A Wandering Minstrel – My memoir of Huw Lloyd-Langton by Marion Lloyd Langton

Self-published June 2025 via Amazon

So, what comes to mind when you hear mention of veteran freaksters Hawkwind? I’d venture a combination of strobe lights, psychedelic substances, free festivals, Silver Machine, and Stacia dancing naked on stage. Well, you’ll be hard pushed to find any of these in Marion Lloyd Langton’s gentle and heartfelt memoir to her late husband Huw.

He’s probably best known in Hawkwind lore for his experience at the 1970 Isle of Wight when the group played a guerrilla/protest gig outside the main festival in an inflatable tent, which soon turned into a suffocating hell. Inflatables were a big deal then, as was “spiking”, now associated with date rape crap like Rohypnol, but more likely to be LSD back then. Huw suffered a massive overdose, somehow played nonstop for 12 hours and then had a breakdown, which took months to recover from. There’s an undercurrent through the book that he was never quite the same afterwards.

Contrary to Hawkwind stereotypes – like much in the book – Huw and Marion were committed Christians. He liked a drink but wasn’t into drugs. He rejoined the group for a while around the time of the Levitation album and a couple of later stand ins. It’s interesting to read a different view of the group away from all the Dave Brock vs Nik Turner issues, or the disastrous big reunion gig. It’s a nice illustration of the core theme of the book, hinted at in the title – how to make a living as a musician.

Although best known for his work with Hawkwind, Huw Lloyd Langton was an inveterate collaborator in addition to his solo work, mainly with the Lloyd Langton Group. I was intrigued to find many references to an old school contemporary of mine, Richard Gillespie, who went on to become a close friend of Huw’s and his bass player of choice in a variety of live and recorded settings. Apart from his own Lloyd Langton group’s ongoing work, he was involved in Widowmaker with Spooky Tooth’s Luther Grosvenor and Steve Ellis (of Love Affair miming fame), The group was basically a belated attempt to cash in on the late 60s “supergroup” era, but split up after two albums. There were other collaborations with Leo Sayer and Budgie, a failed audition for Cliff Richard and a mass of other short lived projects. There are some fascinating insights from Richard Gillespie about my old pals, the ill-fated Pure Wings, signed up by a record company who didn’t understand their music (shock horror, no lead guitar!) and sent out gigging with heavy bands like Uriah Heep.

It all goes to show that it’s really only a small minority of musicians who are part of a long term settled line-up with a steady flow of gigs and royalties. Whether live or in the studio, Huw always kept working, even to the point of honouring one commitment by somehow playing with a broken arm. I was really impressed too by his commitment to musical education, being involved in several projects as well as his own teaching work.

In addition to the main text, b/w photos are liberally scattered through the book, along with some of Huw’s drawings and a mass of cuttings and gig reviews. There are also some poignant and detailed reminiscences from some of his many friends and collaborators.

Where most Hawkwind related books emphasise the counter-cultural drama and craziness that surrounded the group, particularly with larger than life psychedelic legends like Bob Calvert, Michael Moorcock, and Nik Turner. This is the complete opposite – a measured, gentle recounting of how an idealistic musician made a living without compromising. There’s a very poignant feeling to the book, too, as it records the health issues which led to his death in 2012, all told without any sentimentality.

This book will be essential for Huw Lloyd Langton fans and for anyone open to a different angle on Hawkwind than the usual Psychedelic Warriors shtick. It could probably do with a bit more editing – there’s a fair amount of repetition, along with a tendency to set up a story only to say “we’ll get back to that later”. There’s probably a gig list or two too many, but that shouldn’t detract from one of the most original and sensitive books I’ve read in a while.

~

Available on Amazon here.

All words by Den Browne, you can read more on his author profile here: