Isotope

Although their time together proved relatively brief, the jazz-leaning fusion group Isotope left a meaningful mark on the Canterbury Scene through the involvement of several of its central musicians. Guitarist Gary Boyle had already spent two years with Dusty Springfield’s backing band before exposure to progressive rock altered his direction. That shift occurred during his stint with Brian Auger & the Trinity, after which he returned to formal studies to deepen his musical training. Once those studies ended, he worked with Keith Tippett and Mike Gibbs, yet it was within Stomu Yamash’ta’s East West ensemble that he first encountered drummer Nigel Morris. Together the pair launched Isotope in 1973, soon recruiting bassist Jeff Clyne. The group’s self-titled debut arrived in 1974, shortly before Clyne exited. Former Soft Machine bassist Hugh Hopper came aboard in March of that same year—the year Boyle finished third in Melody Maker’s reader poll for Best British Guitarists. Keyboardist Laurence Scott joined in time for the 1975 release Illusion, and the band expanded its audience while supporting Gong on a U.K. tour. After Hopper and Scott departed, bassist Dan K. Brown plus keyboardists Frank Roberts and Zoe Kronberger filled the lineup for 1976’s Deep End. Persistent difficulties with management and their label prompted the band’s dissolution in 1977. See for Miles later reissued the catalog in the mid-’90s, while Hux assembled two radio sessions as the 2004 collection Live at the BBC.