Nik is a great performer, an ok guy who should have been concentrating on his own career rather than Hawkwind's, but he's like a sad old queen who does bitter so well, and unlike Dave, he's aired his dirty washing all over the internet.
His argument may seem plausible by someone who is taken in by all this trippy-hippy nonsense about 'redressing the balance man' with the added 'I'll see you at a festival soon', but it's shot full of holes. Nik used to have the van, and was going to be the bands roadie until he got the sax out and started jamming with them. The band evolved out of Brock's 'Famous Cure'and the origin of the bands name is debateable, some ex members, and it's far too many for them all to claim a bit part of the name, state it was something to do with Nik's habits, while others refer to Moorcock's 'Hawkmoon' as the source. Whatever it is, and it's a matter of varied opinion, Nik could not claim in a court of law that he has legal written proof that he is the source of the name, no more than he could lay legal claim to the often argued point that he is the spirit of Hawkwind.
He was sacked from Hawkwind in '76, not because he was manipulated out by Brock/Calvert, that's just his slant on what occured, but because the band needed a new direction in the changing musical climate and because he was a liability by the nature of his playing which had become so bad. Dave Brock has been at Hawkwind's helm from the beginning to date, by rights no one else should be able to claim they are such a major player in the scheme of things and are, therefore, entitled to legally use the brand name, Nik doesn't even need to, he just times his gripe, and at his age to, in order to maximise damage against a band that are still hugely popular and a commercially marketable commodity.
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