Three or four brandies later, Hawkwind take the stage. A soupcon of amphetamine from a passing hippie enables your loyal correspondent to remain vertical and pay strict attention.

This is what you might call the new model Hawkwind, and one that I've never seen before. Lemmy has of course gone and been replaced by ex-Pink Fairy Paul Rudolph. Bob Calvert has returned to take up the vocal chores and play trumpet along, with Nik Turner's, tenor on what I guess must be their new single, "Kerb Crawler. "

There's no doubt the new model is a good deal more sophisticated than any of the previous combinations. One of the band's major advantages was always its unstoppable rhythm unit. Now, with drummers Simon King and Alan Powell, plus Paul Rudolph on bass, it is, to use a well worked cliché, shit hot.

The top line is still shaking, however. Keyboard man/violinist Simon House has done a lot to replace the original Hawkwind clank-honk-tweet with slightly more advanced melody lines, but the content above the rhythm is still a fairly limited blur.

One of the high spots of the set comes when House takes over the bass, and Rudolph actually plays some guitar. There have been times when I've heard Paul Rudolph stretch out and demonstrate, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that he is one of the best guitar players in the Hendrix tradition that we have around today. Unfortunately that's when he stretches out. He's one of those individuals who, for most of the time, would rather stay in among the boys than strut his stuff as a guitar king.

Visually Hawkwind are still the mutations you know and love. World War 1 aviator goggles seem to be the order of the day. Turner wears them with a Long John Silver tricorn hat and Dave Brock with the debonair grace of the first man to swim the Atlantic.

Bob Calvert, however, must take the prize. In black leather jodhpurs, riding boots, head scarf and flying helmet, he comes on like a cross between Biggles and Lawrence of Arabia with definite S & M undertones.

Just how useful the return of Calvert to Hawkwind has been is hard to judge. For a lot of the set his vocals are almost inaudible. What comes through sounds pretty much like the expected monotone from the Lou Reed school of modern rock singing.

In the hospitality tent, after the Hawklords, Caroline Coon is talking about the women's movement. I'm nodding politely, breathing deeply, spilling food and practising focusing my eyes. We both realise that while all this has been going on, we've missed the Strawbs.

MICK FARREN