There’s so many things to feel and see while you’re awake…

Don Van Vliet / Captain BeefheartCombining elements of free jazz, blues and rock, Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band produced what is commonly regarded by critics and fans as one of rock’s few truly original bodies of work.

Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) retired from the music industry after 1982’s Ice Cream For Crow album to concentrate on his primary love – paint.

The Radar Station is a purely fan-run site which aims to document every twist and turn in the tale of this unique individual.

Header photograph copyright Anton Corbijn, used with kind permission.

Don Van Vliet: 1941-2010 – tributes and fond farewells

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One of the most exciting pieces of footage of the band is the live version of ‘Click Clack’ filmed at the Bataclan in Paris in 1972 which was broadcast on the French TV show POP2. It was known that more of the concert was filmed and a 30 minute audio of the concert has circulated amongst collectors for many years. This audio also includes a short interview with Don. The question asked by all fans since has been ‘is there more footage of this Bataclan show somewhere?’ A few years ago I was told that no further footage existed in the vaults, only the ‘ClickRead More →

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We are sad to hear of the death of Terry Van Vliet, he was 89 and had been suffering with dementia. Terry was an older cousin of Don’s, and also born in Glendale. His parents were Harold and Winifred Vliet. Like Don, Terry reclaimed the ‘Van’ for the family name. He went to Lancaster Valley High, the same school as Don. It was here that Terry developed  a passion for poetry and literature. When he moved to Las Vegas for a while he joined a small theatre group and found another passion, acting. He returned to Los Angeles and tried to pursue an acting career.Read More →

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Here at the Radar Station we were saddened to learn of the death of Elliot Ingber on 21st January, he was 83. This is Don’s simple but expressive sketch of ‘Mean E’ taken from the cover of The Spotlight Kid album also included this poetic sketch, also by Don : No B.O. for this boy it’s like a winged eel fingerling crawling thru lime jello it’s like chrome black eyebrow rolled out real long a paper brow magnifying glass fried brown, edge scorched, yoked like a squeak from a speaker behind forehead of the time, licorice schtick open tube of valuable JuJuBees. Our short tributeRead More →