LIVE AT FAIRFIELD HALLS - 1974

One hazy Sunday in May 1980, myself and some friends went to a pub in Herne Bay (about 10 miles from Canterbury) for Sunday lunch and a beer. With the 'strange' licensing laws back then we were finishing up and about to leave at 2pm but the landlady said 'have another if you want boys am locking the doors'. Now I have asked my bestie who was with me and we cannot remember if the name above the door was Mrs Hastings or Mrs Sinclair but her offspring and another Caravaner were sat in the corner and when we cottoned on we went over and had a wonderful hours chat (mostly about how punk had finished them off and they couldn't get arrested now) and it is nice to meet your 'heros' sometimes!

I of course have the full studio output (I didn't back then!)...and the contrarian in me has as his 3 fav. albums the 3 with the lowest, or at least 2 of them, ratings...so I thought it best to go with one of my all time, across my whole collection, live recordings. It goes without saying then that I see/hear this as a band at their peak. About this time I believe they were touted by parts of the musical press as 'probably the next big thing'....but 'critics' bands always had/have a habit of not hitting the spot with enough of the public/music listeners ...and of course they remained strictly second division...but not for those of us in the know! The tracks should be familiar to most who read this. The slight melancholia of the vocal/s, if not an acquired taste, will never bring a joyous celebratory mood out in you but that was not who they were. The arrangements of songs had that 'matured and improved on the road' from the studio versions that the best bands developed. The audience, assuming no messing in the studio, were polite yet enthusiastic. And I will ignore the aforementioned besties view that 'Caravan were the ultimate Grammar School boys band'....for those non UK readers it translates as nice/middle class young gentlemen (he actually likes them!). So it was never going to be rock n roll! I have tried self edits as it is way too long for my purpose...but this version of 'For Richard' I would have wanted played at my funeral. It has that profound effect every time I hear it as in stirs the emotions. Unfortunately, in the bands time line, they came up with Cunning Stunts and Blind Dog At St Dunstans as their next 2 studio efforts...both of which I really rate but most here do not and neither did the record buying public in 1975 and '76 which underscores that this is indeed their peak.

I raise another 'lock in' glass to the 3 I met, what 6 years after this, and thank them.

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