvert/Brock) – 3:06
  2. "The Forge of Vulcan" (House) – 3:05

Personnel

  • Robert Calvert
    Robert Calvert
    Robert Calvert was a writer, poet, and musician.-Biography:Born Robert Newton Calvert in Pretoria, South Africa, Calvert's parents moved to England when he was two years of age and later attended school in London and Margate. He began his career by writing poetry and in 1967 formed a Street...

     – vocals, percussion, morse and strangeness
  • Dave Brock
    Dave Brock
    David Anthony "Dave" Brock is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He plays electric guitar, synthesizer, bass and oscillators. He is best known as being one of the founders and musical focus of the English space rock group Hawkwind...

     – guitar
    Guitar
    The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...

    , synthesisers, sound FX, vocals and quark
  • Simon House
    Simon House
    Simon House is a composer and classically trained violinist and keyboard player, perhaps best known for his work with space rock band Hawkwind. His arrival in 1974 introduced a new element to the band's style...

     – keyboards
    Keyboard instrument
    A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...

    , violin
    Violin
    The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

    , anvil, vocals and charm
  • Adrian Shaw – bass guitar
    Bass guitar
    The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....

    , vocals and hand-claps
  • Simon King
    Simon King (musician)
    Simon King is an English drummer most noted for his work with Hawkwind. He was described in 1985 by British rock magazine 'Sounds' as 'definitive rock drummer.'...

     – drums
    Drum kit
    A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

    , percussion and no-vocal

Credits

  • Recorded at Rockfield Studios
    Rockfield Studios
    Rockfield Studios, near Monmouth in Wales and just outside the village of Rockfield, Monmouthshire are where many of British rock music’s most successful recordings have been made.-History:...

    , February 1977.
  • Produced by Hawkwind
  • Engineered by Dave Charles
    Dave Charles
    Dave Charles, also known as David Charles is a British drummer, recording engineer & record producer. He often appears under both names on the same album, e.g. Help Yourself's The Return of Ken Whaley, where Dave Charles is credited with drums and vocals and David Charles as producer.Charles'...

    .

Live Versions

The song only briefly featured in Hawkwind's live set in 1977 with one recording surviving, released on both the Hawkwind Anthology
Hawkwind Anthology
The Hawkwind Anthology series of records were originally issued mid-1980s containing live and outtake material from Hawkwind's career to that date....

and Weird Tape Volume 2 albums. It was briefly resurrected at the end of 1993 for the tour of the It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous
It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous
It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous is the eighteenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1993. It spent one week on the UK albums chart at #75....

album and remained until the end of 1994.

1994 EP

In 1994 Hawkwind recorded a new version of the song with significant rewriting of the music. This version was also included on the album The Business Trip
The Business Trip
The Business Trip is a 1994 live album by the English space rock group Hawkwind. It was recorded during the group's 1992 tour to promote the It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous album....

.

Track listings

  1. "Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Red Planet Radio Mix) – 2:43
  2. "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" (Calvert/Brock) – 6:24
  3. "Black Sun" – 9:34
  4. "Uncle Sam's on Mars" (Martian Conquest Mix) – 6:53

Personnel

  • Dave Brock – guitar, vocals, keyboards, synthesisers
  • Alan Davey – bass guitar, vocals, synthesisers
  • Richard Chadwick – drums, percussion
  • Astralasia – remixes

Release history

  • Sep 1994 – UK – Emergency Broadcast Sysrem Records – 12" vinyl (EBT 110) and CD (EBCD 110)
  • Nov 1994 – USA – Griffin – CD (GCD 312-2)

Cover versions

The Stranglers
The Stranglers
The Stranglers are an English punk/rock music group.Scoring some 23 UK top 40 singles and 17 UK top 40 albums to date in a career spanning five decades, the Stranglers are the longest-surviving and most "continuously successful" band to have originated in the UK punk scene of the mid to late 1970s...

 Jean-Jacques Burnel
Jean-Jacques Burnel
J. J. Burnel , is a Franco-English musician producer and songwriter, best known as the bass guitarist with the British rock band The Stranglers.-Life and career:...

has long been an admirer of the song, stating it was "a song I'd really fucking wish I'd written.". He has performed versions of the song with Three Men And Black.
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