Gillan was an English rock band formed in 1978 by then-former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. Gillan was one of the hard rock bands to make a significant impact and achieve commercial success in the United Kingdom during the late 1970s and early 1980s, with five top 20 albums and six top 40 singles. The band split in late 1982 when Gillan joined Black Sabbath, before re-joining Deep Purple in 1984.

History 1978: Formation In July 1978 Ian Gillan had become dissatisfied with the jazz fusion style of his band Ian Gillan Band and dissolved it, retaining only keyboard player Colin Towns, and formed this 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 get a record deal only 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. However, the RPM CD issue replaces the original opening instrumental "Second Sight" with another instrumental, "Street Theatre". 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.

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.

1979–1981: The glory era 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 Tormé 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 line-up'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.

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

The band caught the rise of the NWOBHM at just the right time and the group gained popularity in Europe.

In 1980 Gillan reached the peak of their success, releasing the album Glory Road, with initial copies 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 a long and difficult 1980 US tour.

As with most of the post-Deep Purple bands, money remained very tight. By 1981 the band members were beginning to wonder why their European and Japanese success was not translating into increased financial rewards. Rumours also circulated that band funds were being diverted to pay for problems with Ian Gillan's failing hotel. Following the Future Shock album, whilst on tour in Germany, Torme left, just before the band were due to fly back to the UK to appear on Top of the Pops.

1982: Struggles and final shows Tormé was replaced by White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers (who would later join Iron Maiden) and this line-up released the live/studio double album Double Trouble at the end of 1981. In August 1982, the final album Magic followed. By this time, tension over money had reached fever pitch and Ian Gillan needed time to have surgery as a result of damage to his vocal cords. After the Magic tour, the band performed a final show at the Wembley Arena on 17 December, and then Ian Gillan dissolved the group 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. Bernie Tormé and John McCoy collaborated on the GMT (Guy McCoy Tormé) band project, releasing two albums in 2006 and 2008. Tormé died in 2019, Underwood in 2024.

Band members Ian Gillan – vocals (1978–1982) Colin Towns – keyboards (1978–1982) Steve Byrd – guitar (1978–1979; died 2016) Liam Genockey – drums (1978) John McCoy – bass (1978–1982) Pete Barnacle – drums (1978–1979) Bernie Tormé – guitar (1979–1981; died 2019) Mick Underwood – drums (1979–1982; died 2024) Janick Gers – guitar (1981–1982)

Ian Gillan Band/Gillan timeline

Discography Studio albums YearTitleAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsCertifications(sales thresholds)UKAUSSWE 1978 Gillan (aka The Japanese Album)Date: September 1978 Label: East World——— 1979 Mr. UniverseDate: October 1979 Label: Acrobat11—— 1980 Glory RoadDate: August 1980 Label: Virgin3—— BPI: Silver 1981 Future ShockDate: April 1981 Label: Virgin 26445 BPI: Silver Double TroubleDate: October 1981 Label: Virgin 12—— 1982 MagicDate: September 1982 Label: Virgin 17—— "—" denotes releases that did not chart. All Gillan albums recorded between 1979 and 1982 (excluding The Japanese Album) have been re-released as remastered editions with bonus tracks in 2007

Live albums Live at Reading '80 (1990), Raw Fruit The BBC Tapes Vol 1: Dead of Night 1979 (1998), RPM The BBC Tapes Vol 2: Unchain Your Brain 1980 (1998), RPM Live at the BBC - 79/80 (1999), Angel Air Live Tokyo Shinjuku Koseinenkin Hall (2001), Angel Air On The Rocks - Live in Germany, June 1981 (2002), Angel Air Live Wembley 17 December 1982 (2002), Angel Air Mutually Assured Destruction Glasgow 1982 (2006), Angel Air Live at the Marquee 1978 (2008), Angel Air No Easy Way - Live Hammersmith 1980 (CD), Live Edinburgh 1980 (DVD, 2008), Angel Air Triple Trouble (2009) (recorded live 1981/1982), Edsel

Compilation albums Trouble - The Best of Gillan (1991), Virgin The Gillan Tapes Vol. 1 (1997), Angel Air The Gillan Tapes Vol. 2 (1999), Angel Air The Gillan Tapes Vol. 3 (2000), Angel Air Unchain Your Brain: The Best Of Gillan (2007), Music Club The Gillan Singles Box Set (2007), Edsel The Vinyl Collection 1979-1982 (2016)

DVDs Live Edinburgh 1980 (2006), Angel Air The Glory Years (2008) (Recorded live 1981), Eagle Rock

Singles YearTitlePeak chart positionsAlbum UK1979"Vengeance"—Mr. Universe1980"Sleeping on the Job"55Glory Road"No Easy Way"—"Trouble"14Non-album single1981"Mutually Assured Destruction"32"New Orleans"17Future Shock"No Laughing in Heaven"31"Nightmare"36Double Trouble1982"Restless"25"Living for the City"50Magic"Long Gone"— "—" denotes releases that did not chart.

References

Works cited

External links Music Might biography