This is the official MySpace page for Hatfield and the North. Described by author Jonathan Coe as 'probably the best-loved of the so-called 'Canterbury bands', Hatfield were one of the most original and adventurous English rock bands of the 1970s. The group wrote and played fearlessly creative music and became a legend with music fans in Europe, America and Japan, but broke up in 1975 just as its reputation began to build.
Only one of Hatfield's members (bassist / vocalist Richard Sinclair) actually came from Canterbury, but some of the group's music drew inspiration from the 'real' Canterbury bands Soft Machine (featuring the great drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt) and Caravan, of whom Sinclair was previously a member. Hatfield's true geographical roots were in the small town of Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, home of drummer Pip Pyle and guitarist Phil Miller. The two first met at the tender of age of four, and as teenagers in 1966 formed the group Delivery with Phil's brother Steve on piano.
After hearing Richard Sinclair play with Caravan, Miller and Pyle decided in 1972 to start a new band with him and enlisted Steve Miller on keyboards. For a while the group carried on using the name Delivery, but at Pyle's insistence it was changed to Hatfield and the North (after the road signs pointing north from London, a familiar sight for gigging bands). Finding a permanent keyboardist proved to be a problem: the new band's music was too structured for Steve Miller, and his replacement Dave Sinclair (ex-Caravan keyboardist and Richard's cousin) soon left due to good old "musical differences". The keyboard player vacancy was finally filled when Dave Stewart (formerly organist with Egg) joined in early 1973.
The Miller / Pyle / Sinclair / Stewart line-up went on to play numerous gigs and record two highly acclaimed albums (Hatfield and the North and The Rotters' Club) for Virgin as well as recording a French TV show and several BBC radio shows. Hatfield's music was a unique blend of its four members' ideas and compositions, combining the dreamy lyrical songs of Richard Sinclair, Phil Miller's intricate jazz-flavoured melodies, Dave Stewart's complex instrumentals and the free-flowing compositions of Pip Pyle (who also wrote some of the group's lyrics). The combination of four strong musical personalities led to the band being described as a 'supergroup' - though the musicians found the tag embarrassing, each of them was certainly an outstanding player in his field, and Sinclair's vocals were second to none.
After Hatfield split in 1975 Phil Miller, Pip Pyle and Dave Stewart went on to play together in National Health. Richard Sinclair was an occasional guest, appearing as vocalist on one of the band's radio sessions and at a concert at London's Queen Elizabeth Hall. By 1981 Stewart had tired of band life and started a solo career - in that year he and vocalist Barbara Gaskin had a 1 hit single with their mad electronic reworking of It's My Party. Miller and Pyle continued their lifelong collaboration in Miller's group In Cahoots (in which they were initially joined by Sinclair), while Pyle pursued various individual band projects such as Equip'Out (tr. 'The Out Team') and the percussively-titled Pip Pyle's Bash. Sinclair took to the road in the early '90s with Caravan Of Dreams and now leads the Richard Sinclair Band as well as playing solo gigs.
In 2004, exasperated by the number of poor quality Hatfield bootleg recordings in circulation, Pip Pyle compiled a collection of unreleased 1970s live and radio recordings into the archival CD Hatwise Choice. Released on the band's own Hatco label in January 2005, this was the first album by the original line-up in thirty years and became an immediate hit with Hatfield's listeners. Its success inspired the 2006 follow-up Hattitude, also largely compiled and edited by Pyle. Both albums reflect the rich diversity of Hatfield's music and show sides of the band not heard before on record, including extended, improvisatory live arrangements, frightening electronic landscapes, flashes of humour and occasional moments of sheer musical madness.
After the release of Hatwise Choice the band reformed to play some concerts with Alex Maguire on keyboards. The new Hatfield incarnation returned to its old European stamping ground and travelled as far afield as Japan, Mexico, USA and Canada, but the reunion was tragically cut short when founder member Pip Pyle died in August 2006 after travelling home from a Hatfield gig in Groningen, Holland. Having dedicated Hattitude to their departed colleague, the Hatfield musicians hope to continue the archive CD series he instigated. Thanks to the support of a worldwide audience of music-lovers which has remained loyal since the 1970s, the legacy of this unique group continues into the 21st century.
L i n k s
Band website
Hatfield online shop
Phil Miller & In Cahoots
Pip Pyle
Richard Sinclair
Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin
Pip Pyle obituary by Dave Stewart
Canterbury Scene
Many thanks to keyboardist / guitarist Blake Brown for starting this page.
