Nadir's Big Chance

by

Peter Hammill

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Nadir's Big Chance was the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975.

It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator (of which Hammill was the singer and principal songwriter), and Nadir's Big Chance is actually performed by the reformed Van der Graaf Generator line-up.

The album's songs vary greatly in style, as acknowledged by Hammill in the sleeve notes, which refer to "the beefy punk songs, the weepy ballads, the soul struts". It is indeed notable for its prototype punk rock style on several tracks. The first British citation of the word "punk" in relation to music in the Oxford English Dictionary is dated January 1976 (citations from the USA date from 1971), yet Nadir's Big Chance was released in February 1975. Hammill can therefore lay claim to being the first British musician to use the term in his album's sleeve notes.

In a 1977 Capital Radio broadcast, John Lydon of the Sex Pistols played two tracks from the album, "The Institute Of Mental Health, Burning" and "Nobody's Business", and expressed his admiration for Hammill .

The album also includes two of Hammill's most frequently performed ballads, "Been Alone So Long" and "Shingle Song", and a reworking of Van der Graaf Generator's first single from 1968, "People You Were Going To". The album also saw Hammill's first use of the Hohner clavinet D6 keyboard, which would go on to feature prominently on the next few Van der Graaf Generator albums (particularly Godbluff).