Daevid Allen
The cosmic jester of psychedelia, he co-founded Soft Machine and created the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy, a mythos of pothead pixies and flying teapots.
1938–2015 (age 77)·Australian musician·Birthday: January 13·The Silent Generation
Biography
Daevid Allen was a beatnik from Melbourne who landed in Paris and then Canterbury, becoming the unlikely catalyst for an entire musical scene. His early days with the Soft Machine were cut short when UK immigration denied him re-entry, a bureaucratic twist of fate that sent him back to France and into the arms of the 1968 Paris uprising. There, Gong was born—not just a band, but a travelling anarcho-psychedelic commune with a preposterous and enduring mythology involving Zero the Hero, Pothead Pixies, and the Planet Gong. Allen's glissando guitar technique—using a knife to slide over the strings—created a signature sound that was both whimsical and hypnotic. He led Gong through its classic early 70s lineup, creating the beloved 'Radio Gnome' trilogy. Forever an anti-establishment figure, he operated outside the mainstream music industry, fostering a global family of fans and collaborators dedicated to DIY ethos, spiritual exploration, and good-natured absurdity right up to his death.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Daevid was born in 1938, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Daevid Was Born
The biggest hits of 1938
#1 Movie
You Can't Take It with You
Best Picture
You Can't Take It with You
Daevid's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1938Born
Kristallnacht and the escalation toward WWII
Gas: $0.20/galHome: $2,850Min wage: $0.25/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Begin the Beguine" — Artie ShawBest Picture: You Can't Take It with You
1943Started school
Allies invade Sicily; Battle of Stalingrad ends
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,290Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"I've Heard That Song Before" — Harry JamesBest Picture: Casablanca
1951Became a teenager
First color TV broadcast in the US
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Too Young" — Nat King ColeBest Picture: An American in Paris
1954Could drive
Brown v. Board of Education desegregates US schools
Gas: $0.29/galHome: $8,925Min wage: $0.75/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Little Things Mean a Lot" — Kitty KallenBest Picture: On the Waterfront
1956Could vote
Elvis Presley appears on The Ed Sullivan Show
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $10,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Heartbreak Hotel" — Elvis PresleyBest Picture: Around the World in 80 Days
1959Turned 21
Fidel Castro takes power in Cuba
Gas: $0.30/galHome: $12,400Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"The Battle of New Orleans" — Johnny HortonBest Picture: Ben-Hur
1968Turned 30
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 40
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 50
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 60
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 70
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2015Died at 77
Paris climate agreement; same-sex marriage legalized in the US
Gas: $2.43/galHome: $171,900Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Uptown Funk" — Mark Ronson ft. Bruno MarsBest Picture: Spotlight
Key Achievements
- Co-founded the influential band Soft Machine, a cornerstone of the Canterbury sound and progressive rock.
- Founded and led the psychedelic space-rock collective Gong, creating its foundational mythology and sound.
- Authored the classic 'Radio Gnome Invisible' trilogy of albums ('Flying Teapot', 'Angel's Egg', 'You').
- Pioneered the 'glissando guitar' technique, using a metal slide to create continuous, swooping notes.
Did You Know?
He claimed his interest in the glissando technique came from listening to records by mistake at the wrong speed.
In the late 1960s, he ran a popular alternative bookshop in Paris called the 'English Bookshop'.
He was denied re-entry into the UK in 1967, which directly led to the formation of Gong in France.
Allen was a dedicated practitioner of tai chi and incorporated its philosophies into his music and lifestyle.
“The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion.”
