Christopher David Allen (13 January 1938 – 13 March 2015) better known as Daevid Allen, sometimes credited as Divided Alien, was an Australian poet, guitarist, singer, composer and performance artist was co-founder of psychedelic rock groups Soft Machine (in the UK, 1966) and Gong (in France, 1970).
Quelle: Wikipedia
Following a tour of Europe, Allen was refused re-entry to the UK because he had overstayed his visa on a prior visit. He returned to Paris where he took part in the 1968 Paris protests which swept the city. He handed out teddy bears to the police and recited poetry in pidgin French. He now admits that he was scorned by the other protesters for being a beatnik.
Fleeing the police, he made his way to Deya, Majorca, with his partner Gilli Smyth. It was here that he met the poet Robert Graves. Here also, he recorded Magick Brother (released on BYG Actuel in 1969), the first album under the name Gong. They were joined by flautist Didier Malherbe, whom they claim to have found living in a cave on Robert Graves’s estate.
Die Wege der Musiker der sogenannten Canterbury Musik Szene waren verschlungen: Wilde Flowers, Caravan, Soft Machine, Kevin Ayers, Gong … Begleiter der 70er-Generation (gelebt, nicht geboren 😉 )
Den Stammbaum der sogenannten Canterbury-Musikszene haben wir als Gymnasiasten studiert, Platten gekauft, getauscht, zusammen gehört und über Politik diskutiert.
Soft Machine war (auch) das Hintergrundrauschen unserer Politisierung. Ich höre die Scheiben immer noch gerne, sehr gerne.
Ein kleines bisschen Stimmungs-Geschichte besingt Robert Wyatt („the greatest bad singer on the planet“) in „The Moon in June“: