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Artist
Peter Hammill
12+ albums
Progressive rockart rocksinger-songwriterexperimentalProgressive
about
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founding 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, as well as occasionally producing those of other artists. In 2012, he received the Visionary award at the first Progressive Music Awards. Hammill was born in Ealing, West London, and moved with his family to Derby at the age of twelve. He attended Beaumont College and later studied Liberal Studies in Science at Manchester University. Hammill has stated that his grandfather was originally from Pakistan. Hammill’s solo career has run concurrently with his work in Van der Graaf Generator. In 1968, the band was offered a contract by Mercury Records, which only Hammill signed. When the band temporarily disbanded in 1969, he pursued a solo project and performed weekly at The Lyceum in London. The recordings from this period were eventually released under the Van der Graaf Generator name as their first album, "The Aerosol Grey Machine". Hammill’s first official solo album, "Fool's Mate" (1971), featured material written during the early Van der Graaf Generator years. After Van der Graaf Generator disbanded in August 1972, Hammill continued his solo career. Songs originally intended for the band appeared on his solo albums, including "Black Room" on "Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night" and "A Louse Is Not a Ho
