Pierre Moerlen (Gong) Interview, 1980

By Bill Rosenblatt ’83

This was my first ever interview with a musician on the air. There I was, a wide-eyed sophomore, treating this obscure French drummer like he was a huge rock star. The drummer was Pierre Moerlen, leader of Gong. They were in Princeton for a WPRB-sponsored stop at Alexander Hall (now Richardson Auditorium) on their first US tour ever.

[LISTEN or DOWNLOAD: Pierre Moerlen interview, 8.28.80]

[Digitized 11.25.14 by Bill Rosenblatt]

If you have no idea who Gong was, you are far from alone. Gong was originally a band from France that started in the late 60s, led by Australian guitarist/singer Daevid Allen, formerly of the seminal British psychedelic band Soft Machine. They had a cult following through the early-mid 70s as a wacky, spaced-out post-hippie band, along the lines of early Pink Floyd (but zanier) or Hawkwind (but softer and proggier). Gong’s “Radio Gnome Invisible Trilogy” of 1973-74 is its best-known work and remains a favorite of mine to this day.

By the late 70s, Moerlen was the only member left from the classic period. He had reconceived Gong in a very different vein, as a jazz-rock fusion band featuring mallet percussion (vibes, marimbas) in addition to guitar solos. Fans of the band’s early-70s sound had lost interest, but this is where I came in, as a prog and fusion fanatic and guitar dilettante. This was a band that I played virtually every week on my show on WPRB. So although Eric Klein ’81 (station manager) got to introduce the band onstage at AIexander Hall, I got to interview Moerlen on the air. It may well have been the only radio interview Pierre Moerlen ever did. He sadly passed away in 2005 at age 53.

A few of Gong’s many members over the years did achieve more notoriety than the estimable drummer. Guitarist Steve Hillage became a successful solo artist, new age guru, and 1980s record producer (Simple Minds, Robyn Hitchcock, Charlatans UK), then resurfaced in the 1990s techno band System 7. Bassist Mike Howlett formed a band with Sting, Andy Summers, and Stewart Copeland; they went on without him as The Police. He then became another successful producer in the 80s (Gang of Four, Martha & the Muffins, OMD, A Flock of Seagulls). Allan Holdsworth is a hero to guitar shredders everywhere, including Eddie Van Halen, who produced one of his solo LPs.

duggan millard says:

July 1, 2015 at 9:32 am

i was at the show and really loved it and i remember your interview. thank you for posting

duggan millard

p.s. do you remember ‘moisture world’? and where is tom burka?

Bill Rosenblatt says:

August 28, 2015 at 1:20 am

Thanks for the kind words. Yes – Ha! – I remember Moisture World. This was a standing joke between Tom Burka ’82 and John Muller ’82.

Tom Burka was a living legend as DJ, with his sexy, purring baritone voice, hilarious sense of humor, and excellent taste in music. During one summer, he did the afternoon show every weekday; I followed him in the evening slot. “Moisture World” was a fictitious theme park from which Burka was supposedly rescued to be a DJ on WPRB.

John Muller was the Station Manager that summer. They had a routine that took place at least once a week, in which Burka would play “Stained Sheets” by James White and the Blacks — a song that was just barely on the safe side of FCC indecency regulations (insofar as one could discern them). Muller would come into the control room and say something like “Are you playing ‘Stained Sheets’ again? This is your last warning! If I hear you play that song one more time, it’s back to Moisture World with you!”

Burka was the recipient of a very explicit and perfumed fan letter from a woman who really, really wanted to go out with him. He agreed to do it if she brought a friend and I went along as a double date. I don’t remember much about it other than that the woman was much better-looking than either of us expected.

Unfortunately I can’t speak for Burka’s whereabouts these days…

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