The Northettes
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URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=67755
Printed Date: June 09 2024 at 03:33
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Topic: The Northettes
Posted By: fogwalker
Subject: The Northettes
Date Posted: May 27 2010 at 06:37
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I always loved their contributions on the Hatfield albums (especially the sublime "Son of No Place Like Homerton"). Now, I know that Barbara Gaskin's was with Spirogyra pre-Hatfield, and with Dave Stewart afterwards, and I think Amanda Parsons appeared (solo) on some National health albums, but apart from that I don't know much about them, individually or collectively. Does anyone know, for example, whether they ever appeared live with Hatfield, and whether there is any archive footage available? |
Replies:
Posted By: alanterrill
Date Posted: May 31 2010 at 14:17
| They certainly appeared with Hatfield on a few occasions - I saw them several times in their heyday and if memory serves they appeared as a trio just a couple of times (at the Roundhouse?) but Gaskin also appeared by herself. I've not seen any video footage of them. There's very litle of Hatfield at all let alone with the Northsettes. |
Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: June 01 2010 at 13:38
| Great post!......This has always drove me nuts!.....I searched for years to find a live recording of Hatfield and the North featuring the Northettes. Not possible it seems. Every live recording I've heard does not include the Northettes. What did this indirectly have to do with? ....It's a mystery. The unique aspect for me regarding the self titled and Rotters Club was the voices of the Northettes. The voices added dimension to the music. The 3 part harmony which was melodic and dark colored the music and gave one the impression of a concept album which was theatrical. I enjoyed Amanda Parsons with National Health and tried to trace what bands they might be joining but lost track. Mellow Candle with their two part Irish folk harmony inspired band's like October Project but, the Northettes sang harmony over dischorded jazz compositions and actually broke ground for the mere fact that it wasn't jazz per say, but progressive rock in the Cantenbury style. It was such a long time ago and not many female vocalists were doing this style. No, it is a shame that a live tape of their performance in Hatfield is not issued. It would be beautiful to hear the 3 of them live with the band performing material from the first 2 albums. If you find anything,...contact me. |
Posted By: alanterrill
Date Posted: June 01 2010 at 14:32
I just checked and I was right! They appeared at the Roundhouse on April 13th 1974, my first year at University in London. Seems I was wrong about Gaskin appearing alone -maybe that was with National Health who I saw many more times than Hatfield. I guess it was the simple economics of being a not very popular band -they couldn't afford to take three more singers on stage very often.April[13] London, Roundhouse [augmented for second set by Robert Wyatt, Alan Gowen, Steve Miller, Lol Coxhill, Jimmy Hastings, Jeremy Baines & The Northettes] [support: Spirogyra]Setlist: [1st set by HTN quartet] "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut [loud]" / "God Song" / "Big Jobs" / "Shaving Is Boring" / "Licks For The Ladies" / "Bossa Nochance" / "Big Jobs" / "Extract" [A.Gowen] / "Gigantic Landcrabs In Earth Takeoverbid" // [2nd set with guests] "Fol De Rol" / "Going Up To People And Tinkling" / "Calyx" / "Son Of 'There's No Place Like Homerton'" / "Aigrette" / "Rifferama" // "Lobster In Cleavage Probe" / "Prenut" / "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut" [finale] // "The Laughing Policeman" See http://calyx.perso.neuf.fr/hatfield/index.html for full gig list. |
Posted By: fogwalker
Date Posted: July 06 2010 at 03:17
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Thanks for your answers. A bit of trawling on the net found this interview with Dave Stewart and Barbara Gaskin.
http://www.progressiveears.com/library/Stewart-Gaskin.asp?bhcp=1 - http://www.progressiveears.com/library/Stewart-Gaskin.asp?bhcp=1
Of particular relevance:
PE: This question might be inappropriate due to what is relevant in Stewart and Gaskin's life now, but... why was it that the Northettes never toured with Hatfield and the North?
DS: Amanda, Ann and Barbara appeared live with Hatfield once or twice, notably a concert at London's Roundhouse. The three of them were never an integral part of the group; they appeared on our albums as guests along with other musicians such as Robert Wyatt and Geoff Leigh. We enjoyed their contribution very much, but it would have been impractical to involve them regularly - apart from anything else, Barbara was always busy with Spirogyra. There were also technical difficulties involved in hearing themselves sing on stage - Hatfield played VERY LOUD in those days. PE: Whatever became of the other Northettes? DS: After leaving National Health Amanda got a job in television and is now married with two grown-up children - she isn’t actively involved in music as far as I know. Ann Rosenthal sent us a nice message recently containing this update: "I live in rural Shropshire, work as a Business Analyst, keep chickens, am both a qualified gardener and management consultant (confused?) and am passionate about hill walking and climbing mountains. Love Annie." |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: July 06 2010 at 04:14
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I also love the Northettes and I once made http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=14075&KW=northettes&PID=1731969#1731969 - a thread about them myself.
BTW, they're on the third Egg album too, The Civil Surface, but I haven't heard that album yet.
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Posted By: lucas
Date Posted: July 06 2010 at 05:31
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Pip Pyle's '7 year itch' features BArbara Gaskin on some songs. ------------- "Magma was the very first gothic rock band" (Didier Lockwood) |
Posted By: Whoop_John
Date Posted: February 22 2011 at 15:07
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Barbara Gaskin, Amanda Parsons and Ann Rosenthal all sang with Ottawa. This was an extended experimental group, involving the guys from Henry Cow and many others, including my friend Anthony Marshall, who never recorded on an album to my knowledge. His schoolfriend, Jeremy Baines, was also in this group, as was Steve Hillage. I was one of about five people that used to go to these concerts. I went to a Sunday rehearsal and was introduced to Barbara Gaskin by Tony, who said 'This is John, he wants to marry you', which was a bit embarrassing as at the time she was the girlfriend of Steve Hillage and he was standing right there. Background to Ottawa on Chris Cutler's website at http://www.ccutler.com/ccutler/bands/group01.shtml" rel="nofollow - http://www.ccutler.com/ccutler/bands/group01.shtml http://www.ccutler.com/ccutler/bands/group01.shtml%20" rel="nofollow - The key to most of the Ottawa music is that it was all scored, except for improvisation sections allocated for the purpose. It was written, circulated, learned and played. Most of it was highly complex and in mixed time signatures. As I recall this was before Egg's third album on Virgin.
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Posted By: TODDLER
Date Posted: February 22 2011 at 19:18
This is an incredible post! Thank you for posting this personal and historical information.
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Whoop_John wrote:Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: February 23 2011 at 06:53
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Posted By: irrelevant
Date Posted: February 23 2011 at 09:53
The Civil Surface is a bit underrated, I think. I actually prefer it to the debut. ------------- https://gabebuller.bandcamp.com/" rel="nofollow - New album! http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385" rel="nofollow - http://www.progarchives.com/artist.asp?id=7385 |
Posted By: Whoop_John
Date Posted: March 04 2011 at 04:22
There was a private concert - well it wasn't private in the sense that anyone could walk in off the street - at what was then the PCL, Polytechnic of Central London on Marylebone Road. This was outside in the main courtyard, with electric players such as Steve Hillage dotted around standing on podia (which were actually large air conditioning vents). The acoustic instrument players were wandering about playing wherever they felt like. Horns, violins etc. The ladies were on one of the podia, miked up and singing. I was somewhere projecting slides onto the concrete faces of the buildings. It all went rather well until some neighbours complained and the police came and made everyone stop. I have to tell you it was loud and with the Henry Cow crew there it was not perhaps not the easiest of listening. Come to think of it, on another occasion at the PCL, Anthony Marshall got some of the bunch in to do a concert, indoors this time. Certainly Dave Stewart was there. There was a smallish stage above the canteen. I could possibly even claim to have played with them, as I'd just built a synth. My input was confined to making weird squeaks and bloops during an improvisation section, so I cannot really claim it was music as such. There was a guy I once knew called Clive something or other. He was at the BBC and Knew Amanda Parsons quite well. I am sure he was involved in a documentary which included the Northettes, I know he was very keen on their singing.
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Posted By: The Wrinkler
Date Posted: March 04 2011 at 05:49
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[/QUOTE] i owned this album but sold it back, hard listening but maybe today i would appreciate it[/QUOTE] You seem to have a lot of good albums that you sold hehe. |
Posted By: jean-marie
Date Posted: March 04 2011 at 06:35
You seem to have a lot of good albums that you sold hehe. just a few ones that didn't realy click on me at the time  [/QUOTE]
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