Pye Hastings

Julian Frederick Gordon Hastings called Pye ( born January 21, 1947 in Banffshire, Scotland ) is a singer, guitarist and composer. He is known primarily as head of the group caravan.

The Early Years

At the age of ten years, Hastings moved with his parents to Kent, where he became friends with Kevin Ayers. He learned to play the guitar, and after Richard Sinclair, the rhythm guitarist of Wild Flowers, in 1965 retired from the band, he took his place. A short time later left drummer and vocalist Robert Wyatt of Soft Machine also establishing the band, and Pye Hastings also took over the vocals. In the summer of 1967, the Wilde Flowers finally dissipated.

Caravan

The remaining band members - Hastings, drummer Richard Coughlan, keyboardist Dave Sinclair and bassist Dave Lawrence - then founded the band Caravan. Lawrence was after a short time replaced by Richard Sinclair, and in this lineup ( with guest appearances by Pye's brother Jimmy Hastings ) took Caravan 1968-1971 three albums. Then first left David and then Richard Sinclair, the band, and it was followed by constant line-up changes, during which Hastings and Coughlan were the only fixed members.

Pye Hastings was by the exit of Richard Sinclair also the Leadvokalist the band. For the progressive rock of the time unusually stressed Hastings rhythm guitar work clear to the solo guitar. This advanced keyboards and especially for rock music unusual instruments such as saxophone, flute, violin and trumpet in the foreground. This instrumental balancing lifted Caravan cut off from other bands.

In 1978, the band broke up after the album Better by Far. Pye Hastings wrote several songs for a solo project, which he, however, never completed it; some demo recordings of which appeared in 1994 under the title Cool Water. With a new version of Caravan he took 1980 The Album. Finally, the original cast did in 1982 again together to the album Back to accommodate front, after which caravan broke up again. Hastings took a job at the company Molequip, the leased machines for tunneling.

Hastings, Coughlan, Sinclair and Sinclair did in the summer of 1990 again for some concerts together, but took no new material. In December Hastings played several concerts with Mirage, a project of former members of the band Camel, which was also David Sinclair and Jimmy Hastings participated.

It was not until 1995, Pye Hastings again on new material for a solo project; the resulting album, The Battle of Hastings but finally appeared under the name Caravan. Since then, the band has released several new albums and is regularly on tour.

Sometimes Pye Hastings also appeared as a guest musician with fellow colleagues from the Canterbury scene with such as 1972 's "1984", the solo album of former Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper.

• Progressive rock musicians
• Scotsman
• Briton
• Born in 1947
• Man