Ian Gillan

During the 1970s emergence of heavy metal rock, Ian Gillan ranked among its leading singers and achieved his chief recognition through Deep Purple, even as he fronted groups bearing his own name. While still a teenager he began performing in ensembles, most prominently the Javelins from 1962 to 1964 and Episode Six from 1965 to 1969. Bassist Roger Glover belonged to the latter outfit, and both musicians received an invitation to join Deep Purple in 1969, making their first appearance together at London’s Speakeasy club on July 10.

The band then entered its most commercially successful phase, with Gillan appearing on the sequence of well-received Deep Purple releases Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1970), Deep Purple in Rock (1970), Fireball (1971; number one U.K.), Machine Head (1972; number one U.K.; Top Ten, multi-platinum U.S.), Made in Japan (1973; Top Ten, platinum U.S.), and Who Do We Think We Are (1973; Top Five U.K.; Top 20, gold U.S.). Concurrently he performed the title role on Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s concept album Jesus Christ Superstar, a gold-selling double LP that reached the top of the U.S. charts in 1971.

The cumulative demands of continuous recording and near-constant global touring led to Gillan’s hospitalization for exhaustion in October 1971; he first expressed a desire to exit the group in August 1972. Initially convinced to remain, he formally notified Deep Purple in October of his plan to leave once scheduled concerts were completed. His final show with the band occurred on June 29, 1973, at the end of a Japanese tour, at which time “Smoke on the Water” from Machine Head was climbing the U.S. charts toward a Top Five peak and gold certification, Deep Purple’s largest career single.

Having acquired a recording studio, Gillan secured a solo contract with Oyster Records. Following several unrealized ventures he assembled the Ian Gillan Band in 1975, featuring guitarist Ray Fenwick, bassist John Gustafson, keyboardist Mike Moran, and drummer Mark Nauseef. Their first album, Child in Time, appeared on the British charts in July 1976 and the U.S. charts the following month, though sales remained modest. Moving to Island Records, the group issued Clear Air Turbulence (April 1977) and Scarabus (November 1977), neither of which charted. By summer 1978, after multiple personnel shifts, the ensemble shortened its name to Gillan and comprised guitarist Steve Byrd, keyboardist Colin Towns, bassist John McCoy, and drummer Pete Barnacle. In 1979 Bernie Tormé succeeded Byrd and Mick Underwood replaced Barnacle. This configuration recorded Mr. Universe for Acrobat Records, which reached just outside the British Top Ten that year.

Gillan then signed with Virgin Records and entered the U.K. singles chart in June 1980 with “Sleeping on the Job,” followed by Glory Road, which peaked inside the Top Five and registered briefly in the U.S. (his albums received minimal American distribution until Metal Blade reissued the catalog in 1990). Building on that momentum, he placed a run of Top 40 singles and Top 20 albums on the British charts over the ensuing two years: “Trouble” (October 1980); “Mutually Assured Destruction” (February 1981); a cover of Gary “U.S.” Bonds’ “New Orleans” (March 1981); Future Shock (April 1981), which narrowly missed number one; “No Laughing in Heaven” (June 1981); “Nightmare” (November 1981); Double Trouble (November 1981), a double live set; “Restless” (January 1982); and Magic (October 1982).

At the close of 1982 Gillan dissolved the band on medical advice to rest his vocal cords. In May 1983 he joined Black Sabbath for the album Born Again and toured with them from August through March 1984. On March 10, 1984, the 1969–1973 Deep Purple lineup, including Gillan, signed with Polydor Records and reunited. The resulting releases included the million-selling Perfect Strangers and The House of Blue Light (1987). Gillan also issued the solo collection What I Did on My Vacation (1986). The live album Nobody’s Perfect appeared in 1988, after which he recorded the duo project Accidentally on Purpose (1988) with Glover. He departed Deep Purple again in 1989. That December he contributed to an all-star charity remake of “Smoke on the Water” credited to Rock Aid Armenia, which reached the British Top 40.

His next solo album, Naked Thunder, charted briefly in the U.K. in July 1990. Toolbox followed in October 1991, supported by an extensive promotional tour. In December 1992 he rejoined Deep Purple; the reconstituted lineup recorded The Battle Rages On in a German studio, releasing it in July 1993 before embarking on a world tour that concluded in early December. He left once more, reunited with his teenage band the Javelins for their debut album Sole Agency & Representation in 1994, yet returned in time for the 1996 Deep Purple album Purpendicular. Solo release Dreamcatcher arrived in 1998 while he remained with Deep Purple for Abandon, issued that June. Cherkazoo & Other Stories appeared a year later, and as of late 2000 he continued touring with Deep Purple. No Fire Without Smoke was released in fall 2000.

Following 2001, numerous live recordings, rarities collections, and greatest-hits packages entered the market, yet Gillan also issued Poor Boy Hero in 2003 and the double-CD Second Sight in 2005. The star-studded Gillan’s Inn appeared in 2006. After One Eye to Morocco in 2009 he concentrated on Deep Purple and waited nearly a decade before issuing another solo album, reuniting with the Javelins for Ian Gillan & the Javelins in 2018.