Кентерберилік «Caravan» тобының тарихы

English band from the Canterbury area
the English band

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.

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 (1968), later the same 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  I wanted to play with other people, but had to accept that with Caravan it was either all or nothing."

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 his R&B roots. His replacement is Lee Pomeroy.

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.