Pip Pyle’s Equip’Out – Paris, Le Dunois, 9 Dec ’84

Pip Pyle’s Equip’Out
French tour – 9th December 1984

Again,we’re venturing slightly outside the strict domain of this website, but it’s clearly adjacent, with all of the members having collaborated with Phil, albeit just on one occasion in Sophia Domancich’s case (the Hatfield reunion in 1990). Equip’Out was the band Pip Pyle formed as he was moving base from England to France, beginning a musical as well as private partnership with the French pianist. His initial idea was to involve both Elton Dean and John Greaves from his previous group Soft Heap, but Greaves declined, which led to Pip drawing Hugh Hopper out of retirement.

The band’s first tour also had Pip’s old Gong bandmate Didier Malherbe as second sax (and flute) player, and Didier actually does most of the onstage announcements on the first few gigs, perhaps because Pip didn’t feel confident with his French at this point. Didier left the band after that, although he returned as special guest for the first studio album.

The 12-date itinerary began with three gigs at the Canterbury Scene’s then-Paris haunt, Le Dunois, then headed south via Jacky Barbier’s club in Burgundy. The picture on this page was taken by Hervé Rostagnat at the first stop, Nice (unfortunately, none of his photos show Sophia – she was probably out of sight from where he sat).

These recordings all came from Pip’s cassette collection, which contained 5 of these gigs (an audience recording of a sixth, in Caussade near Montauban, also circulates). For some reason he’d held on to those, whereas I found nothing from 1985 and only a handful of the later line-ups, the final incarnation ceasing operations in 1995. The sound quality varies a lot – all are soundboard sources, but some have a lot of hiss (first Dunois gig), are somewhat brickwalled (Marseille), but some, in particular the second Dunois gig and Nîmes, sound very good. Not all the gigs are complete, far from it (Marseille is clearly only the first set).

Even to those familiar with the band’s eponymous album, there is a lot here that won’t be familiar, in particular Didier’s contributions: “Humble Bebop” would later appear on his solo album “Fetish”, with Pip on drums, while “Bloomdido”, which showcases Didier singing in French, alludes to the Charlie Parker tune that inspired his nickname (it had featured on Didier’s obscure duo album with Yan Emeric from 1981). We also have a cool Hugh Hopper tune, “Véro”, which never appeared on any studio album, and the full version of “Rêve de Singe”, of which only an excerpt (without Didier) appeared on the album.

Here we present the second of those gigs:
Paris, Le Dunois 09.12.1984

Download – 198MB

Elton Dean – alto sax, saxello
Didier Malherbe – tenor and alto sax, flute
Sophia Domancich – piano
Hugh Hopper – bass
Pip Pyle – drums