The Canterbury scene and it's music defines progressive rock . lnnovative , inventive , complex and very very English . From Caravan to Hatfield and the North ,Soft Machine to National Health there was never anyone close to them . Truly great music .
National Health, Gilgamesh, Egg, and the Steve Hillage and Khan albums are my favorites. Matching Mole and Hatfield also great. To me the best Canterbury adjacent is Bruford.
One thing you might have touched on was, a lot of these guys were really stoned. Gong's "Flying Teapots and Pothead Pixies" is a serious reference. Great music though. Thanks for doing this episode! Alan Holdsworth was also a member of Soft Machine. Steve Hillage did some work with Steve Hackette from Genesis.
@@reinaldofavoreto7160 Only very recently I've gotten into If I Could Do It All Over Again, and as an album, I think it's better than Grey and Pink, but Winter Wine and Nine Feet Underground by themselves are pretty hard to beat.
could never get into it. i always felt they had a hard peak with their second album. that one was proggy whimsical stoner rock. even a whole 7 min or whatever jam about being stoned to boot. but grey and pink feels like it loses any balls or experimentalism, or that early "searching" prog sound. it just sounds like a dry, old-English novel to me.
Caravan are hardly short lived. They're still going to this day, touring and releasing music. I actually saw them this year. I know they've had a few break ups and dormant periods, but 50 odd years is certainly not short lived.
Yea, they're actually the longest lasting out of all of them. Even when considering the period until their first break-up, 1968-77, they were around longer than Hatfield, National Health, Egg, Gong, etc. Only Soft Machine stayed for that long.
My favorite Canterbury band has to be Wilde Flowers conveniently. The fact they are obscure and unknown in a way, they give a cool vibe when hearing their music that gives them a sort of folkloric type of feel.
Robert Wyatt said that falling out of that window saved his life! I didn't know about all the connections you mentioned - despite listening to most of these bands when I was young.
Great stuff mate. I hope you produce more of these wonderful nuggets. Incidentally I recently met the daughter of a work colleague who had just completed a 3 year degree at Kent University, Canterbury. I immediately started waxing lyrically. Unfortunately, she was totally unaware of the Canterbury Scene. The most proggy thing she listened to was Coldplay btw. Thought Pink Floyd was a he etc. Thoroughly depressing. It is incomprehensible that The City and University do not promote the history of this unique music scene. Many thanks.
Why would UKC promote the CS ? Just because a couple of ex students were involved in local bands ? I believe there is a small permanent exhibition in the Beany Library in the city centre that contains ephemera etc but there is no ‘ CS ‘ official city walks etc probably because their is not the demand for such a thing. I guess all the locations some with existing buildings etc are all there to be found by those who are really keen .
About a year ago I did a radio show on my home station Radio Home of Rock, called "Canterbury Tales". It was fascinating, because a lot of my listeners in the chat never heard the Canterbury Scene bands before. When I featured GONG on that show, there was a huge descussion going on, wether GONG should be called a Canterbury Scene band. Well, I replied: "For the rest of this show Paris is a suburb of Canterbury" :)
An important element of the Canterbury sound can be summed up in the word 'pataphysics', something frequently mentioned by the early Soft Machine. The meaning of this word would take an essay to answer (it supposedly has a hundred definitions) but it deals with going beyond simple scientific facts to a thing's essence and dealing with the world with a certain amount of ironic and amused detachment.
More on Dave Stewart please - EGG, Hatfield and the North, National Health and Bruford … alas when you mentioned the Hatfields you didn’t mention him - one of the great composers! I saw all of these live - amazing but often great improvisers.
I think it's so cool that an American has posted this..I forgot, when I mentioned The Land of Grey and Pink" the track " Nine Feet Underground"... Epic song!..
'In The Land Of Grey And Pink' is pure magic. Gong were really avant garde, trippy hippie and far out and Kevin Ayres was whimsical and witty, eg, 'Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes'. Also loved Robert Wyatt's very political solo albums and the Here And Now band!!
Wicked. I live nearby and have frequented Canterbury since I was a child. As a bit of a psychonaut I love a bit of Gong, and Steve Hillage (big up Ozric Tentacles, too). My mum has hung with the Gong and Ozric Tentacles lot back in the day.
@@progrock Haha. There's a Discord server for the Canterbury Scene music BTW, if you're into that. Some cool, interesting people in there, unlike many a Discord server.
Gong! I 💖 how you uses a snippet of Gong Live at Glastonbury festival 1970 ! I have that on vinyl ! Nice Content. Keep up the good work. Greetings from the French Alps.
Amazing video! Other bands I love in the scene are Gilgamesh and Quiet Sun. I saw a glimpse of a Univers Zero cover, you should do a Rock in Opposition video someday.
You are welcome! It can be hard to get into, but it's my favorite genre, a whole world to dive in. Other bands I love in that scene are Art Zoyd, Samla Mammas Manna, Volapuk, and I could go all day. Hope you like some of that!
Ulvarivh Alvarado: you got great taste, man! -- If you love those bands, you'll also dig Phoenix's Pocket Orchestra, because they were into all that and very influenced by it as well... In fact at one time their name was Influence ... I know this because they were some of my best friends... We were the core of the Phoenix prog scene... You should of heard them at parties, doing covers of King Crimson and Yes, with a high school chick named Stacia Cariosca, who sounded remarkably like Jon Anderson..
And I would have mentioned Henry Cow, ( though they were originally from Cambridge, they were singularly involved with Robert Wyatt, Hatfield and the North, and Mike Oldfield..
Hmmm. Now I actually lived in and roamed about Canterbury and its environs in the late 60s and early 70s. I practically lived in The Foundry in Jewry Street (where all the bands played) and in Bluies (or The Beehive if you prefer) in Dover Street and this alleged "Canterbury Scene" completely passed me by. It was also undetected at the time by all my Canterbury friends (with a variety of backgrounds) and having reviewed the whole concept in this century, none of us were aware of a Canterbury Scene during the actual period claimed. In fact it was never mentioned until someone started "reverse engineering" the entire concept 40 years after it didn't happen. The reality of Canterbury in the early 70s is that live music was occasionally played at the aforementioned venues and annually the Dane Jon Gardens were used over a period of a few days for local bands to play there - often in the rain. I have read that The Penny Theatre in Northgate (which is pub rather than an actual theatre) hosted important gigs - well not while I was there it didn't. I never once saw Caravan play. Nor Soft Machine. Nor Hatfield and The North. We were all aware of these bands at the time and knew them as featuring locally sourced personnel but if they ever played a venue in Canterbury I'd like to know which one it was and when. In fact the two local bands that featured most prominently in those days were Porcelain Frog (sometimes spelled with a double g) and Rebirth. There is barely a mention of either anywhere on the internet - in fact if I didn't know that they existed I would think that I had invented them in my head. There was I think a musician that featured in both Frogg and Caravan but that may be my memory at fault. I believe that Robert Wyatt (who I would have known if he'd actually frequented the music venues of Canterbury) is quoted as saying himself that the Canterbury Scene never actually existed but he was prepared to go along with the pretence if it got the music noticed. Robert, by the way, came from Bristol - not Canterbury and lost the use of his legs in an accident in 1973 so I'm not sure how that fits in with being in a band playing Canterbury gigs. Especially as the Foundry's stage was upstairs up a rickety set of wooden steps. However - I take the same view as Robert. The music was "of its time" and if you want to pretend that there was more to it than a just few young men, with imagined links to Canterbury, experimenting on acid and that we were all in some sort of blessed Canterbury based music scene then be my guest. Of course I do wish that it was all real - but it wasn't.
@R Swipe - an interesting reply. I had forgotten St Thomas's Hall, which in my day was over the top of David Gregg's, Woolworths and the Christian Bookshop. I never saw a live band there but I did attend several discos on those premises. Great fun actually. This was around the time that Dave Edmunds "I hear you knocking" was in the charts - 1971 (I looked it up). I also saw a number of avante guard theatrical productions (Pinter mainly) in that hall. As for The Odeon, I saw a few live shows there although nothing that you could link to what they now call Canterbury Scene. I saw even more live acts at the Marlow Theatre which, confusingly, in the 1970s was where the Marlowe Shopping Arcade now is. Before they knocked down the old Odeon to build the new Marlowe theatre on the site. The most entertaining of those shows (in my memory) was Alvin Stardust - and that is about as far removed from the fantasy of Canterbury Scene as it is possible to get. The last time I looked, The Foundry is now a massive health food shop and cafe (although there is confusingly a nearby restaurant called The Foundry) and Bluies is a Chinese. If those walls could only talk. Have a great day my friend.
@@christinefiocchi9890 - Hi Christine, yes I suspect that is correct. The interchange of personnel between what are now, almost forgotten, bands did create a resonance and style that someone somewhere retrospectively needed a name for and they chose Canterbury as the badge to pin on it. The reality of being a music lover in Canterbury in the 60s and 70s was not nearly as rich as people now suppose. A venue though that is seldom remembered for its music is Bridge Place Country Club (just outside of Canterbury) which hosted, from its opening in 1967, some big name bands of the time, including The Spencer Davis Group, The Yardbirds, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Titch and a 4 man rock combo calling themselves Led Zepellin. Of course these are all too mainstream to garner the psychodelic aura and mystical epithet of the imagined "Canterbury Scene" bands but they were, at the time, great nights out - while they lasted. Bridge Country Club finally established itself as the home of disco - I'm not knocking that, it was popular and fun at the time. The Club's premises reopened as an expensively refurbished hotel in 2019.
Thinking back to my late 60´s encounter with Soft Machine and Caravan´s distinctive "Canterbury sound", that was mainly keyboard orientated, inc. Hammond B3, plus fuzz and wah wah. Along with flute and saxophone. Lead guitar was conspicuous in it´s absence. On the Soft´s first album Kevin was credited as lead guitarist but he mainly played bass, as can be seen in the live video clips of the time. Pye Hastings plays mostly rhythm, chords and 12 string. There was no "front man" as such but Robert, Richard and Pye´s similar, mostly soft, unassuming, very English vocal technique combined with humorous often droll, untypical lyrical content that would blend in as an alternative instrument, had nothing to do with hard rock´s fast cars, women and money etc. ...well ok there were eventually "licks for the ladies" and a "Lobster in cleavage probe" :) Later as the two bands evolved and mutated to include none Canterbury based musicians the unique sound became the "Canterbury scene". Even none UK bands such as Holland´s Supersister and The Muffins from the states have expanded the genre. Btw., as I mentioned in the comments on your "Welcome to the channel..." video. As far as I can tell the first ever written reference to "Proggresive" music was in the sleeve notes on the 1969 US release of Caravan´s self titled album, written by Leslie Rubinstein. :- "A group of English wandering minstrels covering a hell-of-a-lot of underground is four Canterbury pilgrims answering to the name of Caravan. Leaders of a new progressive sound, yet following no one."
I should add that when lead guitar was used it was used very sparingly or with very individual styles and effects such as glissando, fuzz and sustain. Guitarist Allan Holdsworth didn´t join the softs until their 8th album. Caravan eventually plumped for Geoffrey Richardson´s viola as an alternative lead instrument. Fred Frith´s distinctive guitar style also deserves a mention.
Pye Hastings never left Caravan, and was certainly never a member of Hatfield and the North. Camel are from Guildford, certainly not adjacent to Canterbury, although as you say there was a fair bit of crossover of personel.
Did I miss Mike Ratledge being mentioned? He was very important as a founding member of Soft Machine and remained long after Ayers, Wyatt and others departed. Regardless, very good video on a great time in music.
Very interesting video - Canterbury remains a bit of a mystery for me, in that I have never gotten into Gong or Soft Machine, yet I love Khan and the albums Richard Sinclair did with Camel. More exploration is clearly needed, thanks for the inspiration!
I’d also say that Canterbury Scene was one of the first varieties of Prog to come about. You could easily make an argument that The Wilde Flowers were the first to play Prog, predating even The Moody Blues.
Awesome video! I suggest you look at Uriel/Egg. One of the early incarnations of Canterbury (Steve Hillage, Dave Stewart, Clive Brooks, Mont Campbell) that made some mindblowing music. TRULY mindblowing music, that is
@King Chromosome they toured under the name Uriel but made 1 album under the name Arzachel (it was a selftitled album). They changed from Uriel to Egg in ‘70 when Steve Hillage left for university because the name sounded too similar to the word “urinal”. It’s very keyboard-oriented music though, so be aware (and open).
Rafiel P. Soares: yeah, I love it--- especially the songs In the land of grey and pink "where the boy scouts go and think... and "where the chokeweed grows.You don't need no money, just fingers and your toes".. and we'll smoke chokeweed 'till we bleed"... Full of whimsical energy that tells what they liked to do...
Yeah! Soft Machine Volume Two opens with "A Pays physical Introduction", where he refers to them as " the official orchestra of the college of pataphysics"... They actually were deemed so in 1967, around the time they performed music for Pablo Picasso play, "Desire Cought by the Tail"... It incorporates elements of dada and absurdism... You hear pataphysics mentioned in the Beatles' Abbey Road song, Paul McCartney's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"... Came down on his head.... That was his attempt at capturing the spirit of pataphysics.
I'm not sure that you can describe Caravan as 'short lived' given that they are due to play the Union Chapel on 07.10.21, not to mention their forthcoming tour, otherwise an excellent synopsis.
Yeah, I definitely misspoke there. I think I was trying to get at the original lineup, but didn't really expand on that bit. I appreciate the feedback! Thank you, man!
I always read through previous comments before adding my own in case someone has already expressed my opinion, which in this case, you have! Caravan are indeed alive and well and as you probably know, released a new studio album in 2021 entitled "It's None of Your Business" which in my opinion stands up pretty well in their canon of work.
If you enjoy Robert Wyatt and the fun eccentricity of a lot of Canterbury music: check out Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports. Written by new yorker Carla Bley, production & drums by Mason and sung by Wyatt it's full of piss-taking gems like the ode-to-wanking "I'm a Mineralist", which even finds time to make fun of Philip Glass. I see it as an honorary Canterbury album :)
A college friend had ‘Confessions of Dr Dream and Other Stories’ by Kevin Ayers with Nico. That got me hooked on Kevin Ayers. Great artist and then discovered ‘Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes’, which fit with the times back then. Have most of his albums now.
Pete Frame did a beautiful 'family tree' (briefly shown in video above) of the Soft machine/Canterbury bands originally for Zig-Zag magazine and later collected in book form with other trees. I have a copy I bought eons ago but I'm sure you could find this somewhere on the internet.
I can think of three great guitarist that were part of the scene; Andy Summers, Alan Holdsworth and John Etheridge. Would you say they were hired guns rather than essential figures?
Camel are a great group but many argue that they are not part of the Canterbury scene, as they were formed in Guildford, Surrey. No matter - they deserve to be honorary Cantabs, at least!
They were all bands that Daevid Allen either put together or collaberated with.. Gong which formed in 1967 and is still an ongoing band in 2023 although none of the original members are full time in the band anymore.
Way back in the earlier '60s, we changed our name from the Cockroaches to, Atomic Seaweed. We were part of the Americanized, Carmichael Scene. At the neighboring high school others such as Reggie Knighton (the Guess Who) and Craig Chaquico (Jefferson Starship) were entering the scene. My guitar teacher, a Mr. Schmit would be promoting his son, Timothy B Schmit. (Eagles/ Poco) Some even went country when my next door neighbor went on to the TV show, Hee Haw. (Barbara Klein/ Barbie Benton) Those were the days. My other next door neighbor didn't get into music but went on to get 3 Gold Medals at the Mexico Olympics. (Debbie Meyers) A lot of talent from the Carmichael Scene. And my High School teacher at Rio played with Sly and the Family Stone.
It's impossible to talk about Canterbury Scene without mentioning the great keyboardist and composer DAVE STEWART of Uriel, Arzachel, Egg, Hatfield And The North, National Health...
Forse la scena di Canterbury è quella più autenticamente prog. perche' segue mille influenze,cercando di mantenere un buon livello qualitativo,e pur essendo la scena più varia, è anche quella dove i musicisti collaborano di più
@@steevenfrost but he didnt record anything with Soft Machine though. A bit of a stretch to call Gong a Canterbury band just because one of them was briefly in a Canterbury band
To me, they were (mostly their first few albums) They were a different blend, though. It was more of a mix of rock, pop, jazz, and soul. The horns made it an especially creative blend. “Blood Sweat and Tears” type stuff. Their debut track “Introduction” comes to mind regarding prog.
I definitely misspoke there. I was meaning to say that the original lineup was relatively short lived - they've split and reformed several times over their career and continue to be a great group for sure. I appreciate you pointing out the mistake!
Planet Gong was a hybrid band after Daevid Allen joined up with The Here and Now band after meeting up in a bakers shop in Portabello Road, Notting Hill in 1976
@@alexacruz1782 Basically it is a Utopia where we are all one, and if we all tuned into Radio Gnome and listened to the stories and songs of the Pot Headed Pixies, over a cup of tea, all of the conflicts of this Planet would melt away and the Gong of understanding would resonate through the land.... or something like that 🐣
Certamente ché è PROGRESSIVE ROCK!!!!! IDEE musicali DAVVERO FUORI dall'ordinario , intuizioni di VERA AVANGUARDIA SPERIMENTAZIONE , si qualche concessione ad un sound un po' più POP ma mai banale in qualche brano c'è stata è vero, ma sempre di ALTO livello mai cose scontate come detto prima!!!!!!! È stata denominata scuola di CANTERBURY o CANTERBURY SOUND o PROG di CANTERBURY !!!!! Artisti musicisti gruppi PAZZESCHI, STRAORDINARI FUORI dal comune DAVVERO!!!! WILDE FLOWERS iniziatori di tutta questa corrente musicale poi SOFT MACHINE, CARAVAN, EGG , GONG, HATFIELD & THE NORTH, NATIONAL HEALTH, HENRY COW, CAMEL, MATCHING MOLE, MIKE OLDFIELD etc!!!!!!! Cos'è PROG secondo VOI ,quello che sta ANDANDO oggigiorno??? Ma per FAVORE!!!!!!
I'd say the essence of Canterbury has little to do with genre, personnel, or, particularly, geographic determinism. Instead, it's more about a certain sensibility: dead-pan wit, unapologetic silliness, lightly-worn erudition, musical ecumenicalism, and virtuosity deployed as a means not an end. One of the regular clichés is the "scene" is quintessentially English, which may be true, but it's the weird, wide-open- mindedness of, say, William Blake, Lewis Carrol, Michael Powell (another Kentish lad), The Goons and Monty Python rather than the beligerant, close-minded, xenophobic middle-Ingerlnd that it truly represents. After all, Canterbury is closer to France than it is to London!
Now, "He walked to a new life as a paraplegic"... Really? Come on! For the rest, nice video. Still, Americans unfortunately can't pronounce "Canterbury" at all for some reason and hearing "Kanneberry" fifty times can make you dizzy. Anyway, the video was well made and otherwise enjoyable, so I subscribed and I'll watch the Gentle Giant and Genesis ones next.
@@progrock I've never said you're dumb: just a linguistic problem. I did enjoy the video quite a bit and found out a few things I didn't know. Still, the paraplegic thing was so poorly phrased! Other than that, I thought the video was rather cool.
Soft Machine were far superior with Karl at the helm. All the frenetic energy of the earlier lineups condensed and refined, with the band bought to a consummate standard of professionalism through Karl's considered approach to composition. Purists and classical music snobs may criticise Karl Jenkins but his music really strikes a chord in those of us who respond emotionally, rather than intellectually, to music.
karl jenkins came to soft machine when they were way past their 69/70 creative psychedelic heights.before disappearing in to the bland wastelands of the 70,s
@@keithchiv6166 Soft Machine were far superior with Karl at the helm. All the frenetic energy of the earlier lineups condensed and refined, with the band bought to a consummate standard of professionalism through Karl's considered approach to composition. Purists and classical music snobs may criticise Karl Jenkins but his music really strikes a chord in those of us who respond emotionally, rather than intellectually, to music.
It is modal music, which classical composers explored little until the impressionists such as Ravel and Debussy. Course, the jazz musicians fully explored model music in the United States as well.
The Canterbury scene and it's music defines progressive rock . lnnovative , inventive , complex and very very English . From Caravan to Hatfield and the North ,Soft Machine to National Health there was never anyone close to them . Truly great music .
Dave Stewart (Uriel, Egg, Khan, Hatfield, National Health) is a glaring omission of this video.
I totally agree with you.
@@catherinegrimes2308 Me too
Egg!
You had a glaring omission…how about a THANK YOU or a GREAT JOB?
Arzachel = Egg with Steve Hillage
*Richard Sinclair is truly one of the godfathers of the Canterbury scene man*
Great to hear an American take on the Canterbury scene. Spread the word brother!👍
National Health, Gilgamesh, Egg, and the Steve Hillage and Khan albums are my favorites. Matching Mole and Hatfield also great. To me the best Canterbury adjacent is Bruford.
Yeah, I'm with you on that. I love Henry Cow as well, not sure if they qualify as Canterbury though
One thing you might have touched on was, a lot of these guys were really stoned. Gong's "Flying Teapots and Pothead Pixies" is a serious reference. Great music though. Thanks for doing this episode! Alan Holdsworth was also a member of Soft Machine. Steve Hillage did some work with Steve Hackette from Genesis.
Please make a more detailed video on Robert Wyatt. His solo career has turned into its own musical scene.
In the Land of Grey and Pink is flawless
A favorite of mine since 1972!
@@reinaldofavoreto7160 Only very recently I've gotten into If I Could Do It All Over Again, and as an album, I think it's better than Grey and Pink, but Winter Wine and Nine Feet Underground by themselves are pretty hard to beat.
could never get into it. i always felt they had a hard peak with their second album. that one was proggy whimsical stoner rock. even a whole 7 min or whatever jam about being stoned to boot. but grey and pink feels like it loses any balls or experimentalism, or that early "searching" prog sound. it just sounds like a dry, old-English novel to me.
@@dogconnoisseurwho asked
One of my favourites as well.
Caravan are hardly short lived. They're still going to this day, touring and releasing music. I actually saw them this year. I know they've had a few break ups and dormant periods, but 50 odd years is certainly not short lived.
Yea, they're actually the longest lasting out of all of them. Even when considering the period until their first break-up, 1968-77, they were around longer than Hatfield, National Health, Egg, Gong, etc. Only Soft Machine stayed for that long.
Yep I noticed that. I recently saw them in concert with 3 original members.
They just put out a big box: like 40 CDs.... excellent Lotta concerts
My favorite Canterbury band has to be Wilde Flowers conveniently. The fact they are obscure and unknown in a way, they give a cool vibe when hearing their music that gives them a sort of folkloric type of feel.
This is the video I was waiting for! I got super into the canterbury scene a few years ago and they became some of my favorite bands ever!
Robert Wyatt said that falling out of that window saved his life!
I didn't know about all the connections you mentioned - despite listening to most of these bands when I was young.
Great stuff mate. I hope you produce more of these wonderful nuggets. Incidentally I recently met the daughter of a work colleague who had just completed a 3 year degree at Kent University, Canterbury. I immediately started waxing lyrically. Unfortunately, she was totally unaware of the Canterbury Scene. The most proggy thing she listened to was Coldplay btw. Thought Pink Floyd was a he etc. Thoroughly depressing. It is incomprehensible that The City and University do not promote the history of this unique music scene. Many thanks.
Why would UKC promote the CS ?
Just because a couple of ex students were involved in local bands ?
I believe there is a small permanent exhibition in the Beany Library in the city centre that contains ephemera etc but there is no ‘ CS ‘ official city walks etc probably because their is not the demand for such a thing.
I guess all the locations some with existing buildings etc are all there to be found by those who are really keen .
About a year ago I did a radio show on my home station Radio Home of Rock, called "Canterbury Tales". It was fascinating, because a lot of my listeners in the chat never heard the Canterbury Scene bands before. When I featured GONG on that show, there was a huge descussion going on, wether GONG should be called a Canterbury Scene band. Well, I replied: "For the rest of this show Paris is a suburb of Canterbury" :)
An important element of the Canterbury sound can be summed up in the word 'pataphysics', something frequently mentioned by the early Soft Machine. The meaning of this word would take an essay to answer (it supposedly has a hundred definitions) but it deals with going beyond simple scientific facts to a thing's essence and dealing with the world with a certain amount of ironic and amused detachment.
Insightful comment!
I highly encourage everyone to read Alfred jarry’s ‘ubu roi’ to understand the pataphysical.
Wonderful! But Caravan "relatively short lived"? They're still together and active today! Gong have to be my favourite too. 😁
Delivery featuring Carol Grimes along with Steve and Phil Miller plus Pip Pyle deserves a mention.
More on Dave Stewart please - EGG, Hatfield and the North, National Health and Bruford … alas when you mentioned the Hatfields you didn’t mention him - one of the great composers! I saw all of these live - amazing but often great improvisers.
And he played in Khan as well.
I think it's so cool that an American has posted this..I forgot, when I mentioned The Land of Grey and Pink" the track " Nine Feet Underground"... Epic song!..
FanTastIc! Much needed. Well research. Beautifully put together and really well articulated!
Deeper dives on each band please! Thanks.
'In The Land Of Grey And Pink' is pure magic. Gong were really avant garde, trippy hippie and far out and Kevin Ayres was whimsical and witty, eg, 'Stranger In Blue Suede Shoes'. Also loved Robert Wyatt's very political solo albums and the Here And Now band!!
Wicked. I live nearby and have frequented Canterbury since I was a child. As a bit of a psychonaut I love a bit of Gong, and Steve Hillage (big up Ozric Tentacles, too). My mum has hung with the Gong and Ozric Tentacles lot back in the day.
That's incredible! Jealous of your proximity to the scene.
@@progrock Haha. There's a Discord server for the Canterbury Scene music BTW, if you're into that. Some cool, interesting people in there, unlike many a Discord server.
Great video - thank you!
Gong! I 💖 how you uses a snippet of Gong Live at Glastonbury festival 1970 ! I have that on vinyl ! Nice Content. Keep up the good work. Greetings from the French Alps.
I've Subscribed.
Amazing video! Other bands I love in the scene are Gilgamesh and Quiet Sun.
I saw a glimpse of a Univers Zero cover, you should do a Rock in Opposition video someday.
That is a great suggestion!! Something I've heard of in regards to Henry Cow, but never really looked into much. Thanks for that!
You are welcome! It can be hard to get into, but it's my favorite genre, a whole world to dive in. Other bands I love in that scene are Art Zoyd, Samla Mammas Manna, Volapuk, and I could go all day. Hope you like some of that!
Ulvarivh Alvarado: you got great taste, man! -- If you love those bands, you'll also dig Phoenix's Pocket Orchestra, because they were into all that and very influenced by it as well... In fact at one time their name was Influence ... I know this because they were some of my best friends... We were the core of the Phoenix prog scene... You should of heard them at parties, doing covers of King Crimson and Yes, with a high school chick named Stacia Cariosca, who sounded remarkably like Jon Anderson..
And I would have mentioned Henry Cow, ( though they were originally from Cambridge, they were singularly involved with Robert Wyatt, Hatfield and the North, and Mike Oldfield..
@@coadmiller5010 There is or was a great video of Fred Frith and John Zorn in a free duo
Thank you so much for this very useful and informative video,it also inspires to delve deeper into this brilliant genre of music.
I love this so much! My favorite video by far. Can't wait for the Camel episode!
Caravan and Soft Machine are amazing. Love In the Land of Grey and Pink
Hmmm. Now I actually lived in and roamed about Canterbury and its environs in the late 60s and early 70s. I practically lived in The Foundry in Jewry Street (where all the bands played) and in Bluies (or The Beehive if you prefer) in Dover Street and this alleged "Canterbury Scene" completely passed me by. It was also undetected at the time by all my Canterbury friends (with a variety of backgrounds) and having reviewed the whole concept in this century, none of us were aware of a Canterbury Scene during the actual period claimed. In fact it was never mentioned until someone started "reverse engineering" the entire concept 40 years after it didn't happen. The reality of Canterbury in the early 70s is that live music was occasionally played at the aforementioned venues and annually the Dane Jon Gardens were used over a period of a few days for local bands to play there - often in the rain. I have read that The Penny Theatre in Northgate (which is pub rather than an actual theatre) hosted important gigs - well not while I was there it didn't. I never once saw Caravan play. Nor Soft Machine. Nor Hatfield and The North. We were all aware of these bands at the time and knew them as featuring locally sourced personnel but if they ever played a venue in Canterbury I'd like to know which one it was and when. In fact the two local bands that featured most prominently in those days were Porcelain Frog (sometimes spelled with a double g) and Rebirth. There is barely a mention of either anywhere on the internet - in fact if I didn't know that they existed I would think that I had invented them in my head. There was I think a musician that featured in both Frogg and Caravan but that may be my memory at fault. I believe that Robert Wyatt (who I would have known if he'd actually frequented the music venues of Canterbury) is quoted as saying himself that the Canterbury Scene never actually existed but he was prepared to go along with the pretence if it got the music noticed. Robert, by the way, came from Bristol - not Canterbury and lost the use of his legs in an accident in 1973 so I'm not sure how that fits in with being in a band playing Canterbury gigs. Especially as the Foundry's stage was upstairs up a rickety set of wooden steps. However - I take the same view as Robert. The music was "of its time" and if you want to pretend that there was more to it than a just few young men, with imagined links to Canterbury, experimenting on acid and that we were all in some sort of blessed Canterbury based music scene then be my guest. Of course I do wish that it was all real - but it wasn't.
@R Swipe - an interesting reply. I had forgotten St Thomas's Hall, which in my day was over the top of David Gregg's, Woolworths and the Christian Bookshop. I never saw a live band there but I did attend several discos on those premises. Great fun actually. This was around the time that Dave Edmunds "I hear you knocking" was in the charts - 1971 (I looked it up). I also saw a number of avante guard theatrical productions (Pinter mainly) in that hall.
As for The Odeon, I saw a few live shows there although nothing that you could link to what they now call Canterbury Scene. I saw even more live acts at the Marlow Theatre which, confusingly, in the 1970s was where the Marlowe Shopping Arcade now is. Before they knocked down the old Odeon to build the new Marlowe theatre on the site.
The most entertaining of those shows (in my memory) was Alvin Stardust - and that is about as far removed from the fantasy of Canterbury Scene as it is possible to get.
The last time I looked, The Foundry is now a massive health food shop and cafe (although there is confusingly a nearby restaurant called The Foundry) and Bluies is a Chinese. If those walls could only talk.
Have a great day my friend.
@@christinefiocchi9890 - Hi Christine, yes I suspect that is correct. The interchange of personnel between what are now, almost forgotten, bands did create a resonance and style that someone somewhere retrospectively needed a name for and they chose Canterbury as the badge to pin on it. The reality of being a music lover in Canterbury in the 60s and 70s was not nearly as rich as people now suppose. A venue though that is seldom remembered for its music is Bridge Place Country Club (just outside of Canterbury) which hosted, from its opening in 1967, some big name bands of the time, including The Spencer Davis Group, The Yardbirds, Dave Dee Dozy Beaky Mick & Titch and a 4 man rock combo calling themselves Led Zepellin. Of course these are all too mainstream to garner the psychodelic aura and mystical epithet of the imagined "Canterbury Scene" bands but they were, at the time, great nights out - while they lasted. Bridge Country Club finally established itself as the home of disco - I'm not knocking that, it was popular and fun at the time. The Club's premises reopened as an expensively refurbished hotel in 2019.
I've heard Robert Wyatt mentioned by Scaruffi a few times
Thinking back to my late 60´s encounter with Soft Machine and Caravan´s distinctive "Canterbury sound", that was mainly keyboard orientated, inc. Hammond B3, plus fuzz and wah wah. Along with flute and saxophone. Lead guitar was conspicuous in it´s absence. On the Soft´s first album Kevin was credited as lead guitarist but he mainly played bass, as can be seen in the live video clips of the time. Pye Hastings plays mostly rhythm, chords and 12 string. There was no "front man" as such but Robert, Richard and Pye´s similar, mostly soft, unassuming, very English vocal technique combined with humorous often droll, untypical lyrical content that would blend in as an alternative instrument, had nothing to do with hard rock´s fast cars, women and money etc. ...well ok there were eventually "licks for the ladies" and a "Lobster in cleavage probe" :)
Later as the two bands evolved and mutated to include none Canterbury based musicians the unique sound became the "Canterbury scene". Even none UK bands such as Holland´s Supersister and The Muffins from the states have expanded the genre.
Btw., as I mentioned in the comments on your "Welcome to the channel..." video. As far as I can tell the first ever written reference to "Proggresive" music was in the sleeve notes on the 1969 US release of Caravan´s self titled album, written by Leslie Rubinstein. :- "A group of English wandering minstrels covering a hell-of-a-lot of underground is four Canterbury pilgrims answering to the name of Caravan. Leaders of a new progressive sound, yet following no one."
I should add that when lead guitar was used it was used very sparingly or with very individual styles and effects such as glissando, fuzz and sustain. Guitarist Allan Holdsworth didn´t join the softs until their 8th album. Caravan eventually plumped for Geoffrey Richardson´s viola as an alternative lead instrument. Fred Frith´s distinctive guitar style also deserves a mention.
more content on gong and other canterbury bands would be awesome!
Pye Hastings never left Caravan, and was certainly never a member of Hatfield and the North. Camel are from Guildford, certainly not adjacent to Canterbury, although as you say there was a fair bit of crossover of personel.
Did I miss Mike Ratledge being mentioned? He was very important as a founding member of Soft Machine and remained long after Ayers, Wyatt and others departed. Regardless, very good video on a great time in music.
Nerver heard of most of these band (except caravan and soft machine) but now i have something to listen in the next few week! Great video!
Fascinating info on a oft overlooked scene. Thanks for the video
Not overlooked at all if you are interested in such genre
@@andrewarthurmatthews6685 Stating the obvious!
Very interesting video - Canterbury remains a bit of a mystery for me, in that I have never gotten into Gong or Soft Machine, yet I love Khan and the albums Richard Sinclair did with Camel. More exploration is clearly needed, thanks for the inspiration!
It's a great rabbit hole to go down!
Fantastic channel
I’d also say that Canterbury Scene was one of the first varieties of Prog to come about. You could easily make an argument that The Wilde Flowers were the first to play Prog, predating even The Moody Blues.
Interesting comment and I would very much like to understand why you feel Wilde Flowers were any wary progressive rock band!
@ I usually see them mentioned in discussions of the beginnings of the Canterbury scene.
Interesting video .. yeah, a much deeper dive please ..
Great! There's an entire sub genre of music that I have never experienced. Thanks for the introduction.
Wonderful, that someone felt the urge to make a video like this! Thanks man!
Awesome video! I suggest you look at Uriel/Egg. One of the early incarnations of Canterbury (Steve Hillage, Dave Stewart, Clive Brooks, Mont Campbell) that made some mindblowing music. TRULY mindblowing music, that is
@King Chromosome they toured under the name Uriel but made 1 album under the name Arzachel (it was a selftitled album). They changed from Uriel to Egg in ‘70 when Steve Hillage left for university because the name sounded too similar to the word “urinal”. It’s very keyboard-oriented music though, so be aware (and open).
@King Chromosome haha, theyre one of my absolute favorites!
One of the greatest bands ever, period.
The scene is still alive, UK acts like Zopp carrying the torch well!
Rafiel P. Soares: yeah, I love it--- especially the songs In the land of grey and pink "where the boy scouts go and think... and "where the chokeweed grows.You don't need no money, just fingers and your toes".. and we'll smoke chokeweed 'till we bleed"... Full of whimsical energy that tells what they liked to do...
Yeah! Soft Machine Volume Two opens with "A Pays physical Introduction", where he refers to them as " the official orchestra of the college of pataphysics"... They actually were deemed so in 1967, around the time they performed music for Pablo Picasso play, "Desire Cought by the Tail"... It incorporates elements of dada and absurdism... You hear pataphysics mentioned in the Beatles' Abbey Road song, Paul McCartney's "Maxwell's Silver Hammer"... Came down on his head.... That was his attempt at capturing the spirit of pataphysics.
Thanks!
Mój ulubiony klimat, a szczególne wrażenie odczuwam, gdy na klawiszach grają Mike Ratledge lub Sophia Domancich.
I'm not sure that you can describe Caravan as 'short lived' given that they are due to play the Union Chapel on 07.10.21, not to mention their forthcoming tour, otherwise an excellent synopsis.
Yeah, I definitely misspoke there. I think I was trying to get at the original lineup, but didn't really expand on that bit. I appreciate the feedback! Thank you, man!
I always read through previous comments before adding my own in case someone has already expressed my opinion, which in this case, you have! Caravan are indeed alive and well and as you probably know, released a new studio album in 2021 entitled "It's None of Your Business" which in my opinion stands up pretty well in their canon of work.
@@stevedriscoll6539 And it was a great gig, Regards
Deeper dive on Soft Machine and Robert wyatt please
love ur videos dude
If you enjoy Robert Wyatt and the fun eccentricity of a lot of Canterbury music: check out Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports. Written by new yorker Carla Bley, production & drums by Mason and sung by Wyatt it's full of piss-taking gems like the ode-to-wanking "I'm a Mineralist", which even finds time to make fun of Philip Glass. I see it as an honorary Canterbury album :)
6:08 Sorry to be a nerd but Pye Hastings wasn't a member of Hatfield and the North. Jimmy Hastings guested on some tracks.
No, thank you for the correction!
Nice to see Kevin Ayers up there. Not many people remember him, I think.
A college friend had ‘Confessions of Dr Dream and Other Stories’ by Kevin Ayers with Nico. That got me hooked on Kevin Ayers. Great artist and then discovered ‘Stranger in Blue Suede Shoes’, which fit with the times back then. Have most of his albums now.
Where could one find the huge map connecting these various bands to Soft Machine? I have a rabbit hole to dive into!
Pete Frame did a beautiful 'family tree' (briefly shown in video above) of the Soft machine/Canterbury bands originally for Zig-Zag magazine and later collected in book form with other trees. I have a copy I bought eons ago but I'm sure you could find this somewhere on the internet.
I can think of three great guitarist that were part of the scene; Andy Summers, Alan Holdsworth and John Etheridge. Would you say they were hired guns rather than essential figures?
I recommend you go and see the new GONG as they are awesome
Someone soustained sometimes ago, the J. S. Bach scales are the theorical base for the progressive rock.
Camel is my fave Canterbury Artist.
Camel are a great group but many argue that they are not part of the Canterbury scene, as they were formed in Guildford, Surrey. No matter - they deserve to be honorary Cantabs, at least!
Matching Mole is a homonym of Machine Moule or Soft Machine
*I need a video about all the Gongs lmao*
*Gong, Acid Gong, Mother Gong etc, there's so many and I got no clue why...*
Oooooh I'm looking forward to making that video!
They were all bands that Daevid Allen either put together or collaberated with.. Gong which formed in 1967 and is still an ongoing band in 2023 although none of the original members are full time in the band anymore.
There is archeology in Canterbury proving it was a spiritual center for millennia-- a place of Power. Oh. More on Dirk Campbell. : )
Very interesting! I love that kind of stuff, and Dirk is a very interesting dude.
Hugh and Brian Hopper
does any one know the song that plays at 7:49 ? i would highly appreciate it
Canterbury prog would not be what it is without Richard Sinclair.
Can somebody tell me the song in the intro at 0:23?
The odd Gong photo @ 1:33 has been photoshopped removing Didier Malherbe (top right) and replacing him with ?
Oh really? I hadn't noticed, I'll have to see what that's all about. Thanks for the catch!
deeper dive, please
Canterbury is the sweet spot imho
Dave Stewart was missed out.
David Stewart should be mentioned
What song is playing at 10:55? Is that from grey/pink?
It's a version of out-bloody-rageous by soft machine.
@@progrock thanks IIP! sounds like the Live from the Potato shows. Keep up the great content !!!
Way back in the earlier '60s, we changed our name from the Cockroaches to, Atomic Seaweed. We were part of the Americanized, Carmichael Scene. At the neighboring high school others such as Reggie Knighton (the Guess Who) and Craig Chaquico (Jefferson Starship) were entering the scene. My guitar teacher, a Mr. Schmit would be promoting his son, Timothy B Schmit. (Eagles/ Poco) Some even went country when my next door neighbor went on to the TV show, Hee Haw. (Barbara Klein/ Barbie Benton) Those were the days. My other next door neighbor didn't get into music but went on to get 3 Gold Medals at the Mexico Olympics. (Debbie Meyers) A lot of talent from the Carmichael Scene. And my High School teacher at Rio played with Sly and the Family Stone.
Song at 7:49? Help a guy out. Thanks
Thanks, but Nucleus should also be mentioned.
Othr examples of progressive rock could be, in the early '70 : Uriah Heep and Focus, I. Akkerman flemish origins get us in the Barocque period.
It's impossible to talk about Canterbury Scene without mentioning the great keyboardist and composer DAVE STEWART of Uriel, Arzachel, Egg, Hatfield And The North, National Health...
Forse la scena di Canterbury è quella più autenticamente prog. perche' segue mille influenze,cercando di mantenere un buon livello qualitativo,e pur essendo la scena più varia, è anche quella dove i musicisti collaborano di più
Gong is part of the Canterbury Scene? I always thought they were an unconnected french band
I think Daevid Allen was in first line up of Soft Machine and formed Gong because he couldn't get back to U.K. with the others of Soft Machine
@@steevenfrost but he didnt record anything with Soft Machine though. A bit of a stretch to call Gong a Canterbury band just because one of them was briefly in a Canterbury band
Yes I agree.
@@arte0021 fair enough.
Gong were totally part of the Canterbury Scene and Daevid Allen is absolutely central to the whole thing! And yes, he did record with Soft Machine.
Pye Hastings was never in Hatfield & The North!!
Yes you are absolutely correct.
This video is rather rubbish as it is inaccurate
Patreon announcement song please! 💯💯💯
It's "Starsea" by "Temple Garden"
I am
Can someone tell me whats the song at 11:00?
It's a live version of "Out-Bloody-Rageous" by Soft Machine.
@@progrock OK great, thank you very much!
Caravan, short lived? They're still going now I thought..
Do you think early Chicago is a prog band?
To me, they were (mostly their first few albums)
They were a different blend, though. It was more of a mix of rock, pop, jazz, and soul. The horns made it an especially creative blend. “Blood Sweat and Tears” type stuff.
Their debut track “Introduction” comes to mind regarding prog.
Great video, but you never answered the question…Is it prog??
Let me do it for you. Canterbury is definitely progressive rock. Canterbury is nothing more than another part of England.
@@edljnehan2811 - wow you are so smart. Well no one cares about your information- less opinion. I was asking the content author, numbnuts.
Err excuse me pal but Caravan are still together and playing live so not short lived at all .
Hey do your research before making silly comments
I definitely misspoke there. I was meaning to say that the original lineup was relatively short lived - they've split and reformed several times over their career and continue to be a great group for sure. I appreciate you pointing out the mistake!
@@progrockyou don't have to be nice to that tube steak. He came across as arrogant and rude.
Planet Gong and Planet Kobaïa are conected
Planet Gong was a hybrid band after Daevid Allen joined up with The Here and Now band after meeting up in a bakers shop in Portabello Road, Notting Hill in 1976
@@dobbinthe yes, i mean the planet Gong in the myths of Gong music
@@alexacruz1782 Basically it is a Utopia where we are all one, and if we all tuned into Radio Gnome and listened to the stories and songs of the Pot Headed Pixies, over a cup of tea, all of the conflicts of this Planet would melt away and the Gong of understanding would resonate through the land.... or something like that 🐣
@@dobbinthe uhh yes, 9:00 ruclips.net/video/e5dEBtBKPmk/видео.html
I I was fortunate enough to visit Canterbury in 1979. It was a beautiful, little Village in the countryside. It was very quiet nothing going on.
Certamente ché è PROGRESSIVE ROCK!!!!! IDEE musicali DAVVERO FUORI dall'ordinario , intuizioni di VERA AVANGUARDIA SPERIMENTAZIONE , si qualche concessione ad un sound un po' più POP ma mai banale in qualche brano c'è stata è vero, ma sempre di ALTO livello mai cose scontate come detto prima!!!!!!! È stata denominata scuola di CANTERBURY o CANTERBURY SOUND o PROG di CANTERBURY !!!!! Artisti musicisti gruppi PAZZESCHI, STRAORDINARI FUORI dal comune DAVVERO!!!! WILDE FLOWERS iniziatori di tutta questa corrente musicale poi SOFT MACHINE, CARAVAN, EGG , GONG, HATFIELD & THE NORTH, NATIONAL HEALTH, HENRY COW, CAMEL, MATCHING MOLE, MIKE OLDFIELD etc!!!!!!! Cos'è PROG secondo VOI ,quello che sta ANDANDO oggigiorno??? Ma per FAVORE!!!!!!
Caravan is still going, in 2023.
EGG
Henry Cow was.... rock in opposition
I'd say the essence of Canterbury has little to do with genre, personnel, or, particularly, geographic determinism.
Instead, it's more about a certain sensibility: dead-pan wit, unapologetic silliness, lightly-worn erudition, musical ecumenicalism, and virtuosity deployed as a means not an end.
One of the regular clichés is the "scene" is quintessentially English, which may be true, but it's the weird, wide-open- mindedness of, say, William Blake, Lewis Carrol, Michael Powell (another Kentish lad), The Goons and Monty Python rather than the beligerant, close-minded, xenophobic middle-Ingerlnd that it truly represents.
After all, Canterbury is closer to France than it is to London!
Now, "He walked to a new life as a paraplegic"... Really? Come on! For the rest, nice video. Still, Americans unfortunately can't pronounce "Canterbury" at all for some reason and hearing "Kanneberry" fifty times can make you dizzy. Anyway, the video was well made and otherwise enjoyable, so I subscribed and I'll watch the Gentle Giant and Genesis ones next.
Sorry, I'm a dumb American! Appreciate you subscribing though, hope you enjoy the channel!
@@progrock I've never said you're dumb: just a linguistic problem. I did enjoy the video quite a bit and found out a few things I didn't know. Still, the paraplegic thing was so poorly phrased! Other than that, I thought the video was rather cool.
Tbh in the 80s and 90s nobody cared. The town was much more punk believe it or not.
Soft Machine were far superior with Karl at the helm. All the frenetic energy of the earlier lineups condensed and refined, with the band bought to a consummate standard of professionalism through Karl's considered approach to composition. Purists and classical music snobs may criticise Karl Jenkins but his music really strikes a chord in those of us who respond emotionally, rather than intellectually, to music.
karl jenkins came to soft machine when they were way past their 69/70 creative psychedelic heights.before disappearing in to the bland wastelands of the 70,s
@@keithchiv6166 Soft Machine were far superior with Karl at the helm. All the frenetic energy of the earlier lineups condensed and refined, with the band bought to a consummate standard of professionalism through Karl's considered approach to composition. Purists and classical music snobs may criticise Karl Jenkins but his music really strikes a chord in those of us who respond emotionally, rather than intellectually, to music.
It is modal music, which classical composers explored little until the impressionists such as Ravel and Debussy. Course, the jazz musicians fully explored model music in the United States as well.
Of course it's Prog rock just Canterburys version...well maybe not...hard to define Canterbury sound
It is not progressive, it's Canterbury, King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Genesis, Yes : they are progressive rock....
First
Bro nobody really cares...
I appreciate ya, man!