Nik Turner, frontman, saxophonist and flautist for Hawkwind during the band’s classic early 70s period, died peacefully on November 10, 2022 at ‘Cadillac Ranch’, his home in Carmarthenshire, Wales.
While Hawkwind will forever be the band that Turner is most strongly associated with, his musical output both as a solo artist and leader of other groups was prodigious. He was also a major figure in the UK’s counterculture, involved in the organisation of both the Glastonbury and Stonehenge festivals, along with being the animating presence at myriad smaller DIY happenings; a free-wheeling, anarchic spirit who helped keep the post-hippie underground scene alive in the face of often fierce mainstream opposition.
He lived and loved to play music, happy to collaborate with seemingly anyone who asked, or content to just busk with his sax and flute wherever there were people to listen. In the many tributes that have already been paid to him by fans, friends and bandmates, the overwhelming impression conveyed is that of a truly generous man, someone who always had time to speak, and was kind, helpful and encouraging to those around him.
He was also an extraordinary performer, appearing on stage throughout his career in an eye-popping variety of costumes and looks, from giant frog
