Gillian Mary Smyth (1 June 1933 – 22 August 2016) was an English musician best known for co-founding the psychedelic rock group

Gong A gongFrom Indonesian language, Indonesian and ; ; zh, c=鑼, p=luó; ; ; ; ; is a percussion instrument originating from Southeast Asia, and used widely in Southeast Asian and East Asian musical traditions. Gongs are made of metal and ...

with her partner Daevid Allen in 1967. She also released music with spinoff groups Mother Gong and Planet Gong as well as releasing several solo albums and albums in collaboration with other members of Gong. In Gong, she often performed under the name Shakti Yoni, contributing poems and vocals dubbed "space whispers".

Biography

Smyth was born in London. She studied at

King's College London King's College London (informally King's or KCL) is a public university, public research university in London, England. King's was established by royal charter in 1829 under the patronage of George IV of the United Kingdom, King George IV ...

, (the liner notes for Voiceprint's 'Mother Gong' CD suggests 'London University') where she gained notoriety as the outspoken sub-editor of "Kings News", a college magazine. After a brief spell teaching at the Sorbonne (Paris) (where she became bilingual), she began doing performance poetry with well-known English jazz-rock group

Soft Machine Soft Machine are an English Rock music, rock band from Canterbury, Kent. The band were formed in 1966 by Mike Ratledge, Robert Wyatt, Kevin Ayers, Daevid Allen and Larry Nowlin. Soft Machine were central in the Canterbury scene; they became o ...

, founded by her partner and long-time collaborator, Daevid Allen, in 1968. She co-founded

with Allen, an outfit that included musicians such as

Steve Hillage Stephen Simpson Hillage (born 2 August 1951) is an English musician, best known as a guitarist. He is associated with the Canterbury scene and has worked in experimental domains since the late 1960s. Besides his solo sound recording and reprodu ...

Pierre Moerlen Pierre Moerlen (23 October 1952, Colmar, Haut-Rhin – 3 May 2005, Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, near Strasbourg) was a French drummer and percussionist, best known for his work with Gong and Mike Oldfield and as Pierre Moerlen's Gong. Biography Pie ...

and

Didier Malherbe Didier Malherbe (born 22 January 1943) is a French jazz, rock, and world music musician and poet. He is a member of the bands Gong and Hadouk. He plays the saxophone, flute, alto clarinet, ocarina, Laotian Khen, Bawu flute, Hulusi, and ma ...

. All of the songs on the albums '' Magick Brother'' and '' Continental Circus'' are listed as written or co-written by her. In her spoken-word poetry, especially within Gong's "Radio Gnome Invisible" Trilogy, she portrays a prostitute, a cat, a mother, a witch, and an old woman, and she was known for wearing costumes for these personas on stage. This became part of a cult mythology, which was written into sixteen albums that the band recorded. Gong developed into a family of bands, including Gongmaison and Mother Gong. ''Mother'', Smyth's 1978 solo album, led to her founding Mother Gong, having left the original band in 1975 to have children. Mother Gong toured internationally in 1979-81 and 1989–91, either headlining or supporting such artists as

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

and

Big Brother and the Holding Company Big Brother and the Holding Company are an American rock band that was formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After ...

. Smyth appeared as a solo performer and lecturer at the

Starwood Festival The Starwood Festival is a seven-day New Age Modern paganism, neopagan and world music festival. It takes place every July in the United States. The Starwood Festival is a camping event which holds workshops on a variety of subjects. There are ...

from 1992-93. She did voice-overs for commercials, recorded audio books for children, as well as other books and poetry, gave workshops on voice projection and voice as a confidence-raiser, and also performed for many women's groups.

Death

She died in hospital in Byron Bay on 22 August 2016 at the age of 83 of pulmonary pneumonia.

References

External links

Official website
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1933 births 2016 deaths Alumni of King's College London Canterbury scene Charly Records artists Jazz-rock musicians Space rock musicians Academic staff of the University of Paris Deaths from pneumonia in New South Wales Gong (band) members {{UK-musician-stub