Van der Graaf Generator discography

Last updated

Van der Graaf Generator discography
Studio albums13
Live albums8
Compilation albums8
Video albums4
Singles7

This discography covers the work of the English band Van der Graaf Generator.

Contents

Albums

Studio albums

YearAlbum detailsPeak chart positions
UK
[1] [2]
GER
[3]
NLD
[4]
1969 The Aerosol Grey Machine
1970 The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other 47
H to He, Who Am the Only One
  • Release date: December 1970
  • Label: Charisma/Dunhill
1971 Pawn Hearts
  • Release date: October 1971
  • Label: Charisma
1975 Godbluff
  • Release date: October 1975
  • Label: Charisma/Mercury
1976 Still Life
  • Release date: April 1976
  • Label: Charisma/Mercury
World Record
  • Release date: October 1976
  • Label: Charisma/Mercury
1977 The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome
  • Release date: 2 September 1977
  • Label: Charisma/Mercury
2005 Present
  • Release date: 25 April 2005
  • Label: Charisma
103100
2008 Trisector
2011 A Grounding in Numbers
  • Release date: 14 March 2011
  • Label: Esoteric
81
2012 ALT
  • Release date: 25 June 2012
  • Label: Esoteric
2016 Do Not Disturb
  • Release date: 30 September 2016
  • Label: Esoteric
8896

Live albums

YearAlbum details
1978 Vital
  • Release date: July 1978
  • Label: Charisma/PVC
1994 Maida Vale
  • Release date: June 1994
  • Label: Band of Joy
2007 Real Time
  • Release date: March 2007
  • Label: Fie!
2009Live at the Paradiso
2012Live at Metropolis Studios 2010
  • Release date: June 2012
  • Label: Salvo
2015 Merlin Atmos
  • Release date: February 2015
  • Label: Esoteric Antenna
2015After the Flood: At the BBC 1968-1977
  • Release date: April 2015
  • Label:
2018Live at Rockpalast – Leverkusen 2005
  • Release date: May 2018
  • Label: Mig Music

Compilation and demo albums

YearAlbum details
197268–71
  • Release date: August 1972
  • Label: Charisma
1980 Repeat Performance
  • Release date: September 1980
  • Label: Charisma
1982 Time Vaults
  • Release date: 1982
  • Label: Sofa Sound
1987First Generation (Scenes from 1969 to 1971)
  • Release date: February 1987
  • Label: Virgin
Second Generation (Scenes from 1975 to 1977)
  • Release date: February 1987
  • Label: Virgin
1993I Prophesy Disaster
  • Release date: September 1993
  • Label: Virgin
2000An Introduction: From The Least to The Quiet Zone
  • Release date: November 2000
  • Label: Virgin
The Box
  • Release date: November 2000
  • Label: Virgin
2021The Charisma Years 1970–1978 [5]
  • Release date: 3 September 2021
  • Label: Universal Music

Singles

UK releases, except where noted.

YearSingleRelease dateAlbum
1969"People You Were Going To" / "Firebrand"17 January 1969 [6] non-album single [upper-alpha 1]
"Afterwards" / "Necromancer"December 1969 [upper-alpha 2] The Aerosol Grey Machine
1970"Refugees" / "The Boat of a Million Years"24 April 1970 The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other
1972"Theme One" / "W"4 February 1972 [upper-alpha 3] Pawn Hearts
1976"Wondering" / "Meurglys III"October 1976 World Record
1977"Cat's Eye/Yellow Fever (Running)" / "Ship of Fools"September 1977 [upper-alpha 4] The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome
2011"Highly strung" / "Elsewhere"April 2011 A Grounding in Numbers (Record Store Day release)

Notes:

  1. This single was withdrawn shortly after release
  2. released in US
  3. also released in various EU and Australia
  4. released in France

Videos

YearVideo detailsNotes
2003Masters from the Vaults
  • Release date: February 2003
  • Label: Intense Gmbh
Belgian TV session, March 1972, incorrectly labelled as 1971
Godbluff Live 1975
  • Release date: July 2003
  • Label: Classic Rock
Live in Charleroi 1975 + the same Belgian session
2005Inside VdGG
  • Release date: June 2005
  • Label: Classic Rock
Includes the two mentioned above + Beat Club 1970
2009Live at the ParadisoLive at Paradiso, Amsterdam, 14 April 2007

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Hammill</span> English musician and recording artist

Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer-songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and produces his own recordings and occasionally those of other artists. In 2012, he was recognised with the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards.

<i>Godbluff</i> 1975 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Godbluff is the fifth album released by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was the first album after the band reformed in 1975 and was recorded after a European tour.

<i>Pawn Hearts</i> 1971 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Pawn Hearts is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971 on Charisma Records. The original album features just three tracks, including the side-long suite "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers". The album was not commercially successful in the UK, but reached number one in Italy. It has since seen retrospective critical praise and was reissued on CD in 2005 with extra material.

<i>H to He, Who Am the Only One</i> 1970 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

H to He, Who Am the Only One is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970 on Charisma Records.

<i>Still Life</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 1976 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Still Life is the sixth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976. It was their second album after reforming in 1975, the first being Godbluff. One live bonus track was added for the 2005 re-mastered re-release. A new re-master, with 5.1 surround sound re-mixes by Stephen W Tayler, was released on 3 September 2021.

<i>The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other</i> 1970 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in February 1970 on Charisma Records. It was the group's first album to be released in the UK and the only one to chart in the top 50 in that country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Judge Smith</span> Musical artist

Christopher John Judge Smith, is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been known simply as Judge Smith since 1994. After Van der Graaf Generator, he has written songs, stage musicals and operas, and from the early 1990s on he has released a number of solo CDs, including three "Songstories".

<i>Vital</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 1978 live album by Van der Graaf

Vital: Van der Graaf Live is the first live album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was recorded 16 January 1978 at the Marquee Club in London and was released in July, one month after the band's 1978 break-up. The album was credited under the abbreviated name Van der Graaf, like the previous year's The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome (1977), and featured the same line-up plus newcomer cellist/keyboardist Charles Dickie, who had officially joined the band in August 1977, and original saxophonist and flautist David Jackson, who re-joined the band for this recording.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hugh Banton</span> British musician

Hugh Robert Banton is a British musician and electronic organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group Van der Graaf Generator.

<i>The Aerosol Grey Machine</i> 1969 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

The Aerosol Grey Machine is the debut studio album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was first released in the United States in 1969 by Mercury Records.

<i>World Record</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 1976 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

World Record is the seventh studio album by the British progressive rock group Van der Graaf Generator, originally released in 1976 on Charisma Records. Bonus tracks were added for the 2005 rerelease.

<i>Present</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 2005 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Present is the ninth studio album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in 2005. It was the band's first studio album since The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome in 1977, and the first with the 'classic' line-up since World Record in 1976. The Charisma Records label was re-activated for its release, as well as a re-issue series of Van der Graaf Generator's catalogue and Peter Hammill's solo releases from 1972-86.

<i>Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night</i> 1973 studio album by Peter Hammill

Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It followed in the aftermath of the breakup of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator, and other ex-members of Van der Graaf Generator perform on the album.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Van der Graaf Generator</span> English rock band formed in 1967

Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success in the UK, but became popular in Italy during the 1970s. In 2005 the band reformed, and are still musically active with a line-up of Hammill, organist Hugh Banton and drummer Guy Evans.

Keith Ian Ellis, was an English bass player. He was born in Matlock, Derbyshire. He is known for his associations with The Koobas, The Misunderstood and Juicy Lucy. He was also a member of Van der Graaf Generator from 1968 to 1969. Ellis worked with Mike Patto and Ollie Halsall's band Boxer from 1975 until late 1976 when the original line-up split.

<i>Real Time</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 2007 live album by Van der Graaf Generator

Real Time: Royal Festival Hall, London, 06.05.05 is a live album by Van der Graaf Generator, released in 2007 on Fie! Records. It contains the entire recording of the group's reunion concert at the Royal Festival Hall in London, England on 6 May 2005. The album includes at least one song from every album released between 1970-1976, plus their 2005 reunion album Present. Nothing is included from 1969's Aerosol Grey Machine and The Quiet Zone/The Pleasure Dome, released in 1977 after Hugh Banton and David Jackson left the group. The album also contains "(In the) Black Room", a song performed live by Van der Graaf Generator in 1972 ; following the band's August 1972 breakup, it was released on Peter Hammill's 1973 solo album Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night, with Banton, Evans and Jackson all performing on the track.

<i>Trisector</i> 2008 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Trisector is the tenth studio album by the British rock group Van der Graaf Generator. It was released on Virgin/EMI Records in March 2008. It is the first album the band has recorded as a trio. Saxophonist David Jackson departed the band following the 2005 tour.

<i>A Grounding in Numbers</i> 2011 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

A Grounding in Numbers is the eleventh studio album by the British rock group Van der Graaf Generator. It was released on 14 March 2011. This date, if written as 3,14, comprises the first three digits of the number π. The second track, "Mathematics", refers to Euler's identity, sometimes known as the mathematical poem. The album's release signals a continuation in the direction set by the current trio lineup, but it is released on a new label, Esoteric Recordings, a departure from previous releases on Virgin/Charisma. Hugh Padgham is the mixer of the album.

"A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" is a song by the English rock band Van der Graaf Generator, from their fourth album Pawn Hearts (1971). It is a concept piece over 23 minutes long, which comprises the whole B-side of the album. "A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers" evolved in the studio, recorded in small sections and pieced together during mixing. The song has many changes in time signature and key signature, and even incorporates some musique concrète.

<i>Do Not Disturb</i> (Van der Graaf Generator album) 2016 studio album by Van der Graaf Generator

Do Not Disturb is the thirteenth studio album by British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released, on Esoteric Recordings, on 30 September 2016.

References

  1. "The Official Charts Company – Van der Graaf Generator discography". The Official Charts Company. 6 May 2013.
  2. "Chart Log UK: V – Vybe". zobbel.de. Archived from the original on 16 October 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  3. "Suche nach "Van Der Graaf Generator"". charts.de. Retrieved 19 September 2012.[ dead link ]
  4. "Discografie Van Der Graaf Generator". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 19 September 2012.
  5. "The Charisma Years".
  6. "Discography".