“Crucially it succeeds in nailing the driven personality of a self-starter motivated by a steely self-belief”: Unofficial Peter Hammill biography Rock And Role is perfect companion to recent box set

Peter Hammill: Rock and Rule unofficial biography by Joe Banks.

The recent Charisma & Virgin Recordings 1971-1986 box set captures Peter Hammill performing in Montreal in 1974. His scorching rendition of German Overalls – his psyche-shredding account of Van der Graaf Generator being on tour – ends with a ferocious buzz-saw howl that prompts an outbreak of fervent cheers and a larger wave of boos from the crowd.

That mixed reaction typifies Hammill’s position as an acquired taste: a progressive music scene outlier whose soul-wrenching material inspires either dazzled adulation or sceptical bafflement.