Shot Down in the Night

Shot Down in the Night is a 1979 song written by Steve Swindells, who was at that time keyboardist with the UK rock group Hawkwind. Swindells and Hawkwind released different versions of the song as a single on 27 June 1980. Hawkwind's version reached #59 in the UK singles chart, being a slightly different version to the one on the album Live Seventy Nine.

The song was written by Steve Swindells while rehearsing with Hawkwind (then working under the name "Hawklords") at Rockfield Studios in 1979. He presented it to the band, and they agreed on its potential as a future single. However, Swindells was then offered a solo record deal by ATCO, and left Hawkwind to pursue a solo career. His studio version of Shot Down in the Night was released as a single on the same day as Hawkwind's live version.

Swindells claims that his version was "waaay harder, more dramatic and simply better than Hawkwind’s version. In both the battle of the butch and the artistic, the queer won."^[1] Despite that claim, Simon King (drums) and Huw Lloyd-Langton (guitars) played on both recordings, giving the two versions a musical closeness, although Swindells' gruff vocals perhaps make his version heavier than Dave Brock's folky vocal on Hawkwind's version.

References

↑ daynum – Swindells blog site

Hawkwind

Dave Brock Tim Blake Richard Chadwick Mr Dibs Niall Hone Dead Fred Nik Turner Dik Mik Terry Ollis John Harrison Mick Slattery Huw Lloyd-Langton Thomas Crimble Del Dettmar Dave Anderson Simon King Ian "Lemmy" Kilmister Robert Calvert Simon House Alan Powell Paul Rudolph Adrian Shaw Harvey Bainbridge Paul Hayles Steve Swindells Martin Griffin Keith Hale Ginger Baker Andy Anderson Robert Heaton Rik Martinez Alan Davey Clive Deamer Danny Thompson Jr. Bridget Wishart Ron Tree Jerry Richards Jason Stuart

Studio albums	Hawkwind In Search of Space Doremi Fasol Latido Hall of the Mountain Grill Warrior on the Edge of Time Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music Quark, Strangeness and Charm 25 Years On PXR5 Levitation Sonic Attack Church of Hawkwind Choose Your Masques The Chronicle of the Black Sword The Xenon Codex Space Bandits Electric Tepee It Is the Business of the Future to Be Dangerous White Zone Alien 4 Distant Horizons In Your Area Spacebrock Take Me to Your Leader Take Me to Your Future Blood of the Earth Onward Spacehawks

Live albums	Space Ritual Live Seventy Nine Live Chronicles Palace Springs The Business Trip Love in Space Hawkwind 1997 Yule Ritual Canterbury Fayre 2001 Spaced Out in London Knights of Space Space Ritual Live

Archive albums	The Weird Tapes Hawkwind, Friends and Relations The Text of Festival Zones This Is Hawkwind, Do Not Panic Bring Me the Head of Yuri Gagarin Space Ritual Volume 2 Hawkwind Anthology Out & Intake BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert The Friday Rock Show Sessions Hawklords Live California Brainstorm Undisclosed Files Addendum The 1999 Party Glastonbury 90 Choose Your Masques: Collectors Series Volume 2 Complete '79: Collectors Series Volume 1 Atomhenge 76 Live 1990

Compilation albums	Roadhawks Masters of the Universe Repeat Performance Angels of Death Spirit of the Age Stasis (The UA Years 1971 – 1975) Tales from Atom Henge Epocheclipse Future Reconstructions – Ritual of the Solstice Masters of Rock The Collection Spirit of the Age Anthology The Dream Goes On

Singles	"Hurry On Sundown" "Silver Machine" "Urban Guerrilla" "Psychedelic Warlords" "Kings of Speed" "Kerb Crawler" "Back on the Streets" "Quark, Strangeness and Charm" "Psi Power" "25 Years" "Shot Down in the Night" "Who's Gonna Win the War?" "Angels of Death" The Earth Ritual Preview EP "Needle Gun" "Zarozinia" Decide Your Future EP Quark, Strangeness and Charm EP Area S4 EP "Love In Space" "Spirit of the Age"

Associated acts	Sonic Assassins Hawklords Space Ritual Hawklords (2008)

Related articles	Discography Members Videography Barney Bubbles Liquid Len Stacia Hawkfest Michael Moorcock

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