Kevin Ayers

Kevin Ayers (born 16 August 1944 in Herne Bay, Kent, England; died 18 February 2013 in Montolieu, France) was a British songwriter and musician from Kent, United Kingdom, who was one of a group of Avant Garde musicians who came together in Canterbury in the 1960s and developed a whole new approach to the psychedelic, progressive rock genre, known as the Canterbury scene. His early work included works with artists like Daevid Allen, David Bedford and Mike Ratledge. Subsequently, Ayers wrote and recorded some of the wittiest and most poignant songs imaginable and produced more banana-related lyrics than anyone ever dreamed possible.

His first serious band was The Wilde Flowers (1964-1967) with Hugh Hopper, Robert Wyatt and Richard Sinclair. This early hippie group transformed into Soft Machine. While the Softs went on, others split to form Caravan and Gong. Ayers put together his own band Kevin Ayers & The Whole World featuring Lol Coxhill, David Bedford and a very young Mike Oldfield.