Richard Coughlan (2 September 1947 – 1 December 2013)[1][2] was an English musician, best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Canterbury sceneprogressive rock band Caravan. He was one of the founding members of Caravan in 1968 and remained with the band until his death. AllMusic called Coughlan "one of art rock's longest tenured musicians".[3]
Richard Coughlan was born on 2 September 1947 in Herne Bay, Kent, England.[3] He attended the Frank Hooker School in Canterbury, where he started playing mouth organ at the age of ten. Later Coughlan joined the Sea Cadets where he first played bugle 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!"[1]
In 1966, through a friend from the Sea Cadets, Coughlan met up with Hugh Hopper, the bass guitarist of the Canterbury progressive rock band The Wilde Flowers. Coughlan began attending their rehearsals and paid particular attention to Robert Wyatt, 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, 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.[1][3] Coughlan had trained to be a dental technician, but with the formation of Caravan, he chose to be a professional musician instead.[1]
Caravan's brand of art rock emphasised Coughlan's drumming, which enabled him to contribute to some of the band's compositions, including the 19/8 time signature on the "A Hunting We Shall Go/L'Auberge du Sanglier" song suite for For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night.[4][3] 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 came to the fore, they decided to call it quits,[5] and Coughlan started a second career in the pub business.[1]
In 1990 Caravan reunited again and played at the Canterbury Festival in June, followed by a one-off televised concert for ITV Central's new music series "Bedrock" at the Central TV studios in Nottingham. 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[1][6] In 2005 Coughlan was diagnosed with "a form of rheumatoid arthritis" and this put a halt to Caravan's live performances.[7][8]
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.[1][2]
Coughlan died on 1 December 2013, having been treated in the preceding weeks for pneumonia at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Herne Bay. He left a widow, Sue, and daughter Beth. Close friend and fellow band member Pye Hastings said: "Richard was a fine musician and will forever be remembered, not least by us, but by the fans all around the world."[9]
Referencesedit
^ abcdefg"Richard Coughlan". Calyx, the Canterbury Website. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
^ abSwanson, Dave (9 December 2013). "Caravan Drummer Richard Coughlan Dies". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
^ abcdEder, Bruce. "Richard Coughlan". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
^"Richard Coughlan: Musician". The Independent. 3 January 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
^Eder, Bruce. "Caravan". AllMusic. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
^"Canterbury Scene: Richard Coughlan". BBC. Retrieved 5 February 2010.
^"Caravan Biography". Calyx, the Canterbury Website. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
^"Caravan Biography". Caravan Website. Retrieved 9 November 2011.
^Warren, Gerry (9 December 2013). "Richard Coughlan of Canterbury-based band Caravan was a pioneer of the Sixties music scene in the city". Kent Online. Retrieved 14 December 2013.
November 11, 2023
richard, coughlan, irish, golfer, richie, coughlan, september, 1947, december, 2013, english, musician, best, known, drummer, percussionist, canterbury, scene, progressive, rock, band, caravan, founding, members, caravan, 1968, remained, with, band, until, dea. For the Irish golfer see Richie Coughlan Richard Coughlan 2 September 1947 1 December 2013 1 2 was an English musician best known as the drummer and percussionist of the Canterbury scene progressive rock band Caravan He was one of the founding members of Caravan in 1968 and remained with the band until his death AllMusic called Coughlan one of art rock s longest tenured musicians 3 Richard CoughlanCoughlan first on right withThe Wilde Flowers 1966 Background informationBorn 1947 09 02 2 September 1947Herne Bay Kent EnglandDied1 December 2013 2013 12 01 aged 66 GenresProgressive rock jazz fusion Canterbury scene art rockOccupation s MusicianInstrument s DrummerYears active1966 2013Biography editRichard Coughlan was born on 2 September 1947 in Herne Bay Kent England 3 He attended the Frank Hooker School in Canterbury where he started playing mouth organ at the age of ten Later Coughlan joined the Sea Cadets where he first played bugle 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 1 In 1966 through a friend from the Sea Cadets Coughlan met up with Hugh Hopper the bass guitarist of the Canterbury progressive rock band The Wilde Flowers Coughlan began attending their rehearsals and paid particular attention to Robert Wyatt 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 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 1 3 Coughlan had trained to be a dental technician but with the formation of Caravan he chose to be a professional musician instead 1 Caravan s brand of art rock emphasised Coughlan s drumming which enabled him to contribute to some of the band s compositions including the 19 8 time signature on the A Hunting We Shall Go L Auberge du Sanglier song suite for For Girls Who Grow Plump in the Night 4 3 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 came to the fore they decided to call it quits 5 and Coughlan started a second career in the pub business 1 In 1990 Caravan reunited again and played at the Canterbury Festival in June followed by a one off televised concert for ITV Central s new music series Bedrock at the Central TV studios in Nottingham 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 1 6 In 2005 Coughlan was diagnosed with a form of rheumatoid arthritis and this put a halt to Caravan s live performances 7 8 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 1 2 Coughlan died on 1 December 2013 having been treated in the preceding weeks for pneumonia at the Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital in Herne Bay He left a widow Sue and daughter Beth Close friend and fellow band member Pye Hastings said Richard was a fine musician and will forever be remembered not least by us but by the fans all around the world 9 References edit a b c d e f g Richard Coughlan Calyx the Canterbury Website Retrieved 10 December 2013 a b Swanson Dave 9 December 2013 Caravan Drummer Richard Coughlan Dies Ultimate Classic Rock Retrieved 10 December 2013 a b c d Eder Bruce Richard Coughlan AllMusic Retrieved 5 February 2010 Richard Coughlan Musician The Independent 3 January 2014 Retrieved 1 January 2021 Eder Bruce Caravan AllMusic Retrieved 5 February 2010 Canterbury Scene Richard Coughlan BBC Retrieved 5 February 2010 Caravan Biography Calyx the Canterbury Website Retrieved 9 November 2011 Caravan Biography Caravan Website Retrieved 9 November 2011 Warren Gerry 9 December 2013 Richard Coughlan of Canterbury based band Caravan was a pioneer of the Sixties music scene in the city Kent Online Retrieved 14 December 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Richard Coughlan amp oldid 1030771149, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
