Indian rock band Hammersmith performed at the reunion of IIMA’s
class of ’85.
It was with some trepidation that I slid into my seat at the IIMA's class of '85 re-union bash on Saturday night.
Would Hammersmith, my favourite Indian rock band — and one of the best that India has produced — perform like they used to in their heyday in the mid-80s? Would they make their guitars weep and scream like before?
My fears were unfounded. Even though the artistes and their music had mellowed somewhat, the strains of their guitaring genius surged forth in the heavy duty Jimi Hendrix favourite Purple Haze, and wailed in a bluesy number that set the tone for the hour that they played.
Santana’s All I Ever Want Is To Be With You, roused the crowd and The Beatles Come Together was the band’s tribute to the IIMites who had gathered for their re-union.
When the crowd demanded more, the perennial rock show favourite Deep Purple's Smoke On The Water wafted in the cool winter air.
Along with bassist Cedric Fernandez, the most experienced member of the group, and drummer Sharad Tyagi of IIMA's 1985 batch who is now MD of German pharma company Boehringer Ingelheim, Hammersmith turned the clock back more than a quarter of a century and showed that their touch and zest for music has not diminished one bit.
"The songs we played remained etched in our memory. In fact, we had only one rehearsal before taking the stage here, " said Philipe who is also in the pharma line. He's the regional head of AstraZeneca. It fact if Hammersmith had changed their name to Pharma Smith or something it would have been apt: Philipe is CEO of Himalaya Drug Co.
My old friend Cedric, playing an Ibanez Bass Roadstar, and I have shared the stage on numerous occasions rendering all-time favourites of The Beatles and Bee Gees, among others. It was after our band broke up that Ahmedabad's most famous bassist stepped into the rarefied zone with the Haydon brothers: strumming alongside the likes of Remo Fernandes and Ranjit Barot, heralding their arrival on the national scene by winning the top three prizes at the Mood Indigo festival at IIT, Mumbai in 1987 and then reaching the pinnacle by becoming the first band from Asia to appear on MTV.
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