Isotope were formed by guitarist Gary Boyle at the peak of the jazz-rock phenomenon.

The fusion offered by the quartet on Isotope (Gull, 1974) was not particularly original. Illusion (Gull, 1975) added bassist Hugh Hopper to the line-up, but the results were still mediocre at best (Hopper's Golden Section stands out). The band dissolved after Deep End (Gull, 1976), which was actually beginning to show some ideas, at least in the mix of electronic and electric sounds.

Gary Boyle's solo albums basically continued Isotope's mission: The Dancer (Gull, 1977), that employs four keyboardists (Zoe Kronberger, Dave MacRae, Robin Lumley, Rod Argent), Electric Glide (Gull, 1978), and Step Out (Intercord, 1980) tried hard to invent a new way to jazz-rock fusion. Triple Echo (Jazz, 1994) was instead recorded by a simple guitar-bass-drums trio.

Golden Section (Cuneiform, 2008) contains rarities from 1974-75.