Caravan is an English band from the Canterbury area formed in 1968. They never achieved widespread commercial success, only racking up a total of two weeks on the official UK album chart in their career. This utterly belies their historical importance to the British rock landscape, as they are considered a key part of the Canterbury scene of progressive rock acts that grew into prominence in the 1970s.
They had started to build a live following in the very early 1970s, during which they created their third and most critically acclaimed album In the Land of Grey And Pink (1971). The album was produced by David Hitchcock (also known for producing other prog acts like Genesis, Camel, Curved Air, and Renaissance). It was the last album to feature the original line-up of Pye Hastings (guitars, vocals), Richard Sinclair (bass, vocals), Richard Coughlan (drums), and Dave Sinclair (keyboards) due to the latter’s departure later in the year. The original line-up would eventually reunite on 1982’s Back To Front.
Golf Girl is the track that opens the album. Written by bass player Richard Sinclair, this is a personal song that took his domestic life as its inspiration – more specifically, the story describes how he met his wife.
“We lived in Canterbury at the time,” Sinclair told the Music Aficionado blog, “very close to a golf course. I had these words and melody: ‘Standing on a golf course/ Dressed in P.V.C./ I chanced upon a Golf Girl/ Selling cups of tea’. That was the first song I wrote.”
The song’s story is a charmingly naïve tale about falling in love with the lady who sells tea at the golf course, and about how they try to finding a secluded spot safe from flying golf balls where they can share a first kiss.
Sinclair added: “That’s it really, a joke about people wearing PVC and selling cups of tea, which seemed to be very appropriate at the time because we were having cups of tea with Robert Wyatt and God knows what else. People had ‘tea’ and they liked to write songs about it. Every other song was written about ‘tea’ so I got one in as well… full right to the brim.”
“Richard is a very endearing writer,” says guitarist Pye Hastings in the liner notes of the 2011 album reissue. “He writes about things that are very close to him, like his friends and family and so on. When a song reaches its final stage, he changes lyrics to become less personal. The original version of Golf Girl was a very personal song about him and Trisha, his wife to be. It was also about his son, Jason. All of that was happening in his life at the time. A charming lad with a brilliant song. Of course Trisha became Pat and the rest is history!”
Standing on a golf course dressed in PVC
I chanced upon a golf girl selling cups of tea
She asked me did I want one, asked me with a grin
For thruppence you can buy one full right to the brim
So, of course I had to have one, in fact I ordered three
So I could watch the golf girl, could see she fancied me
And later on the golf course after drinking tea
It started raining golf balls, she protected me
Her name was Pat and we sat
Under a tree, she kissed me
We go for walks in fine weather all together
On the golf course we talk in morse
The song is written in a more straightforward style than some of the longer and more progressive pieces the band is known for. This was a conscious decision – side 1 of the album largely contains shorter, catchier and to-the-point tracks (albeit still with that Caravan quirkiness), whereas side 2 consists of the long, majestic prog anthem Nine Feet Underground. As a whole, this gives the album a diversity that has helped cement its legacy.
Like most Caravan songs, Golf Girl has an interesting musical bedding. The opening features a lovely trombone part. The song also contains several flute tracks, and Pye Hastings’ brother Jimmy plays a simply superb piccolo solo. The rhythm section keeps the song trudging along in a staccato pattern which go through several key changes and interesting metamorphoses, but the same quality is always retained. For all its alleged straightforwardness, there are a lot of non-straightforward things hidden in plain sight.
These elements were added piece by piece. The band first attempted Golf Girl during their initial demo sessions for the album, which began at Decca Studios in Broadhurst Gardens, West Hampstead in September 1970. This is where Caravan started working out early versions of the album tracks, most of which were to become legendary songs in their repertoire.
The song was initially titled Group Girl, and an early demo recording was recorded on 14 September 1970. The lyrics of this version included some passages that were later removed from the well-known rendition, including passages describing that the couple went on to marry and have a son named Jason. While 100% true, down to their son’s actual name, this part was removed. While not containing anything particularly revealing, it was still possibly felt to be a little too close to home. In any case, the song benefits from focusing on the romantic encounter with a lady on the golf course.
The removed Group Girl lyrics in italics below:
Her name was Pat, and we sat
Under a tree, she kissed me
Kissed me three kisses, and this is what bliss is
She even became my missus
We had a son, named Jason
And he’s only one
We’d go for walks in fine weather, all together
On the golf course…
Thankfully, the early Group Girl demo is included (along with other early demos and outtakes) on the expanded 2011 reissue of the album. This was definitely a song from those September sessions that they planned to work further on for inclusion on the album.
By December 1970 the band moved on to the newly opened Air London studios in Oxford Street. Group Girl was re-recorded as Golf Girl on the 14th. This is when the piccolo solo as well as flute and trombone parts were added.
In the Land of Grey and Pink was released to an unsuspecting world on 8 April 1971. The album packaging was quite lavish, featuring a striking Tolkien-esque illustration by Anne-Marie Anderson and opening in a gatefold to reveal a glorious picture silhouette of the band larking around, marching single file in a field. Overall both the music within and the album sleeve created a stunning impression.
Love To Love You (And Tonight Pigs Will Fly) was released as the single from the album, with Golf Girl on the b-side. They never got to play on Top of the Pops, but the German hit programme Beat Club were thrilled to have them. Interestingly, instead of Love To Love You they performed the b-side Golf Girl as well as the album track Winter Wine at Beat Club’s request.
The album got good reviews and was a hit within progressive rock circles, but it failed to chart. Sadly this created some frustration within the band, as well as a feeling that the record company wasn’t behind them. This led to the unfortunate departure of keyboardist David Sinclair in August 1971.
The music business was still very much singles and chart-oriented at the time. The term “longtail selling” and that way of working an album was not yet established the same way it is now. This is a shame, because this album has proven to be a huge success in those terms and the band has largely been able to have a career due to that album’s popularity and legacy. The album has always remained in print since its initial release and continually sold steadily.
Golf Girl came as close as it ever did in becoming a mainstream phenomenon when it was covered by Nigel Planer (in his guise as hippy Neil from The Young Ones) on his album Neil’s Heavy Concept Album. A music video for the song featured a cameo from Dawn French as a policewoman.
In the Land of Grey and Pink is regarded as one of the classic progressive rock albums of the 1970s, frequently recommended by critics and music fans alike as a good introduction to the Canterbury Scene subgenre.
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