Khan were an English

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band of the

Canterbury Scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) was a musical scene centred on the town of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisational styl ...

during 1971-1972. Formed by

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reprodu ...

from

Uriel Uriel or Auriel ( he, אוּרִיאֵל ''ʾŪrīʾēl'', " El/God is my flame"; el, Οὐριήλ ''Oúriēl''; cop, ⲟⲩⲣⲓⲏⲗ ''Ouriēl''; it, Uriele; Geʽez and Amharic: or ) is the name of one of the archangels who is mentio ...

, the initial line-up was Steve Hillage (guitar), Nick Greenwood (bass guitar, from

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown The Crazy World of Arthur Brown are an English rock band formed by singer Arthur Brown in 1967. The original band included Vincent Crane (Hammond organ and piano), Drachen Theaker (drums), and Nick Greenwood (bass). This early incarnation were ...

), Dick Heninghem (organ) and

Pip Pyle Phillip "Pip" Pyle (4 April 1950 – 28 August 2006) was an English-born drummer from Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire, who later resided in France. He is best known for his work in the progressive rock Canterbury scene bands Gong, Hatfield an ...

(percussion). Pyle quickly moved on to

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian and ms, gong; jv, ꦒꦺꦴꦁ ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ja, , dora; km, គង ; th, ฆ้อง ; vi, cồng chiêng; as, কাঁহ is a percussion instrument originating in East Asia and Southeast Asia. Gongs ...

and by the time the band played its first gig in June 1971 he had been replaced by Eric Peachey. In October 1971, Dick Heninghem left as well, replaced by Dave Stewart for the duration of the album sessions. The album ''

Space Shanty ''Space Shanty'' is the debut and only album by the short-lived Canterbury scene band Khan. Steve Hillage's first solo album, '' Fish Rising'', included material originally intended for the second album by Khan, but the band split up before that ...

'' was released in June 1972, followed by a UK tour supporting

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Camel train, a convoy using camels as pack animals *Convoy, a group of veh ...

, for which Canadian organist Val Stevens joined. Songs like "Stranded" and "Driving To Amsterdam" attempt atmospheres reminiscent of Uriah Heep's epic ballads (something not often done in a direct and dedicated way in the Canterbury scene - while

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

may be comparable, a key difference is that Hillage's lyrics and compositions aren't detached or ironic) In the summer of 1972, Hillage put together a new version of the band, retaining Peachey but adding Dave Stewart on keyboards and

Nigel Griggs Nigel Griggs (born 18 August 1949) is a musician who played bass guitar in Split Enz. He is the brother of Paul Griggs from the 1970s vocal group Guys 'n' Dolls. A professional musician since 1963, Nigel Griggs played in a number of bands, nota ...

on bass. New material was written and rehearsed, and a few live performances took place in September–October 1972, but Decca's refusal to commit to the release of a second album led Hillage to break up the band and join

's band, then

. Some material on Steve Hillage's first solo album, ''

Fish Rising ''Fish Rising'' is the debut solo album by English guitarist Steve Hillage, recorded and released in 1975. The album was recorded just prior to Hillage's departure from the band Gong, and many of the players on this album are from that band: Ba ...

'', was originally planned for Khan's aborted second album. While in

, Hillage continued to write riffs but the larger musical dimension drew more from Daevid Allen's psychedelic lyrics and story concepts. Hillage's solo work also mostly sees him playing within the more typical Canterbury jazz/prog (

etc.), leaving ''Space Shanty'' as a fairly unusual 'one-off' type of recording.

Members

– guitar, vocals (1971-1972) * Nick Greenwood – bass, vocals (1971-1972) *

– drums (1971) * Dick Henninghem – keyboards (1971) * Eric Peachey – drums (1971-1972) * Dave Stewart – keyboards (1971-1972, 1972) * Val Stevens – keyboards (1972) *

– bass (1972)

Line-ups

Discography

References

External links

* {{Authority control English progressive rock groups Canterbury scene Deram Records artists