National Health : experimental prog fusion group

[glenstegner]

The thing I love about the Canterbury musicians is they never take themselves very seriously while playing very serious music. Quite the opposite of what we're subjected to these days.

[glenstegner]

Be sure to smash the box of glass in sync with the time signature dammit!

[danbemusichead]

f n a sounds justs like the album o thos e days.

[danbemusichead]

f n a 

[SKOTP69]

This PUNK!!!

[BenBistro004]

The best type of music out there, no doubt.

[Groonblatt]

Hardly any fucker pushes the boundaries anymore. It's all sanitised bollocks. Viva the genre!!

This tune is 'The Collapso'

[TheMaxLefebvre]

What's the name of the song ? (Please)

[mensamoo]

lets just say they never played it the same way twice... thinks KC 'Peoria'

[BanColPan]

Haha soft dreamy ballad.

[RobertCorbett]

I have this album, it was given to me about 20 years ago by this strange old hippie dude who came into a guitar store where I was working and I only got around to listening to it last year!! This is freaking awesome and epitome of the phrase "they dont make them like they used to" I love it!

[nophil]

naah! that's hard panning!

[gigwalnutz1]

Some of the best stuff I've heard in a long time! How I wish this era could come back! Thank God for you tube or it would be lady gaa gaa all the time!

[MrBloomdido]

canterbury scene band = has to be brill

[lindiensaoul]

are they mentally challenged or somethin'?

[skaterat121]

@lindiensaoul if so retards can rock way harder than you.

[PrimericanIdol]

Holy crap! that's terrible... worst band ever.

[ferdmertz]

where can we hear your band?

[PrimericanIdol]

myspace . com / tertiarycolormusic

[xTjPx]

everyone was influenced by GG.

but few people know it.

[then00best]

Is it just me or do they sound like Gentle Giant?

[maltjerry]

I was going to say "it's just you", but at about 3 mins in, there is a small passage of writing that is quite Giant-esque.

Love this. Shame it gets cut off.

[sachsen100]

yeah they sound like GG, but in full academic perfection. like it or not.

[Tasselhoff13]

Well, they are from the same era and prog sense, I can see where some likeness might e involved. Especially from In A Glass House!

[tfk3160]

Thanks for posting, I loved this stuff back in the day, never got to see these guys until now. This is one of my favorite all time tracks. Great stuff. Loved Hatfield and the north too.

[gotears2listen]

PS - this should've been film score for Withnail & I

[gotears2listen]

Gonna have a shufty for AMM after this - Greaves = Keith Rowe ( er, sort of...) Great stuff, am enjoying this

[EriktheHermit]

er, sick as in good :D

[EriktheHermit]

this is fuckin sick man

[waitaniwha]

Lazy listeners who want their egos stroked will struggle with innovation, experimentation, anything new or out of the box. In it's day it was totally radical and is still very entertaining, thanks drum man for posting this rare footage. 5*s

[twolunches]

Yea, totally ballsy and the norm back then to have a go and do your own thing. Nothing much as challenging and original as this has come along since then.

[minastronasse]

Typical british crap. How surprising nobody knows them.

[lenskap]

Dave Stewart is one of the most original keyboardists ever. Playing a Hammond through a fuzz and wahwah is genius. Phil miller is no slouch either.

[PrimericanIdol]

i can't believe you think THIS is good. Not even Bill Bruford could make them suck less.

[jaydude214]

the actual song is awesome... the spoon thing with the drummer was just fuckin stupid

[Kddog1103]

Does anybody else think that that the drummer resembles Keith Emerson? This is great stuff, really rare. Thanks. They don't write'em like that anymore.

[PrimericanIdol]

Holy shit... this is terrible.

[sparksmediagr]

Did you give it a chance beyond the intro. These are incredible musicians who are willing to take risks. Some work & some don't. Not sure how you stumbled upon this, but if you knew these guys pedigree, you would know they are the real deal!

[DRGasMoney]

you have to give it a minute or two and it gets slightly more standable.

[kenrayboy]

Ha! Can't believe you mentioned John McCain, I played with him in the 80's in Fort Worth...Godzilla bites. Superb fellow and one of the world's truly great musicians.

[28if]

I think Spinal Tap covered this song during their free jazz period

[faithlessaaa]

lol

[ronaldmcdonald333]

john mccain can play like this with his feet

[omegavalderrama]

Now that I see it twice, its all over, the "Theme #1" thing, were they trying to do a version of their own or what?

[omegavalderrama]

You need to apreciate it as a whole, not like if the bass player is good or not, this is like an abstract painting, there's ppl that never will understand it. with that said, at first there're bits that sound like Van Der Graaf Generator "Theme #1"

[KillingSpreeFreesBee]

AWESOME! But i prefer experimental electrock

[lordzacck]

not only does he play the bass, but he also plays the pan of silverware.

[MatheusManentee]

Wow, that was awesome!

Great music, great ideas!!

[milesmcclain1989]

who's gonna pick up those spoons?!

[eunicefinger]

bloody hell thats hard work! and i love my prog!!!!!!!!

[stephandros]

You're fucking kidding. The most stupid thing I have ever seen. Or heard.

[twolunches]

love that idea of the mic on the floor to the side! More contemporary acts should think about this!..

[whitestripesftw]

These people made it as musical guests? What happened to the times :( No one playing experimental/fusion music of any sort is respected nowadays, It's a sad thing.

This stuff rocks. It's so prog (1:13 ftw), but just extending what prog is, in the 70s. Rocks man, thanks for the post.

[toxicharold]

STFU!!!

[nosequiters]

@whitestripesftw er yes they are people are making experimental/fusion music all the time.... its you that fell behind not music.

[deepindercheema]

I see someone has taken their hand held camera into the BFi viewing rooms.

I remember seeing this on the Television, I remembered the long leather coat, and I thought I remembered the wearer was lying on the floor.

[FredStembottom]

Where's Alan Gowen? I know he was terminally ill later but he actually continued in Nat. Health longer than Dave Stewart. I don't think this is the re-union (D.S. al Coda) band either because they were using different instruments by then (Pip on electronic drums Dave on DX-7) and this song isn't an A. G. composition or from D.S. al Coda. I'm confused!

[lloydxmass10]

Alan Gowen left the band after the recording of the first album and only returned when Dave Stewart left. The live album Playtime is the only document of the Gowen/Miller/Pyle/Greaves lineup. Then Gowen passed away and Stewart rejoined to record DS Al Coda

[FredStembottom]

Thank you. I've been confused about all that for years!

[Soamsey]

Stewart and Gowen was a monster combination. Can't think of a single comparable pair on keys.

[sandstoned]

omg

[leointrospecto]

with Hatfield and the North, the greatest band in Canterbury Scene.

[adewolf]

Great stuff. The rest of you can get bent...

;-)

:-P

[jonsilence]

What a joy to see two-thirds of EGG. Dave Stewart and the enigmatic and mysterious Mont Campbell no less, having fun and trashing his mum's best batch of silverware...good grief Mont! You should be sent to Newport Hospital for observation!

[mackecm2]

John Greaves, not Mont Campbell..

[spikerooney011]

Tenemos Roads - YES PLEASE!!!!

[BongoMadness]

thank you soamsey `for tenemos roads appreciation`..some people just dont get it..

[BongoMadness]

yes burger i know this isnt hatfield and the north....`yawn`read properly

[Soamsey]

So, is Callapso the only National Health performance documented or what? Frustrating, particularly as this performance was so affected and full of histrionics.

[BongoMadness]

oh burger listen to the albums...tenemos roads is wonderful...and hatfield and the north were ahead of their time..well ahead of you anyway.

[burgersoft777]

This isn't Hatfield and the North and it doesnt come close. Not only have I listened to them I saw this bunch live and they were a great bore..Its down to Stewart he is not a very melodic player.

[burgersoft777]

If you want to here a decent group with Stewart in that isn't Hatfield you will struggle but there is Khan and the Para-Gong/ Steve Hillage album Fish rising, which just makes this and Egg all the more unbearable.

[Soamsey]

Fish Rising is pretty good but I far prefer National Health, Egg, and Bruford to Hatfield and the North and Kahn, both of which I find sort of dated and boring and too pop-ish.

[FlyingJunk]

Dave Stewart is amazing! Egg was such a wonderful band!

[robibm2003]

Hi, we're five amazing musicians who can't write a decent song between us. So we'll just noodle around and hope the pretentious art fag crowd will dub us the next big thing. Unfortunately, they play too well to be liked by the NME, the art fag Bible.

[martinevans123]

How right you are, RobStuckIn2003, "Decent Songs", "Art Fags", "NME"... they all go together, don't they!? ...just like The Central Scrutinizer warned us all in Joe's Garage! Those degenerate scum, how dare they!! And 30 years ago too! that's just disgusting. Thank god the end has been chopped of, so artfully.

[crustandcrumb]

"singing through a microphone on the floor is a class idea, as is throwing cutlery around the place."

Hahaha, brilliant mate.

[XtheyouthX]

I just throw a box of silverware at me mum after watching this vid

[eddievanhalenisgod]

National Health! How much of my pay packet am i paying towards this self indulgent codswollop in tax? no wonder ive bin waiting so long for a new hip! im off to cure my head ache after listening to that crap by listening to some Gong, now theres a combo who knew how to knock out a nice 3min catchy pop ditty.

[regzecunt]

WANKER

[thisheatdeceit]

do you think the guitar line in this brill piece is nicked fom theme one by van der graaf generator

[regzecunt]

erm not too sure. more of a van halen fan meself. still not sure about the spoons. got a usb turntable for xmas, so gonna put rubicon (tangs)on me i pod....then listen to it !LOL

[paraplegia]

@thisheatdeceit: yes, the guitar line is definitely quoting 'Theme One', written by Sir George Martin and also covered by VDGG.

[Garleton]

rHE nh ALONG WITH hENRY cOW bEEFHEART AND zAPPA,gENTLE GIANT ET AL WERE ACTUALLY ABLE TO MAKE MUSIC THAT HADCOLOUR,VARIETY,HUMOUR,ADVEN­TURE AND SHEER MUSICALITY. i SUPPOSE FOR THOSE PEOPLE WHO LOVE THE THREE CHORD WONDERS AND THE DANCEFLOOR COMPUTERIZED DRUMS THEY MIGHT BE CONSIDERED PRETENTIOUS. tHE DIFFERENCE FOR ME IS THAT THESE BANDS WERE NOT JUST DISPOSABLE LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT!

[Soamsey]

Garleton: I agree with you for the most part but this is still just popular music - all of this and more had already been done in contemporary classical music. And, apart from the one aspect of compositional formal complexity (and, perhaps, humor), the jazz and fusion guys of the same period had it all over the prog guys anyway.

[burgersoft777]

I really don't understand what this guy has to use a microphone that is almost on the floor it looks stupid...and the cutlery..gads. Otherwise this is a good example of the more clinical and questionable end of prog...They did a version of theme one and they supported Steve Hillage on a tour..not the greatest prog band..3rd division act in my book.

[EamonAndrews]

its people like you who make the world boring. i bet you love Yes and Rush and other shit like that. singing through a microphone on the floor is a class idea, as is throwing cutlery around the place. its an insult to the musicality of National Health to call them a 'prog-rock' band at all... the're way to good for that.

[burgersoft777]

No I like Hatfeild and the North. If you like this sterile sort of prog jazz fusion that is your problem. To be honest I never liked anything that was as pretentious as this band were, and I saw them live a number of times before I came to the conclusion that they sucked...much like egg..awful.

I supose you liked "bruford" as well there is no accounting for taste. Microphone on the floor "class idea", "Musicality" one mans meat anothers National Health . Do you atually play BTW ?

[burgersoft777]

Before somebody says something stupid like "Stewart was in both bands", "how come you love Hatfield but hate egg and N.H." I would add that without the kind of melodic input that Richard Sinclair added to The North, you would be left with exactly the kind of cynical and clinical dross that is the hallmark of the latter end of prog-jazz/rock fusion. Musicality should be about listenable music. Listen to Khan and The Norths LP's then honestly tell me that National Health to the same standard

[Soamsey]

Burger: the more variety you listen to, the more becomes listenable. This isn't exactly Albert Ayler. In fact, having listened to much more challenging music, I generally listen to National Health when I want to hear something pretty and melodic. Tenemos Roads, for example, is hauntingly beautiful.

[burgersoft777]

The point is that its not very good music. . The antics with the spoons is embarrassing. In comparison with the excellent Hatfield and the North this band sounds pretentious sterile and boring. At best they are a third division outfit. Live that were extremely boring. Now of course these are my opinions but I honestly doubt that they are any one's favorite band. i maintain that it was groups like this that made Punk rock both inevitable and welcomed.

[Soamsey]

I do appreciate what you are saying and probably we just disagree, plain and simple. Incidentally, while I don't mind performance art, I thought the spoon stuff was lame, too. And lastly, I think Punk was inevitable anyway and National Health were too late and too much of a footnote to have had anything to do with the changes happening.

[hoty1957]

Punk blows chunks....

[Skoldjrdeth]

take it easy pal

[burgersoft777]

When you say its people like me that make the world boring I would remind you that it was exactly because of bands like National Health that we all suffered the convulsions of 1977 and the destruction of much of the music we loved. Can you honestly say National Health would ever appeal to more than a tiny group of nerdy musos ? National Health are Boring, I hope that I am way more melodic than such 3rd division bands.

[Soamsey]

burgersoft: Music that appeals only to tiny groups of nerdy musos is in my book a recommendation. Higher sales are generally a product of appealing to dumb people with simple thoughts.

[monsieurdupont]

So if it's not in 19/8 and the singer stands up when singing then it's "shit", right? Well, free your mind and you will find that Yes and Rush made some very good music, as did (gasp) Depeche Mode and Tears for Fears. If we had it your way we would have just one kind of music, and this sounds pretty boring to me.

I actually like NH, but the beginning looks (and sounds) stupid. There is nothing musical about it. Once they actually start playing Collapso it's great.

[dougmateer]

Progressive rock drummers are one of the most underrated group of musicians.

[johnarthurknight]

John Greaves did the best bass solo ever on the title track of Soft Heap's A Veritable Centaur which also features the late Pip.

[wigginsdesign]

John Greaves (x-cow bassist) plays bass. This was an incredible band and this album is one of my favorites from beginning to end. This band cooked!

[blakexzappa]

does anyone know who the bassist/vocalist is?

[isky8]

LOVE IT! Thank you. Cantebury Rocks!

[UnklRudi]

Awesome post! It's amazing what you find on YT. NH is a largely unheralded voice in prog/fusion. I think it was Stewart that played on Brufords "One Of A Kind" and "Gradually Going Tornado" They even riffed on a couple of National Health tunes. Thanks.

[fenderjazz61]

MILLION thanks druman44! Was looking for NH videos for so long... GREAT band, incredible music. Absolutely fantastic. MORE PLEASE !

[friar124]

I didn't know Pip Pyle died. Aw, man. Him and Piper Laurie ruled canterbury.

Excellent clip. Thank you.

[mauimauvais]

Piper Laurie? She's an actress from Detroit. Who could you be thinking of?

[DynaDash]

I've spent years looking for THIS.

RIP to Pip and Gowen.

Oh, and the clip is incomplete.

[druman44]

this has pretty good video/audio quality, but i know that the song IS cut off at the end, i dont know by how much, prob a minute or two max!

so if any of you DO want to see the rest of it, just search the song tittle and you should be able to find it on u-tube, id ont think his clip is ruined by being cut short but it is nice to see the song finished :) thanks.

[Mekaniktom]

Rest in Peace Pip...

It's great to see one of my Canterbury Favourites live...

John: I never thought that you were such a "bad" guy :-))

Great upload

[luispagax]

Molte grazie per questo sorprendente video.

R.I.P. Pip the Hip

[wigginsdesign]

Finally I find NH. LOVE IT! Thank you. Cantebury Rocks! This is from one of the best of many great National Heath & Hatfield & the North recordings. I loved Pip Pyles style. Rest in peace - PP. Dave youa re the man. Greaves cooks, Phil soars

[pretistXlilXraindrop]

TREMENDOUS!! John Greaves was so PUNK!!!!

[rickroks]

Does anyone notice that the guitar melody of this tune is a direct rip-off of a Van der graaf song? (the name escapes me) but it was a single that came out at the time of Pawn Hearts and was included on some versions of the album. Shame Dave left, they were a great band, but the work he did with Bruford was also essential. Would be nice if he went back with the Hatfield reunion though. (He had differances with Pip, but thats moot now)

[Eelco]

You're right, the guitar melody does show some similarity with the main-riff of "theme one". Which actually is an old BBC theme (well, not so old in the 70's ;))

[mihohobaba]

There's the full version of this elsewhere on this site if you search for "The Collapso". It's hilarious, John Greaves does a completely mental bass solo near the end, and throws Phil Miller. Pip and Dave Stewart keep it going and somehow they all finish together. I read somewhere that this appearance was the final straw for Dave Stewart and he left soon after.

[balihew]

I like Grestch Roundbadge sound from Pip Pyle!! RIP Pip.

[NeilJung]

It's like the Canterbury version of the Fast Show's jazz club. Nice

[adewolf]

Love this stuff...

[brubrum]

I love all these bands, soft machine, national health, hatfield and the north, egg, bruford, early eno, van der graff, gentle giant, more more more more more please

[jonwilson]

At last, I've been waiting for years for this. I watched the original broadcast in '78 I think, and haven't seen it since. But where's the rest?

[mihohobaba]

I remember watching this when it was broadcast all those years ago! Canterbury music!

[mikeh69]

my comments are every comment made here I almost exploded into a million pieces it's like I have been waiting see hatfield or national footage FOR 20 YEARS and my god THE COLLAPSO BY ALL MEANS

[fockmenofocku]

if you have more,please post<---beggin!!

[Aristillus76]

Nice, Druman, thanks! Ever see any Samla on YouTube?

[EamonAndrews]

that is probably the best thing ive seen in my life. Thanks! More National Health!

[druman44]

yeah, shit man, thats all ive got/ever seen. if you ever see more let me know.

[neve1073]

nice

[curseddeath]

sweeeeet