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Sunday Old School: Gillan

One of the great things about the New Wave of British Heavy Metal is that not only did it bring the spotlight to new, young bands such as Iron Maiden, Saxon and Venom, amongst many others, but it sparked a renewed interest in some of the older guard and their outputs. Judas Priest were one band whose popularity was boosted higher than ever when they released "British Steel" in the glorious year for metal that was 1980, and the same thing happened to Ozzy Osbourne when he released his debut studio effort, "Blizzard of Ozz," five months later. Someone else who found his musical endeavours reaching a young head banging fan base was (then) former Deep Purple singer, Ian Gillan, who launched his own eponymous band in 1978.

Ian Gillan decided to form the band after becoming bored of his jazz fusion outfit, The Ian Gillan Band, retaining only keyboardist Colin Towns and recruiting new blood in bassist John McCoy, drummer Liam Genockery, and guitarist Steve Byrd. That year, the group recorded their first album, a self-titled effort, but found they were only able to get a record deal in Japan, Australia and New Zealand. This debut was very much steeped in progressive rock, a style which had been almost obliterated by the ruling punk scene at the time.

Though it wasn't officially released in the United Kingdom until almost fifteen years later, it still sold well there via imports, helped along by positive reviews that those journalists who had heard it gave the album and an appearance at that year’s Reading Festival. The interest was great enough to earn the band a European deal with Acrobat Records though before a second album could be recorded, the group brought in new drummer, Mick Underwood and guitarist, Bernie Torme. Torme was to be a massive part of Gillan, essentially changing their sound towards a more heavy metal style and culminating in the excellent 1979 album, "Mr. Universe," which peaked at number eleven in the British albums chart.

Gillan “Mr. Universe” (Live 1981)

Despite the record's success, Acrobat Records soon went bankrupt, though Gillan was far from short on offers, eventually signing a deal with major label, Virgin Records. It was a big statement of intent, considering the singer’s former Deep Purple bandmate, Ritchie Blackmore had offered him the vocalist position in his latest band, Rainbow, which was turned down, though the guitarist did make an on stage appearance at Gillan’s Christmas show. The first album through Virgin, "Glory Road," would prove to be one of their most successful, reaching number three in the British album chart and was released in Britain with a second album free, entitled, "For Gillan Fans Only."

In 1981, Gillan released their fourth album, "Future Shock," a very good record which featured a bright and bizarre album cover, reminiscent of the Kenny Everett sketch, Captain Kremmen. It was another chart success, this time reaching number two and receiving some great reviews from the rock press. Though it was a triumph at home and in Japan, financial gains proved scarce and began causing dissatisfaction within the band, to the point that Bernie Torme quit shortly before they were scheduled to appear on Top of the Pops, the UK's biggest music show at that time.

In his place came White Spirit guitar player, Janick Gers, who of course is most famous nowadays as a member of Iron Maiden. His first work with Gillan was another double album, "Double Trouble," which contained one record of all new studio material and another containing live recordings. It did not fare as well as recent works, reaching no higher than number twelve in the United Kingdom and earning lacklustre reviews.

Gillan “Bite The Bullet” (Live)

The next year, Gillan released their sixth and final album, “Magic,” which continued the pattern of sliding chart position and internal squabbling over money. The group was put on hold when Ian Gillan was forced to undergo surgery, however after he had recovered, he enraged some of his bandmates by electing to join Black Sabbath, rather than continue with Gillan. Bar some compilation releases and a re-recorded song here and there, this short lived, but acclaimed project by one of hard rock’s greatest voices has been all but swept away, but a little digging enlightens the listener as to just what a special project it was.

Gillan “No Easy Way” (Live in Oxford 1981)

Gillan “No Laughing In Heaven” (Live, on the UK TV show No.73)