Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records.

They reformed in 1975, releasing Godbluff and frequently touring Italy again, before a major line-up change and a slight rename to Van der Graaf.

Hammill's lyrics covered themes of mortality, due to his love of science fiction writers such as Robert A. Heinlein and Philip K. Dick, along with his confessed warped and obsessive nature.

[2][3] After an unsatisfactory audition they had both attended in response to an advert to form a band, he met fellow student Peter Hammill, who was playing some of his original songs.

Hammill had begun writing songs and poetry at the age of 12 while at prep school, and progressed to playing in bands while a pupil at Beaumont College.

[5] The band name chosen from Smith's list was based on a Van de Graaff generator, an electro-mechanical device that produces static electricity with lightning-like flashes – the misspelling is accidental.

Smith recalls the reason for this may have been that the device's inventor, the American physicist Robert Van de Graaff, died in 1967, which was widely reported in the media.

[11] On arrival in London, Hammill and Smith met up with classically trained organist Hugh Banton, who was a brother of one of their friends back in Manchester.

[14] But the single was quickly withdrawn under pressure from Mercury, since it violated the contract band members Hammill and Smith signed the previous year.

Although the band was touring successfully, which included a concert in February at the Royal Albert Hall in support of Jimi Hendrix,[18][19] it broke up in June after playing a final gig at Nottingham's Pop & Blues Festival on 10 May entirely with borrowed equipment.

[21] Hammill had already sat in with Heebalob at the Plumpton National Jazz Festival on 9 August, and, impressed by Jackson's playing, invited him to join the band, partly because he also needed a flatmate to help pay with the rent.

Banton, influenced by the effects pedals popularised by Jimi Hendrix, used his electronic skills to modify a Farfisa organ, giving it a wider variety of sounds.

Jackson was inspired by jazz musicians, particularly Rahsaan Roland Kirk, and began to play multiple saxophones (usually alto and tenor) simultaneously.

"[29] Potter, however, did not feel he fitted into the increasingly experimental sound the band was developing and tended to wait until the others had worked out their parts during rehearsals, adding his bass lines on top at the last minute.

The remaining members auditioned Dave Anderson, roadie for Brinsley Schwarz and friend of the band, but after a week's rehearsal found that things weren't working out musically.

Jackson modified his saxophones to be completely electric, as opposed to simply being amplified through a microphone, and combined the sound with a wah-wah pedal and an octave divider.

[39] By June, the band had performed another Italian tour (the third that year) and wanted to start recording new material (some of which ended up on Hammill's 1973 solo album Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night).

[53] All the members were keen on carrying on with new music, with no nostalgia for their previous era, and did not want to play earlier stage favourites such as "Killer" (the opening track on H to He, Who Am the Only One) and "Theme One".

[56] The reformed band worked at a prolific pace, rehearsing, and touring France before recording three new albums in just 12 months, beginning with Godbluff (October 1975).

Unlike the earlier work with John Anthony at Trident, the sessions were produced by the band themselves, and both the Melody Maker and Sounds thought they were a tighter and more cohesive unit than previously.

[59] The next day, the band learned that most of their gear had been stolen from the tour van, including Hammill's blue Fender Stratocaster, christened "Meurglys".

[59] In December 1976, following the World Record tour, Banton quit, and in January 1977, Potter returned to replace him alongside the violinist Graham Smith (formerly of Charisma folk-rock band String Driven Thing).

By the time the album was released in July 1978, the band had already split because of lack of record company support in the United States and financial difficulties.

[69] Hammill stated in a December 2005 newsletter that there were no plans for further recordings or performances by the "classic" Van der Graaf Generator line-up of himself, Banton, Evans and Jackson.

Hammill and Banton performed as a duo as Evans was not allowed to cross the border when his passport was found to be no longer valid, due to recent increased severity in the Brexit regulations.

[91] While the music on The Aerosol Grey Machine (September 1969) has a more pastoral, hippie feel,[92] with prominent use of Hammill's acoustic guitar, later work featured more complex instrumentation and arrangements.

[94] Hammill's lyrics frequently covered themes of mortality, due to his love of science fiction writers such as Robert A. Heinlein and Philip K. Dick, along with his self-confessed warped and obsessive nature.

[95] Unlike several other notable prog rock keyboardists, such as Rick Wakeman or Keith Emerson, Banton considers himself primarily an organist, due to his background in classical and church music, and only ever used that instrument on stage, albeit heavily modified with customised electronics and devices.

[97] Although Hammill has written the vast majority of the songs in the band's catalogue, and all of the lyrics, he is keen to stress that the arrangements of the music comes from all the group's members.

[94] The band have been compared with Genesis due to being label-mates at Charisma Records, sharing management with Tony Stratton Smith and performing on the same bill on the 'Six Bob Tour'.