Flying Teapot (Radio Gnome Invisible Part 1)

Flying Teapot is the third studio album by Gong. It was recorded at Virgin's Manor Studios, in Oxfordshire, England, produced by Giorgio Gomelsky and engineered by "Simon Sandwitch 2nd aided by Tom Zen" (Simon Heyworth and Tom Newman). It was supposed to be released on BYG Records with whom the band was under contract, but the label went bankrupt during the recording sessions so it was finally issued by Virgin Records in May 1973 with a credit on sleeve saying "A BYG Virgin production".
Flying Teapot was the second entry in the Virgin catalogue (V2002) and released on the same day as the first, Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells (V2001). Some years later, BYG Records managed to resurface briefly and re-issued the album with different cover art in France and Japan. The band claims that BYG didn't have access to the master tapes and used a stolen copy with a preliminary mix of the title track.
Subtitled Radio Gnome Invisible, Part 1, Flying Teapot is the first of the Radio Gnome Invisible trilogy of albums, followed by Angel's Egg in December and You the following October. This trilogy forms a central part of the Gong mythology. The Flying Teapot idea itself was influenced by Russell's teapot. It was the first Gong album to feature English guitarist Steve Hillage, although he contributed relatively little as he arrived late in the recording process. Daevid Allen stated, "Steve Hillage arrived eventually, but there wasn't a lot of space left. He played some rhythmick wa wa, some jazzy chords and a spacey solo on 'Flying Teapot'."