Illusion

Born in Bihar, India, guitarist Gary Boyle moved to England in his childhood. He then spent the early 60s in Hamburg before returning to the UK and session work, most notably with Dusty Springfield. He teamed with Brian Auger and the Trinity, and contributed to their 1970 album Befour. The early 70s saw more session work with Auger, Keith Tippett, Stomu Yamash'ta and others. In 1973, Boyle formed Isotope with ex-Nucleus bassist Jeff Clyne, drummer Nigel Morris and keyboardist Brian Miller, with the latter writing much of the band's material. Their debut album Isotope saw release in 1974, with typical comparisons to other British fusion groups of the day (more jazz than rock). However, Isotope would never be known for their stability; and soon after the album's release, keyboardist Laurence Scott and ex-Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper came aboard. The band toured extensively, breaking only to record their second album, Illusion, with Family's Poli Palmer. Hopper's fuzz bass kicks off the title track, always a good sign. "Rangoon Creeper" slinks along over a funky clavinet, before switching gears towards more typical fusion and one of Boyle's typically awesome guitar solos; fast and fluid, he certainly can lay down the notes. Hopper's "Sliding Dogs/Lion Sandwich" takes a break from the expected fusion for a wilder approach to jazz-rock, while his "Golden Section" is indeed golden. Returning from a US tour (the album released by Motown), change beset the band once again; and save Morris, a new lineup joined Robin Lumley to record a final album, Deep End. Another attempt to reactivate Isotope (notably with future Buggle Geoff Downes) only amounted to BBC sessions, and Boyle then turned to a solo career. Produced again by Lumley, his 1977 album The Dancer earned the Jazz/Pop award at the annual Montreux International Jazz Festival.