[8] The tropical climate and unpressured lifestyle had an impact, and one of the frustrating and endearing aspects of Ayers's career is that every time he seemed on the point of success, he would depart for some sunny spot where good wine and food were easily found.

Ayers and Wyatt left the Wilde Flowers, and eventually joined keyboardist Mike Ratledge and guitarist Daevid Allen to form Soft Machine.

[12] After an extensive tour of the United States opening for the Jimi Hendrix Experience, a weary Ayers sold his white Fender Jazz Bass to Noel Redding[13] and retreated to the beaches of Ibiza in Spain with Daevid Allen to recuperate.

One product of the sessions was the single, "Religious Experience (Singing a Song in the Morning)", early recordings of which featured Syd Barrett on guitar and backing vocals.

For this, Ayers assembled a band that he called the Whole World, including a young Mike Oldfield on bass and occasionally lead guitar, avant-garde composer David Bedford on keyboards and improvising saxophonist, Lol Coxhill.

Bananamour was the fourth studio album by Kevin Ayers and it featured some of his most accessible recordings, including "Shouting in a Bucket Blues" and his whimsical tribute to Syd Barrett, "Oh!

After Whatevershebringswesing, Ayers assembled a new band anchored by drummer Eddie Sparrow and bassist Archie Legget and employed a more direct lyricism.

On this LP Mike Oldfield returned to the fold, and guitarist Ollie Halsall from progressive rock band Patto began a twenty-year partnership with Ayers.

On 1 June 1974, Ayers headlined a heavily publicised concert at the Rainbow Theatre, London, accompanied by John Cale, Nico, Brian Eno and Mike Oldfield.

Tensions were somewhat fraught at the event since the night before John Cale had caught Ayers sleeping with his wife,[20] prompting him to write the bile-soaked paean "Guts" that appeared on his 1975 album Slow Dazzle.

That same year Harvest released a collection entitled Odd Ditties, that assembled a colourful group of songs that Ayers had consigned to single B-Sides or left unreleased.

The Wizards of Twiddly collaboration encompassed a couple of concert tours of the U.K./ Europe during 1995[23] and a resulting live album, 'Turn the Lights Down' [Market Square Records, 1999].

BBC DJ John Peel wrote in his autobiography: "Kevin Ayers' talent is so acute you could perform major eye surgery with it.

Signing with London's LO-MAX Records, Shepard found equal enthusiasm for the demos and after making some tentative enquiries, discovered a hotbed of interest in Ayers's work amongst the current generation of musicians.

When the rehearsals gelled, the entourage, which had now swelled to include horn and string players, flew out to Tucson, Arizona, where the first sessions were recorded in a dusty hangar known as Wavelab Studios.

With the tapes from the first sessions, Shepard set about getting Ayers to complete the album in the UK, where by now word had spread, and a host of musicians started gravitating to the studio.

Shepard recounted meeting Teenage Fanclub at a Go-Betweens party and hearing their passion for Ayers's music,[25] and wrote a letter to singer, guitarist Norman Blake.

Mojo magazine reported that, within a couple of weeks, Ayers was in a Glasgow studio with Teenage Fanclub and a host of their like-minded colleagues, who had all assembled to work with their hero.

Robert Wyatt provided his eerie Wyattron in the poignant "Cold Shoulder", Phil Manzanera contributed to the brooding "Brainstorm", Hugh Hopper from Soft Machine played bass on the title track and Bridget St John, a British folk singer beloved of John Peel, duetted with Ayers on "Baby Come Home",[27] the first time they had sung together since 1970 on Shooting at the Moon.