Michael Moorcock isn’t particularly well known for his musicianship, despite deep associations with space rock figureheads Hawkwind. In the 60s and 70s, the British science fiction and fantasy author headed up the influential New Worlds magazine, which helped precipitate a new wave of sci-fi that coincided with the emergence of writers like J.G. Ballard, Philip K. Dick and Ursula K. Le Guin. Moorcock, for what it’s worth, apparently introduced Peter Green to his first guitar chords before the British blues rock explosion of the mid-60s, and in 1975, he penned many of the lyrics on Hawkwind’s United Artists swansong Warrior on the Edge of Time, though music inevitably took a back seat as his career as a writer flourished, meaning he’d have to live his rock star fantasies vicariously through the psychedelic Ladbroke Grove sextet.
Except that isn’t the entire story. In the same year as Warrior came out, Michael Moorcock and The Deep Fix were signed to a three album deal by record executive and progressive titan Andrew Lauder at the same label. He had only intended to record a single, though Lauder had other ideas. The result was The New Worlds Fair, made with two other guitarists / vocalists Graham Charnock and Steve Gilmore, a concept album of prog blues and spoken word revolving around a shady character called The Dude.
Any concerns about a vanity project are soon assuaged as we ride its curious kaleidoscopic arc, with a profusion of consummate, well-crafted songs, such as the dolorous country rock of Moorcock’s ‘Fair Dealer’, featuring Hawkwind’s Simon House on violin. The record weaves together snippets of monologue between each song in order to give it a backbone of cohesion, with differing styles from the three main writers making for a varied if not always entirely cohesive affair. Charnock imitates Lou Reed on ‘You’re A Hero’ and is beholden to a glam rock Bowie on ‘In the Name of Rock and Roll’, while Pink Floyd and the Moodies are invoked by Gilmore (not that one) on ‘Ferris Wheel’. All in all, it’s a fascinating and quixotic document from the time it was made, deserving to be taken seriously in its own right, irrespective of the main man’s métier and musical associations.
That said, somewhat inevitably, there are appearances from Hawkwind alumni. Nik Turner brings his sax and Dave Brock drops guitar on ‘The Last Merry Go Round’, though these cosmic brethren were discouraged from joining the house band in the hope that the album would be regarded as more than a side project. In truth, it was barely regarded at all, with editions decorated with characteristic eccentric and artful design by Barney Bubbles, fetching reasonable sums on Discogs ahead of this reissue. Those other two projected albums were never fulfilled either, and The Deep Fix were all but lost to time. Yet, after everything, and just a few months after the sad death of Lauder, it’s a thrill to see The New Worlds Fair come around again.
