Editing Gong (band) (section)

=== Daevid Allen's departure and ''Shamal'' (1975–76) ===
Increasing tension and personality clashes led to Tim Blake being asked to leave in February 1975 during rehearsals for a tour. He was not replaced. Then, at a gig in [[Cheltenham]] on 10 April, the day before the release of Steve Hillage's ''Fish Rising'' album, Daevid Allen refused to go on stage, claiming that a "wall of force" was preventing him from doing so, and he left the band. The others decided to carry on without him.<ref>Allen, Daevid. ''Gong Dreaming 2''. SAF Publishing, 2009, p.413.</ref>

In August, Pierre Moerlen was persuaded to return, replacing the unhappy and alcoholic Davison, and the band now also added [[Mireille Bauer]] on percussion, Jorge Pinchevsky on violin and Patrice Lemoine on synthesizer and, for the first time in Gong, keyboards. They toured the UK in November 1975, as documented on the 2005 release ''[[Live in Sherwood Forest '75]]'', and worked on material for their next album, ''[[Shamal (album)|Shamal]]''. Hillage, however, was increasingly uncomfortable without Allen, and with now being seen as the band's ''de facto'' leader. With a solo career beckoning, he and Giraudy decided to leave before ''Shamal'' was completed, participating in it only as guests. Howlett took over as lead male vocalist and Sandy Colley, Lemoine's partner and the band's cook, became his female counterpart. The album was released in February 1976 and they toured in support until a crisis was precipitated in May when Pinchevsky was refused entry to the U.K. for carrying marijuana. Ex-[[King Crimson]] violinist [[David Cross (musician)|David Cross]] was tried out as a possible replacement, but before any progress could be made with this new line-up, the band split into two camps: Howlett wanted to keep vocals, but Moerlen and Bauer wanted the music to be entirely instrumental, with Malherbe undecided. Virgin Records executive Simon Draper chose Moerlen's way and Howlett left, quickly followed by Lemoine and Colley.<ref name="auto"/>