| Gong | |
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Gong playing Hyde Park, 29th June 1974
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| Background information | |
| Origin | France |
| Genre(s) | Progressive rock, psychedelic rock, space rock |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Associated acts | Pierre Moerlen's Gong |
| Website | Official Website |
| Members | |
| Daevid Allen Gilli Smyth Orlando Allen |
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| Former members | |
| Steve Hillage Mark Hewins Mike Howlett Didier Malherbe Pip Pyle Laurie Allan Christian Tritsch Tim Blake Pierre Moerlen Mireille Bauer Miquette Giraudy Shyamal Maitra Graham Clark Theo Travis Gwyo Zepix Chris Taylor Kawabata Makoto Josh Pollock Gabe Rogasner Cotton Casino |
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Gong is a progressive/psychedelic rock band formed by Australian musician Daevid Allen. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. A music genre is a categorical and typological construct that identifies musical sounds as belonging to a particular category and type of music that can be distinguished from other Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Psychedelic rock is a style of Rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. Space rock is a subgenre of Rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early mostly British 1970s Progressive rock and psychedelic Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Pierre Moerlen's Gong is a Jazz fusion outfit which is very different from the first incarnation of Gong, the Psychedelic Space-rock act Daevid Allen (born January 13, 1938 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Poet, Guitarist, Singer, Gilli Smyth (born June 1, 1933 a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums Orlando Allen ( January 10, 1803 - September 4, 1874) was a New York State Assemblyman and the 18th Mayor of Steve Hillage is a British musician best known as a guitarist Mark Hewins (born 24 March 1955) is a British Jazz Guitarist known particularly for his connections to the Canterbury scene Mike Howlett (born April 27, 1950) is a Fijian -born Musician and producer based in the United Kingdom. Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris, France) is a saxophonist and flautist Phillip "Pip" Pyle ( 4 April 1950 - 28 August 2006) was an English -born drummer from Laurie Allan (born 19 February 1943, in London) is a drummer best known for stints in Delivery and Gong. Christian Tritsch (born 1944 was the bass guitarist with Gong from 1970 to 1973 Timothy 'Tim' Blake (born 6 February 1952, at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Shepherd's Bush, West London) Keyboards, Pierre Moerlen, born in Colmar ( Haut-Rhin) on 23 october 1952 and deceased in Strasbourg on May 3 2005 Mireille Bauer (born 1951 is a French percussionist and former member of Gong. Miquette Giraudy is a keyboard player best known for her work in Gong and with her partner Steve Hillage. Graham Leslie Lionel Clark (born December 16 1959) is an English Jazz Violinist based in Buxton, Derbyshire. Theo Travis (born 1964 in Birmingham) is a British Saxophonist and Flautist. Formed in 1973 Zorch was England's first totally electronic band pioneering integrated performances of Synthesizers and lightshow Kawabata Makoto ( 河[[wiktionary 端|端]] 一) is a Japanese musician and founding member of the band and "soul collective" Acid Mothers Temple Progressive rock (often shortened to " progressive " " prog " or " prog rock " is a form of Rock music that evolved Psychedelic rock is a style of Rock music that attempts to replicate the mind-altering experiences of hallucinogenic drugs. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics. A musician is a person who plays or writes Music. Musicians can be classified by their roles in creating or performing music An instrumentalist plays a Daevid Allen (born January 13, 1938 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Poet, Guitarist, Singer, Their music has also been described as space rock. Space rock is a subgenre of Rock music; the term originally referred to a group of early mostly British 1970s Progressive rock and psychedelic Other notable band members include Allan Holdsworth, Tim Blake, Didier Malherbe, Pip Pyle, Gilli Smyth, Steve Hillage, Mike Howlett and Pierre Moerlen. Allan Holdsworth (born August 6, 1946 in Bradford, West Yorkshire) is a British Jazz / rock Guitarist Timothy 'Tim' Blake (born 6 February 1952, at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Shepherd's Bush, West London) Keyboards, Gilli Smyth (born June 1, 1933 a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums Steve Hillage is a British musician best known as a guitarist Mike Howlett (born April 27, 1950) is a Fijian -born Musician and producer based in the United Kingdom. Pierre Moerlen, born in Colmar ( Haut-Rhin) on 23 october 1952 and deceased in Strasbourg on May 3 2005 Others who have, albeit briefly, played in Gong are Bill Bruford, Brian Davison and Chris Cutler. William Scott Bruford (born May 17 1949 in Sevenoaks, Kent) better known as Bill Bruford, is an English Drummer This article is about the drummer For the cricketer see Brian Davison. Chris Cutler (born January 4, 1947) is an English percussionist composer lyricist and music theorist
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Gong formed in 1967, after Allen—then a member of Soft Machine—was denied entry to the United Kingdom due to a visa complication. Year 1967 ( MCMLXVII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar of the 1967 Gregorian calendar. Soft Machine was an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located Allen remained in France where he and a London-born Sorbonne professor, Gilli Smyth, established the first incarnation of the band. This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. The historic University of Paris (Université de Paris first appeared in the second half of the 13th century Gilli Smyth (born June 1, 1933 a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums This line-up fragmented during the 1968 student revolution, with Allen and Smyth forced to flee France for Deià in Majorca. Year 1968 ( MCMLXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. For other events in May 1968 see 1968. Deià is a small coastal village in the northern ridge of the Spanish island of Majorca. Majorca ( Spanish and Mallorca is the largest island of Spain.
They allegedly found saxophonist Didier Malherbe living in a cave in Deya, before film director Jérôme Laperrousaz invited the band back to France to record the soundtrack of his movie Continental Circus. Gilli Smyth (born June 1, 1933 a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums Daevid Allen (born January 13, 1938 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Poet, Guitarist, Singer, The saxophone (commonly referred to simply as sax) is a conical- bored transposing Musical instrument considered a member of the Woodwind Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris, France) is a saxophonist and flautist They were subsequently approached by Jean Karakos of the newly formed independent label BYG and signed a multi-album deal with them (Magick Brother, Mystic Sister, "Camembert Electrique" and Allen's solo album Bananamoon were all released on BYG).
Gong played at the second Glastonbury Festival in June 1971, which they followed up with a UK tour the following Autumn. For the classical music and theatre festivals co-founded by Rutland Boughton between 1914 and 1926 see Glastonbury Festival (1914-1925 The They were subsequently (late 1972) one of the first acts to sign to Virgin Records, getting first pick of the studio-time ahead of Mike Oldfield. Virgin Records is a British Record label founded by English entrepreneur Richard Branson, Simon Draper, and Nik Powell Michael Gordon Oldfield (born 15 May 1953 in Reading, Berkshire) is an English Multi-instrumentalist Musician By now, a regular line-up had established itself and Gong released their Camembert Electrique album. After the band signed with Virgin, subsidiary Caroline Records "Camembert" was given a belated UK release in late 1974. Caroline Records started out as a subsidiary of Richard Branson 's Virgin Records label during the early to mid 1970s Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. It was priced at 59p (that is, the price of a typical single rather than an album), ensuring that sufficient numbers were sold for the album to chart had it not been barred from the charts for being so cheap.
Between 1973 and 1974, Gong, now augmented by guitarist Steve Hillage, released their best-known work, the Radio Gnome Trilogy—three records that expounded upon the (previously only hinted at) Gong mythology. Steve Hillage is a British musician best known as a guitarist Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. Steve Hillage is a British musician best known as a guitarist At a gig in Cheltenham, in 1975, Allen refused to go on stage, claiming that a "wall of force" was preventing him, and left the band. Education Year 1975 ( MCMLXXV) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. With both Smyth, who wanted to spend more time with her two children, and synth wizard Tim Blake having jumped off in previous months, this marked the end of the 'classic' line-up. Timothy 'Tim' Blake (born 6 February 1952, at Queen Charlotte's Hospital, Shepherd's Bush, West London) Keyboards, The band continued, touring the UK in November 1975 (as documented on the 2005 release Live in Sherwood Forest '75) and working on their next album Shamal, but Hillage, who had been the band's de facto leader since Allen's exit, and his partner Miquette Giraudy, who had taken over from Smyth in late 1974, left before Shamal was released in early 1976. Miquette Giraudy is a keyboard player best known for her work in Gong and with her partner Steve Hillage. They re-joined the band briefly for a 1977 live reunion in Paris. [1]
Drummer Pierre Moerlen, who had been persuaded by Virgin to rejoin Gong as a co-leader with Malherbe (after his spell with the French contemporary ensemble Les Percussions De Strasbourg) in 1975, gradually took over the band's leadership. Pierre Moerlen, born in Colmar ( Haut-Rhin) on 23 october 1952 and deceased in Strasbourg on May 3 2005 When Malherbe, the only remaining founding member, finally left in 1977, Moerlen formed a new percussion-based line-up with American bassist Hansford Rowe and percussionists Mireille Bauer and Benoit Moerlen. Mörlen is an Ortsgemeinde – a community belonging to a Verbandsgemeinde – in the Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, To avoid confusion, it became known as Gong-Expresso, and from 1978 on, as Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Pierre Moerlen's Gong is a Jazz fusion outfit which is very different from the first incarnation of Gong, the Psychedelic Space-rock act
Allen, however, continued to develop the Gong mythology from the late seventies up until the nineties in his solo work, and with bands such as Euterpe and Planet Gong (which comprised Allen and Smyth playing with the British festival band Here & Now), while Smyth formed a separate band: Mother Gong. Here & Now are an English Psychedelic / progressive / Space rock band formed in early 1974 Here & Now are an English Psychedelic / progressive / Space rock band formed in early 1974
After spending most of the Eighties in his native Australia, Allen returned to the UK in 1988 with a new project, the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, whose revolving cast included the likes of Harry Williamson, violinist Graham Clark and Didier Malherbe. Graham Leslie Lionel Clark (born December 16 1959) is an English Jazz Violinist based in Buxton, Derbyshire. Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris, France) is a saxophonist and flautist This morphed into GongMaison and by 1992, the name Gong was again in use, by which time original drummer Pip Pyle had also rejoined. Phillip "Pip" Pyle ( 4 April 1950 - 28 August 2006) was an English -born drummer from The band released the album Shapeshifter (subsequently dubbed Radio Gnome part 4), followed by extensive touring. In 1994, Gong celebrated its 25th birthday in London, including a performance by most of the 'classic' line-up, including the returning Gilli Smyth and Mike Howlett. This formed the basic of the "Classic Gong" band which toured worldwide from 1996 to 2001 and released Zero to Infinity in 2000 (by Allen, Smyth, Howlett and Malherbe plus new recruits Theo Travis and Chris Taylor).
However, 2003 saw a radical new line-up called Acid Mothers Gong, including Acid Mothers Temple member Kawabata Makoto and University Of Errors guitarist Josh Pollock. Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso UFO (and subsequent offshoots is a Japanese psychedelic band the core of which formed in 1995 Allen and Smyth's son Orlando Allen drummed on the album Acid Motherhood but the drummer on most of the band's live dates was Ruins drummer Tatsuya Yoshida. Orlando Allen ( January 10, 1803 - September 4, 1874) was a New York State Assemblyman and the 18th Mayor of This article is about ruins in Architecture; for other meanings see Ruins (disambiguation.
While the "Classic Gong" line-up retired from regular touring in 2001, there have been one-off reunions since, most notably at the "Gong Family Unconvention" (Uncon), the first of which was held in 2004 in the Glastonbury Assembly rooms as a one day event. The 2005 Uncon was a 2-day affair featuring several Gong-related bands such as Here and Now, System 7, House of Thandoy and Kangaroo Moon. The most recent Uncon was a 3-day event held at the Melkweg in Amsterdam on 3-5 November 2006, with practically all Gong-related bands present: classic Gong (with Allen, Smyth, Malherbe, Hillage, Blake and Howlett, plus Miquette Giraudy, Chris Taylor and Theo Travis), System 7, Steve Hillage Band, Hadouk, Tim Blake & Jean-Philippe Rykiel, University of Errors, Here & Now, Mother Gong, Zorch, Eat Static, Acid Mothers Gong, Slack Baba, Kangaroo Moon and many others. System 7 (codenamed "Big Bang" and sometimes called Mac OS 7) is a single-user Graphical user interface -based Operating system for Macintosh Formed in 1973 Zorch was England's first totally electronic band pioneering integrated performances of Synthesizers and lightshow These events have all been compèred by Thom the Poet.
Gong mythology is a collection of recurring characters, themes, and ideas that permeate the rock albums of Daevid Allen and Gong and to a lesser extent the early works of Steve Hillage. Daevid Allen (born January 13, 1938 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Poet, Guitarist, Singer, Rock music is a genre of Popular music often though not necessarily employing Electric guitar, Bass guitar, and Drums. Daevid Allen (born January 13, 1938 in Melbourne, Australia) is an Australian Poet, Guitarist, Singer, Steve Hillage is a British musician best known as a guitarist The story is based on a vision Allen had during the full moon of Easter, 1966 in which he claims he could see his future laid out before him. Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. Year 1966 ( MCMLXVI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the 1966 Gregorian calendar. The mythology is hinted at through all of Gong's earlier albums but is not the central theme until the "Radio Gnome Trilogy" (1973-1974). Year 1973 ( MCMLXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display full calendar of the 1973 Gregorian calendar. Year 1974 ( MCMLXXIV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar of the 1974 Gregorian calendar.
The story begins on the album Flying Teapot (1973) when a pig-farming Egyptologist called Mista T Being is sold a "magick ear ring" by an "antique teapot street vendor & tea label collector" called Fred the Fish. Flying Teapot is an album by Gong, originally released in 1973 The ear ring is capable of receiving messages from the Planet Gong via a pirate radio station called Radio Gnome Invisible. Being and Fish head off to the hymnalayas of Tibet (sic) where they meet the "great beer yogi" Banana Ananda in a cave. Definitions of Tibet See also Definitions of Tibet Name In English The English word Tibet, like the word for Tibet in most European Ananda tends to chant "Banana Nirvana Mañana" a lot and gets drunk on Foster's Australian Lager. Foster's Lager is an internationally distributed Australian brand of 4
This latter development mirrors the real-life experience of band members Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth who met their saxophonist, Didier Malherbe, in a cave in Majorca. Gilli Smyth (born June 1, 1933 a musician who performed with the bands Gong, Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as several solo albums Didier Malherbe (born January 22, 1943 in Paris, France) is a saxophonist and flautist Majorca ( Spanish and Mallorca is the largest island of Spain.
Meanwhile, the mythology's central character, Zero the Hero, is going about his everyday life when he suddenly has a vision in Charing Cross Road. Charing Cross Road is a London street which runs immediately north of St Martin-in-the-Fields to St Giles' Circus (the intersection with Oxford Street He is compelled to seek heroes and starts worshipping the Cock Pot Pixie, one of a number of Pot Head Pixies from the Planet Gong. These pixies are green with propellers on their heads, and they fly around in teapots.
Zero is soon distracted by a cat which he offers his fish and chips to. WikipediaManual of Style (spelling, articles should conform to one overall spelling style of English typically the one most linked to the article topic (if it is geographic Fish and chips (sometimes written " fish ’n’ chips " is a popular Take-away food originating from the United Kingdom. The cat is actually the Good Witch Yoni, who gives Zero a potion. This concludes the first album of the Radio Gnome Trilogy.
The second album Angel's Egg (1973) begins with Zero falling to sleep under the influences of the potion and finding himself floating through space. Angel's Egg is an album by Gong, recorded and originally released in 1973 After accidentally scaring a space pilot called Captain Capricorn, Zero locates the Planet Gong, and spends some time with a prostitute who introduces him to the moon goddess Selene. In Greek mythology, Selene (Σελήνη " Moon " English sɛˈliːniː was an archaic Lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans
Zero's (drug-induced) trip to the Planet Gong continues, and the Pot Head Pixies explain to him how their flying teapots fly (a system known as Glidding). He is then taken to the One Invisible Temple of Gong.
Inside the temple, Zero is shown the Angel's Egg -- the physical embodiment of the 32 Octave Doctors (descendants of the Great God Cell). The Angel's Egg is the magic-eye mandala that features on much of the band's sleeve-art. It is also a sort of recycling plant for Pot Head Pixies.
A grand plan is revealed to Zero. There will be a Great Melting Feast of Freeks which Zero must organize on Earth. When everyone is enjoying the Feast, a huge global concert, the Switch Doctor (the Earth's resident Octave Doctor, who lives near Banana Ananda's cave, in a "potheadquarters" called the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet (C. O. I. T. ) and transmits all the details to the Gong Band via Bananamoon Observatory) will turn everybody's third eye on, ushering in a New Age on Earth.
In the third installment You (1974), Zero must first return from his trip. You is an album by Psychedelic rock band Gong, recorded and originally released in 1974. He asks Hiram the Master Builder how to structure his vision and build his own Invisible Temple. Having done this, Zero establishes that he must organize the Great Melting Feast of Freeks on the Isle of Everywhere, Bali. Bali is an Indonesian Island located at, the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to
The event is going well, and the Switch Doctor switches on everyone's third eyes except for Zero's. For Zero is out the back, indulging in Earthly pleasures (fruitcake). Fruitcake (or fruit cake) is a Cake made with chopped Candied fruit and/or dried Fruit, nuts and Spices and optionally soaked
Zero has missed out on the whole third eye revelation experience and is forced to continue his existence spinning around on the wheel of births and deaths and slowly converging on the Angel's Egg in a way which, to a certain extent, resembles Buddhist reincarnation. Buddhism is a family of beliefs and practices
In episode four in the album Shapeshifter (1992), Zero meets an urban shaman who agrees to take Zero to the next level of awareness on the proviso that Zero spends nine months on an aeroplane travelling where he wants but not using money or eating anything other than airline food. Zero eventually dies in Australia under mysterious circumstances. For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Australia topics.
The last installment in the album Zero to Infinity (2000) sees Zero's spirit enjoying a body-free and virtual existence. During the course of this he becomes an android spheroid Zeroid. An android is a Robot designed to resemble a human usually both in appearance and behavior Equation A spheroid centered at the origin and rotated about the z axis is defined by the implicit equation \left(\frac{x}{a}\right^2+\left(\frac{y}{a}\right^2+\left(\frac{z}{b}\right^2 With the help of a strange animal called a gongalope, he learns that all the wisdom of the world exists within him and practices Lafta yoga and tea making. Yoga ( Sanskrit: योग, IAST: yóga, joːgə refers to traditional physical and mental disciplines originating in India, to the At the end he becomes one with an Invisible Temple and has a lot of fun.
As can be seen, the mythology is not universally serious. Great amounts of the story pertain in some way to the production and consumption of tea (perhaps suggesting mushroom tea however, but the word tea has also for long been a word to describe cannabis, especially in the 1940s and 1950s). Tea refers to the cured agricultural product of the leaves leaf buds and internodes of Camellia sinensis, which have been prepared and cured for the market Mushroom tea is an Infusion made by using Psychedelic Mushrooms. The characters of the story are often based on or used as pseudonyms for band members. A pseudonym is a fictitious alternative to a person's legal name (see Alias)