Kevin Ayers and the Whole World - Piknik Broadcast, 30th July, 1970

One of the leading lights of the Canterbury scene, Kevin Ayers shaped British psychedelia as part of The Soft Machine in the late 60s - a brief but fruitful period which alone would have secured his place in music history. As a solo artist, however, he developed the era's sounds further, edging into prog rock with his first two albums, Joy of a Toy and Shooting at the Moon, and even giving Mike Oldfield an early career boost, hiring the future Tubular Bells creator to play bass in his backing band, The Whole World. It's with that outfit, which also featured free improv saxophonist Lol Coxhill, that Ayers took to the stage for this radio broadcast performance in the summer of 1970. Delivering a set that leans heavily on songs from those two solo albums ('The Lady Rachel', 'The Oyster And The Flying Fish', 'Clarence in Wonderland') and also reaches back for material written during his tenure with The Soft Machine ('We Did It Again'), Ayers provides a master class in British experimental music at the turn of the decade. An interview with the man himself shines a light on his creative process.