David Sinclair (born 24 November 1947) is a British

keyboardist A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instru ...

(organ, piano,

harpsichord A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a musical keyboard, keyboard. Depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn raises a mechanism with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic that plucks one ...

, electric piano,

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a Capstan (tape recorder), capstan, which pulls i ...

, Davolisint, etc.) associated with the

psychedelic Psychedelics are a subclass of hallucinogenic drugs whose primary effect is to trigger non-ordinary mental states (known as psychedelic experiences or "trips") and a perceived "expansion of consciousness". Also referred to as classic halluci ...

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog) is a broad genre of rock music that primarily developed in the United Kingdom through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early-to-mid-1970s. Initially termed " progressive pop", the ...

Canterbury Scene The Canterbury scene (or Canterbury sound) is a musical scene that originated in the city of Canterbury, Kent, England during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Associated with progressive rock, the term describes a loosely-defined, improvisation ...

since the late 1960s. He became famous with the

band Band or BAND may refer to: Places *Bánd, a village in Hungary * Band, Iran, a village in Urmia County, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran * Band, Mureș, a commune in Romania * Band-e Majid Khan, a village in Bukan County, West Azerbaijan Province, ...

Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Transport and travel *Campervan, a type of vehicle also known as a motor caravan *Caravan (travellers), a group of travellers journeying together **Caravanserai, a place where a caravan could stop *Caravan (trail ...

and was responsible as a songwriter for creating some of their best-known tracks: "For Richard", "Nine Feet Underground", "The Dabsong Conshirtoe", "Proper Job/Back to Front".

Biography

Sinclair was born in

Herne Bay, Kent Herne Bay is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in South East England. It is north of Canterbury and east of Whitstable. It neighbours the ancient villages of Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury local government ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Having started his musical career 1966–67 with the Wilde Flowers, he founded

in 1968 with his cousin Richard Sinclair (bass/vocals),

Pye Hastings Julian Frederick Gordon 'Pye' Hastings (born 21 January 1947) is a British musician. Born in Scotland and raised in Canterbury, Kent, he is the guitarist and vocalist of the Canterbury scene band Caravan Caravan or caravans may refer to: Tran ...

(guitar/vocals), and Richard Coughlan (drums) and was in and out of the band for 35 years (so far 1968–71, 1973–75, 1979–82, 1990–2002). Over the course of Caravan's first three albums he developed his playing enormously on his favoured model of

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

, the A-100 (similar in configuration and features to the B3 and C3 models, but slightly smaller in overall bulk), culminating in his soaring work on what is perhaps their most celebrated album, '' In the Land of Grey and Pink'' (1971). ''Calyx, The Canterbury Website'', compiled by the French music expert Aymeric Leroy, refers to him as "master of the typical Canterbury organ sound/playing". However, from the second album onwards, he also added other keyboards to his palette, including

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

and

. On his return to

for their fifth album, ''For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night'', he pioneered the Davolisint. In between his stints with Caravan, he was a member of

Matching Mole Matching Mole were an English progressive rock band associated with the Canterbury scene. Robert Wyatt formed the band in October 1971 after he left Soft Machine and recorded his first solo album, '' The End of an Ear'' (4 December 1970). He ...

(1971–72),

Hatfield and the North Hatfield and the North were an experimental Canterbury scene rock band that lasted from October 1972 to June 1975, with some reunions thereafter. Career In mid 1972 the band grew out of a line-up of ex-members of blues/jazz/rock band ...

(1972–73), Polite Force (1976–77) and

Camel A camel (from and () from Ancient Semitic: ''gāmāl'') is an even-toed ungulate in the genus ''Camelus'' that bears distinctive fatty deposits known as "humps" on its back. Camels have long been domesticated and, as livestock, they provid ...

(1978–1979). In the early 2000s he released two solo albums, ''Full Circle'' and ''Into the Sun'' (both 2003). Since then, he has been engaged in a solo career, including concert appearances in Japan and England. A 30th anniversary re-release of his ''Moon Over Man'' album (originally issued on CD by Voiceprint in 1993) appeared in 2006. Like the earlier Voiceprint release, this consisted of demos for an unreleased solo album recorded 1976–77, featuring contributions from vocalists Tim Lynk and Gay Perez; however, the sound quality of the old analogue tapes was greatly improved and bonus tracks from the same sessions were added. He moved to

Kyoto Kyoto ( or ; Japanese language, Japanese: , ''Kyōto'' ), officially , is the capital city of Kyoto Prefecture in the Kansai region of Japan's largest and most populous island of Honshu. , the city had a population of 1.46 million, making it t ...

, Japan in 2005. Since 2016, he lives in Yuge Island of Kamijima in the

Seto Inland Sea The , sometimes shortened to the Inland Sea, is the body of water separating Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu, three of the four main islands of Japan. It serves as a waterway connecting the Pacific Ocean to the Sea of Japan. It connects to Osaka Ba ...

. Two solo albums, ''PianoWorks1 – Frozen in Time'' and ''Stream'' (the latter featuring several distinguished guest artists) were released in 2010 and 2011 respectively; licensing problems initially prevented ''Stream'' from being officially issued outside Japan until 2015. ''The Little Things'', intended as a follow-up to ''Stream'', was released in 2013, the Japanese version being slightly different in packaging and content from the international version. In May 2015 a series of well-received concert dates with saxophonist

Jimmy Hastings James Brian Gordon Hastings (12 May 1938 – 18 March 2024) was a British musician associated with the Canterbury scene who played saxophones, flute and clarinet. Early life Hastings was born in Aberdeen, Scotland. He started playing the saxop ...

took place in Japan. Dave Sinclair's most recent solo album, ''Out of Sinc'', was released in June 2018. In 2021, he released a compilation album ''Hook, Line & Sinclair'', containing unreleased demos, alternate versions and new material. In October 2022, Dave released an episodic documentary mini-series, ''Dave Sinclair ... The Lost Interview'', talking about his music career with Caravan, Matching Mole, Hatfield and the North and Camel. Made for non-profit media, the first completed episodes are exclusively available via his YouTube channel. 52 years after the release of '' In the Land of Grey and Pink'' (1971), on April 8th 2023, Dave's son Nic Sinclair, launched a crowdfunding campaign via

Indiegogo Indiegogo is an American crowdfunding website founded in 2008 by Danae Ringelmann, Slava Rubin, and Eric Schell. Its headquarters are in San Francisco, California. The site is one of the first sites to offer crowd funding. Indiegogo allows peo ...

. The campaign revealed that the original Hammond A-100 organ that Dave used with Caravan, Matching Mole and Hatfield and the North, was in need of immediate rescue and with a restoration project to follow. As of 2025, the organ restoration is ongoing with ambition to revive the original Caravan sound for new projects and live performance. In May 2023, Dave listed his solo catalog on

Bandcamp Bandcamp is an American online music distribution platform founded in 2008 by Oddpost co-founder Ethan Diamond and programmers Shawn Grunberger, Joe Holt and Neal Tucker, with an office and record store in Oakland, California. Acquired by Epic ...

In February 2025, Dave released a new album via his Bandcamp store. ''Tears In His Eyes'', is a digital only album containing a collection of previously unreleased reworked versions of classic Caravan and solo tracks.

Discography

Solo *1993 – Moon Over Man (Voiceprint VP119CD) *2003 – Full Circle (DSincs-Music 001) *2003 – Into The Sun (DSincs-Music 002) *2006 – Moon Over Man 0th Anniversary Edition(Eclectic Discs) *2009 – Treasure Chest (DSincs-Music) *2010 – Pianoworks I – Frozen in Time (CRSCNT 001) *2011 – Stream (CRSCNT 002) *2011 – Makino ingle(DSincs-Music) *2012 – Blue Bread Song ingle(DSincs-Music) *2013 – The Little Things (DSincs-Music) *2018 – Out Of Sinc (DSincs-Music) *2018 – Island Of Dreams ingle(DSincs-Music) *2021 – Hook, Line & Sinclair (DSincs-Music) *2025 – Tears In His Eyes (DSincs-Music) Caravan *1969 –

(Verve VLP 6011 now released on HTD Records as HTDCD 65) *1970 – If I Could Do It All Over Again I'd Do It All Over You (Decca SKL-R 5052) *1971 – In the Land of Grey and Pink (Deram SDL-R 1) *1973 –

For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night ''For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night'' is the fifth studio album released by the Canterbury scene band Caravan. Richard Sinclair and Steve Miller left the band prior to the recording of this album. They were replaced by John G. Perry and ...

(Deram SKL-R 12) *1974 – Caravan and the New Symphonia (Decca SKL-R 1110) *1974 – This Is Caravan (Metronome 2001 – 200.164 / Brain – 200.164) *1975 – Cunning Stunts (Deram SKL-R 5210) *1980 – The Album (Kingdom KVL 9003) *1980 – The Best of Caravan Live (Kingdom 426002) *1982 – Back to Front (Kingdom KVL 5011) *1984 – The Collection (Kingdom KVL 6003) *1985 – And I Wish I Were Stoned / Don’t Worry (See For Miles 46) *1986 – The Canterbury Collection (Kingdom 9028) *1991 – BBC Radio 1 Live In Concert (Windsong International / Wind CD 003) *1991 – With An Ear To The Ground (Alex 2341) *1991 – Songs And Signs (Elite/ Pickwick/ Elite 002CDP) *1993 – Live (Demon Code90 NINETY 2) *1994 – Canterbury Tales (Decca / Deram 314 515 522-2) *1995 –

The Battle of Hastings The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066 between the Norman-French army of William the Conqueror, William, Duke of Normandy, and an English army under the Anglo-Saxons, Anglo-Saxon King Harold Godwinson, beginning the Norman Conq ...

(HTD Records HTDCD 41) *1996 – All Over You (HTD Records HTDCD 57) *1997 – Live from the Astoria (HTD Records HTDCD 79) *1997 – The Best Of Caravan (See For Miles / 505) *1998 – Songs For Oblivion Fishermen (HUX / HUX 002) *1998 – Back On The Tracks (CoCaCamp ACT001) *1998 – Ether Way (HUX / HUX 013) *1998 – Show Of Our Lives (Mooncrest / Crest 036Z) *1999 – All Over You Too (HTD Records HTDCD 102) *1999 – Headloss (Delta / 47 007) *2000 – Where But For Caravan Would I: An Anthology (Decca / 524 755-2) *2001 – Travelling Ways (Sanctuary / Cmddd 276) *2002 – Live At The Fairfield Halls, 1974 (Universal International / 882902) *2002 – Green Bottles For Majorie (BBC) *1998 – Back on the Tracks (CoCaCamp act001) *1999 – All Over You Too (HTD Records HTDCD 102) *2003 – The Unauthorized Breakfast Item (on 2 tracks) (Eclectic Discs ECL 1001) *2003 – A Night’s Tale – Live In The USA (Classic Rock Legends) *2003 – With Strings Attached (Classic Rock Legends) ''*unauthorised'' *2003 – Nowhere To Hide (Classic Rock Legends) ''*unauthorised'' *2004 – Grey, Pink & Gold (Retro R2CD 42-73) ''*unauthorised'' *2006 – The Show Of Our Lives – Live at the BBC (Decca Deram 5301443) *2007 – Rare Broadcasts torming''*unauthorised'' *2008 – A Hunting We Shall Go – Live 1974 (The Store for Music) ''*unauthorised'' *2010 – The World Is Yours: The Anthology 1968-1976 oxset(Decca) *2010 – Live On Air (Southworld) ''*unauthorised'' *2011 – In The Land Of Grey And Pink (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition) (Decca) *2012 – All Over You And You Too (Talking Elephant) *2013 – In The Land Of Grey And Pink – Live (B13) ''*unauthorised'' *2014 – Place Of My Own: The Collection (Spectrum Audio) *2014 – A Nights Tale – Live At The Patriots Theater (The Store for Music) ''*unauthorised'' *2015 – All Access Pass (Demon) *2020 – The Decca/Deram Years (An Anthology) 1970-1975 oxset(Universal 7722812) *2021 – Who Do You Think We Are? oxset(Snapper Music) Camel/Mirage *1978 – Breathless (Deram 820 726-2) *1978 – A Live Record ecca / DBCR 7/8*1995 – Live 14th December 1994 irage Music Robert Wyatt *1970 – The End of an Ear (CBS 64189) Matching Mole *1972 –

(CBS 64850) *2002 – Matching Mole On The Radio (HUX HUX083) Richard Sinclair's Caravan of Dreams *1992 – Richard Sinclair's Caravan of Dreams (HTD CD7) *1993 – An Evening of Magic (HTD CD 17) Polite Force *1997 – Canterbury Knights (Voiceprint VP187)

Filmography

* 1970: ''Amougies: European Music Revolution'' * 2000: ''Where But For Caravan Would I?: An Affectionate Tribute'' (VHS) * 2001: ''Classic Rock Legends'' (DVD) * 2002: ''A Night's Tale - Live In The USA'' (DVD) * 2004: ''The Ultimate Anthology'' (DVD) ''*unauthorised'' * 2007: ''The Ultimate Collection'' (DVD) ''*unauthorised'' * 2008: ''The Story Of Beat-Club Volume 2 1968-1970'' (DVD) * 2008: ''The Story Of Beat-Club Volume 3 1970-1972'' (DVD) * 2011: ''In The Land Of Grey And Pink (40th Anniversary Deluxe Edition)'' (DVD) * 2014: ''Access All Areas (DVD)'' * 2015: '' Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD) * 2016: ''Got Canterbury?'' (DVD) * 2021: ''Who Do You Think We Are?'' (DVD) * 2022: ''Dave Sinclair ... The Lost Interview''

References

David Sinclair
a
Calyx, The Canterbury Websitewww.caravan-info.co.uk Caravan Information Service
– Official Caravan Website
Collapso – Canterbury Music Family Tree

External links

Dave Sinclair's homepageDave Sinclair on BandcampDave Sinclair on FacebookDave Sinclair on YouTubeDave Sinclair on TikTok
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sinclair, Dave Canterbury scene English pianists English keyboardists People from Herne Bay, Kent 1947 births Living people Caravan (band) members Camel (band) members Musicians from Kent Matching Mole members The Wilde Flowers members Hatfield and the North members Progressive rock keyboardists