Caravan emerged in Canterbury, England in late 1968 with a line up of Pye Hastings (guitar), Richard Coughlan (drums), Dave Sinclair (keyboards) and his cousin Richard Sinclair (bass). They quickly gained a reputation amongst aficionados of psychedelia with songs such as, Magic Man, Grandma’s Lawn, If I Could Do It All Over Again I’d Do It All Over You (a top 30 single), I Wish I was Stoned and Nine Feet Underground. They were championed by BBC’s John Peel which did them no harm at all. What stood them apart were their unusual time signatures and the prominence of the Hammond organ, invariably used as a lead instrument.
Personnel changes hindered the band’s progress, but albums continued to sell in large numbers, with the unique keyboard sound still at the heart of their music. They were the leading proponents of the so-called ‘Canterbury Sound’, along with bands like Soft Machine and Hatfield and the North. Albums such as ‘For Girls that Grow Plump in the Night’, ‘Blind Dog at St Dunstans’ and Cunning Stunts sold well and they were feted abroad, touring Europe, Australia and America.
The band reformed in 1990 and on and off they have been pulling in audiences with their powerful live performances and recordings, which are as strong as ever. The most recent album, ‘The Unauthorised Breakfast Item’ continues to build on their reputation as a unique and endearing band. The live set features songs from ‘Land of Grey and Pink’ which is often described as ‘faultless’ and is consistently quoted in polls of the top 50 psychedelic/prog albums of all time.
Their performances are testament to high quality musicianship and professionalism and the current line up has been stable for some years. It includes original members, leader and songwriter Pye Hastings on guitar and vocal and Richard Coughlan, the drummer. Geoffrey Richardson joined the band in 1972 and is a multi instrumentalist specialising in guitar, viola and flute, as well as spoons and hedgeclippers (true)! Jan Schelhaas is the long standing keyboard player. The line up is completed by Jim Leverton on bass. Apart from tours in the UK and an appearance at the Isle of Wight Festival in 2005, the band have played in several European countries and toured the US four times.
Richard Coughlan’s health- he has arthritis, kept the band off the road for some time and then Pye and Jan moved to Scotland, making liaison of band members more problematic. There are currently no plans to reform, but as Pye says, 'Never say never.'
DICE, "…let's call it cosmic prog" with the 15th CD "Versus Without Versus, Endpart" and their 2nd DVD "A Long Cosmic Trip" thanks very much for frienship. From germany - best regards!
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.. You can read our brasilian-interview on: www.dice-band.de . Check it out! . . .
You like beer right? You might get a kick out of this Ozzy skit. Here's the new film Gabby Skab and I made last night for upcoming Pabst sales convention. The Skabs "PBR Me Right Now". http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OGPLSnltauk
Thanks for add & support... What do you think about my music? Please visit my profile and send a feedback, I'd like to know your judgement... Kind from Italy
