Artist Name
Caravan
web link
heart icon (1 users)
artist logo

Members
members icon 6 Male

Origin
flag Canterbury, England

Genre
genre icon Progressive Rock

Style
style icon Rock/Pop

Mood
---

Born

born icon 1968

Active
calendar icon 1968 to Present...

Cutout
transparent

heart icon Most Loved Tracks
4 users heart off Caravan - Golf Girl
4 users heart off Caravan - Golf Girl
4 users heart off Caravan - Winter Wine
4 users heart off Caravan - In the Land of Grey and Pink
4 users heart off Caravan - In The Land Of Grey And Pink


youtube icon Music Video Links
No Music Videos Found...



Artist Biography
Available in: gb icon
Caravan are an English band from the Canterbury area, founded by former Wilde Flowers members David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan. Caravan rose to success over a period of several years from 1968 onwards into the 1970s as part of the Canterbury scene, blending psychedelic rock and jazz to create a distinctive sound like their contemporaries Soft Machine. Caravan still remains active as a live band in the 21st century.
Following the dissolution of their former band, Wilde Flowers, David Sinclair, Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings and Richard Coughlan formed Caravan in 1968. The band became the first British act to sign for American record label, Verve, who subsequently released the band's debut LP, Caravan, later the same year. After this Verve closed their rock and pop division, causing Caravan to move to Decca Records for the release of If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You in 1970, from which the title track gained the band an appearance on Top Of The Pops, and then Deram (Decca's progressive subsidiary) for 1971's In the Land of Grey and Pink. After the third album's release David Sinclair chose to leave the group, to be replaced by Steve Miller. The change in keyboardist caused a change in musical direction, and the band's next album, Waterloo Lily, was distinctly more jazz influenced than earlier work. This caused some unrest for followers of the group and the band disintegrated soon after Waterloo Lily's release, leaving just Hastings and Coughlan. The duo recruited viola player Geoffrey Richardson, bassist Stu Evans and keyboardist Derek Austin and toured extensively. This line-up did not make any recordings before Evans was replaced by John Perry and Dave Sinclair rejoined the group in 1973. The resulting album For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night was well-received critically. Perry left soon afterwards and was replaced by Mike Wedgwood.
Despite considerable success in continental Europe – particularly in France, the Netherlands and Germany where they played some of those countries' most prestigious venues and enjoyed healthy record sales – the band's chart performance in the UK and US was minimal, charting one album, Cunning Stunts at US No. 124. In the UK, Cunning Stunts (No.50) and Blind Dog at St. Dunstans (No.53) were their only hits. A loyal following has ensured steady back catalogue sales and a lengthy live career for the band, who continue to this day featuring founder members Pye Hastings (guitar, vocals, songwriting) and Richard Coughlan (drums). Caravan's best-known recording is the 1971 set In the Land of Grey and Pink, their second album for Decca. This album achieved Gold disc award status.
The band were largely dormant in the eighties until a 1990 reunion, planned as a one-off for television, reinvigorated their career. Latterly they have also achieved steady sales and a fan following with the support of the more eclectic corners of radio, like BBC Six Music's "Freak Zone" and the growing re-emergence of progressive rock. After performing at NEARFest in 2002, they released The Unauthorized Breakfast Item album in 2003.
In 2010, Pye Hastings announced that the band had resumed activity in anticipation of a one-off concert recording at Metropolis Studios for ITV, which took place in December 2010. New material was written for a debut performance and the band was joined by Mark Walker on drums and percussion. The DVD of this gig was released in May 2011 and the recording was shown on ITV as part of the Legends series.
The band are set to tour the UK to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the album “For Girls Who Grow Plump In The Night" in January 2013.
wiki icon

Wide Thumb
transparent

Clearart
transparent

Fanart

transparent icontransparent icon

Banner
artist banner


User Comments

transparent iconNo comments yet..


Status
unlocked icon Unlocked
Last Edit by laurent94jbl1
10th Apr 2018

Socials


Streaming
website icon unlocked icon

External Links
fanart.tv icon musicbrainz icon last.fm icon website icon unlocked iconwebsite icon unlocked iconamazon icon