IAN GILLAN (vocal) (deep purple, gillan, gillan band, black sab...)
Ian Gillan (born 19 August, 1945 in Hounslow, London), is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple.
During his career Gillan had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath and sang the role of Jesus Christ in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd Webber's rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. Gillan is considered to be one of the foremost rock vocalists, who introduced into rock music the vocal belting technique. In his prime he possessed a wide vocal range. His work with Deep Purple is particularly recognisable for its occasional high-pitched screams and falsettos.
Early life
Gillan was born at Chiswick Maternity Hospital, Hounslow, London, England in a family of Scottish descent (his father was from the Govan area of Glasgow) He sang in various constellations and appeared under a variety of different pseudonyms during the early years, eg. Garth Rockett, Jess Thunder, Jess Gillan, and probably others as well.
In 1965 he was a member of Wainwright's Gentlemen, a band that eventually became Sweet.
Deep Purple
He was the lead vocalist in the band Episode Six. After Deep Purple members Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore saw one of his performances with the band, he was later approached to replace Rod Evans in Deep Purple.
Gillan was a member of Deep Purple from 1969 through to 1973, appearing on such now-classic Deep Purple albums as In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are. During these years, he also was the voice of Jesus on the original 1970 album recording of Jesus Christ Superstar. He was offered the lead role in the 1973 film adaptation. Ian demanded not only to be paid for his role in the movie but insisted, without the consent of his manager, that the entire band be paid because filming would conflict with a scheduled tour. The producers declined and Ian continued on in the band.
Gillan was room-mates with Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, and in a 2006 interview Gillan said Blackmore "turned into a weird guy and the day he walked out of the tour was the day the clouds disappeared and the day the sunshine came out and we haven't looked back since." He added that "there are certain personal issues that I have with Ritchie, which means that I will never speak to him again. Nothing I'm going to discuss publicly, but deeply personal stuff."Later, he revealed that prior to the 1993 reunion of the band, Blackmore had requested 250 thousand dollars to be deposited in his bank account in order to continue with the reunion. The other members of the band did not receive anything.
Rejoining
He rejoined a reunited Deep Purple in early 1984, recording the highly-acclaimed comeback album Perfect Strangers. He was sacked in 1989, but rejoined in 1992 to record the album The Battle Rages On. During the 1993 tour for this album, Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple for good. The rest of Deep Purple carried on, eventually replacing Blackmore with Steve Morse, and Gillan remains in the band to the present day.
Away from Deep Purple
After his first departure from Deep Purple, Gillan retired from performing to pursue business ventures. However, encouraged by his reception at the Butterfly Ball in 1975, he decided to resume his singing career. He formed the Ian Gillan Band. The early band sound had a distinct jazz-rock aspect which proved unpopular and was replaced by a more high powered hard rock sound as Gillan changed the lineup and shortened the group's name to Gillan. Writing the bulk of new material with keyboardist Colin Towns, the release of Mr. Universe saw Ian Gillan back in the UK charts, although the independent record company the album came out on - Acrobat - folded soon after the album was released, prompting a contract with Richard Branson's Virgin Records. Through several more lineup changes the band released a string of UK hit singles and successful albums including Glory Road, Future Shock, Double Trouble, and finally Magic.
In 1982 Ian Gillan announced the band would fold as he needed to rest his damaged vocal cords.
Black Sabbath
In 1983 he joined Black Sabbath (replacing Ronnie James Dio) for a year to record the Born Again album and tour (on which Black Sabbath played the Purple standard "Smoke On The Water" as an encore). He was largely dissatisfied with his stint in Sabbath, notably the final mix of the Born Again album (though he liked the songs and their original mixes) and its cover, which featured a demonic-looking baby. He was quoted in Kerrang! in 1984 as saying "I looked at the cover and puked." . In an interview on Part 2 of the VHS, The Black Sabbath Story (1992), he said, "I was the worst singer Black Sabbath ever had..." However, he stated in the same interview that he liked Sabbath personally: "I love Tony (Iommi), love Geezer (Butler)."
2000s solo activity
In June 2004 Gillan performed guest lead vocals on Smokescreen as part of Dean Howard - Volume One. Dean Howard (T'pau/Gillan/Repo Depo) co wrote some of the material that went towards Gillan's Dreamcatcher album.
In April 2006 Gillan released a CD/multimedia project to document his 40-year career called Gillan's Inn. Tony Iommi, Jeff Healey, Joe Satriani, Dean Howard, as well as current and former members of Deep Purple such as Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Steve Morse are featured on this 2006 CD and DVD. The project includes a re-recorded selection of his Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and solo tracks.It was produced by Nick Blagona. In a recent interview, Gillan announced that his solo albums from the 1970s and 1980s would be re-issued late in 2006 through the Demon record company. These albums began to be released in early 2007.
Also, on September 11th, 2006, Ian Gillan promoted the Gillan's Inn tour by having local guitarists compete through local radio stations to play on stage with the band during the famous song "Smoke on the Water". The promotion was titled "Smoke This!".
In 2006 a single called Eternity was released for the Japanese Xbox 360 game Blue Dragon, composed by Nobuo Uematsu and featuring the vocals of Gillan. That same song was reused in the fan-made, freeware RPG game Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden for battles against VinceBorg2050 (a combination of cyborg & Vince Carter). The Eternity file in the Barkley game music folder is labeled "jesus christ the guy from deep purple sang this".
On 2 April 2007, Gillan released a DVD Highway Star: A Journey In Rock. The DVD has 6 hours of footage including documentaries and music clips.
In June 2007, he sang with the group Sed Nove and Ann Wilson in the Festival of Music in Paris.
In February 2008 Gillan released a double live album on Edel Records, "Live in Anaheim" that features Gillan and Deep Purple classic songs and several rarities. A companion DVD was released in May 2008.
Personal life
Family
In 1984, Gillan married Bron, his girlfriend, to whom Ian had dedicated the melancholic "Keep It Warm" from Black Sabbath's 1983 album Born Again. They have twice since renewed their marriage vows. The couple have one daughter, Grace. Gillan currently lives in the English coastal town of Lyme Regis in Dorset.
Gillan's mother, Audrey Parkinson, often visits him while he is touring with Deep Purple in the United Kingdom. She can often be seen sitting to the side of the stage.
Other
He is a passionate football fan, supporting Queens Park Rangers F.C. He is also a big fan of cricket.
Gillan is well-known for his intolerance of aggressive crowd security personnel at concerts. On August 15, 1998, he was charged with assault after striking a security guard on the head with a microphone.
In 2004, he was banned from driving for being twice over the legal alcohol limit. He was banned from driving for 16 months and fined £500.
His surname is often misspelled as "Gillian". Gillan himself made light of this in the lyrics to "MTV", a track from Deep Purple's 2005 album Rapture of the Deep.
Discography
With Deep Purple
Studio albums
In Rock #1 (1970)
Fireball #1 (1971)
Machine Head #1 (1972)
Who Do We Think We Are #4 (1973)
Perfect Strangers #5 (1984)
The House of Blue Light #12 (1987)
The Battle Rages On #29 (1993)
Purpendicular #56 (1996)
Abandon #75 (1998)
Bananas #81 (2003)
Rapture of the Deep #88 (2005)
Live albums
Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969)
Made in Japan (1972)
Deep Purple in Concert - BBC Radio sessions 1970/1972 (1980)
Scandinavian Nights - Live in Stockholm 1970 (1988)
Nobody's Perfect (1988)
In the Absence of Pink - Knebworth '85 (1991)
Gemini Suite Live '70 (1993)
Come Hell or High Water (1994)
Live at the Olympia '96 (1997)
Total Abandon: Live in Australia (1999)
Live at the Royal Albert Hall - Concerto's 30th Anniversary (2000)
Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy (2001)
Live in Europe 1993 (2006)
They All Came Down To Montreux (2007)
As Ian Gillan Band
Child in Time (1976)
Clear Air Turbulence (1977)
Scarabus (1977)
Live at the Budokan (1978)
As Gillan
Gillan (aka The Japanese Album) (1978)
Mr. Universe #11 (UK) (1979)
Glory Road #3 (UK) (1980)
Future Shock #2 (UK) (1980)
Double Trouble (live) #12 (UK) (1981)
Magic #17 (UK) (1982)
With Black Sabbath
Born Again (1983)
As Gillan & Glover
Accidentally on Purpose (1988)
As Garth Rockett & the Moonshiners
Garth Rockett & The Moonshiners Live at the Ritz (1990)
Solo
Naked Thunder (1990)
Toolbox (1991)
Cherkazoo and Other Stories ('73/'75 solo sessions) (1992)
Dreamcatcher (1997)
Gillan's Inn (2006)
Gillan's Inn-Deluxe Tour Edition (2007)
Live in Anaheim, live at the House Of Blues Club, California, 2006 (2008)
One Eye To Morrocco (2009)
Mercury High - The Story Of Ian Gillan
With The Javelins
Sole Agency and Representation (1994)
Others
Jesus Christ Superstar (1970)
Dean Howard - Volume One - Guest Lead Vocals On Smokescreen (2004)
__________________________________
The Ian Gillan Band was a jazz-rock fusion band formed by Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan in 1975.
After leaving Deep Purple in 1973, Ian Gillan had retired from the music business to pursue other business ventures, including a motorbike manufacturing company and a hotel. These ventures all ended in failure. This fact, combined with a warm reception to his guest appearance at the Butterfly Ball in 1975 prompted him to resume a singing career and form a new band.
Initially called Shand Grenade, Gillan was persuaded to change the band's name to the Ian Gillan Band. He recruited guitarist Ray Fenwick, bass player John Gustafson, keyboard player Mike Moran and Elf drummer Mark Nauseef. Using Roger Glover as producer and session musician, this lineup released their first album Child In Time in 1976. In that year Moran was replaced by Micky Lee Soule (ex-Elf and Rainbow), but for the recording of follow-up album Clear Air Turbulence he was dropped in favour of Colin Towns.
The band had some success in Japan but none at all in North America and only cult status in Europe, their jazz fusion direction unappealing to pop and rock fans alike. Their next album, Scarabus (1977), had more of a rock sound but retained the jazz fusion direction. Released at the height of punk rock, there was no success beyond Japan and their label Island Records dropped them.
The following year Ian Gillan dissolved the band but retained Colin Towns and formed a new band called simply Gillan. A live album was released posthumously.
_______________________________________________
Gillan
was a hard rock band formed in 1978 by Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan.
History
In 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 player Colin Towns, and formed a new band entitled Gillan. He added Steve Byrd on guitar, Liam Genocky on drums and John McCoy on bass, and initially pursued a progressive rock direction, releasing their eponymous debut in 1978, although they could only get a record deal in Japan. 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.
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 direction. This lineup's first album was released as Mr. Universe and contained many re-worked songs from The 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.
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. Thus did Ian Gillan cynically dumb-down his lyrics: witness "Bright casino lights flicker as you dance. Warm Arabian nights, atmospheres of chance" from Ian Gillan Band days become "Keep Your hand on my lever. Watch it whilst I stab your beaver." on the Mr Universe album.
At Christmas 1979 Ian Gillan turned down an offer from Ritchie Blackmore to join Rainbow, but Blackmore did make a "legendary" 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 in North 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 an album in 2006.
Band line ups
1978-1980
Line up I
Ian Gillan - vocals
Steve Byrd - guitar
John McCoy - bass
Colin Towns - keyboard
Liam Genocky - drums
Line up II
Ian Gillan - vocals
Steve Byrd - guitar
John McCoy - bass
Colin Towns - keyboard
Pete Barnacle - drums
Line up III
Ian Gillan - vocals
Bernie Torme - guitar
John McCoy - bass
Colin Towns - keyboard
Mick Underwood - drums
1981-1983
Line up IV
Ian Gillan - vocals
Janick Gers - guitar
John McCoy - bass
Colin Towns - keyboard
Mick Underwood - drums
Discography
Gillan (aka The Japanese Album) (1978)
Mr. Universe #11 (UK) (1979)
Glory Road #3 (UK) (1980)
Future Shock #2 (UK) (1981)
Double Trouble (live) #12 (UK) (1981)
Magic #17 (UK) (1982)
Commentaires