When was Gong formed? When didit split up? When did it reform?

The Gong project was born in the autumn of 1967. Gong officially ceased to exist in the spring of 1978 when itbecame Pierre Moerlen's Gong, but the departure of Daevid Allen inApril 1975 marked the (temporary) end of the original Gongproject as conceived by him. The 'Trilogy' line-up was reformed for aone-off concert at Paris' Hippodrome de Pantin on May 28th, 1977.

Gong was reborn as a fulltime band sometime in 1992, topromote the newly-recorded Shapeshifter album, which itselfevolved out of the GongMaison project. The current line-up originatedin the October 1994 reunion concerts, but has kept changing, notablywith the arrival of newcomers Theo Travis (sax/flute and occasionalkeyboards) and Chris Taylor (drums) on the 1999 tour, followed byGwyo Zepix (keyboards) in 2000. This line-up has however been inactive since late 2001. Currently, Allen works with a line-up called Acid Mothers Gong, involving members of the Japanese band Acid Mothers Temple.

What was Gong's originalline-up? What is the current line-up?

The Gong project was born just weeks after Daevid Allen wasforced out of Soft Machine, having been refused re-entry into Englandon the grounds of being an undesirable alien. But it was more of aproject around the nucleus of Allen and Gilli Smyth, with "members" coming and going, until the recording of the Magick Brotheralbum, and Gong's subsequent appearance at the Amougiesfestival in October 1969. Over the next year, Gong's line-upstabilized with the arrival of Didier Malherbe on sax and flute,Christian Tritsch on bass and Rachid Houari on drums. Houari wasreplaced by Pip Pyle in April 1971, and the resulting line-up isconsidered to be the first 'real' Gong band.

Over the next couple of years, Gong's line-up changed manytimes, drummers in particular, until in the Spring of 1973. The'Trilogy line-up', as it was later known, was then formed, withAllen, Smyth, Malherbe, Steve Hillage on guitar, Tim Blake onsynthesizers and vocals, Mike Howlett on bass and Pierre Moerlen ondrums. This line-up more or less stayed together for two years (savefor Moerlen's frequent departures), recording the landmark albums Angels Egg (1973) and You (1974). It reformed to playthe final set of the 1977 Gong festival in Paris.

A transitional phase followed, with unstable line-ups led byMalherbe and Moerlen until the latter finally renamed the bandPierre Moerlen's Gong in 1978.

The current line-up consists of Daevid Allen, GilliSmyth, Theo Travis, Mike Howlett and ChrisTaylor, with Didier Malherbe guesting on occasion (this group wasfeatured on Gong's latest studio album, Zero To Infinity),with the addition in early 2000 of keyboard player Gwyo Zepix.

How many albums did Gongrelease ?

Gong released five studio albums during the period whenDaevid Allen led the band : Magick Brother (1969) [originallycredited to Daevid Allen and Gilli Smyth], CamembertElectrique (1971), Flying Teapot (1973), Angels Egg(1973) and You (1974). The first three were released on BygRecords. In 1973, Gong signed with Virgin who releasedFlying Teapot in spite of the band still being under contractwith Byg, which led to contractual complications. Angels Eggand You were released by Virgin.

After Allen left in 1975, Gong was led by Didier Malherbeand Pierre Moerlen, then Moerlen alone. The studio albums Shamal (1976), Gazeuse! [a.k.a. Expresso] (1977)and Expresso II (1978) were released. In 1978, Gongbecame Pierre Moerlen's Gong.

In subsequent years, Gong lived on under variousincarnations, none of which used the plain Gong name : Allen'sPlanet Gong, New York Gong and GongMaison, Gilli Smyth's Mother Gong,Moerlen's Pierre Moerlen's Gong (and its later offshoot Gongzilla)...

The Gong name was used again for the first time in 1991 fora one-off gig for Central TV's "Bedrock" series. The line-up wasessentially that of Camembert Electrique, with Allen,Smyth, Malherbe and Pip Pyle and new recruitsSteffi Sharpstrings, Twink Electron Flo and KeithThe Bass from Here & Now and Planet Gong. This resulted inthe Live On TV CD. In 1992, Pip Pyle joined GongMaison duringthe sessions for Shapeshifter, which was eventually releasedunder the Gong name. Gong was thus reborn, with aline-up of Allen, Malherbe, Pyle, GrahamClark on violin and guitar, Keith Bailey on bass andvocals and Shyamal Maïtra on percussion. This line-uptoured Europe in 1992-93, with Malherbe sometimes replaced by MotherGong saxophonist Robert Calvert, and Gilli Smytheventually reinforcing the band.

In October 1994, Gong celebrated its 25th Birthday with twospecial concerts at London's Forum (documented on the live double CD The Birthday Party). The event was inspired by the 1977 Parisreunion, and similarly all related line-ups (Malherbe's Fluvius,Short Wave, Tim Blake, Planet Gong, Mother Gong...) played a set,with the 'classic' line-up of Allen, Smyth,Malherbe, Pyle, Tim Blake and MikeHowlett, with Steffi Sharpstrings, finally taking thestage for a two-hour set of selections from Camembert... andthe Radio Gnome trilogy. After a quiet year in 1995, this line-up(except Blake) was reactivated for tours of America, Japan andEurope. In 1997, Pyle was replaced by the returning PierreMoerlen, with a further tour in 1998 with the same line-up.

In 1999, Sharpstrings was replaced by Mark Hewins, TheoTravis depped for Malherbe on the European dates, and ChrisTaylor joined on drums following Moerlen's departure two datesinto the tour. This line-up has remained in place since then, withGwyo Zepix reinforcing it on keyboards since early 2000.

Have Gong's albums beenreissued on CD? On which labels?

Because of the legal complications surrounding the Byg and Virgincontracts, some of Gong's classic albums have been reissued onCD by both labels. Basically, the early albums up to FlyingTeapot are on Charly (and more recently Spalax), who bought therights to the Byg catalogue. Later albums, from Angels Egg toExpresso II are on Virgin. Shapeshifter was originallyreleased in Europe on Celluloid, and four years later in the UnitedStates to coincide with Gong's tour there (a live bonus trackwas added). Continental Circus was reissued in 1994 by Mantra(France) and Giacomo (Italy), with two bonus live tracks from 1972("Blues For Findlay" and "Flying Teapot") in the latter case.

Why were particular titleschosen for albums and compositions?

Many songs titles were derived from the Gong mythology,which deserves a basic explanation.

The characters :

• Planet Gong : a transparent greenish planet unknown to astronomers and situated in the seventh sky or seventh heaven, it operates according to the Laws of the Music of the Spheres.
• Radio Gnome Invisible : a telepathic radio network operating brain to brain by crystal machine transmitter direct from Planet Gong.
• The Pot-Head Pixies : These small (13 inches) green gents who populate the planet Gong have pointed heads with propellers which serve as receivers for Radio Gnome Invisible. Noted for their joyful capers, they can become invisible at will and when nearby, one's potpouch is never empty. On their mother planet, they govern themselves by a system called floating anarchy.
• Flying Teapots : distantly related to flying saucers, they are the chief means of transport for the pointed and well-propellered population of the green planet. They ride through the spaces on invisible big dipper dragon lines called the Oily Way and transport by this means is termed glidding.
• The Octave Doctors : Gong gurus and benevolent all-wise and all-loving advisors of the Pot Head Pixies and protectors of the planet. They appear as a giant radiant eye which hovers inside an upturned transparent cone which is set inside a luminous egg shaped aura called the Angels Egg.
• There are 32 PHP's to every Octave Doctor, and 32 Octave Doctors make one Master of the Spheres. There are thus 1024 PHP's on the planet, plus eight other immortal characters, namely : the King of the PHP's (who is always the most high), the God Witch Yoni (his ladyqueen who is always everywhere), Prince Dreaming (the almost high), Princess Leaves (the female plant), the Wizard of the Keys, Lung Hi, Hashman and the Cockpot Pixie.
• Angels Egg : this is the Octave Doctors' impenetrable protective force field from which the unisexual pot head pixies are born and back into which they are recycled at the end of their time. They are only found in the Invisible Temples of Planet Gong.
• The Invisible Tempes of Planet Gong, which are invisible because they don't need totems and statues and symbols to worship when they've got real live Octave Doctors in residence. The temples are divided into the outer temple, where the High Tea ceremony prepares the head for entering the inner temple where all the high contact with the octave doctor is all they need to keep on truckin.
• The Switch Doctor is the resident Octave Doctor on the planet Earth and resides at Planet Gong potheadquarters known under the code name of the Invisible Opera Company of Tibet.
• The Invisible Opera Company of Tibet, situated near to the cave of the great beer yogi, Banana Ananda, in the Hymnalayas. The Switch Doctor is in constant Radio Gnome connection with the band Gong via the Bananamoon Observatory.
• The Bananamoon Observatory , situated in natural high energy locations in different countries at different times according to the instructions of the Switch Doctor, who also works through the mind of Venux De Luxe, the Gong band's sound mix master and meta-roadie.

Who are/were Gong's maincomposers ?

Between 1967 and 1975, Daevid Allen was de facto leader of Gong and wrote much of the material. Gilli Smyth contributed afew songs, as did Christian Tritsch in the Camembert... days.The 'classic' line-up was more democratic, with every membercontributing to the music, culminating on the You album whichwas credited entirely to the whole band. Allen of course was behindthe Radio Gnome Invisible concept and wrote all the lyrics.

This democratic approach was continued on Shamal, thenPierre Moerlen gradually became the main composer. As a result,Gong was renamed Pierre Moerlen's Gong.

How much, and where, has theband toured ?

A chronology of Gong's tours isavailable on this site.

Gong were successively based in France and England andtoured mostly in these countries, with occasional forays into Europe,most notably in late 1974 and spring 1976. The band's touringschedule was particularly heavy in 1973-75, then gigs became sparseras Gong moved on to purely instrumental music. There were noconcerts outside Europe until 1996 when Gong ventured toAmerica and Japan.

Last updated : March 2004