They were formed in 1967, after Allen - then a member of Soft Machine - was denied entry to the United Kingdom due to a visa complication. Allen remained in France where he and a London-born Sorbonne professor, Gilli Smyth, established the first incarnation of Gong. This band fragmented during the 1968 student revolution, with Allen and Smyth forced to flee France for Deià in Majorca.
They found a saxophonist, Didier Malherbe living in a cave in Deià, before film director Jerome La Perrousaz invited the band back to France to record the soundtracks to his movies. They were subsequently approached by the newly formed independent label BYG and signed up for two albums (Magick Brother/Mystic Sister, Camembert Electrique and Allen's solo album Bananamoon.
Gong played at the first Glastonbury Festival and were subsequently one of the first acts to sign to Virgin Records, getting first pick of the studio-time ahead of Mike Oldfield. By 1971, a regular line-up had established itself, and Gong released their Camembert Electrique album. The UK release, put out by Virgin Records subsidiary Caroline Records in 1974, was priced at 49p (i.e. 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 bass player Mike Howlett and guitarist Steve Hillage, released their Radio Gnome Trilogy — three records that expounded upon the (previously only hinted at) Gong mythology — starting with Flying Teapot and Angel's Egg both released in 1973, and You in 1974. At a gig in Cheltenham, in 1975, Allen refused to go on stage, claiming that a "wall of force" was preventing him. He left the band, as did Smyth, who wanted to spend more time with her two children. The band also lost keyboard player Tim Blake, replaced by Patrice Lemoine.
The band continued under the control of drummer Pierre Moerlen in order to fulfil contractual obligations, 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 and Miquette Giraudy left before Shamal was released in 1976. (They re-joined the band briefly for a 1977 live reunion.) Gong morphed into a jazz rock outfit, renamed Pierre Moerlen's Gong after the departure of Didier Malherbe in 1976. This group reformed without Moerlen in the early 1990s as Gongzilla.
The Gong mythology, however, continued from the late seventies up until the nineties in Allen's solo work, and with bands such as Euterpe and Planet Gong (a collaboration with Here & Now), while Smyth formed a separate band, Mother Gong.
In 1992, Allen and Malherbe reformed Gong and released the album Shapeshifter, subsequently dubbed "Radio Gnome, Part 4". In 2000, a 5th installment: Zero to Infinity was released, featuring Smyth, and classic line-up bassist Mike Howlett. However 2004 saw a radical new Gong line-up including current member Kawabata Makoto and former member Cotton Casino from Acid Mothers Temple. Allen and Smyth's son Orlando Allen joined on drums for the album Acid Motherhood.
Gong (Gong Ge) is a Chinese pop artist. Use 宫阁
Outer Temple
Gong Lyrics
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we aren't presenting the hubba gubba tea company
of tibbert
would you like some tea?
(cup of tea..)
The lyrics of Gong's song "Outer Temple" are intriguing and perplexing, leaving listeners with a lot of questions. The song starts with an introduction that sets the stage for the rest of the lyrics to come. With the phrase "Good evening," the song creates a relaxed and soothing atmosphere. Then we see a reference to the "hubba gubba tea company of Tibbert," which is most likely a whimsical and fanciful invention of the writer's imagination. It's a little like the Mad Hatter's tea party in Alice in Wonderland.
The song then handily poses a question to the listeners: "Would you like some tea?" The question itself is seemingly innocent, but the context of the song makes it both perplexing and slightly unnerving. The song hints at a mysterious and other-worldly setting, and it's unclear what the tea is meant to symbolize or whether it's even real. The phrase "cup of tea" at the end of the stanza could be interpreted in a few ways - it could be a reference to something that the listener can relate to but might be different from the "tea" in the song, or it could be intended to leave listeners questioning what they've just heard.
Overall, the lyrics of Gong's "Outer Temple" are open to interpretation and leave listeners with a lot of room to imagine different meanings and contexts. The reference to tea, particularly, is significant in that it provides a calming and grounding element to an otherwise mystical and dreamy song.
Line by Line Meaning
good evening
Greetings, it's nighttime.
we aren't presenting the hubba gubba tea company
We are not advertising or promoting the Hubba Gubba Tea Company.
of tibbert
This is not a product of Tibbert specifically.
would you like some tea?
Do you care for a cup of tea?
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: HILLAGE BLAKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Corinne Frere
on Heavy Tune
♥