Hatfield and the North was formed in the autumn of 1972. But its roots were older than that. Guitarist Phil Miller and drummer Pip Pyle had played together in Delivery as early as 1966. Phil had later played with organist David Sinclair in Robert Wyatt's Matching Mole. And his brother Steve Miller, after Delivery's split, had replaced David Sinclair in Caravan, meeting David's cousin [bassist/vocalist] Richard Sinclair there.

During 1972, Pip Pyle, back from his stint with Gong in France, began to work with the Miller brothers and Richard Sinclair. This eventually led to the formation of a new line-up of Delivery. Steve Miller and Richard Sinclair left Caravan in the summer, and as Matching Mole slowly ground to a halt after the sessions for "Matching Mole's Little Red Record", Delivery played a few gigs in August-September. But Steve Miller eventually left, and Richard Sinclair's cousin David joined the band, who then changed their name to Hatfield and the North. This was not the end of Delivery, though : in early 1973, Steve Miller formed yet another line-up, with Lol Coxhill on sax, Roy Babbington on bass and Laurie Allan on drums. The only testament left of Hatfield's early days is a French TV program, featuring Hatfield and Robert Wyatt. This is apparently lost in the vaults of good old INA (Institut National de l'Audiovisuel), or possibly destroyed. Anyone who viewed these tapes is welcome to tell us what they look like!

David Sinclair left Hatfield (in January 1973) for the same reasons as a few months earlier, when he'd quit Matching Mole: too much improvisation! He eventually rejoined Caravan, and was replaced by Dave Stewart. With Stewart on board, Hatfield really took off to unprecedented musical heights. In addition to his trademark heavily-treated organ, Stewart was asked to use the Fender Rhodes electric piano, which proved an unmistakeable feature of Hatfield's sound.

Between mid-1973 and early 1974, Hatfield and the North recorded their first album at the Manor Studios, after signing a contract with the Virgin label, then home of several Canterbury-related groups and artists (Henry Cow, Robert Wyatt, Mike Oldfield...). It was made up of compositions from all members, and was predominantly instrumental. Dave Stewart was the most prolific writer, penning almost half of the material.Phil Miller proved a very talented crafter of melodies ("Calyx" and "Aigrette"). Pip Pyle provided the excellent "Shaving Is Boring", with highly complex time signatures and riffs. And Richard Sinclair wrote a few songs filled with his whimsical / nonsense, typically British lyrics. The core quartet was supplemented by a prestigious cast of guest participants: Robert Wyatt, the Northettes (three female backing vocalists, friends of Dave Stewart), and Geoff Leigh (still in Henry Cow at that time - sax and flute).

In October 1974, Hatfield and the North entered Saturn Studios in Worthing and recorded three songs there: two sides of a single (released on November 15) - "Let's Eat (Real Soon)" (music by Richard Sinclair, lyrics by Pip Pyle), and "Fitter Stoke Has A Bath" (music and lyrics by Pip Pyle) - and a medley of Dave Stewart's epic "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut" and Richard's song "Oh What A Lonely Lifetime" (which later appeared on the Virgin "V" sampler). Needless to say, it was a flop. During the same period, Dave Stewart reunited with his former colleagues of Egg to record a posthumous third album, containing material dating from the trio's latter days.

In January 1975, the four musicians returned to the studio, this time Saturn Studios, to record their second, and unfortunately final, album: "The Rotters' Club". More than twenty years later, the results are still as amazing as they used to be, although the band's sound, making extensive use of effects and instruments typical of the 70's, may appear a little dated. Of course, Dave Stewart's 20-minute magnum opus, "Mumps", is the high point of Hatfield's short musical career. Seeing this suite performed on stage, with its constant harmonic and rhythmic changes (has anyone scored this?!?), must have been something! The piece is actually made up of two different compositions : "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut", presented in two versions (quiet, loud); and "The Alphabet Song" mentioned as such in the Virgin lyric archives. Maybe the latter does not fit in perfectly in the whole, as suggested by the fade out before the reprise of "Your Majesty...". But this really is a minor criticism : this piece is so good, its imperfection is only marginal.

The rest of the album is full of gems : from Phil Miller's bossa-flavoured "Underdub", featuring one of the greatest Fender Rhodes solos ever recorded (let's also mention the fuzz organ solo in "Mumps" and Jimmy Hastings' flute solo in Richard Sinclair's "Didn't Matter Anyway" - they're both incredible and sends a chill down your spine every time you listen to them!), to Pip Pyle's superb "Fitter Stoke Has A Bath", the ultimate Hatfield song. A masterpiece!

Alas, Hatfield broke up soon after recording this album. But its members kept working together : by 1977, Phil Miller, Dave Stewart and Pip Pyle were all members of National Health (and Richard Sinclair took part in some of their concerts that year, as guest vocalist); in 1980, Stewart and Pyle were reunited in the short-lived Rapid Eye Movement; in 1982-85, Miller, Sinclair and Pyle were all members of In Cahoots; and in 1988, a track on Phil Miller's "Split Seconds" ("Dada Soul"), featured Miller, Stewart and Sinclair. Let's also mention Pyle's guest appearances on several early Stewart-Gaskin songs (Miller also guested on one).

In 1990, Hatfield were briefly reunited for a TV show on UK's private Central Television channel. Well, almost... Dave Stewart declined the invitation, and was replaced by Pip Pyle's then-girlfriend and Equip'Out colleague, Sophia Domancich. Although an excellent jazz pianist, Domancich proved totally alien to the Hatfield style, and the performance was closer to a mix of In Cahoots and Equip'Out with occasional vocals by Richard Sinclair, than a recreation of Hatfield's spirit. Judged on its own merits, the gig was good : a good half was made up of new compositions (Pip Pyle's epic "Shipwrecked" and Sophia Domancich's "Blot" (a.k.a. "Blott On The Landscape"), with a few classics thrown in ("Share It", "Halfway Between Heaven And Earth" and "Underdub", the latter not broadcast), as well as Equip'Out's "Cauliflower Ears" and Richard Sinclair's "Going For A Song" (with lyrics by Pip Pyle).

All former members of Hatfield and the North were reunited on Pip Pyle's solo album "7 Year Itch" (1998), thanks to the magic of multitrack recording. Phil Miller and Dave Stewart both play on several tracks, and are joined by Richard Sinclair on the opening track "Seven Sisters", a song originally composed for National Health. More recently, Phil Miller and Richard Sinclair have appeared together at several concerts, most memorably on the first two edition of the Progman Cometh festival in Seattle.