Mr Dibs | |
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Background information | |
Birth name | Jonathan Darbyshire |
Born | 4 August 1964 |
Genres | Space rock |
Occupation | Musician |
Instruments |
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Years active | 1989–present |
Website | https://www.facebook.com/HowlinDibs https://mrdibs.bandcamp.com/music |
Jonathan Darbyshire (born 4 August 1964) (now Jonathan Hulme by deed poll), widely known by his stage name Mr Dibs or Dibs Hawkwinder, is a British musician, best known as a former member of the space rock group Hawkwind. [1]
Before Hawkwind, Mr Dibs played in two underground space rock bands, Krel and Spacehead. Krel released a series of cassettes, the first unofficial release "Bring on the Clones" having a handful of Hawkwind songs on the tape, the later "official" releases being sold commercially. Krel supported Hawkwind at 2 gigs in 1991, before being invited to do the entire Electric Tepee Tour, in spring 1992 as support band. Occasionally, Krel would perform a Hawkwind song, notably "Where Are you Now", during their set, and "Visions of You Know You're Only Dreaming" in their soundcheck. Indeed, at Brighton, on that tour, Hawkwind played first, and Krel last on the bill, so that night, Hawkwind were supporting Dibs and the rest of Krel.
Dibs became a member of the Hawkwind road crew in 1997, where he remained for a decade, often guesting onstage reciting poems. In 2007, Dibs became the band's bassist, following the departure of Alan Davey. [2] Hawkwind's own festival, 'Hawkfest' 2007, heralded Dibs's debut appearance with the band as a full-time member.
Subsequently, Dibs's role shifted to more of a frontman role at live shows, owing to Dave Brock's preference against taking centre stage, with him sharing lead vocals with Brock, as well as cello, bass, audio generator and baritone guitar. Since 2011 when Niall Hone went from guitar to bass guitar, Dibs became the constant live frontman/bassist. (Effectively, the band had two bassists at this point).. Dibs relinquished the bass completely in 2017 when Haz Wheaton joined the band to become the sole bass player, Niall Hone moved onto electronics/keys.
Since his induction to the band he has appeared on five studio albums, 2010's Blood of the Earth , 2012's Onward , 2016's The Machine Stops , 2017's Into The Woods and 2018's Road to Utopia as well as three live albums, 2007's Knights of Space , 2014's Space Ritual Live and 2017's ‘’At The Roundhouse’’. Dibs also appeared on 2013's compilation Spacehawks.
In 2017/2018, Dibs had been more involved with electronics/audio generator on stage.
Dibs left Hawkwind in August 2018 with the following message posted on the ‘Hawkwind Fans Worldwide’ Facebook Group Page: ‘ My friends, it is with a heavy heart that I must confirm that due to irreconcilable differences, I left Hawkwind on Tuesday 28 August 2018. I've had the most wonderful 21 years on board, both as roadie and musician and I'm very proud of everything I've achieved and everything I've become. Not many people get the break I did. Thanks to all the fans for their support and love over the years, and to the great friendships forged. Hawkwind is so much more than the music and band. Well then. See you all out there! Peace and Love Dibs XX‘
Dibs has also played with fellow Hawkwind members under the guise of The Elves of Silbury Hill.
Dibs appeared on the ‘’Acoustic Daze’’ LP released in 2019 (He was wrongly credited as Mr Fibbs) Acoustic Daze was also the bonus disc of the ‘’All Aboard the Skylark’’ CD release. The band went into the studio after the 2017 tour and recorded acoustic versions of songs which appear on this LP which were subsequently given to Mike Batt for the 'Road to Utopia' album.
Dibs was guest bassist for Evil Blizzard and played cello on two tracks on their Worst Show On Earth album.
28 October 2018 – Dibs announced on Facebook that he had joined the band Evil Blizzard in the guise of Mr Freshcrawl.
11 December 2018 – It was announced on the Strip Search Tramp Facebook page that Dibs had joined the band on ‘Dirty Sonics.’ July 2019 – A 4 track EP was released on CD and download via Bandcamp with live performances in July and December.
February 2019 – Dibs appeared on the cover of the February 2019 issue 5 of the glossy music magazine Eighth Day which included 10 pages of an interview plus pictures. Dibs talked about his Hawkwind – Krel – Spacehead days and his plans for the future.
2 January 2020 – Dibs announced on his ‘Howlin Dibs’ Facebook page that he was recording a new solo album ‘with guests from Evil Blizzard and a few surprises to come.’
12 February 2020 – Dibs announced on his Facebook page that he had set up a Bandcamp account which included releases by Krel – Spacehead – Lab 23 – Mr Dibs. https://mrdibs.bandcamp.com/music.
16 October 2024 - winner of HRH Prog Bass Player of the Year Award
23 August 2021 – Hawklords Facebook page announced that Mr Dibs had joined the band and would be appearing on their October tour dates. He subsequently appeared on his first Hawklords release – Live At Kozfest 2022. Mr Dibs wrote tracks and contributed vocals, bass, and audio generator to the 2023 release Space and 2024's Relativity.
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• The Worst Show On Earth (guest on two tracks)
Hawkwind are an English rock band known as one of the earliest space rock groups. Since their formation in November 1969, Hawkwind have gone through many incarnations and have incorporated many different styles into their music, including hard rock, progressive rock and psychedelic rock. They are regarded as an influential proto-punk band. Their lyrics often cover themes of urban life and science fiction.
Electric Tepee is the seventeenth studio album by the English space rock group Hawkwind, released in 1992. It spent one week on the UK albums chart at #53.
Levitation is the tenth studio album by English rock group Hawkwind, released in 1980. It peaked at No. 21 on the UK Albums Chart.
In Search of Space is the second studio album from Hawkwind, released in 1971. It reached No. 18 on the UK Albums Chart.
Underground Zerø is a British space rock band, based in Norfolk, UK. The band is also known as UZØ. While the band is often referred to as "Underground Zero" or "Underground Zer0" in print, the official name of the band includes the slashed zero in its name. Their sound is influenced by Hawkwind.
Doremi Fasol Latido is a 1972 album by English space rock band Hawkwind. Recorded at Rockfield Studios and released on United Artists Records, it was their third album since their debut, Hawkwind, in 1970. It reached No. 14 on the UK album charts.
Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music is the sixth studio album by the British rock band Hawkwind, released in 1976. It reached No. 33 on the UK album charts.
25 Years On is the eighth studio album by the English rock band Hawkwind, released in 1978. The band released it under the name "Hawklords" for legal reasons, as there was a dispute over ownership of the name "Hawkwind" at the time. It reached No. 48 on the UK album charts. It was originally titled 25 Years On and the first 25000 were pressed as this until the band decided to simply call it Hawklords. Subsequent re-releases have reverted to the name 25 Years On and the band also now use this name on their website.
The discography of the British space rock group Hawkwind spans from their formation in 1969 through to the present day, with consistent output of live and studio albums, EPs and singles. The group have used aliases to release some albums in an attempt to either redefine themselves, as with the 1978 album 25 Years On released under the name Hawklords, or simply to distinguish the piece of work from their usual output, as with White Zone released under the name Psychedelic Warriors.
Alan Davey is an English musician, best known as the former bassist with the rock band Hawkwind. He is the original bass player in Gunslinger which started in 1979 and is still the bass player and vocalist for Gunslinger. He has played and recorded with Meads of Asphodel, Dumpy's Rusty Nuts, Spirits Burning, Bedouin (1998–2003). He formed with the newly re-imagined Hawklords in 2008 with Nik Turner until 2012 and since then formed The Psychedelic Warlords in 2013 until 2015.
Hawkfest is three-day outdoor weekend festival organised and centered on Hawkwind. The event is open only to members of their fanclub and is limited to around 1000 attendees.
Blood of the Earth is the 26th studio album by the British space rock group Hawkwind, released on 21 June 2010.
Niall Hone is an English musician, best known as a member of the UK space rock band Hawkwind from 2008 to 2017, and May 2018–2021. Hone has also been heavily involved in electronic dance music since the early 1990s.
Hawklords is a British space rock band. The band started as a one-off ensemble of musicians formerly associated with Hawkwind, and playing Hawkwind covers. Although the band uses the same name as the short-lived 1978 incarnation of Hawkwind, it is not a reunion or tribute, though three of the original 1978 Hawklords members were in the band when it reformed, but are not currently members.
Space Ritual Live is a live album by Hawkwind recorded at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London on 22 February 2014 and released in March 2015. It is released as an audio (2xCD) and video (2xDVD). The concert was in aid of various animal rights groups.
The Machine Stops is a concept album by space rock band Hawkwind, released on 15 April 2016. It is inspired by the E.M. Forster short story of the same name. It is Hawkwind's twenty-ninth studio album, Hawkwind's first album recorded without the involvement of Tim Blake since 2010's Blood of the Earth and the first to feature bassist Haz Wheaton.
Into the Woods is the thirtieth album by space rock band Hawkwind, released on 5 May 2017. It peaked at number 34 in the UK Albums Chart. In an interview with Phil Alexander for Planet Rock, Brock described the album as "a continuation of the story of The Machine Stops".
All Aboard the Skylark is an album by space rock band Hawkwind; released in 2019 on Cherry Red Records, it was their thirty-second album since their debut, Hawkwind, in 1970.
Road to Utopia is the thirty-first album by space rock band Hawkwind, released in 2018. It features new acoustic versions of the band's 1970s repertoire with two new compositions.