Daevid Allen

Daevid Allen was one of the founders of the British progressive rock band the Soft Machine in 1966. After recording just one album with the group, he became the founder/leader of Gong, which he left in 1973 to begin a solo career (though his first solo album, Banana Moon, was released in 1971 while he was still in the group). Allen explored his quirky, folky take on rock throughout the '70s and '80s on albums like 1976's Good Morning and 1983's Alien in New York. His solo work also included collaborations with underground rock impresario Kramer like 1993's Who's Afraid? and 1996's Hit Men, which was released on Kramer's Shimmy Disc label. Allen returned in 1999 with Money Doesn't Make It, followed a year later by Stroking the Tail of the Bird. Nectans Glen also followed in 2000.

Historic pre-Gong performance. This is a recording of Daevid and Gilli's performance upon their return to the U.K., four years after Daevid was refused entry in 1967, which led him to leaving Soft Machine. The recording is a reasonable audience recording, regardless, this is an intriguing and historic performance and highly recommended to all Gong heads and Daevid Allen fans alike. The material was the recent spoken word/soundscape material at the time, but also brings forward new material which was to see new life in the Gong era. The band for this show is as follows: Daevid Allen (guitar,spoken word, tape loops), Gilli Smyth (spoken word and vocal improv - space whisper), Robert Wyatt (drums), Hugh Hopper (bass), and Elton Dean (sax).

This DVD, recorded live at the Amsterdam UnConvention in November 2006, was the first time that U of E performed this material since recording the songs back in 2003. The performance was professionally filmed using five HD cameras and 48 track audio. The result is not just another concert video; it is a work of art in its own right. This concert features songs such as, "That's How Much I Need You Now," "Save Yourself," "Hope For Happinessm" and many more…

Mother Gong's first album Mother was released in 1978 and the band found Gilli Smyth collaborating with many musicians including Harry Williamson and various friends and family including on this album Owl In The Tree from 1990, former partner Daevid Allen. The album is split into two halves and both Allen and Smyth work well within the limitations set out by vinyl bearing in mind that the days of vinyl made for a more convenient division, which is defined, by the individual styles of both Allen and Smyth. The album is a mix of both styles including Allen's blissed out space rocker style and Smyth's more laid back fairy tale recitations and a smattering of typically Gong like instrumental work.

For Fans of, Gong, The Soft Machine, Hawkwind, and Psychedelic Prog Rock! Daevid Allen is well known as the founder of The Soft Machine in 1966 and Gong in 1969. Weird Biscuit Teatime is a studio project that he did in the early 2000s with producer/keyboardist Don Falcone of Spirits Burning, bassist Michael Clare from Daevid Allen’s University Of Errors, and drummer Trey Sabatelli who has worked with Jefferson Starship, The Tubes, and Todd Rundgren. The band recorded two albums. DJDDAY was the first, recorded and mixed from 2000 to 2004, and then released in England in 2005. For that release, the band considered putting Daevid’s name in the band title. They didn’t and the album got buried in the mass of releases at the time. To avoid making the same mistake twice with the second album, “Elevenses,” the name of the band was changed to Daevid Allen Weird Quartet. Now 20 years later, with a new remaster by Robert Rich and five bonus remixes, “DJDDAY” arrives with the band name Weird Biscuit Teatime Starring Daevid Allen to celebrate its 20th Anniversary. A lost masterpiece by the master of psychedelic/progressive music.