Hatfield and the North
Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter.[1]
Hatfield and the North
Canterbury, England
- 1972–1975
- 1990
- 2005–2006
Reunions and archival releases[edit]
In March 1990, the group reformed to record a TV show with Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair, and Pip Pyle joined by Sophia Domancich (keyboards, Pyle's then-girlfriend and bandmate in Equip'Out).[1]
In January 2005, the band reformed again with Alex Maguire (from Pip Pyle's Bash!) on keyboards and toured between 2005 and 2006 (notable appearances included a short Japanese tour in late 2005, and the BajaProg and NEARfest festivals in North America). On a small number of European dates in June 2005, Mark Fletcher (from Miller's In Cahoots band) reinforced the band while Pyle was recuperating from a back operation and only played on part of each gig. Pyle died in August 2006 after travelling back from a Hatfield show in Groningen. Following Pyle's death, Hatfield played two previously booked gigs with Mark Fletcher on drums, including the Canterbury Festival in October 2006.
In 2005/2006, the band released two archival collections, Hatwise Choice: Archive Recordings 1973-1975, Volume 1 and Hattitude: Archive Recordings 1973-1975, Volume 2, featuring the classic Miller/Pyle/Sinclair/Stewart line-up, distributed by the UK label Burning Shed. Both releases contained a mixture of BBC radio sessions and live recordings, along with the odd demo, which are still available on CD and support the musicians and family of Pip Pyle.
In 2007, Cuneiform Records re-released two albums by Steve Miller and Lol Coxhill with bonus material including 20 minutes of material by the proto-Hatfield and the North line-up of Delivery playing "God Song", "Bossa Nochance/Big Jobs", and "Betty" (a variation on some of the Sinclair bass riffs that also produced Hatfield's "Rifferama").
Jonathan Coe's 2001 novel The Rotters' Club takes its title from the band's second album. The novel also mentions them several times.
Saint Etienne also reference the band in the track "Popmaster" on their 2017 album Home Counties.
In 2022, Richard Sinclair assembled a tribute band of Hatfield and the North, with a particular dedication to Phil Miller and Pip Pyle. The group that made its debut in Palermo on December 10, 2022 is called the HAT Band and includes Richard Sinclair (vocals and bass), Alex Maguire (electric piano), Mezz Gacano (guitar and backing vocals), and Giulio Scavuzzo (drums).