Peter Hammill - The Charisma & Virgin Recordings 1971-1986: 18CD + Blu Ray Boxset
Artist: 
Peter Hammill

The Charisma & Virgin Recordings 1971-1986: 18CD + Blu Ray Boxset

€146,99

Release date: 26 September, 2025

Formats: 
CD Box Set

Product Details

Peter Hammill first came to prominence as the founder member and voice of the legendary progressive rock group Van der Graaf Generator. Alongside his work with Van der Graaf Generator, Peter Hammill has enjoyed a long career as an innovative and ground-breaking solo artist. Beginning with his first solo album “Fool’s Mate” in 1971, Peter recorded a series of acclaimed albums for both Charisma Records and Virgin Records covering a wide range of moods, but all undeniably and uniquely original and ground-breaking. Peter Hammill’s work has been hailed by musicians such as David Bowie and Jello Biafra who expressed their admiration for his albums and his songwriting.

This super deluxe box set comprises 13 albums released by Charisma and Virgin between 1971-1986.  Each album has been remastered from the original master tapes, along with new 5.1 and stereo remixes of “The Future Now” and “pH7” by Stephen W Tayler, rare BBC sessions and live recordings as well as a Blu-Ray video disc of previously unreleased European television performances. Coupled with the set comes a 12 inch, 76-page, hardbacked book containing rare images and new, extensive album commentary from Peter Hammill. A D2C offering which includes an exclusive postcard is also available.

Tracks

CD One: “Fool’s Mate”

1. Imperial Zeppelin
2. Candle
3. Happy
4. Solitude
5. Vision
6. Re-Awakening
7. Sunshine
8. Child
9. Summer Song in the Autumn
10. Viking
11. The Birds
12. I Once Wrote Some Poems

Bonus tracks: Demo session (Recorded in January 1971)

13. Re-Awakening (demo)
14. Summer Song in the Autumn (demo)
15. The Birds (demo)
16. Sunshine (demo)
17. Happy (demo)

CD Two: “Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night”

1. German Overalls
2. Slender Threads
3. Rock and Role
4. In the End
5. What it’s Worth
6. Easy to Slip Away
7. Dropping the Torch
8. (In the) Black Room / The Tower

Bonus tracks (Recorded in 1973)

9. Rain 3am
10. Time for a Change
11. German Overalls
12. Easy to Slip Away
13. In the End

BBC Radio John Peel session – 9th July 1973

CD Three: “The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage”

1. Modern
2. Wilhemina
3. The Lie (Bernini’s Saint Theresa)
4. Forsaken Gardens
5. Red Shift
6. Rubicon
7. A Louse is Not a Home

CD Four: Live Recordings 1974

1. Rubicon
2. Red Shift

BBC Radio John Peel session – 18th February 1974

3. Solitude
4. Time for a Change
5. The Birds
6. Out of My Book
7.    Slender Threads
8.    German Overalls
Live at Montreal University Sports Centre – 21st April 1974

CD Five: “In Camera”

1. Ferret and Featherbird
2. (No More) The Sub Mariner
3. Tapeworm
4. Again
5. Faint Heart and the Sermon
6. The Comet, The Course, The Tail
7. Gog
8. Magog (In Bromine Chambers)

Bonus tracks:

9. The Emperor in His War Room
10. Faint Heart and the Sermon
11. (No More) The Sub Mariner

BBC Radio John Peel session – 3rd September 1974 

CD Six: “Nadir’s Big Chance”

1. Nadir’s Big Chance
2. The Institute of Mental Health, Burning
3. Open Your Eyes
4. Nobody’s Business
5. Been Alone So Long
6. Pompeii
7. Shingle Song
8. Airport
9. People You Were Going To
10. Birthday Special
11. Two or Three Spectres

CD Seven: “Over”

1. Crying Wolf
2. Autumn
3. Time Heals
4. Alice (Letting Go)
5. This Side of the Looking Glass
6. Betrayed
7. (On Tuesday’s She Used to Do) Yoga
8. Lost and Found

Bonus tracks:

9. Afterwards
10. Autumn
11. Betrayed

BBC Radio One John Peel session – 21st April 1977

CD Eight: “The Future Now”

1. Pushing Thirty
2. The Second Hand    
3. Trappings        
4. The Mousetrap
5. Energy Vampires    
6. If I Could    
7. The Future Now
8. Still in the Dark
9. Mediaeval    
10. A Motor-Bike in Africa    
11. The Cut
12. Palinurus (Castaway)

CD Nine: The All Souls Unitarian Church, Kansas City, USA - 16th February 1978

1. House With No Door
2. Time Heals
3. This Side of the Looking Glass
4. My Room (Waiting for Wonderland)
5. Easy to Slip Away
6. Still Life
7. Lizard Play
8. Time for a Change
9. Been Alone So Long
10. Modern
11. If I Could
12. Last Frame

CD Ten: The All Souls Unitarian Church, Kansas City, USA - 16th February 1978

1. The Comet, The Course, The Tail
2. The Lie (Bernini’s Saint Theresa)
3. The Mousetrap (Caught In)
4. In the End
5. Medley: A Plague of Lighthouse Keepers / The Sleepwalkers
6. Man-Erg

CD Eleven: “pH7”

1. My Favourite
2. Careering
3. Porton Down
4. Mirror Images
5. Handicap and Equality
6. Not for Keith
7. The Old School Tie
8. Time for a Change
9. Imperial Walls
10. Mr X (Gets Tense)
11. Faculty X

Bonus tracks:

12. Mediaeval / Time for a Change
13. Mr X (Gets Tense)
14. Faculty X

BBC Radio John Peel session – 24th September 1979

15. The Polaroid

A-side of single – Released as Charisma CB 399 in August 1979
Credited to Rikki Nadir

CD Twelve: “A Black Box”

1. Golden Promises
2. Losing Faith in Words
3. Jargon King
4. Fogwalking
5. The Spirit
6. In Slow Time
7. The Wipe
8. Flight
9. Flying Bird
10. The White Cave Fandango
11. Control
12. Cockpit
13. Silk Worm Wings
14. Nothing is Nothing
15. A Black Box

CD Thirteen: “Sitting Targets”

1. Breakthrough
2. My Experience
3. Ophelia
4. Empress’s Clothes
5. Glue
6. Hesitation
7. Sitting Targets
8. Stranger Still
9. Sign
10. What I Did
11. Central Hotel

CD Fourteen: “The Love Songs”

1. Just Good Friends
2. My favourite
3.Been Alone So Long
4. Ophelia
5. Again
6. If I Could
7. Vision
8. Don’t Tell Me
9. The Birds
10. (This Side of) The Looking Glass

Bonus track:

11. Just Good Friends (instrumental)

B-side of single – Released as Charisma CB 414 in May 1985

CD Fifteen: “Skin”

1. Skin
2. After the Show
3. Painting By Numbers
4. Shell
5. All Said and Done
6. A Perfect Date
7. Four Pails
8. Now Lover

Bonus track:

9. You Hit Me Where I Live

CD Sixteen: “And Close as This”

1. Too Many of My Yesterdays
2. Faith
3. Empire of Delight
4. Silver
5. Beside the One You Love
6. Other Old Cliches
7. Confidence
8. Sleep Now

CD Seventeen: “The Future Now” (Stephen W Tayler stereo remix)

1. Pushing Thirty
2. The Second Hand    
3. Trappings        
4. The Mousetrap (Caught In)
5. Energy Vampires    
6. If I Could    
7. The Future Now
8. Still in the Dark
9. Mediaeval    
10. A Motor-Bike in Africa    
11. The Cut
12. Palinurus (Castaway)

CD Eighteen: “pH7” (Stephen W Tayler stereo remix)

1. My Favourite
2. Careering
3. Porton Down
4. Mirror Images
5. Handicap and Equality
6. Not for Keith
7. The Old School Tie
8. Time for a Change
9. Imperial Walls
10. Mr X (Gets Tense)
11. Faculty X

Disc Nineteen – Blu ray “The Future Now” (Stephen W Tayler High resolution 5.1 Surround Sound mix / new stereo remix)

1. Pushing Thirty
2. The Second Hand    
3. Trappings        
4. The Mousetrap
5. Energy Vampires    
6. If I Could    
7. The Future Now
8. Still in the Dark
9. Mediaeval    
10. A Motor-Bike in Afrika    
11. The Cut
12. Palinurus (Castaway)

“pH7” (Stephen W Tayler High resolution 5.1 Surround Sound mix / new stereo remix)

1. My Favourite
2. Careering
3. Porton Down
4. Mirror Images
5. Handicap and Equality
6. Not for Keith
7. The Old School Tie
8. Time for a Change
9. Imperial Walls
10. Mr X (Gets Tense)
11. Faculty X

Disc Twenty - Blu-ray (The video vaults)

1. In the End
2. German Overalls

French TV – Rock en Stock 1973

3. The Lie
4. Forsaken Gardens
5. A Louse is Not a Home

Swiss Television 1974
6. Energy Vampires
7. My Room

French TV – Chorus 1979
8. Tintagel By the Sea