Gillan

Gillan was a rock band formed in 1978 by Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan.



Contents
[hide]  *1 History  ==History[ edit] == In July 1978 Ian Gillan had become dissatisfied with the jazz fusion style of his band called the Ian Gillan Band and dissolved it, retaining only keyboard playerColin Towns, and formed a new band entitled Gillan. He added Steve Byrd on guitar, Liam Genockey on drums and John McCoy on bass, and initially pursued a progressive rock direction, releasing their eponymous debut in September 1978, although they could only get a record deal in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. This recording has subsequently become more widely available as The Japanese Album as a CD re-issue by RPM Records in 1994. Genocky was unable to commit to the band beyond the recording of the album and the band's live debut at the Reading Festival in 1978. He was replaced for the subsequent tour by Pete Barnacle.
 * 2 Band members
 * 3 Discography
 * 3.1 Studio Albums
 * 3.2 Compilations Albums
 * 3.3 Live Albums
 * 3.4 Singles
 * 4 External links

The album was sufficiently successful to attract more attention and in 1979 the band secured a European deal with Acrobat Records. Before a new album was recorded, Byrd was replaced by Bernie Torme and Barnacle by drummer Mick Underwood, Ian Gillan's former colleague in Episode Six. Torme's "screaming guitar" sound fundamentally altered the dynamics and Gillan took a more heavy metal and punk direction. This lineup's first album was released as Mr. Universe and contained many re-worked songs fromThe Japanese Album. The album went straight into the UK album charts but stalled as Acrobat Records went bankrupt. This led to a multi-album deal with Virgin Records.

Meanwhile in Japan, Australia and New Zealand an alternate version of Mr. Universe was released with a different track selection to avoid repeats of Gillan the album material used on the Mr. Universe album elsewhere. Several of the alternate tracks are included on the The Japanese Album release.

The band caught the rise of the NWOBHM at just the right time and the group gained popularity in Europe. An important aspect of this rise in popularity was Gillan's recognition of what his audience (mainly teenage males) wanted to hear; an example of how this affected the band was in the lyrics. "Bright casino lights flicker as you dance. Warm Arabian nights, atmospheres of chance" from the Ian Gillan Band days became "Keep your hand on my lever. Watch it whilst I stab your beaver." on the Mr Universe album.

At Christmas 1978, Ian Gillan turned down an offer from Ritchie Blackmore to join Rainbow, but Blackmore did make a guest appearance for Gillan at their Christmas show. It was the first time Ian Gillan and Blackmore had performed together since 1973.

In 1980 Gillan reached the peak of their success, releasing the successful Glory Road album, the initial copies also containing the free album "For Gillan Fans Only". However the band remained unknown inNorth America and were unable to raise any interest there despite several tours.

By 1981 the band members were becoming disgruntled that their European and Japanese success was not translating into increased financial rewards, and after the Future Shock album, whilst on tour in Germany, Torme walked out just before the band were due to fly back to the UK to appear on Top of the Pops. He was replaced by White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers (who would later go on to join Iron Maiden) and this line up released the live/studio double album Double Trouble at the end of the year. In 1982 the final album Magic followed. By this time, tension over money had reached fever pitch and Ian Gillan needed time to have nodes removed from his vocal cords. After the Magic tour Ian Gillan dissolved the band while he underwent surgery. He then accepted an offer to front Black Sabbath to the incredulity of the Gillan band members, particularly McCoy, and the acrimony remains to the present day. McCoy subsequently released compilations of studio out-takes to which he had the rights, known as The Gillan Tapes, and ensured that revenues were distributed fairly amongst the band. Bernie Torme and John McCoy recently joined forces on the GMT band project, releasing two albums, one in 2006 and one in 2009.

According to at least one interview, Gillan did not have nodes removed as British doctors recommended, as he was afraid that would adversely affect his voice. A German doctor diagnosed infected, enlarged tonsils with nodes on them, and Gillan had a history of that. He had a complete tonsillectomy instead, which also removed the nodes on the tonsils. Prior to surgery, he asked the German doctor if the surgery would affect his voice. The doctor said "Yes it will make it better, since the sound was having to come around the tonsils before then." ==Band members[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Discography<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ===Studio Albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Compilations Albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ===Live Albums<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ===
 * Ian Gillan – vocals (1978–1982)
 * John McCoy – bass (1978–1982)
 * Colin Towns – keyboards (1978–1982)
 * Steve Byrd – guitar (1978–1979)
 * Liam Genockey – drums (1978)
 * Pete Barnacle – drums (1978–1979)
 * Mick Underwood – drums (1979–1982)
 * Bernie Tormé – guitar (1979–1981)
 * Janick Gers – guitar (1981–1982)
 * The Gillan Tapes Vol. 1 (1997)
 * The Gillan Tapes Vol. 2 (1999)
 * The Gillan Tapes Vol. 3 (2000)
 * The Gillan Singles Box Set (2007)
 * On the Rocks (2010 (compilation)
 * Live at Reading '80 (1990)
 * The BBC Tapes Vol 1: Dead of Night 1979 (1998)
 * The BBC Tapes Vol 2: Unchain Your Brain 1980 (1998)
 * Mutually Assured Destruction - Live at the Apollo '82 (2006)
 * The Glory Years (2008, DVD) (Recorded live 1981)
 * Triple Trouble (2009) (Recorded live 1981/1982)
 * All Gillan albums recorded between 1979 and 1982 (excluding The Japanese Album) have been re-released as remastered editions with bonus tracks in 2007

===Singles<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:-webkit-isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ===