Gillan (band)
| Gillan | |
|---|---|
 Ian Gillan, singer and founder in 1983 |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Hard rock , heavy metal , NWoBHM |
| founding | 1978 |
| resolution | 1982 |
| Founding members | |
| Ian Gillan | |
| Colin Towns | |
| Steve Byrd | |
| John McCoy | |
| Liam Genockey | |
| former members | |
| Bernie Tormé (1979-1981) | |
guitar |
Janick Gers (1981-1982) |
| Pete Barnacle (1978-1979) | |
Drums |
Mick Underwood (1979-1982) |
Gillan was an English rock and metal band formed in 1978 by ex- Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan . The group combined the typical hard rock sound of Deep Purple with new elements from the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and released six successful albums during its existence. The band was disbanded in 1982 by Ian Gillan.
history
The beginnings
Ian Gillan founded the band Gillan, which, like Rainbow and Whitesnake , can be understood as the successor band to Deep Purple, in June 1978 together with keyboardist Colin Towns as a follow-up project to his Ian Gillan Band , which between 1975 and 1978 was a mixture of jazz and Had played rock. The first line-up also consisted of guitarist Steve Byrd, drummer Liam Genockey and bassist John McCoy . In this formation, the band produced their debut album, which is cited as Gillan or The Japanese Album and was only sold in Japan in October 1978. After the live debut at the Reading and Leeds Festival in late 1978 , Bernie Tormé replaced the previous guitarist Steve Byrd and Mick Underwood replaced the short-term drummer Pete Barnacle. Originally ex-Deep Purple Ian Paice was supposed to play the drums, but he canceled and thus cleared the way for the ex- Episode Six member (then with Ian Gillan) Underwood. With the two changes the sound of the band became wilder and harder and thus got more into the direction of Heavy Metal forced by Gillan.
The classic line-up
In 1979 Gillan recorded her album Mr. Universe in the classic line-up of Gillan, Towns, Tormé, McCoy and Underwood , which contains several songs from the debut album. The album was produced by Acrobat Records , but remained at position 11 on the British album charts due to the bankruptcy of the label. It benefited from the emerging New Wave of British Heavy Metal movement (NWoBHM) and, in addition to the title track Mr. Universe, contains the songs Secret of the Dance , Roller and Message in a Bottle, which were very quickly played for the time . After that, the band signed a multi-album deal with Virgin Records . In 1980 the album Glory Road was released , which reached chart position 3 and silver status in Great Britain. The album was released at the height of the NWoBHM and includes genre-typical pieces such as Unchain your Brain , Running, White Face, City Boy and Sleeping on the Job . With Glory Road , the bonus album For Gillan Fans Only was delivered in smaller numbers . The following studio album Future Shock with the rap rock piece No Laughing in Heaven as well as the metallic (The Ballad Of) The Lucitania Express and Sacre Bleu and a cover version of the Gary US Bonds classic New Orleans became the band's most successful. It reached 2nd place in the charts and was awarded the silver record. When the band was on tour through Germany, guitarist Bernie Tormé left the band. It is also said, however, that Tormé was fired due to a failure to appear for the hit No Laughing in Heaven , which the band was supposed to perform via playback on the TV show Top of the Pops .
The last two albums
At the end of 1981 the fifth studio album Double Trouble was recorded with the new guitarist Janick Gers (formerly White Spirit , later Iron Maiden ) . The double album, which also includes a live record from the Reading Festival appearance, was no longer unanimously approved by buyers due to the renewed, softer style, and reached chart position 12. In 1982, Gillan recorded the last studio album Magic (UK charts # 17) . The album is considered to be the most melodic and psychedelic of the band and includes the fast opener What's The Matter , the blistering metallic Demon Driver and a cover by Stevie Wonders Living for the City . At the end of 1982, after the final appearance at London's Wembley Arena , Ian Gillan broke up the band. On the one hand it can be read that a vocal cord operation required a longer break, on the other hand the loss of popularity is blamed for the withdrawal. In an interview in 1991 Ian Gillan stated that the band's Magic production had been difficult because the members disagreed, which meant that the songs did not exude any real energy, and so the thought of the end of the group had inevitably forced his mind . Since the "nameless" McCoy and Underwood had been deprived of a platform of awareness, their resentment about this decision of the band leader is said to have lasted for years. In addition, it was speculated at the time that a planned reunion of Deep Purple could be behind it; those who accepted it were all the more baffled when Gillan briefly joined Black Sabbath .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 1979 | Mr. Universe |
UK11 (6 weeks) UK |
|
| 1980 | Glory Road |
UK3  (12 weeks)UK |
|
| 1981 | Future Shock |
UK2 (13 weeks)UK |
|
| Double trouble |
UK12 (14 weeks) UK |
||
| 1982 | Magic |
UK17 (6 weeks) UK |
More studio albums
- 1978: Gillan (aka The Japanese Album)
Live albums
- 1990: Live at Reading '80 (Raw Fruit)
- 1998: The BBC Tapes Vol 1: Dead of Night 1979 (RPM)
- 1998: The BBC Tapes Vol 2: Unchain Your Brain 1980 (RPM)
- 1999: Live At The BBC - 79/80 ( Angel Air Records )
- 2001: Live Tokyo Shinjuku Koseinenkin Hall (Angel Air)
- 2002: On The Rocks Live in Germany, June 1981 (Angel Air)
- 2002: Live Wembley 17 December 1982 (Angel Air)
- 2006: Mutually Assured Destruction Glasgow 1982 (Angel Air)
- 2008: Live At The Marquee 1978 (Angel Air)
- 2008: No Easy Way (Angel Air)
- 2009: Triple Trouble (Edsel, recorded from 1981–1982)
Compilations
- 1997: The Gillan Tapes Vol. 1 (Angel Air)
- 1999: The Gillan Tapes Vol. 2 (Angel Air)
- 2000: The Gillan Tapes Vol. 3 (Angel Air)
- 2007: Unchain Your Brain: The Best Of Gillan (Music Club)
- 2007: The Gillan Singles Box Set (Edsel)
Singles
| year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1980 | Sleeping on the Job Glory Road |
UK55 (3 weeks) UK |
|
| Trouble |
UK14 (6 weeks) UK |
||
| 1981 | Mutually Assured Destruction |
UK32 (5 weeks) UK |
|
| New Orleans Future Shock |
UK17 (10 weeks) UK |
||
| No Laughing in Heaven Future Shock |
UK31 (6 weeks) UK |
||
| Nightmare Double Trouble |
UK36 (6 weeks) UK |
||
| 1982 | Restless double trouble |
UK25 (7 weeks) UK |
|
| Living for the City Magic |
UK50 (3 weeks) UK |
More singles
- 1979: Vengeance
- 1980: No Easy Way
- 1982: Long Gone
Video albums
- 2006: Live Edinburgh 1980 (Angel Air)
- 2008: The Glory Years (Eagle Rock, recorded 1981)
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e f g h Gillan, Ian . In: Holger Stratmann (Ed.): Rock Hard Enzyklopädie. 700 of the most interesting rock bands from the last 30 years . Rock Hard, Dortmund 1998, ISBN 3-9805171-0-1 , p. 136 f .
- ↑ Tony Jasper, Derek Oliver: Gillan (UK) . In: The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal . Facts on File, New York 1983, ISBN 0-8160-1100-1 , pp. 126 .
- ↑ a b c d e f Garry Sharpe-Young , Horst Odermatt & Friends: The Ultimate Hard Rock Guide Vol I - Europe . Bang Your Head Enterprises, 1997, p. 131 f .
- ↑ Federico Guglielmi (Ed.): Grande enciclopedia rock . P. 328
- ↑ Oliver Klemm: (without title) . November 1991 (incomplete article without magazine information).
- ↑ Tony Jasper, Derek Oliver: The International Encyclopedia of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal . Facts on File Inc., New York 1983, ISBN 0-8160-1100-1 , Ian Gillan (UK), pp. 126 f .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: UK
- ↑ Music Sales Awards: UK