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Caravan are an English rock band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, and Richard Coughlan in 1968. The band have never achieved the great commercial success that was widely predicted for them at the beginning of their career, but are nevertheless considered a key part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock acts, blending psychedelic rock, jazz, and classical influences to create a distinctive sound.

The band were originally based in Whitstable, Kent, near Canterbury, but moved to London when briefly signed to Verve Records. After being dropped by Verve, the band signed to Decca Records, where they released their most critically acclaimed album, In the Land of Grey and Pink, in 1971. Dave Sinclair left after the album's release and the group split up the following year. Hastings and Coughlan added new members, notably viola player Geoffrey Richardson, continuing on before splitting in 1978.

The band reformed several times in the following decades, and Caravan still remain active as a live band in the 21st century, despite Coughlan's death in December 2013.

History

Early career

The group's original members, David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan had all been in the Canterbury-based Wilde Flowers, albeit not at the same time. Richard Sinclair had been an early member, but left in September 1965 to study at college. Hastings had replaced Robert Wyatt as the group's singer and Coughlan as drummer in the band when Wyatt, who performed both roles, formed Soft Machine. David Sinclair joined the group in late 1966, but after future Soft Machine member Hugh Hopper left the group in June the following year, they began to run out of momentum and broke up in October 1967.

Coughlan, Hastings and the two Sinclairs subsequently formed Caravan in 1968. "We all had the same goal" recalled Richard Sinclair, "to make our music, write it ourselves, and make a living from it." The band rented a house in Whitstable, Kent for six months, where they began to write and rehearse new material. Verve subsequently released the band's debut LP, Caravan (1969), the following year, but a few months later moved out of the UK record business and dropped the band.

After a series of gigs in London, including the Speakeasy Club, the band were introduced to Terry King, who became the group's first manager. David Hitchcock, who had been working in the art department of Decca Records, asked the company's president, Hugh Mendl to sign the band. The accompanying single "Hello Hello" helped them land an appearance on the TV show Top of the Pops, performing the album's title track. "Nine Feet Underground" in particular was a regular fixture on late-night FM radio during the early 1970s.

Despite the critical success of In the Land of Grey and Pink, the group were disappointed by its lack of commercial success, believing that Decca were not promoting the band properly or investing enough money. In August 1971, David Sinclair accepted a job with former Soft Machine drummer Robert Wyatt's new band, Matching Mole. Reflecting on the decision to leave, Sinclair later said "I felt the whole thing was going a bit stagnant&nbsp;... I wanted to play with other people, but had to accept that with Caravan it was either all or nothing."

Line-up changes

thumb|Caravan in 1974. From left to right: Pye Hastings, Geoffrey Richardson, Mike Wedgwood, Richard Coughlan, Dave Sinclair.

The remaining members continued on together and Richard Sinclair invited keyboardist Steve Miller to join the band. and was a minor hit in the US, reaching number 124. but by this point the group were out of step with the prevailing musical trends, and after a final album, Better by Far (1977) on Arista Records, After performing at NEARFest in 2002, they released The Unauthorized Breakfast Item album in 2003, where David Sinclair was replaced by a returning Jan Schelhaas. An archive collection of BBC sessions from 1968 to 1975, The Show of Our Lives was released in 2007. The DVD of this gig was released in May 2011 and the recording was shown on ITV as part of the Legends series.

In January 2013, the band completed a successful UK tour to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the album For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night (1973). This was followed later in the year by the announcement of a new album, Paradise Filter (2013). The album was funded by a PledgeMusic campaign, scheduled for release on 24 February 2014. Hastings declared "now you can be part of the whole process by pledging to support this project".

On 1 December 2013, founding member Coughlan died, having been in poor health for some years. His funeral took place in Canterbury on 20 December. A statement from the band stated "his unique style of playing and wonderful character will be sorely missed."

Caravan headlined the Rites of Spring festival (RoSfest) festival in Pennsylvania, USA from 2–4 May 2014.

In 2021, Jim Leverton left the band to return to his R&B roots. His replacement is Lee Pomeroy.

Musical style

Caravan are considered a key example of the Canterbury scene genre.

Instrumentally, David Sinclair's fuzztone Hammond organ sound is a key ingredient of the early Caravan albums, and his playing is the dominant instrument on them. His musical palette subsequently expanded to include synthesizers. Jimmy Hastings' woodwind playing and orchestral arrangements have also been a regular feature in the band's music since its inception.

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | August 1971 – July 1972

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | August 1972 – February 1973

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | March 1973 – July 1974

|-

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals, bass
  • Richard Sinclair – bass, vocals, guitar
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Sinclair – bass, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Steve Miller – keyboards

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Derek Austin – keyboards
  • Stuart Evans – bass
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards
  • John G. Perry – bass, vocals, percussion

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! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | July 1974 – June 1975

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | July 1975 – December 1976

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | January 1977 – April 1978

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | April 1978 – Early 1980

|-

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards
  • Mike Wedgwood – bass, vocals, congas, synthesizers

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Mike Wedgwood – bass, vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Dek Messecar – bass, backing vocals

| valign=top |

Disbanded

|-

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | Early 1980 – October 1981

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | November 1981 – October 1984

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | November 1984 – December 1989

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | January 1990 – November 1991

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| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Dek Messecar – bass, backing vocals
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards, vocals

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards, vocals
  • Richard Sinclair – bass, vocals, guitar

| valign=top |

Disbanded

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards
  • Richard Sinclair – bass, vocals

|-

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | December 1991 – March 1995

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | April 1995 – August 1996

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | September 1996 – August 1997

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | September 1997 – October 2002

|-

| valign=top |

Disbanded

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, backing vocals
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals
  • Doug Boyle – guitar
  • Jimmy Hastings – flute, saxophone
  • Simon Bentall – percussion

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Dave Sinclair – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals
  • Doug Boyle – guitar
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, backing vocals

|-

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | October 2002 – June 2007

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | June 2007 – December 2010

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | December 2010 – December 2013

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | December 2013 – May 2021

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| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals
  • Doug Boyle – guitar
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, backing vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – drums, percussion
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, backing vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Richard Coughlan – percussion
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Mark Walker – drums

| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Jim Leverton – bass, vocals
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Mark Walker – drums, percussion

|-

! bgcolor="#E7EBEE" valign=top width=25% | June 2021 – Present

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| valign=top |

  • Pye Hastings – guitar, vocals
  • Geoffrey Richardson – guitar, viola, violin, backing vocals
  • Jan Schelhaas – keyboards, backing vocals
  • Mark Walker – drums, percussion
  • Lee Pomeroy – bass, backing vocals (guest in 2021)

|}

Timeline

Discography

Studio albums

  • Caravan (1969)
  • If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (1970)
  • In the Land of Grey and Pink (1971)
  • Waterloo Lily (1972)
  • For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night (1973)
  • Cunning Stunts (1975)
  • Blind Dog at St. Dunstans (1976)
  • Better by Far (1977)
  • The Album (1980)
  • Back to Front (1982)
  • Cool Water (1994)
  • The Battle of Hastings (1995)
  • The Unauthorized Breakfast Item (2003)
  • Paradise Filter (2013)
  • It’s None of Your Business (2021)

Live albums

  • Caravan and the New Symphonia (1974)
  • BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert (1991)
  • Live in Holland: Back on the Tracks (1998)
  • Live 1990 (1992)
  • Songs for Oblivion Fishermen (compilation of BBC recordings, 1998)
  • Ether Way (compilation of BBC recordings, 1998)
  • The Show of Our Lives (compilation of BBC recordings, 1998)
  • Live: Canterbury Comes to London (1999)
  • Surprise Supplies (1999)
  • Bedrock in Concert (2002)
  • Green Bottles for Marjorie: The Lost BBC Sessions (compilation of BBC recordings, 2002)
  • Live at the Fairfield Halls, 1974 (2002)
  • A Night's Tale (2003)
  • Nowhere to Hide (2003)
  • With Strings Attached (2003)
  • Live UK Tour 1975 (recorded at the University of Nottingham) (2003)
  • The Show of Our Lives – Caravan at the BBC 1968–1975 (compilation of BBC recordings, 2007)
  • A Hunting We Shall Go: Live In 1974 (2008)
  • Caravan - Recorded Live in Concert at Metropolis Studios, London (CD/DVD, 2012)

Compilations

  • Canterbury Tales (1977)
  • The Show of Our Lives (1981)
  • Songs and Signs (1991)
  • The Best of Caravan – Canterbury Tales (1994 - expanded reissue of 1977 version)
  • All Over You (1997)
  • Travelling Man (1998)
  • Headloss (1999)
  • All Over You...Too (2000)
  • Travelling Ways: The HTD Anthology (2000)
  • Where but for Caravan Would I? (2000)
  • The World Is Yours (4-CD Box Set, 2010)
  • Back Catalogue Songs (2013)
  • Who Do You Think We Are (2021) (35 CD + DVD and Blu-ray Disc Box Set)

UK Singles

  • "Place of My Own" <small>(1969)</small>
  • "If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You" <small>(1970)</small>
  • "Love to Love You" <small>(1971)</small>
  • "Stuck in a Hole" <small>(1975)</small>
  • "All the Way" <small>(1976)</small>
  • "Better by Far" <small>(1977)</small>
  • "Heartbreaker" <small>(1980)</small>
  • "Keepin' Up de Fences" <small>(1980)</small>

Filmography

  • 2002: A Night's Tale - Live in the USA (CD/DVD)
  • 2003: A Knight in London (DVD)
  • 2004: The Ultimate Anthology (DVD)
  • 2005: The 35th Anniversary Concert (DVD)
  • 2011: Filmed Live at Metropolis Studios (DVD)
  • 2012: Recorded Live in Concert at Metropolis Studios, London (CD/DVD)
  • 2014: Caravan Live at RoSFEST, Gettysburg, USA (DVD)
  • 2015: Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales (DVD)
  • 2015: Access All Areas (CD/DVD)

References

Bibliography

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  • Official Website
  • Official European Website
  • Caravan biography, discography and album reviews, credits & releases at AllMusic.com