we haven't done before. Yeah – I'm pleased with half of the new album." Lemmy later commented that "For me, this was when the band were at their height. Oh, and I was in the band at the time." (Classic Rock, April 2006), listing it as No. 3 in "My Top British Rock Albums". Live performances and recording After the release of the successful live album Space Ritual and single "Urban Guerrilla" in 1973, vocalist Robert Calvert and electronics player Dik Mik Davies left, leaving the group as a five-piece. In November and December 1973, Hawkwind undertook their first live tour of North America taking in ten dates. During this time, Del Dettmar bought land near Calgary in Canada and signalled to the group his intent that he and his pregnant wife were to emigrate. The group continued touring heavily around Britain and Ireland from December into February under the banner "The Ridiculous Roadshow with the Silly Hawkwind Brothers". By this time, their live set had been revamped and contained what would become the bulk of this album. Two dates on 25 and 26 January at the Edmonton Sundown were used as an opportunity to audition Simon House as Dettmar's replacement, House having been known to the group via his time with High Tide, who had shared the same management company of Douglas Smith's Clearwater Productions. These dates were professionally recorded, with the performances of "You'd Better Believe It", "Paradox" and "It's So Easy" appearing on the album and singles, albeit with studio overdubs. The group returned to North America a second time for a more comprehensive tour consisting of 22 dates in March and April under the banner of "1999 Party", taking their entire entourage with them including dancer Stacia, MC and DJ Andy Dunkley, a lightshow by Jonathan Smeeton (Liquid Len) and support from United Artists Records label mates Man. Although Dettmar had not yet left the group, House joined the band for this tour, but not having the appropriate work permit, his performances were strictly unofficial. The Chicago and Detroit shows on 21 and 23 March were professionally recorded, the former being released in 1997 as The 1999 Party. Returning to England, the band went to Clearwell Castle to rehearse, then entered Olympic Studios to record this album in May and June, with help from producers Doug Bennett and Roy Thomas Baker. The lead singles "Psychedelic Warlords