Lything And Gracing was an early composition of Phil’s, written in 1972 when Phil was playing in Matching Mole. It was first performed by Matching Mole at Kensington House, London on the 6th of March1972, recorded by the BBC and broadcast in Sounds of the Seventies on 24th March. In July of that year it was performed by Matching Mole, sharing the bill with Soft Machine and Just Us, at London’s Kings Cross Cinema and again at the Paris Theatre London in August (BBC in concert recording). In August the same year it was recorded in Bilzen, Belgium, by Belgian Radio. The composition also appears on Matching Mole’s Little Record under the title “Righteous Rhumba”, with lyrics (and vocals) by Robert Wyatt.
Hatfield and the North was born later in 1972 and they played Lything and Gracing on many of their early gigs, including the earliest known recording on November 17th at Imperial College London. On 22nd January (Phil’s birthday) it was played at Langham studios for Sounds of the Seventies, broadcast on February 1st. On February 4th it was performed at the Roundhouse, London in The Changing Face of Rock. It was on the setlist for Hatfield’s Dutch tour in April 1973 and the Dutch tour in June the same year and the Paris Théâtre Présent de La Villette. It was on the setlist for the 1974 Dutch tour and the Dutch/French tour in June the same year. The reformed Hatfield & the North with Alex Maguire replacing Dave Stewart played Lything And Gracing at the Mean Fiddler gig on March 18th 2005 and it was on the setlist for the mini European tour: Fasano Italy, Les Lilas France, Verviers Belgium and Zaandam Netherlands.In October in Japan it was played in the Club Citta Tokyo.
It appears on Matching Mole’s CD Smoke Signals, track 10 and on their CD March, track 6. A live version by Hatfield and the North’s also features on the Afters compilation, and appears as a bonus track on CD reissues of The Rotters’ Club.
AUDIO FILES
1972 Hatfield and the North: Phil Miller guitar, Dave Sinclair organ, Richard Sinclair bass, Pip Pyle drums.
Imperial College, London. 17 November 1972
1972 Matching Mole: Phil Miller guitar, Dave MacRae Fender Rhodes, Bill MacCormick bass, Robert Wyatt drums/mouth.
King’s Cross Cinema, London. 17 June 1972
2005 first night Hatfield and the North: Phil Miller guitar, Richard Sinclair bass, Alex Maguire Keyboards, Pip Pyle drums.
Club Citta, Tokyo, Japan. 1 October 2005
2005 second night Hatfield and the North: Phil Miller guitar, Richard Sinclair bass, Alex Maguire keyboards, Pip Pyle drums.
Club Citta, Tokyo, Japan. 2 October 2005
2005 Hatfield and the North: Phil Miller guitar, Richard Sinclair bass, Alex Maguire keyboards, Pip Pyle drums.
Mean Fiddler London 18th March 2005
1972 Matching Mole: Phil Miller guitar, Dave MacRae Fender Rhodes, Bill MacCormick bass, Robert Wyatt drums.
Queen Elizabeth Hall, London. 7th September 1972