| Road to Utopia | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 2018 | |||
| Genre | Space rock | |||
| Label | Cherry Red | |||
| Producer | ||||
| Hawkwind chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Classic Rock |    [1] |
| Mojo | [2] |
| Uncut | [3] |
| The Wire | [4] |
Road to Utopia is the thirty-first album by space rock band Hawkwind, released in 2018. It features new acoustic versions of the band's 1970s' repertoire with two new compositions.
The group's line-up had stabilised for some time with guitarist/singer Dave Brock, drummer Richard Chadwick, singer Mr Dibs and bassist Niall Hone being joined by bassist Haz Wheaton and guitarist Magnus Martin .
They had toured Britain in March through May 2017 in support of their Into the Woods album,[5] which featured an opening set performed acoustically. The Roundhouse main show from 26 May was issued as Hawkwind At The Roundhouse as a 2CD/DVD boxed-set on 8 December,[6] and the group made a promotional appearance playing an acoustic version of "Ascent" on Matthew Wright's Channel 5 daily morning television programme The Wright Stuff on 1 December.
The band started work recording this acoustic set in the studio when Brock had a chance meeting with Mike Batt at the US Embassy while both were applying for a travel visa.[7] Batt joined the project adding string and horn arrangements. Eric Clapton, who had been a teenage friend of Brock's prior to his rise to fame, contributed to the session alongwith their former sax player, Jez Huggett. Road to Utopia was released on 14 September 2018.[8]
A one-off concert at the London Palladium on 4 November billed as In Search of Utopia – Infinity and Beyond with Batt conducting Docklands Sinfonia was scheduled, but demand lead to an extended UK tour in October and November with a guest appearance from Arthur Brown and support from The Blackheart Orchestra.
