Hatfield & The North

The Canterbury scene in England, already responsible for acts like Gong and Kevin Ayers' the Whole World, gave birth in 1972 to the playful progressive rock outfit Hatfield and the North. The band borrowed its name from a roadside sign along a motorway near London. Its original lineup united several Canterbury veterans: vocalist and bassist Richard Sinclair, previously of Caravan; guitarist Phil Miller, who had played alongside Robert Wyatt in Matching Mole; and drummer Pip Pyle, whose résumé included stints with both Gong and Delivery. Keyboardist Dave Stewart, formerly of Egg, joined after several personnel adjustments to round out the quartet, after which the group began regular performances backed by the Northettes—Barbara Gaskin, Amanda Parsons, and Ann Rosenthal.

Virgin signed the band, leading to the release of its self-titled 1974 debut, a recording that blended melodic pop with more experimental textures. The single "Let's Eat (Real Soon)" surfaced late that year. Hatfield and the North returned in 1975 with The Rotters' Club, which briefly entered the U.K. charts before the quartet dissolved a few months later. Sinclair soon became a member of Camel, while Stewart collaborated with Bill Bruford and then achieved mainstream success in 1981 by joining ex-Zombie Colin Blunstone for a cover of the Jimmy Ruffin favorite "What Becomes of the Broken Hearted?" Stewart next formed a duo with ex-Northette Barbara Gaskin; their version of "It's My Party" topped the U.K. pop chart in September 1981. The pair continued releasing singles and albums through the 1980s, though none matched that earlier commercial peak.

Hatfield and the North reconvened in 1989 for live shows featuring Miller, Sinclair, Pyle, and keyboardist Sophia Domancich—Pyle's partner at the time and a member of his band Equipe Out—in place of Stewart. A March 1990 Nottingham performance by this configuration was documented on Live 1990, issued in 1993, followed by the Classic Rock Legends DVD in 2002. This version proved short-lived, yet the band resurfaced in the mid-2000s with Alex Maguire taking over keyboard duties. Tours followed in 2005 and 2006, including appearances at BajaProg in Mexico and NEARfest in the United States. On August 28, 2006, Pip Pyle passed away at age 56 in a Paris hotel room soon after returning to his adopted home in France from a Hatfield and the North concert in Groningen, The Netherlands.