Having grown up with the music of The Beatles in 1961 when I was seven, my adolescence co-incided with possibly the most innovative and exciting period of music - the so-called psychedelic revolution - from The Beatles' Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band in 1966 to the advent of glitter and glam-rock in 1972. One of my absolutely favourite groups of that time was called Van der Graaf Generator who I saw in 1969. They disbanded and re-formed many times during the 1970's and their co-founder Peter Hammill continues to tour and record as a solo artist.   As a faithful fan of his work, I wrote this book which was published in 1995 by Pandora's Boox (ISBN 0 9524725 0 3) and which is a critical appreciation of both Van der Graaf Generator and Peter Hammill and an account of two friends who grew up with both the band and the music of that time.

Read the reviews, below.

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£11.00 (inclusive of postage and packing)

The Lemming Chronicles can also be purchased in the UK at:

Selectadisc, Berwick Street, Soho, London W1

In Europe, distribution is by CAROLINE
In Canada the USA by MARGINAL






"Thoroughly recommended for aficionados of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator is David Shaw-Parker's 'The Lemming Chronicles' - a personal odyssey through the music ... deep in analysis, shedding new light and understanding on the meaning of Hammill's lyrics and the signifgicance of Van der Graaf Generator as a creative force".

 Phil Jackson - Acid Dragon

"It's the authentic voice of a rock devotee - one who measures the passage of time by the price of albums and the gradual unfolding of his hero's work, but despite a mammoth acquaintance with every nuance of his chosen subject's career and a clear perspective on much of it ... Shaw-Parker suffers from a classic case of rock obsession. Obsessions are part of our culture, they may even be interesting if the author is able to begin to understand them".

Mark Paytress - Record Collector

"A suitably indulgent account not just of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator but the relationship of two of his fans".

Mojo Magazine

"The Lemming Chronicles [is] a personal analysis of the works of Peter Hammill and Van der Graaf Generator ... greatly enlivened by the sub-plot of two friends growing up under the influence of Hammill". 
                            
T.O.P. - Tower Records Magazine

"It's quite a hefty read with almost everything you'd want to know about Peter Hammill, pages and pages of text - no pictures - just solid information ... with a chronological history and discography at the end, it's obviously a very useful book".

Alan Freeman - Audion Magazine