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
Thoughts for Naught
Gong Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
If you want to become a star
A superhero
You could try the ascension of the great pyramid of life
Counting again and again from one to nine
Approaching and pushing away infinity, o sweet absurdity!
But if you prefer that old silly number zero
You'll become a master of doing nothing, being nothing
The lyrics of Gong's song Thoughts for Naught suggest that if one wants to achieve greatness and become a star or superhero, they can try to ascend the great pyramid of life by counting from one to nine repeatedly, and pushing away infinity. However, this pursuit of greatness is described as "sweet absurdity." Alternatively, one can embrace the number zero, which represents doing and being nothing. This could lead to becoming a master of stillness and emptiness.
The lyrics can be interpreted as a commentary on the pursuit of success and the pressure to constantly strive for more. The idea that ascending the pyramid of life is "sweet absurdity" suggests that the pursuit of success can be a dizzying and meaningless endeavor. The final line of the song, "being nothing," can be seen as a call to embrace stillness and simplicity.
Line by Line Meaning
If you want to fly,
If you desire to soar above your limitations and achieve great heights,
If you want to become a star
If you dream of shining bright and becoming a symbol of excellence,
A superhero
A fictional character with extraordinary abilities who embodies courage and helps others in need,
You could try the ascension of the great pyramid of life
You could attempt to climb the metaphorical structure of life which requires strength, perseverance, and skill,
Counting again and again from one to nine
Repeating the process of growth and learning from the beginning, step by step, until reaching completion,
Approaching and pushing away infinity, o sweet absurdity!
Moving closer to and further from the infinite, a concept which is both fascinating and perplexing,
But if you prefer that old silly number zero
However, if you instead choose the number zero, which is often dismissed or undervalued,
You'll become a master of doing nothing, being nothing
You may find mastery in the art of stillness, and embrace the freedom of being content with nothingness.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: DAEVID ALLEN, DIDIER MALHERBE, GILLIAN SMYTH, MIKE HOWLETT, PIERRE MOERLEN, STEVE HILLAGE, TIM BLAKE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
postmodern jerk
This band is my kind of music and I just discovered them on youtube, I have lots of catching up to do. Egg is a good 70s prog rock band too.
Yellow Choklit Records
@timespacexploratory everything they ever put out including the pre egg band uriel's arzachel. but as for specdific songs, while growing my hair, visit to newport hospital and symphony no. 2 stick out.
timespacexploratory
postmodern jerk any song recommendations by egg?
Ruth Mckay
Rest in peace, Gilli Smyth.
Matthew Iler
This song sounds like something you hear in a movie, where something crashed way out in the forest, and the men who have seen the crashed ship do not yet know if the injured creature is good or evil.
synthonaplinth
Is 'counting again from one to nine' a Tantric reference?
Cantbuy Athrill
gentle giant, my friend. check them out if you haven't already. octopus, the power and the glory are my favourite albums by them.
synthonaplinth
'In A Glass House' is good, as well.
vi hu
You know,I know
John Jameson
Counting again and again from 1 to 9 says Selene. I am her Zero!