Editing Gong (band) (section)

=== The ''Radio Gnome Invisible'' trilogy (1972–74) ===
[[File:GilliSmyth.jpg|thumb|left|[[Gilli Smyth]] and [[Daevid Allen]], Hyde Park, 1974]]

Gong went through increasing line-up disruption in 1972. Laurie Allan left in April to be replaced by Mac Poole, then [[Charles Hayward (musician)|Charles Hayward]] and then Rob Tait, before returning again late in the year. Gilli Smyth left for a time, returning to [[Deià]], [[Majorca]] to look after her and Daevid Allen's baby son, and was replaced by Diane Stewart, who was the partner of Tait and the ex-wife of [[Graham Bond]]. Christian Tritsch moved to guitar and was replaced on bass by former [[Magma (band)|Magma]] member [[Francis Moze]], while the band's sound was expanded with the addition of synthesizer player [[Tim Blake]] in late 1972.

In October 1972, they were one of the first acts to sign to [[Richard Branson]]'s fledgling [[Virgin Records]] label, and in late December, they traveled to Virgin's [[The Manor Studio|Manor Studio]] in Oxfordshire, England, to record their third album, ''[[Flying Teapot (album)|Flying Teapot]]''.<ref>Allen, Daevid. ''Gong Dreaming 2''. SAF Publishing, 2009, p.184.</ref> In January 1973, towards the end of their recording sessions, they were joined by English guitarist [[Steve Hillage]], whom they had met a few weeks earlier in France playing with [[Kevin Ayers]]. He arrived too late to contribute much to the album,<ref>Allen, Daevid. ''Gong Dreaming 2''. SAF Publishing, 2009, p.188.</ref> but would soon become a key component in the Gong sound.

[[File:SteveHillage1974.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Steve Hillage]], Hyde Park, 1974]]

In March 1973, exhausted by Gong's 1972 tour and the recording of ''Flying Teapot'', Allen and Smyth left Gong and returned to [[Deià]] to take care of their baby Tally. Then drummer [[Laurie Allan]] and bassist [[Francis Moze]] also decided to depart. [[Tim Blake]], [[Steve Hillage]], [[Didier Malherbe]], Venux De Luxe and the rest of the Gong family decided to continue as the short-lived band '''Paragong''' who enlisted drummer [[Pierre Moerlen]] and bassist [[Mike Howlett]] but existed only two short months, March and April 1973, and only ever played live in [[France]]. The only recording documenting Paragong live is the (22-minute) short album ''Live '73'' released in 1995 which consists of the two lengthy tracks "Camembert Psilocybin Flashback" and "Porquoi Dormons Nous? (The Gnome Rock Dispensation)".<ref name="www.discogs.com Paragong Live '73">{{cite web |url=https://www.discogs.com/release/504877-Paragong-Live-73 |title=Paragong – Live '73 > More images |date= July 2024 |website=www.discogs.com |accessdate= 20 July 2024}}</ref>

''Flying Teapot'' was released on 25 May 1973, the same day as ''Tubular Bells'', and was the first instalment of the ''Radio Gnome Invisible'' trilogy, which expounded upon the (previously only hinted at) Gong mythology developed by Allen. The second part, ''[[Angel's Egg (album)|Angel's Egg]]'', followed in December, now featuring the 'classic' rhythm section of [[Mike Howlett]] on bass and [[Pierre Moerlen]] on drums. In early 1974 Moerlen left to work with the French contemporary ensemble [[Les Percussions de Strasbourg]] and Smyth left to give birth to her and Allen's second son. They were replaced once again by Rob Tait and Diane Stewart, and the band moved from its French base at Pavillon du Hay to an English one at Middlefield Farm, near [[Witney]], Oxfordshire.<ref>Allen, Daevid. ''Gong Dreaming 2''. SAF Publishing, 2009, p.291.</ref> Moerlen, and later Smyth, returned in order to complete the trilogy with the album ''[[You (Gong album)|You]]'', but by the time of its release, in October 1974, Moerlen was back with Les Percussions de Strasbourg and Smyth had settled permanently in Deià with her young sons. Prior to touring in support of ''You'', Allen visited Smyth and the boys in Deià, while the rest of the band, including the departed Moerlen, recorded the basic tracks for Hillage's first solo album, ''[[Fish Rising]]''. Moerlen was initially replaced in Gong by a succession of stand-ins ([[Chris Cutler]], [[Laurie Allan]] and [[Bill Bruford]]) until former [[The Nice|Nice]] and [[Refugee (band)|Refugee]] drummer [[Brian Davison (drummer)|Brian Davison]] took the job in early 1975.<ref>See in the gigs section of [http://www.planetgong.co.uk Planet Gong's website]</ref> Smyth had already been replaced by Hillage's partner [[Miquette Giraudy]].<ref name="auto">{{cite web |url=http://calyx-canterbury.fr/gong/index.html |title=Calyx, The Canterbury Music Website: Gong Chronology |year= 2014 |access-date=22 November 2014}}</ref>

In June 1974, ''[[Camembert Electrique]]'' was given a belated UK release by Virgin, priced at 59p, the price of a typical single at the time; a promotional gimmick which they had used before for [[Faust (band)|Faust]] and would use again for a reggae compilation in 1976. These ultra-budget albums sold in large quantities because of the low price, but the pricing made them ineligible for placement on the album charts. The hope was that new fans would be encouraged to buy the groups' other albums at full price.