Gong announce 13-disc Virgin Years box set

(Image credit: Universal)

Gong have announced a new 13-disc box set to be released in September. Love From Planet Gong - The Virgin Years 1973-1975 has been curated by guitarist Steve Hillage and mixed by bassist Mike Howlett and remastered from original Virgin masters by original Gong trilogy engineer Simon Heyworth. Over 70% of the new set is of rare and previously unreleased recordings.

Released with the full involvement of original members and to coincide with Gong’s 50th Anniversary, the set covers the band’s classic years in a package that includes: their seminal first four Virgin studio albums plus bonus tracks; previously unreleased, multi-tracked full gigs, the complete John Peel Sessions from 1973 and 1974; previously unreleased quad Pye and Westlake mixes of You re-formatted to 5.1 surround-sound, and artwork including rare and previously unseen work by the late Daevid Allen.

Highlights include:

* The First 4 Virgin Records studio albums plus bonus tracks

* First CD release of the original Flying Teapot masters. Beautifully remastered with previously unreleased bonus mixes.

* First CD release of Shamal from the original masters. Superbly remastered with previously unreleased bonus mixes.

* The complete John Peel sessions from BBC Radio One from 1973 and 1974.

* 2CDs of full gig at Club Arc En Ciel, Roanne in 1973

* 1CD of full gig at the renowned free concert in Hyde Park, London in 1974

* 2CDs of full 1975 gig at the London Marquee Club including first live recordings of tracks from Shamal and Steve Hillage’s debut solo LP, Fish Rising.

* 2CDs entire gig at The Bataclan, Paris in 1973

* 2 tracks recorded at the Edinburgh Festival in 1973

* Includes the previously unreleased quadrophonic Pye and Westlake Studio mixes of You.

• Notes by Gong archivist Jonny Greene of the Gong Appreciation Society and artwork including rare and previously unseen art work by Daevid Allen.

* Also contains 64-page illustrated lyric booklet that includes Angel’s Egg’s famously quirky and informative Blue Book and a new companion to Flying Teapot Green Book.

Love From Planet Gong - The Virgin Years 1973-1975 can be pre-orderd here.

Writer and broadcaster Jerry Ewing is the Editor of Prog Magazine which he founded for Future Publishing in 2009. He grew up in Sydney and began his writing career in London for Metal Forces magazine in 1989. He has since written for Metal Hammer, Maxim, Vox, Stuff and Bizarre magazines, among others. He created and edited Classic Rock Magazine for Dennis Publishing in 1998 and is the author of a variety of books on both music and sport, including Wonderous Stories; A Journey Through The Landscape Of Progressive Rock.