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A couple online pages of Q&A from mINtSOUTH

Gong radio show - Monday night! - 'history, influences and inspirations', with Daevid Allen, Steve Hillage and Didier Malherbe - Monday, 2 November from 9pm to 11pm Euro time on FIP 105,1 FM Paris. It's 'Carte Blanche' - the boys are bringing their own playlist. Should be interesting... n'est pas? - LISTEN ONLINE

Greetings from Planet Gong - Daevid Allen interview including fresh photos and deep background...

Keith Dobson (f.k.a. 'Kif-Kif le Batteur') reports being interrogated recently by an agent of Quietus regarding his designs on World Domination... here's where you can read the report, better still download a free song and best yet purchase the 'Let's Play Domination' CD (a analogue remaster of all the World Domination Enterprises 'A'-sides, plus one previously unreleased track and a 12-page lyric booklet) directly from Free Love Records for a mere £8.88 inclusive of UK p+p, or £9.88 World Wide....

Tim Blake announces the immediate release for digital download of his New Jerusalem album - directly from Tim's download shop - for the price of £8.

Shibuya Crossing

Some of you may be familar with Shibuya Crossing in downtown Tokyo, if not by name then perhaps from photographs you've seen (you know the ones pedestrian crossings going every which way), it's the Times Square or Piccadilly Circus of the city, and like both those places neon signs and video screens abound. Well somehow by some means, all this week the Gong 'How to Stay Alive' animated video is part of the loop of films and adverts playing above the heads of the thronging crowds. Will any stop and have a PHP interlude, wonder what all that was, then scurry along? Strange times indeed. Maybe there are some Shibuya web-cams on the net where we can catch it happening live?

Steve is being interviewed live on the Cerys Matthews' BBC6 Radio programme on Monday 28th Sept - around 3.00pm. I thought I'd better flag this up early as I missed telling you about his rather good interview with Dr. Stu on his Na@ked Short Club programme on Resonance 104.4FM the other night. However very kindly we have been sent an mp3 of the programme which we will make available sometime. There are plenty of further radio and TV interviews by both Steve and Daevid in the pipeline, including a host in France. I'll post details of them when I know more.

The waiting is over...

Having had the great pleasure of watching and listening this new Gong album grow and develop over the past ten months all I can say is that since it's completion and final mastering a few weeks ago had I been listening to a vinyl copy it would now be worn out. The right album at the right time by the right band for the right people - you.

Click on the album cover for more info and a listen in to samples.

Some 2032 on-line Reviews:-
Blog Critics
Get Ready To Rock
Rock Club

Daevid Allen interview:-
Prog Sheet

Daevid Allen and Steve Hillage interview:-
Subba Cultcha

Gong in print:-
There is a 4 page Gong feature in October's 'Uncut' magazine, plus reviews of 2032 in the October issues of 'The Word', 'Mojo', 'Classic Rock' and the 'Observer Music Monthly'. I'm sure there are others out there. Folk seem quite taken with the album....which is nice.

"Anything can happen in the next 24 hours" - Poetry and readings from Daevid Allen, Gilli Smyth and Stephanie Petrik, Glissando Guitar, Space Whisper and live Synthi set featuring Miquette Giraudy, a Steve Hillage DJ set and the launch of three books, yes that's three books - Daevid's 'Gong Dreaming II', Gilli's 'Nitrogen Dreams of a Wide Girl' and Stephanie's 'The Artist Vs. The Upstanding Citizen' - and all at our favourite wee London Café, Inspiral Lounge in Camden. Absolutely no idea what will happen but it's bound to be fun.

Here are some links to photographs by our friend Luc Pilmeyer of several of the most recent Gong Summer gigs. The Trieste gig in particular wqas in a fabulous setting. Also love Luc's Vimeo video of a prime slice of an alien 'Banana-guitar' solo - always one of my personal gig highlights (among many) each night.

01/08 - TRIESTE: 21 photos - Pt1
01/08 - TRIESTE: 21 photos - Pt2
18/07 - DOUR: 18 photos
16/07 - BOCHUM: 20 photos - Pt1
16/07 - BOCHUM: 17 photos - Pt2

Due to major non-fulfillment of contractual obligations by the promoter Gong are unable to appear at the Rebellion Festival. Our deepest apologies for any disappointment.

Had contractual agreements been met we would have happily travelled to Blackpool to play. We hate cancelling shows.

If all goes to plan there should be a live (earthly) radio interview with daevid and perhaps Steve Hillage from the backstage of the Glade stage at Glastonbury Festival this evening, Sunday 28th, between 6.30 and 7.00pm with Gideon Coe, just a couple of hours before the Steve Hillage Band is due on stage.

The band are currently on route down the A303 past Stonehenge and on to the Festival. Everyone is quietly excited and focused for a mega SHB/Gong set (they will run together as at the Amsterdam Uncon), and as at Amsterdam the Glade is blessed with a Funktion One PA (none better) with David Id and John Newsome himself at the controls along with Jasper Johns on Visuals - in fact Jasper has been part of the team zapping the lights and projections all weekend at the Glade.

High on the hill above the Festival site the last three hours and more of the event could be a complete trip... and if you want, you can tune in via Radio Gnome Invisible - broadcasting across the etheric frequencies direct brain to brain. Go on, why don't you try...Steve Hillage Band 9.00pm right through to the close of the Gong set at midnight.

Hugh Hopper will be laid to rest at a natural Burial Ground in Kent this Thursday 25th June.

It will be a Tibetan Buddhist Ceremony to respect Hugh's wishes and there will be opportunity for a few musicians to play by the graveside to say goodbye.  Afterwards there will be lunch at a local pub and then a gentle walk.  No flowers please; however, donations offered will be shared between the Brabourne Ward at Canterbury Hospital and the Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation.

Do not cry because I die
Do not cry as I am
Drifting alone on the
Seashore of light
Rejoice in the light of love, my love
Into the pure light above
The Rainbow light where
I am free of suffering
And bright.

From me to Hugh and all his great friends and family
love,
Christine Hopper

For those who wish to offer a donation instead of flowers for Hugh's funeral, Christine asked me to tell you that cheque (€/£) could be done in her name (Christine Janet) and she will dispatch it herself to the Brabourne Ward Canterbury Hospital and the Kangyur Rinpoche Foundation.

There will be a concert in Hugh's homage Saturday 27 June (20H00) at the Club LE TRITON in Paris - Les Lilas. You will find also CDs of Hugh's music. The benefit of this concert and CDs sale will go to Christine.

Dear Hugh Hopper passed away the afternoon of Sunday 7th June. Our thoughts and love go out to his wife Christine, their young daughter Rosa, and to all Hugh's close family and friends. He was a lovely, unassuming, gently humorous man who was always a joy to be with - and of course he was a unique, stunning, innovative creative musician.

As we reached Fasano for last Saturday's Gong concert daevid told me he had received a message that Hugh reached the final hours and very early this morning as we queued for US work visas we heard the news that he had gone. Daevid just quietly said that besides Robert, Hugh had been the person he had played music with the longest. He will be so missed.

Images taken at Hugh's final gig, in Bourgoin-Jallieu, last year - photo Xavier Marchon (many thanks to Aymeric for sending this).

And here is a link that I was sent today to a nice interview with Hugh from 1998. It gives just a little flavour of what a personable chap he was.

What does it take to be a member of Gong? I have no idea whatsoever - who does? You certainly must get the call somehow. A pixie whispers in your ear, you tune into Radio Gnome Invisible without realising, the voices start 'making sense' - something happens. There has been many a fine up-standing musician carefully mapping out a career and developing along sturdy traditional musical lines, who one day turns around to find themselves in a pair of unreasonable trousers on stage with Dingo Virgin, the Submarine Captain and the Good Witch Yoni transmitting the vibrations of an invisible Green Planet full of pixies to an audience of seemingly the same. No doubt they wonder how they got there ("letting the days go by..."). All I can advise is - stuff happens - and Mr Dave Sturt it's happened to you!

With Dr. Howlett on the other side of the world in Brisbane teaching Sound Technology (with a side-order of pure Gong?) it is not possible for him to represent the luminous green Planet at all the gigs this year, but we are all deeply pleased and delighted to announce the arrival of Dave, who is keen as mustard and simply brimming with as yet unplayed musical notes and sounds. He will co-inhabit that most vital, Basso-Profondo, T-Being type, mother-spot (or should that be Mother being T's-pot) in Gong. Please welcome him and watch out for him, I'm sure yer socks will be blown clean off.

And if you are in Sheffield or Nottingham there are two imminent opportunities to catch Dave and fellow Gongster Theo Travis in action in their Cipher incarnation as they provide inventive, luscious and at times scary music and sounds for the classic horror silent film, 'The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari'. Details in the Gig Section

Flashes of the Errors in action at the Gouveia Festival in Portugal at the beginning of May. Some very stylish shots from Claude Wacker (click on the image below and scroll down), and an e-mail from hymnself pointing out some You Tubeings...

greetinks chmns,
we LOVED portugal & portugal loved us back!
To see us on Portuguese tv go to: UofE - You Tube
love yooo tooo
dr daevoot & universidad ob errorz

The January issue (I've only just been told about it) of the downloadable pdf French language fanzine, 'Vapeur Mauve' is a hugely Gong-rich one containing as it does interviews with Gilli Smyth, Didier Malherbe and Tim Blake, along with articles on Pierre Moerlen, University of Errors, Gong related albums and much more.

Gilli Smyth - Deya
(photo Jeremy Dunn)

It is the first of May - a day of celebration in so many spiritual, secular and political mythologies, belief systems, realities and fantasies. We are in close proximity to Beltane (depending on your grasp of calendars or the heavens) a time of bloom and future promise. The sun is shining, the faithful and not so faithful, many gaily attired and garlanded with flowers and blossoms, gathered on Glastonbury Tor to welcome the dawn and they now festoon the High St and the Market Cross a riot of colour and celebration. At the 'heart' the fires are re-kindled, tended and in some cases leapt over.

Last night in Italy daevid along with the University of Errors and Octave Doctor David Id played his first Northern hemisphere gig of the year as he wends his way towards London, the mixing of the new Gong album, '2032' and Gong rehearsals. Yesterday Steve and Miquette left Australia after a joyously productive 10 days of recording vocals for the album with daevid and Gilli. Mike Howlett is in his final preparation for his trip to Australia to settle in to his new Professorial role at  Brisbane University before returning to the UK in early June for the Gong rehearsals and the Mid-Summer festivals.

The Gong touring/giggling party has been assembled - in cyber-space at least. Old hands such as David Id and light-show wiz Jasper Johns will be joined by new eager recruits Jez and Dominic - while I attempt to pull logistical strings together, or at least tie them into some kind of pretty bow. Gong's agent, the vastly experienced Dan Silver (a good pirate name that), continues to work away at more Summer and Autumn Gong dates which will be announced shortly.

And it is exactly a week since the visionary, inspirational and extremely personable John Michell left us. His tremendous body of work and it's seminal influence will continue to resonate and grow. He was a true, very special elder of the tribe who will be much missed. 

There is so much more to tell you, we have been as bees - all will be revealed, all is change. May your May Day be free of all Maydays - Blessings (as they say).

Remember?
4000 year-old statues from the Early Bronze Age Cycladic Cluture
(photo Luc Pilmeyer)

Why not put a little System 7 in your system with this electrifying 55 minute live straight from the desk set recorded at Shinjyuku Face in Tokyo on 11th April. The download site is in English, pretty easy to use (you have to register first) and the download only costs about £7.00 or €8.00. Steve Hillage and Miquette Giraudy are in sparkling form weaving patterns of rhythmic magic, with Steve spiraling out some rather special guitar lines. Just click on the image to get connected.

Until supplies are gone you can buy this fine 2CD collection of three of Pierre's albums for the rather excellent price of £6.80. They popped up at a low price (I think the record company went bust) - so I pass it on. Maybe it's a gift from Pierre?