Richard Coughlan (2 September 1947 – 1 December 2013)
[ was an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist of 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 ...
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 ...
band 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 ...
. He was one of the founding members of Caravan in 1968 and remained with the band until his death. AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
called Coughlan "one of art rock's longest tenured musicians".[
]
Biography
Richard Coughlan was born on 2 September 1947 in Herne Bay
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, Kent, Herne and Reculver and is part of the City of Canterbury loca ...
, Kent
Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...
, England.[ He attended the Frank Hooker School in ]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 ...
, where he started playing mouth organ
A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone with one or more air chambers fitted with a free reed.
Though it spans many traditions, it is played universally the same way by the musician placing their lips over a chamber or holes in the instrument, ...
at the age of ten. Later Coughlan joined the Sea Cadets
Sea cadets are members of a cadets youth program sponsored by a national naval service, aimed for young people with an interest in waterborne activities and or the national navy. The organisation may be sponsored in whole or in part by the navy or ...
where he first played bugle
The bugle is a simple signaling brass instrument with a wide conical bore. It normally has no valves or other pitch-altering devices, and is thus limited to its natural harmonic notes, and pitch is controlled entirely by varying the air a ...
and then marching drums, moving up the ranks to the position of lead drummer. When he was 16, he acquired his own drum kit and joined a local dance band, although he said they "didn't really do anything but rehearse!"[
In 1966, through a friend from the Sea Cadets, Coughlan met up with ]Hugh Hopper
Hugh Colin Hopper (29 April 1945 – 7 June 2009) was a British progressive rock and jazz fusion bass guitarist. He was a prominent member of the Canterbury scene, as a member of Soft Machine and other bands.
Biography
Early career
Starting i ...
, the bass guitarist of the Canterbury 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 ...
band The Wilde Flowers
The Wilde Flowers were an English psychedelic rock band from Canterbury, Kent. Formed in 1964, the group originally featured lead vocalist Kevin Ayers, lead guitarist and co-lead vocalist Brian Hopper, rhythm guitarist and vocalist Richard Si ...
. Coughlan began attending their rehearsals and paid particular attention to Robert Wyatt
Robert Wyatt (born Robert Wyatt-Ellidge, 28 January 1945) is an English retired 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 band's drummer. In April 1966, when Wyatt became the lead vocalist, Coughlan joined the group on drums. Later Wyatt left to form Soft Machine
Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...
, but Coughlan remained with The Wilde Flowers for another year. When Soft Machine acquired their first record deal, The Wilde Flowers decided they needed one too, and reconstituted themselves as 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 ...
.[ Coughlan had trained to be a ]dental technician
A dental technician is a member of the dental team who, upon prescription from a dental clinician, constructs custom-made restorative and dental appliances.
There are four major disciplines within dental technology. These are ''fixed prosthesis ...
, but with the formation of Caravan, he chose to be a professional musician instead.[
Caravan's brand of ]art rock
Art rock is a subgenre of rock music that generally reflects a challenging or avant-garde approach to rock, or which makes use of modernist, experimental, or unconventional elements. Art rock aspires to elevate rock from entertainment to an ar ...
emphasised Coughlan's drumming, which enabled him to contribute to some of the band's compositions, including the 19/8 time signature
A time signature (also known as meter signature, metre signature, and measure signature) is an indication in music notation that specifies how many note values of a particular type fit into each measure ( bar). The time signature indicates th ...
on the "A Hunting We Shall Go/L'Auberge du Sanglier" song suite for ''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 ...
''.[ The group was active from 1968 to the early 1980s, during which time they recorded ten albums and toured Europe and North America. After ]punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
came to the fore, they decided to call it quits,[ and Coughlan started a second career in the ]pub
A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...
business.[
In 1990 Caravan reunited again and played at the ]Canterbury Festival
The Canterbury Festival is Kent's international festival of the arts. It takes place in Canterbury (England) and surrounding towns and villages (including Faversham, Whitstable and Margate) each October/November and includes performances of a vari ...
in June, followed by a one-off televised concert for ITV Central
ITV Central, previously known as Central Independent Television, Carlton Central, ITV1 for Central England and commonly referred to as simply Central, is the Independent Television franchisee in the English Midlands. It was created following ...
's new music series "Bedrock" at the Central TV studios in Nottingham
Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...
. The success of their performances and the sales of a subsequent live album prompted the band to reform, although this time on a part-time basis. Over the next decade, with Coughlan still at the helm, Caravan periodically assembled to record an album or perform at a festival. In between commitments with the band, Coughlan continued his work in the pub business and later went on to run The Sun Inn in Faversham
Faversham () is a market town in Kent, England, from Sittingbourne, from London and from Canterbury, next to the Swale, a strip of sea separating mainland Kent from the Isle of Sheppey in the Thames Estuary. It is close to the A2 road (Great ...
[ In 2005 Coughlan was diagnosed with "a form of ]rheumatoid arthritis
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a long-term autoimmune disorder that primarily affects synovial joint, joints. It typically results in warm, swollen, and painful joints. Pain and stiffness often worsen following rest. Most commonly, the wrist and h ...
" and this put a halt to Caravan's live performances.[
Caravan returned to live performances in 2010 with Mark Walker joining the band. Despite Walker's inclusion, Coughlan remained with Caravan until his death in December 2013.][
Coughlan died of ]pneumonia
Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
on 1 December 2013 at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Herne Bay. He was survived by his wife, Sue, and a daughter. 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 ...
said: "Richard was a fine musician and will forever be remembered, not least by us, but by the fans all around the world."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Coughlan, Richard
1947 births
2013 deaths
Canterbury scene
English rock drummers
English male drummers
Caravan (band) members
People from Herne Bay, Kent
Musicians from Kent
The Wilde Flowers members