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Khan was an English progressive rock band of the Canterbury Scene during 1971-1972.
Formed by Steve Hillage from Uriel, the initial line-up was Steve Hillage (guitar), Nick Greenwood (bass guitar, from Crazy World of Arthur Brown), Dick Henningham (organ) and Pip Pyle (percussion). Before recording their one and only album, Pyle moved on to Gong and was replaced by Eric Peachy (from Dr. K-s Blues Band) and Dick Henningham left as well, replaced by Dave Stewart.[1][2]
The group disbanded after the release of the album Space Shanty in 1974. The songs on Space Shanty have some of the most emotion-filled and gloriously picturesque lyrics and compositions out of the whole Canterbury scene/sound. Songs like "Stranded" and "Driving To Amsterdam" attempt atmospheres reminiscent of Uriah Heep's epic ballads (something not often done in a direct and dedicated way in the Canterbury scene - while Kevin Ayers may be comparable, a key difference is that Hillage's lyrics and compositions aren't detached or ironic). Some material on Steve Hillage's first solo album, Fish Rising, was originally planned for Khan's aborted second album.
While in Gong, Hillage continued to write great riffs but the larger musical dimension drew more from David Allen's psychedelic lyrics and story concepts. Hillage's solo work also mostly sees him playing within the more typical Canterbury jazz/prog/pop sound (Caravan etc), leaving the emotional record Space Shanty to be a fairly unique 'one-off' type of recording.[1]
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