Ian Gillan
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Ian Gillan (born on 19 August, 1945; Hounslow, London), is an English rock music vocalist known as the lead singer for legendary rock band Deep Purple, and for his year-long stint in Black Sabbath. He 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 very wide vocal range, extending from the E2 to the soprano high C, or C6, with seemingly effortless and fluid movement throughout it and with remarkable force and precision in the upper register.
Gillan was born in Hounslow, London, England in a family of Scottish descent (his father was from the Govan area of Glasgow).
Gillan joined the band Deep Purple in 1969. In 1970, he sang the part of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. After leaving Deep Purple in 1973, he went into brief retirement before forming 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 reformed the lineup and shortened the groups name to Gillan. With the release of Mr. Universe Ian Gillan was back in the UK charts and through several more line up changes released a string of hit singles and successful albums including Glory Road, Future Shock, Double Trouble, and finally Magic.
Then he announced the band would fold as he needed to rest his damaged vocal cords. In 1983 he joined Black Sabbath to record the Born Again album before rejoining a reunited Deep Purple shortly after completing the Born Again tour in early 1984. He left Purple again in 1989, but rejoined for good in 1992. He remains in the band up to present day.
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, as well as Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Steve Morse (all of whom are either current or former members of Deep Purple) are featured on this 2006 CD and DVD. The project includes a re-recorded selection of his Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and solo tracks. In a recent interview with online webzine Metallian Gillan announced that his solo albums from the 1970s and 1980s would be re-issued late in 2006 through the Demon record company.[link]
A passionate football fan, he supports Queen's Park Rangers F.C.
Discography
With Deep Purple
- Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969)
- Deep Purple in Rock (1970)
- Fireball (1971)
- Machine Head (1972)
- Made in Japan (1972)
- Who Do We Think We Are (1973)
- Perfect Strangers (1984)
- The House of Blue Light (1987)
- The Battle Rages On (1993)
- Purpendicular (1996)
- Abandon (1998)
- Bananas (2003)
- Rapture of the Deep (2005)
Live with Deep Purple
- Concerto for Group and Orchestra (1969)
- Made in Japan (1972)
- Deep Purple in Concert - BBC Sessions 70/72 (1980)
- Scandinavian Nights - Live in Stockholm '70 (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 '99 (1999)
- Live at the Royal Albert Hall - Concerto's 30th Anniversary (2000)
- Live At The Rotterdam Ahoy (2001)
As Ian Gillan Band
- Child in Time (1976)
- Clear Air Turbulence (1976)
- Scarabus (1977)
- Live At The Budokan (1978)
As Gillan
- Gillan [aka The Japanese Album] (1978)
- Mr. Universe (1979)
- Glory Road (1980)
- Future Shock (1980)
- Double Trouble (1981)
- Magic (1982)
With Black Sabbath
With Roger Glover
- Accidentally On Purpose (1988)
As Garth Rockett & the Moonshiners
- Garth Rockett & The Moonshiners Live At The Ritz (1990)
As Ian Gillan
- Naked Thunder (1991)
- Toolbox (1992)
- Cherkazoo And Other Stories - '73/'75 solo sessions (1992)
- Dreamcatcher (1998)
- Gillan's Inn (2006)
With The Javelins
- Sole Agency And Representation (1994)
Others
External links
- [Official site]
- [Authorised links from Gillan.com]
- [Official site for the Gillan's Inn Project]
- [Ian Gillan AMG bio]
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