Steve Hillage wants to dispel the myth that he staged a “coup d’etat” against Daevid Allen over Gong 40 years ago.
Allen, who died in March, left the band in 1975, later restarting it on several occasions. Hillage departed soon after Allen although he returned a number of times.
Hillage tells MusicRadar: “It used to irk me that, when Daevid left the band, people were saying, ‘Steve is the new leader of Gong.’
“But I had nothing to do with Daevid leaving at all. I wasn’t even around at the time – I was finishing the Fish Rising album. But people were talking like I’d made some sort of coup d’etat, which was absolutely not the case.”
He wants to set another point straight regarding Gong. “There’s a live album called Gong Est Mort, based on a Paris concert we did in 1977. It was a kind of brief reunion and my face on the artwork is whited out.
“A lot of people think it’s because I had some sort of nuclear row with Daevid – and it’s absolutely not true.”
Gong, now fronted by Kavus Torabi, are set to tour the UK in October. Hillage’s System 7 play five dates later this year:
Oct 16: Reykjavik Hurra, Iceland Oct 28: London Jazz Cafe Nov 21: Manchester Megadog 30th anniversary Nov 26: Nottingham Rescue Rooms Nov 27: Southampton Talking Heads
