Ian Gillan Band

Ian Gillan Band

Company type	Musical ensemble
Industry	Music
Founded	1975
Founder	Ian Gillan
Defunct	1978
Headquarters	United Kingdom
Products	Progressive jazz-rock music

The Ian Gillan Band was a British ensemble specializing in progressive jazz-rock, established in 1975 by vocalist Ian Gillan, formerly of Deep Purple. Their musical direction represented a departure from Deep Purple's heavy metal roots, embracing a progressive jazz fusion approach reminiscent of groups such as Brand X.

History

Following his departure from Deep Purple in June 1973, Ian Gillan stepped back from the music scene to explore various business pursuits. These included ventures like manufacturing motorcycle engines, managing a countryside hotel featuring a guitar-shaped swimming pool, and acquiring Kingsway Recorders studio. Except for the recording studio, these enterprises were largely unsuccessful. Motivated by the favorable reception to his guest performance at Roger Glover's Butterfly Ball live event in October 1975, Gillan decided to return to performing and assembled a new band.

Initially called Shand Grenade—a name combining "Shangri-la" and "Grenade"—the group was advised by management to adopt the name Ian Gillan Band. The lineup comprised guitarist Ray Fenwick, bassist John Gustafson, keyboardist Mike Moran, and drummer Mark Nauseef. Produced by session musician Roger Glover, they recorded their first album, Child In Time, during late 1975 and early 1976. Keyboardists changed subsequently: Moran was succeeded by Micky Lee Soule, who was later replaced by Colin Towns ahead of their sophomore release.

While the band achieved some recognition in Japan, their jazz fusion style did not resonate strongly in North America or Europe. Child In Time peaked at number 55 on the UK charts and reached number 36 in Sweden. Their third album, Scarabus (1977), integrated more rock influences yet retained jazz fusion elements. Released during the rise of punk rock, it failed to gain commercial traction outside Japan, resulting in Island Records terminating their contract.

In 1978, Gillan dissolved the band but kept Colin Towns on board to form a new group simply named Gillan. A live album appeared after the breakup. Bassist John Gustafson noted that Gillan desired a shift toward a more rock-centric sound, moving away from the band's jazz fusion orientation.

Ian Gillan Band

• Ian Gillan – lead vocals (1975–1978)
• Ray Fenwick – guitar, backing vocals (1975–1978)
• John Gustafson – bass guitar, backing vocals (1975–1978)
• Mark Nauseef – drums (1975–1978)
• Mike Moran – keyboards (1975–1976)
• Mickey Lee Soule – keyboards (1976)
• Colin Towns – keyboards (1976–1978), backing vocals (1977–1978)

Timeline

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Colors =

 id:Vocals     value:red     legend:Vocals
 id:Guitars    value:green   legend:Guitars
 id:Keyboards  value:purple  legend:Keyboards
 id:Bass       value:blue    legend:Bass
 id:Drums      value:orange  legend:Drums
 id:Bvocals    value:pink    legend:Backing_vocals
 id:Lines      value:black   legend:Studio_releases

LineData =

 at:11/07/1976 color:black layer:back
 at:15/04/1977 color:black layer:back
 at:17/10/1977 color:black layer:back

BarData =

 bar:IGillan text:"Ian Gillan"
 bar:Fenwick text:"Ray Fenwick"
 bar:Moran text:"Mike Moran"
 bar:Soule text:"Mickey Lee Soule"
 bar:Towns text:"Colin Towns"
 bar:Gustafson text:"John Gustafson"
 bar:Nauseef text:"Mark Nauseef"

PlotData=

 width:10 textcolor:black align:left anchor:from shift:(10,-4)
 bar:IGillan    from:start till:end        color:Vocals
 bar:Fenwick   from:start till:end        color:Guitars
bar:Fenwick   from:start till:end        color:Bvocals width:3
 bar:Moran     from:start till:01/02/1976 color:Keyboards
 bar:Soule     from:01/02/1976 till:01/10/1976 color:Keyboards
 bar:Towns     from:01/10/1976 till:end        color:Keyboards
bar:Towns     from:01/07/1977 till:end        color:Bvocals width:3
 bar:Gustafson from:start till:end        color:Bass
bar:Gustafson from:start till:end        color:Bvocals width:3
 bar:Nauseef   from:start till:end        color:Drums

</timeline>

Studio albums

• Child in Time (1976, Oyster)
• Clear Air Turbulence (1977, Island)
• Scarabus (1977, Virgin Records)

Live albums

• Live at the Budokan (1978, Eastworld)
• Live: Yubin Chokin Hall, Hiroshima (2001, Angel Air)
• Live at the Rainbow 1977 (2002, Angel Air)

Compilation albums

• Anthology (2002)
• Rarities 1975–1977 (2003)

Singles

• "You Make Me Feel So Good" / "Shame" (Europe, 1976)
• "Down the Road" / "Lay Me Down" (US/Japan, 1976)
• "Country Lights / Poor Boy Hero" (Japan, 1977)
• "Twin Exhausted / Five Moons" (Japan, 1977)
• "Mad Elaine" / "Mercury High" (UK, 1978)
• "Smoke on the Water" (live) / "Mad Elaine" (Japan, 1978)