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Hugh Robert Banton (born April 1949) is a British musician and electronic
organ builder, most widely known for playing organ and keyboards with the group
Van der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Judge Smith, Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commerc ...
.
Career
Banton was born in April 1949 in
Yeovil
Yeovil ( ) is a town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the district of South Somerset, England. The population of Yeovil at the last census (2011) was 45,784. More recent estimates show a population of 48,564. It is close to Somer ...
,
Somerset
( en, All The People of Somerset)
, locator_map =
, coordinates =
, region = South West England
, established_date = Ancient
, established_by =
, preceded_by =
, origin =
, lord_lieutenant_office =Lord Lieutenant of Somerset
, lord_ ...
, into a musical family. His father played the
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
, his mother regularly sang along to music on the radio, and two uncles were church organists. He started playing the piano at age four, and began taking formal lessons at age seven. He was influenced by the family classical record collection and by music heard on
Radio Luxembourg
Radio Luxembourg was a multilingual commercial broadcaster in Luxembourg. It is known in most non-English languages as RTL (for Radio Television Luxembourg).
The English-language service of Radio Luxembourg began in 1933 as one of the earlies ...
. In his teens he studied classical piano and organ while attending
Silcoates School
Silcoates School is a co-educational independent school in the village of Wrenthorpe near Wakefield, England.
The school was founded in 1820 as the Northern Congregational School at Silcoates House, for the board and education of the sons of Non ...
in
Yorkshire
Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...
under Dr Percy G. Saunders, the organist at
Wakefield Cathedral
Wakefield Cathedral, or the Cathedral Church of All Saints in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England, is a co-equal Anglican cathedral with Bradford and Ripon Cathedrals, in the Diocese of Leeds and a seat of the Bishop of Leeds. Originally the pa ...
. He continued to enjoy both
rock 'n' roll
Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It originated from African-American music such as jazz, rhythm an ...
and
classical music
Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...
.
After leaving school, he trained as a television engineer with the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
in Evesham, and subsequently in London. He joined Van der Graaf Generator in May 1968 when the group (then consisting of just
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
and
Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kn ...
) moved from
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...
to London.
[Christopulos, J. & Smart, P. (2005), "Van der Graaf Generator - The Book" (Published by "Phil and Jim") , page 18] In performance with this group he played
Farfisa
Farfisa (Fabbriche Riunite di Fisarmoniche) is a manufacturer of electronics based in Osimo, Italy, founded in 1946. The company manufactured a series of compact electronic organs in the 1960s and 1970s, including the Compact, FAST, Professiona ...
and
Hammond organs, adding a wide range of effects including
phasing
A phaser is an electronic sound processor used to filter a signal, and it has a series of troughs in its frequency-attenutation graph. The position (in Hz) of the peaks and troughs are typically modulated by an internal low-frequency oscillat ...
, tape echo, distortion and overdrive.
In 1970 he took over the bass player role within the group, using the organ foot pedals. He also played
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
on recordings. He modified his Hammond E112 organ to allow separate amplification, with different effects, of the output from the two keyboards and
pedalboard, and he devised a stereo
reverb
Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...
unit. In 1975 he began building a custom organ based on a Hammond but with added electronic oscillators to approximate a full
pipe organ
The pipe organ is a musical instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called ''wind'') through the organ pipes selected from a keyboard. Because each pipe produces a single pitch, the pipes are provided in sets called ''ranks ...
sound. Electronics, particularly the development of organs, have been a parallel interest since his early teens.
Banton changed career at the end of 1976 and left Van der Graaf Generator to work on the development, design and installation of electronic church organs for
Makin Organs __NOTOC___
Makin may refer to:
Places
* Makin (atoll), an atoll in Kiribati, known to U.S. military forces during World War II as "Little Makin"
*Butaritari, an atoll in Kiribati known to U.S. military forces during World War II as "Makin Atoll" an ...
, a company in
Oldham
Oldham is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, amid the Pennines and between the rivers Irk and Medlock, southeast of Rochdale and northeast of Manchester. It is the administrative centre of the Metropolitan Borough of Oldham, wh ...
,
Lancashire
Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly.
The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...
, where he became Technical Director. In 1992, he set up his own company,
The Organ Workshop
''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...
at
Lymm
Lymm is a village and civil parish in the Borough of Warrington, Cheshire, England, which incorporates the hamlets of Booths Hill, Broomedge, Church Green, Deansgreen, Heatley, Heatley Heath, Little Heatley, Oughtrington, Reddish, Rushgreen and ...
in
Cheshire
Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's county t ...
, and latterly in Evesham, Worcestershire. His organs use digitally generated waveforms to emulate the sound of pipe organ stops, and a recent specialty is combining digital organ stops within conventional wind-driven pipe organs, to create a larger hybrid instrument. His company have installed organs of all sizes both in the UK and abroad. Commencing in 2017, Banton has been developing a PC software project - HB3 - which further researches the real-time production of pipe-organ sounds by digital means.
Since the reunion of Van der Graaf Generator in 2005, he has regularly contributed to concerts and recordings with former members; they have continued as a trio with Peter Hammill and
Guy Evans
Guy Randolph Evans (born 17 June 1947) is an English drummer and a member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator.
Career
Whilst at the University of Warwick (1965–68), Evans played in the university band which was called The ...
.
Discography
Solo
* ''The Goldberg Variations - J.S. Bach (organ)'' (2003)
* ''The Planets - Gustav Holst (organ)'' (2009)
*''J.S. Bach - HB plays JSB on HB3 (HB3 organ system) (2019)''
*''100 Up, Vol 1 - compositions from 1870-1899 (HB3 organ system) (2021)''
*''100 Up, Vol 2 - compositions from 1900-1921 (HB3 organ system) (2021)''
Van der Graaf Generator
* ''
Aerosol Grey Machine'' (1969)
* ''
The Least We Can Do Is Wave To Each Other
''The Least We Can Do Is Wave to Each Other'' is the second album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in February 1970 on Charisma Records. It was the group's first album to be released in the UK and the only ...
'' (1970)
* ''
H to He, Who Am the Only One
''H to He, Who Am the Only One'' is the third album by the British progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was released in 1970 on Charisma Records.
The band recorded the album in several stages throughout mid-1970 in Trident Studios ...
'' (1970)
* ''
Pawn Hearts
''Pawn Hearts'' is the fourth album by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator, released in October 1971 on Charisma Records. The original album features just three tracks, including the side-long suite "A Plague of Lighthouse Ke ...
'' (1971)
* ''
Godbluff
''Godbluff'' is the fifth album released by English progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. It was the first album after the band reformed in 1975 and was recorded after a European tour.
As the first self-produced album by the band, it f ...
'' (1975)
* ''
Still Life
A still life (plural: still lifes) is a work of art depicting mostly wikt:inanimate, inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which are either natural (food, flowers, dead animals, plants, rocks, shells, etc.) or artificiality, m ...
'' (1976)
* ''
World Record
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
'' (1976)
* ''
Time Vaults
''Time Vaults'' is an album by Van der Graaf Generator. It was originally released in 1982 on cassette only, almost four years after the break-up of Van der Graaf Generator in 1978. Later it was released as a vinyl LP, and in 1992 it was release ...
'' (1982)
* ''
Maida Vale
Maida Vale ( ) is an affluent residential district consisting of the northern part of Paddington in West London, west of St John's Wood and south of Kilburn. It is also the name of its main road, on the continuous Edgware Road. Maida Vale is p ...
'' (1994)
* ''
An Introduction: From The Least To The Quiet Zone'' (2000)
* ''
The Box'' (2000)
* ''
Present
The present (or here'' and ''now) is the time that is associated with the events perception, perceived directly and in the first time, not as a recollection (perceived more than once) or a speculation (predicted, hypothesis, uncertain). It is ...
'' (2005)
* ''
Real Time'' (2007)
* ''
Trisector'' (2008)
* ''
Live At The Paradiso
Paradiso is a Dutch music venue and cultural centre located in Amsterdam.
History
It is housed in a converted former church building that dates from the nineteenth century and that was used until 1965 as the meeting hall for a liberal Dutch ...
'' (2009)
* ''
A Grounding in Numbers
''A Grounding in Numbers'' is the eleventh studio album by the British rock group Van der Graaf Generator. It was released on 14 March 2011. This date, if written as 3,14, comprises the first three digits of the number π. The second track, "M ...
'' (2011)
* ''
ALT
Alt or ALT may refer to:
Abbreviations for words
* Alt account, an alternative online identity also known as a sock puppet account
* Alternate character, in online gaming
* Alternate route, type of highway designation
* Alternating group, mathema ...
'' (2012)
* ''
Do Not Disturb'' (2016)
Other collaborations
* ''
Fool's Mate
In chess, the fool's mate is the checkmate delivered after the fewest possible moves from the game's starting position. It arises from the following moves, or similar:
:1. f3 e6
:2. g4 Qh4#
The fool's mate can be achieved only by Black, givin ...
'' (
Peter Hammill
Peter Joseph Andrew Hammill (born 5 November 1948) is an English musician and recording artist. He was a founder member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Best known as a singer/songwriter, he also plays guitar and piano and ...
) (1971)
* ''
Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night
''Chameleon in the Shadow of the Night'' is the second solo album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It followed in the aftermath of the breakup of Hammill's band Van der Graaf Generator, and (as with many of Hammill's solo albums fro ...
'' (Peter Hammill) (1973)
* ''
The Long Hello'' (
Guy Evans
Guy Randolph Evans (born 17 June 1947) is an English drummer and a member of the progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator.
Career
Whilst at the University of Warwick (1965–68), Evans played in the university band which was called The ...
,
David Jackson,
Nic Potter
NIC may refer to:
Banking and insurance companies
* National Insurance Corporation, Uganda
* NIC Bank, a commercial bank in Kenya
Politics, government and economics
* National Ice Center, an agency that provides worldwide navigational ice a ...
, Hugh Banton) (1973)
* ''
The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage
''The Silent Corner and the Empty Stage'' is the third album by British singer-songwriter Peter Hammill. It was released on Charisma Records in 1974, during a hiatus in the activities of Hammill's progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. ...
'' (Peter Hammill) (1974)
* ''
Nadir's Big Chance
''Nadir's Big Chance'' is the fifth solo album by Peter Hammill, released on Charisma Records in 1975.
It was recorded shortly after a decision to re-form the band Van der Graaf Generator (of which Hammill was the singer and principal songwrit ...
'' (Peter Hammill) (1975)
* ''Psi-Fi'' (Seventh Wave) (1975)
* ''
The Love Songs'' (Peter Hammill) (1984)
* ''
Skin
Skin is the layer of usually soft, flexible outer tissue covering the body of a vertebrate animal, with three main functions: protection, regulation, and sensation.
Other cuticle, animal coverings, such as the arthropod exoskeleton, have diffe ...
'' (Peter Hammill) (1985)
* ''Gentlemen Prefer Blues'' (Hugh Banton, Guy Evans, David Jackson) (1985)
* ''
Everyone You Hold'' (Peter Hammill) (1997)
* ''
The Union Chapel Concert'' (Guy Evans, Peter Hammill) (1997)
* ''
Curly's Airships
''Curly's Airships'' is a double CD by Judge Smith, released in October 2000. Smith regards the album as a new form of narrative rock music, which he calls "songstory". ''Curly's Airships'' tells about the R101 airship, crashing in France durin ...
'' (
Judge Smith
Christopher John Judge Smith (born 1 July 1948), is an English songwriter, author, composer and performer, and a founder member of progressive rock band Van der Graaf Generator. Initially working under the name Chris Judge Smith, he has been kn ...
) (2000)
References
External links
The Organ WorkshopThe Goldberg Variations, The Planets, at The Organ Workshop
{{DEFAULTSORT:Banton, Hugh
1949 births
Living people
English organists
British male organists
Van der Graaf Generator members
People educated at Silcoates School
Progressive rock organists
Progressive rock keyboardists
21st-century organists
21st-century British male musicians