Richard Stephen Sinclair (born 6 June 1948) is an English
progressive rock bassist, guitarist, and vocalist who has been a member of several bands of the
Canterbury scene.
Biography
Born in
Canterbury,
England, both his father (Dick Sinclair) and grandfather (also named Dick Sinclair) were musical entertainers around Canterbury.
Richard was introduced to the
ukulele at age 3 and the guitar at 6, and was only 15 when he met
Hugh
Hugh may refer to:
*Hugh (given name)
Noblemen and clergy French
* Hugh the Great (died 956), Duke of the Franks
* Hugh Magnus of France (1007–1025), co-King of France under his father, Robert II
* Hugh, Duke of Alsace (died 895), modern-day ...
and
Brian Hopper when they came to see his dad's danceband. By the following year Sinclair was playing guitar (and occasionally singing) in the root Canterbury band
The Wilde Flowers. In 1968 he became a founding member of
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 ...
, switching to bass guitar and sharing lead vocals with Pye Hastings. His compositional output came to the fore on the band's third album, the classic ''In the Land of Grey and Pink'', on which he wrote and sang the title track, "Golf Girl" and the epic "Winter Wine". Sinclair left Caravan in 1972 to form
Hatfield and the North with ex-
Delivery members
Phil Miller and
Pip Pyle, lending his distinctive,
quintessentially English voice and increasingly impressive bass playing skills to their two albums, and writing some of their best-loved songs, "Share It", "Let's Eat (Real Soon)" (both with lyrics by Pip Pyle) and "Halfway Between Heaven And Earth".
In 1974, he participated in ''
Rock Bottom
Rock Bottom may refer to:
Music
* Rock Bottom Entertainment, an American record label
* ''Rock Bottom'' (album), by Robert Wyatt, 1974
Songs
* "Rock Bottom" (Hailee Steinfeld song), 2016
* "Rock Bottom" (Lynsey de Paul and Mike Moran song), ...
'', the second solo album by former
Soft Machine
Soft Machine are a British rock band from Canterbury formed in mid-1966 by Mike Ratledge (keyboards, 1966–1976), Robert Wyatt (drums, vocals, 1966–1971), Kevin Ayers (bass, guitar, vocals, 1966–1968) and Daevid Allen (guitar, 1966–196 ...
drummer
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...
. The album was produced by
Pink Floyd
Pink Floyd are an English rock band formed in London in 1965. Gaining an early following as one of the first British psychedelic music, psychedelic groups, they were distinguished by their extended compositions, sonic experimentation, philo ...
´s drummer
Nick Mason
Nicholas Berkeley Mason, (born 27 January 1944) is an English drummer and a founder member of the progressive rock band Pink Floyd. He is the only member to feature on every Pink Floyd album, and the only constant member since its formation in ...
.
After Hatfield broke up in 1975, Sinclair moved back to Canterbury, starting a carpentry/kitchen-fitting business while maintaining low-key musical activities, often under the humorous moniker Sinclair & The South. He came out of this semi-retirement in 1977 when he was asked by
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
to replace their departed bass player. This stint lasted for two studio albums and half of the live set ''A Live Record''.
In the 1980s, his activities were sporadic. He recorded a collaborative album with Phil Miller and
Alan Gowen
Alan Gowen (19 August 1947 – 17 May 1981) was an English fusion/ progressive rock keyboardist, best known for his work in Gilgamesh and National Health.
History
Gowen was born in North Hampstead, northwest London. He joined Assagai in ...
, ''Before a Word Is Said'', in 1981, reunited with Caravan for the 1982 reunion effort ''Back To Front'', sang on one track of
National Health's swansong ''D.S. Al Coda'' (also 1982), and joined
Phil Miller's In Cahoots, for a residency at the London jazz club the Bull & Gate and, in 1984, a European tour. He left before the band undertook its first recordings. His voice or bass were barely heard until the end of the decade, save for a low-key Dutch tour in 1986 and a guest spot of
Phil Miller's album ''Split Seconds'' (1989). In 1990, there was a one-off reformation of
Hatfield and the North and a long-term one of the original
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 ...
line-up in 1990-91.
At this point, Sinclair formed his own group Caravan Of Dreams, with ex-Camel drummer Andy Ward and former Hatfield roadie Rick Biddulph on bass (live gigs only), plus occasional participation from cousin
Dave Sinclair and sax/flautist
Jimmy Hastings. The project's eponymous album came out in 1992. Sinclair's next effort, ''R.S.V.P.'' (1994), was recorded with a fluctuating line-up including
Pip Pyle,
Tony Coe and former
Happy the Man keyboardist
Kit Watkins
Kit Watkins (born 1953) is an American progressive-ambient-jazz recording artist based in Brattleboro, Vermont. He was previously a member of the band Happy the Man.Varga, George (December 28, 1983). "Labyrinth, Kit Watkins, Azymuth Records", ''The ...
. Regular touring stopped in 1996 as Sinclair moved to the Netherlands for a few years. He reappeared in 2002 with occasional concerts and archival live releases, but the most exposure came with the reunion of
Hatfield and the North in 2005-06, which came to an abrupt end when
Pip Pyle died in August 2006. Shortly after that, he left his longtime Canterbury home to move permanently to Italy, living in a
trullo in
Martina Franca. In 2010, he joined the trio douBt (Alex Maguire,
Michel Delville and
Tony Bianco
Tony Bianco is an American jazz drummer and composer from New York City who moved to Europe in the early nineties. He has been described as a "true master of the drums ". He has played and recorded with many prominent jazz musicians including El ...
) on the album ''Never Pet a Burning Dog'' (
Moonjune Records) and toured Japan and Europe with the band. In 2013-2014 he toured Italy with the Italian band
PropheXy, recording two live bonus tracks (''Disassociation, Golf Girl'') for their album ''Improvviso''.
In 2023 Richard listed his entire catalog on
BandCamp.
Discography
Bandology
* 1964–1965
The Wilde Flowers (with
Kevin Ayers,
Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is a retired English musician. A founding member of the influential Canterbury scene bands Soft Machine and Matching Mole, he was initially a kit drummer and singer before becoming para ...
,
Hugh Hopper ''et al.'')
* 1968–1972, 1982
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 ...
* 1972–1975
Hatfield and the North
* 1976 Sinclair and the South
* 1977–1979
Camel
A camel (from: la, camelus and grc-gre, κάμηλος (''kamēlos'') from Hebrew or Phoenician: גָמָל ''gāmāl''.) is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. C ...
* 1982–1984
In Cahoots
* 1988 Skaboosh
* 1991–93 Caravan of Dreams
* 1994–1996 R.S.V.P. (with
Pip Pyle,
Didier Malherbe and
Patrice Meyer)
* 1995– ? Richard Sinclair Band with
Tony Coe and
David Rees Williams
David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...
* 2005–2006 Hatfield and the North reformed
Filmography
* 2015: ''
Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD)
References
External links
Richard Sinclair on BandCamp*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Richard
Canterbury scene
English rock bass guitarists
Male bass guitarists
English rock guitarists
English male guitarists
1948 births
Living people
People from Canterbury
Caravan (band) members
Camel (band) members
Musicians from Kent
Hatfield and the North members
Gilgamesh (band) members
Mirage (British band) members
In Cahoots members
The Wilde Flowers members
Progressive rock bass guitarists