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 Canterbury scene bands

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

, Hatfield and the North and National Health. Allmusic biography/ref>

Biography

Pyle joined Phil Miller, a friend from kindergarten, and Phil's brother Steve, in forming Bruno's Blues Band, which rapidly evolved into Delivery. However, Pyle left the band in 1970 after arguing with singer Carol Grimes. He briefly played in blues band Chicken Shack and Steve Hillage's band Khan.Biography
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Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, in the county of Kent, England; it was a county borough until 1974. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. The city has a mild oceanic climat ...

music website In 1971, drummer Robert Wyatt asked Pyle to play instead of him on one track of Daevid Allen's solo album '' Banana Moon''. From this, Pyle joined Allen in

. While only in the band for eight months, Pyle played on both '' Camembert Électrique'' and '' Continental Circus_(album)''. Pyle was replaced by Laurie Allan, but rejoined Gong in 1989. In 1972, Pyle worked with Paul Jones (who had been singing with

Manfred Mann Manfred Mann were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1962. They were named after their keyboardist Manfred Mann (musician), Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band. The group had two l ...

) and with British singer Bridget St John, before founding Hatfield and the North with the Miller brothers and Richard Sinclair in 1972. Steve Miller was soon replaced by Dave Sinclair (Richard's cousin, from the band Caravan) before finalizing on the lineup of Pyle, Phil Miller, Richard Sinclair and keyboardist Dave Stewart. '' Hatfield and the North'' was released in 1974, while a second album, '' The Rotters' Club'', followed the next year. As well as drumming, Pyle wrote many of the band's lyrics. Following Hatfield, Pyle joined Miller and Stewart in National Health as well as playing in other projects, including Soft Heap with Hugh Hopper, Elton Dean and Alan Gowen. He also played on '' Neil's Heavy Concept Album'' (1984), a spin-off from the television series '' The Young Ones'' with which Stewart was involved. In 1984, Pyle met Sophia Domancich and the two had a relationship until 1990. Pyle also started his own band, Pip Pyle's Equip'Out, including Domancich. Equip'Out released ''Equip'Out'', ''Up!'' and ''Instants''. He released one solo album, ''Seven Year Itch'', in 1998 with guests including Miller, Sinclair, Stewart, Dean ( saxello), Hopper (bass), Jakko Jakszyk, Barbara Gaskin, John Greaves (vocals), François Ovide, Fred T. Baker (bass), Paul Rogers (double bass), Lydia Domancich (piano, Sophia's sister) and

Didier Malherbe Didier Malherbe (born 22 January 1943) is a French jazz, rock, and world music musician and poet. He is a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk. He plays the saxophone, flute, alto clarinet, ocarina, Laotian Khen, Bawu flute, Hulusi, and ma ...

(alto sax). Pyle also played in Miller's band In Cahoots from 1982 to 2001, appearing on ''Cutting Both Ways'', ''Split Seconds'', ''Live 86-89'', ''Live in Japan'', ''Recent Discoveries'', ''Parallel'' and ''Out of the Blue''. His last projects were his group Bash!, featuring the French guitarist Patrice Meyer, Fred Baker on bass and Alex Maguire on keyboards, and a Hatfield and the North reunion (also with Maguire). Bash! released the live album ''Belle Illusion'' ( Cuneiform Records), but only played five live shows in total (including Progman Cometh), finding it difficult to attract interest from venues. In 2005 Pyle joined Phil Miller and Richard Sinclair in a re-formation of Hatfield and the North, with Alex Maguire handling the keyboards. On 29 January, all three were reunited for the first time in fifteen years when Pyle sat in with the Richard Sinclair Band for a few old numbers ("Above And Below", "Share It", "Halfway Between Heaven And Earth" and "Didn't Matter Anyway") during a gig at

Whitstable Whitstable () is a town on the north coast of Kent, England, at the convergence of the The Swale, Swale and the Greater Thames Estuary, north of Canterbury and west of Herne Bay, Kent, Herne Bay. The town, formerly known as Whitstable-on-Se ...

's Horsebridge Arts Centre. The rejuvenated Hatfield made its official live debut on 18 March 2005 at the Mean Fiddler in London, and a brief tour of Europe followed in June. More international touring followed in 2005–06, including dates in Japan, Mexico, the US and Europe. On 26 August 2006 Pyle played his last gig in Feerwerd (

Groningen Groningen ( , ; ; or ) is the capital city and main municipality of Groningen (province), Groningen province in the Netherlands. Dubbed the "capital of the north", Groningen is the largest place as well as the economic and cultural centre of ...

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. He died in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on 28 August 2006.

Solo Discography

* 1986: ''L'Équipe Out'' ( 52e Rue Est) * 1991: ''Equip' Out Up!'' (NTI Music 3 TMR 301) * 1998: ''7 Year Itch'' ( Voiceprint VP198CD) * 1999: ''Pip Pyle's Equipe Out'' (Voiceprint VP213CD) (re-issue of 1st album) * 2004: ''Belle Illusion'' (

Cuneiform Cuneiform is a Logogram, logo-Syllabary, syllabic writing system that was used to write several languages of the Ancient Near East. The script was in active use from the early Bronze Age until the beginning of the Common Era. Cuneiform script ...

Rune 193) (partially recorded at Progman Cometh) * 2004: ''Instants'' ( Hux 062)

Chronology

*1966 - 1971 Delivery *1971 - 1971 Chicken Shack *1971 - 1971 Khan *1971 - 1971

*1972 - 1975 Hatfield and the North *1975 - 1976 The Weightwatchers (with Elton Dean and Keith Tippett) *1977 - 1983 National Health *1977 - 1988 Soft Heap *1980 - 1981 Rapid Eye Movement *1982 - 2002 In Cahoots *1984 - 1995 Pip Pyle's Equip'Out *1989 - 1996 Gong reformed *1991 - 1996 Short Wave *1999 - 2006 Absolute Zero *2002 - 2006 Pip Pyle's Bash! *2005 - 2006 Hatfield and the North reformed

Filmography

* 2015: '' Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales'' (DVD)

References

External links

Official website
an

*
Obituary
in ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

''
Obituary by Dave Stewart of Hatfield and the North
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pyle, Pip 1950 births 2006 deaths Canterbury scene Chicken Shack members Delivery (band) members English expatriates in France English rock drummers Gong (band) members Hatfield and the North members In Cahoots members Khan (band) members English male drummers National Health members People from Sawbridgeworth People educated at Newport Free Grammar School 20th-century English male musicians 20th-century English musicians