Hugh Hopper

Bassist/composer Hugh Hopper has worked on a variety of projects in his 40 years in music. Hopper was born and raised in Canterbury, Kent, England. In 1963, he became involved in a jazz and poetry trio with Daevid Allen, who would go on to form Gong, and Robert Wyatt. In 1964, Hopper was a founder of the Wilde Flowers, a band that included Richard Sinclair, Pye Hastings, Richard Coughlan, Robert Wyatt, and Kevin Ayers. Although a fairly typical beat group, the Wilde Flowers would split into two legendary bands: Caravan, with Sinclair, Hastings, and Coughlan; and Soft Machine, with Wyatt and Ayers, who was replaced by Hopper late in 1968. Hopper left Soft Machine in 1974 and worked on numerous projects before forming the Hugh Hopper Band in 1985. The group released a CD, Meccano Pelorus, on the Cuneiform label in 1991, and has since released other material on that label as well as on Voiceprint and PONK. ~ Jim Dorsch, All Music Guide