National Health

National Health

Company type	Band
Industry	Music
Founded	1975
Headquarters	England
Products	Music albums

National Health was a progressive rock group from England associated with the Canterbury scene. Established in 1975, the band brought together musicians from keyboardist Dave Stewart's ensemble Hatfield and the North and Alan Gowen's group Gilgamesh. The lineup featured guitarists Phil Miller and Phil Lee, along with bassist Mont Campbell. The band's name originated from Stewart's National Health brand eyeglasses. Their original drummer, Bill Bruford (previously with Yes and King Crimson), was quickly replaced by Pip Pyle. Bass duties transitioned from Campbell to Neil Murray, and later to John Greaves. Before their debut album, Gowen departed but contributed as a guest; he later returned for final tours, substituting for Stewart who left after their sophomore release. Amanda Parsons provided vocals in the initial formation and appeared on their debut album as a guest; no permanent lead singer was added afterward, although occasional contributions came from guests like Richard Sinclair. Guitarist Phil Miller was the sole member to remain throughout all iterations.

The band toured extensively and launched their first album, National Health, in 1978. Although punk rock was gaining momentum at that time, their album showcased extended mostly instrumental pieces. National Health continued live performances until late 1980 but dissolved without recording a follow-up studio album.

After Gowen passed away in May 1981, the lineup known as Queues—comprising Stewart, Miller, Greaves, and Pyle—reassembled to produce D.S. Al Coda, featuring previously unrecorded compositions by Gowen. Their original recordings along with archival content have been reissued on CD.

A notable moment includes American rock band Deftones sampling the introduction of National Health's track "Binoculars" in their song "Black Moon".

Line-ups

July – September 1975	October – December 1975	December 1975 – January 1976	January – March 1976
Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Phil Lee – guitar Mont Campbell – bass Amanda Parsons – vocals	Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Phil Lee – guitar Mont Campbell – bass Amanda Parsons – vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion	Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Mont Campbell – bass Amanda Parsons – vocals Richard Burgess – drums, percussion	Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Mont Campbell – bass Amanda Parsons – vocals Steve Hillage – guitar Bill Bruford – drums, percussion
March – June 1976	July 1976 – January 1977	January – March 1977	March 1977 – January 1978
Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Mont Campbell – bass Amanda Parsons – vocals John Mitchell – drums, percussion	Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Amanda Parsons – vocals Bill Bruford – drums, percussion Neil Murray – bass	Dave Stewart – keyboards Alan Gowen – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Amanda Parsons – vocals Neil Murray – bass Pip Pyle – drums, percussion	Dave Stewart – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Neil Murray – bass Pip Pyle – drums, percussion
January – September 1978	September – October 1978	January 1979 – March 1980	March 1980 – October 1981
Dave Stewart – keyboards Phil Miller – guitar Pip Pyle – drums, percussion John Greaves – bass	Dave Stewart – keyboards  Phil Miller – guitar  Pip Pyle – drums, percussion  John Greaves – bass  Georgie Born – cello  Lindsay Cooper – bassoon	Phil Miller – guitar  Pip Pyle – drums, percussion  John Greaves – bass  Alan Gowen – keyboards  Dave Stewart performed "The Collapso" on BBC's The Old Grey Whistle Test in January 1979 prior to being replaced by Alan Gowen.	Disbanded
October – November 1981	November 1981 – August 1983	August 1983
Phil Miller – guitar   Pip Pyle – drums   John Greaves – bass   Dave Stewart – keyboards	Disbanded	Phil Miller – guitar   Pip Pyle – drums   John Greaves – bass   Dave Stewart – keyboards   Guests   Elton Dean – saxophone   Jimmy Hastings – flute   Barbara Gaskin – vocals

Studio albums

• National Health (1978)
• Of Queues and Cures (1978)
• D.S. Al Coda (1982)

Additional releases

• Complete (1990; compilation containing all three studio albums along with extra tracks)
• Missing Pieces (1996; collection of archival recordings)
• Playtime (2001; live performance recordings from 1979)
• Dreams Wide Awake (2005; selections drawn from the first two studio albums)

Filmography

• 2015: Romantic Warriors III: Canterbury Tales (DVD release)

External links

• Biography at Calyx
• Discography