John Rossall "The Glitter Band" started life in 1972 as backing and session musicians for Gary Glitter, providing the backing music not only for Gary's chartbusters but also providing 'The Leader' with the unique powerful, and gutsy big beat for his concerts around the world. With Rossall away, John Springate and Gerry Shephard took over leadership of the Glitter Band. The Glitter beat! Im convinced it would have been considered a Power Pop classic had it appeared just a few years later. Read Joyces other posts on Cocteau Twins, Shangri-Las, Kate Bush. In December 2013, John Rossall released a new single, a Glitter styled version of the classic "White Christmas". Finally a rather sub-par and generic sounding power ballad, Nothing At All, appeared in 1986 and again did nothing. The Glitter Band released their debut LP, called Hey! The band only played with Glitter for two years before going alone and scoring a string of top ten hits. There are a few lowlights but it will allow you to hear the versatility of the band and that utterly distinctive hey! sound which made them famous. In 1987 he toured as a replacement in Culture Club in France and Iceland. There is a band on Back From The Grave 4 called Beep Beep & The Roadrunners who were using two drummers back in '62/'63. In recent years the Glitter Band have been considered guilty by association for having had the temerity to start out backing the disgraced Gary Glitter. Phipps toured with a variety of 80s bands including XTC and Eurythmics before teaming up with Shephard again in the 90s. . When he needed a vocalist he got Gary Glitter because he was around at the time making lots of different records under different names that were all flops. Instead of hitting the cymbals, drummers such as Dave Mount of Mud thumped out the rhythm with. Albums include Hey!, Disco Discharge. But original drummer Pete Phipps and bandmate Dominic Rodgers say their songs - recorded separately from Glitter's - are still not played on the radio. Joyce Gibson is a lifelong music fan, inherited from her dad and now passed on to her niece. Original Glitter Band bandleader John Rossall died on October 2, 2021, a year after releasing a comeback album, The Last Glam in Town; he was 75 years old. STAGEWEAR - Badass custom Stage Wear For Bands & More ForTheFly Customs. Really brill piece paying tribute to a hugely underrated band that were never given the credit they deserved. I was so in love with Gerry RIP. In late 1977, the group transferred to Epic for one final single, a cover of the Bee Gees' "Gotta Get a Message to You," but by 1978, the band had all but fallen apart. To find out more, click here. Hiro_Noodles. In 1986, Phipps performed on Zipper an album written by Roger Chapman. Its ironic that the advent of punk washed them away, as Angel Face must have influenced most of the punks who replaced them in the charts later in the decade. It may not be PC but I still love Gary and the Glitter Band music. Fond memories of the 70s come to mind. The Glitter Band sound was what attracted me to them back in the day. Through 1983 and 1984 he was a member of The Eurythmics. Saw the Glitter Band at Margates Dreamland Ballroom when they were at their peak. They are the last living link to the brilliant producer Mike Leander, who created the Glitter Band sound which has influenced so many people in pop from The Fall to The Smiths to Marilyn Manson, Adam And The Ants, Bow Wow Wow and Killing Joke and anyone else who cops that droning guitar over a tribal beat. It met with instant success and reached. He and Phipps also featured in the Identity Parade round in the first episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks in 1996. Brown, Mick (1985) "Days of Whine and Poses". [4][5] He also played drums for Eurythmics, playing on their UK number one album Touch, joining the band for their MTV-broadcast performance at the Heaven nightclub in London, and playing live with the band into 1984. There have been a few bands using 2 drummers - King Crimson did it live in 1994 as well. Unfortunately, although the band had moved on, their fans hadn't. Leander produced all of the Glitter Bands albums. He said: We are suffering from the fallout and bad press because of his actions. I too had forgotten just how good they were. It was the twin drum's combined with Gerry's glitter 'Star' guitar with its . Springate and Phipps tour as one incarnation of The Glitter Band. They originally came together in 1972, following Glitter's own breakthrough with the hit "Rock and Roll." A year later, he toured with the Elgins. Classic Disco, and Angel Face / You Wouldn't Leave Me Would You?. The story of the Glitter Band begins in the mid 1960s. He toured in the US and in the UK. Their next single, Goodbye My Love, was something of a departure from their earlier singles. Phipps also continued to record with Glitter Band colleagues pursuing solo identities, such as with John Springate recording an album together in John's own Rock Star Studio and playing drums on the album Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is, by Gerry Shephard and Peter Oxendale. [1][2] He stayed with them until 1981, recording their first four albums,[3] leaving the band after he injured his hand. At the time it was the worst performing UK Eurovision entry, which Shephard said was a badge of honour. In 1974, when I was 10 years old, I bought my very first record with my own money. Dominic, 54, who joined the group in the late 1990s, said: Our records are not played on the radio any more.. Bell Records signed the Glitter Band as a new artist, and Angel Face was released on 1st March 1974. [5][6] They backed Glitter in live performances, although in the studio Mike Leander played all the instruments, apart from the brass section provided by Rossall and Ellison.[5]. It has a bit of a Starsky and Hutch theme tune vibe going on! John Robb investigates. In August 2020 he released his first solo album of original songs entitled Wherever You Are. Currently taking Commissions to begin in Early 2023. Springate and Shephard also wrote the UK's 2000 Eurovision Song Contest entry, "Don't Play That Song Again" performed by Nicki French.[13]. Leander died ten years ago at the age of 55 and is now mainly forgotten or his legacy forever tainted by his association with Glitter. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The band eventually announced they had broken up. Evidence that the Glitter Band were capable of meeting greater challenges than the Glitter sound normally set was delivered in early 1975 with their fourth single, the soft rock ballad "Goodbye My Love." Before we went on the room was empty but suddenly it filled up and people were going crazy. Artist descriptions on Last.fm are editable by everyone. The band have become entangled in Gary Glitters new world and they feel unfairly tarred with the same brush as their former singer, as John Rossal their new leader wearily explains. The Glitter band, though, are trapped by history. The band, unofficially known as the Glittermen while working with the singer between 1972 and 1974, barely spoke to him, said Pete, 64. Bell Records signed the Glitter Band as a new artist, and Angel Face was released on 1st March 1974. The decision to launch the Glitter Band as a recording act in its own right was made in late 1973. The Glitter Bands own career has been stymied by the situation. Leander agreed, but rejected the first recordings. We didnt know how people were going to react. If Ive whetted your appetite for this most underrated and somewhat forgotten 70s band, you can buy a Box Set containing their four albums. I didnt even like Gary Glitter all that much his songs were okay but I far preferred watching his backing band on Top Of The Pops and from a very early age had a little crush on the saxophonist, Harvey Ellison. and enjoys writing about music when working full-time doesnt get in the way. Written by John Rossall and Gerry Sheppard, their debut single, "Angel Face," was an obvious close relation to the Glitter sound, a pounding, stomping number that raced to number four in Britain in March 1974, but it unquestionably possessed a charm all of its own. Also included is a rather ill-advised cover of the Rolling Stones Sympathy For The Devil their first cover version since the Hey! It came as a total shock.. Looking to the future the newly invigorated Glitter Band are thinking big. The Glitter Band regrouped under their old name in 1980, around the same time as Gary Glitter himself moved back into focus. The Glitter Band spent five years backing up the singer until they split away under Leanders steady tutelage to have their own hits which of course meant that they fell out with the leader of the gang in 1977 and have never spoken to him since then but his ghost is ever present. "It was nerve wracking. Originally called The Glitter Men, only Rossall and Ellison played on Glitter's first two records - every other instrument was played by Mike Leander. This is unfortunate to say the least as Leander himself had a brilliantly original musical mind and, unlike the equally genius Meek, never murdered anyone. With his first major concert tour looming, Glitter and producer/co-conspirator Mike Leander needed a full-time backing band for live work. Since the band split up there have been two Glitter bands - one led by Rossall and Ellison, the other by former guitarist Shephard and Phipps, the band's drummer. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Some of the band continued to back Gary Glitter on live dates but he unceremoniously sacked them for cheaper musicians at the end of the 1980s a fact broadcasters really should bear in mind when trying to whitewash the band from music history. They are one of the very few bands to start out backing a solo artist and go on to become successful in their own right an obvious comparison would be the Shadows. The Bostons carried on after Raven jumped on the glam bandwagon and became Gary Glitter. Zappa used two drummers in the Mothers in . . One of the identifying features of the glitter bands of the early Seventies was the drumming. Shephard and Springate were the main songwriters, but Phipps and Ellison also contributed songs. Joyce tweets @northseacrashes and co-hosts @PsychoSundae featuring the best psych and garage tunes chosen by followers. Shephard got picked out; Phipps did not. This edition of the Glitter Band released a single in 2016 featuring new recordings of "Let's Get Together Again" and "People Like You and People Like Me." [6][7] He was also a member of Lawrence Hayward's post-Felt band Denim, which has been described as "self-consciously ironic glitter-pop revivalist project", playing on the 1992 album Back in Denim and the 1996 album Denim on Ice. The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who. Prior to leaving, Rossall featured with his bandmates in a plot free 1975 film, Never Too Young To Rock, which is only worth watching for their live performances and a couple of seconds of their painful acting, which is still better than most performances from the actual actors in the film. [1], The Glitter Band had seven UK Top 20 hit singles in the mid-1970s, and three hit albums. We are certainly not making any case for Gary Glitter here, he merely grunted along on these records - his creative input was zero. Peter Gill (born 9 June 1951) is an English former heavy metal drummer, formerly a member of The Glitter Band, Saxon and Motrhead . We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. On this particular evening one of his charges David Essex, who he was producing at the time, phoned in sick and in the downtime Leander invented the Glitter band sound. He was also influenced by Osibisas rhythms. Phipps and Shephard appeared in the Identity Parade line-up on the first episode of Never Mind The Buzzcocks, recorded on 28 October 1996. Harding, Luke (2000) "Glam rocker loses court fight to keep Glitter from halcyon days". A new album, recorded live at the London Marquee Club, appeared in 1985, while a succession of hits collections (several featuring newly re-recorded material) kept their name alive on the record shelves. He also arranged the strings for The Drifters' 'Under The Boardwalk'. He was working on a David Essex session and when David had rung in sick with a cold Mike started work on this instrumental. Gadd, 71, was jailed in 1999 for child porn offences. Rossall left the band on 31 December 1974. Originally Gary Glitter's backing band, these poppy glam musicians became stars in their own right with an eclectic pop sound. The band then went back into the studio and recorded the Rossall/Shephard composition "Angel Face", which met with Leander's approval, but not without some changes. Particular kudos should be paid to Gerry Shephard and the slide effect he used on his famous star guitar. The line-up was John Rossall (trombone & the bands musical director), Gerry Shephard (lead guitar & vocals), John Springate (bass & vocals), Harvey Ellison (saxophone), & keeping thumping tight time at the back the twin drummers Tony Leonard & Pete Phipps. "It seems like every time we get a series of gigs together and some sort of comeback is on the cards, he will get arrested and we lose a lot of shows. The band did a great job replicating Leanders sound live. He was trying to do a Johnny Congas type of thing and it developed from there. For tickets see the Alfie Bird website or Ticketweb. In 1981, the group released a new single, "Until the Next Time," maintaining a steady stream of further releases over the next five years. Something went wrong, please try again later. According to John Rossall, only he, Shephard and Leonard featured on the single, together with Brian Jones on sax. As well as The Tears I Cried which kept to the Leander sound, it also included their first non-charting single, the ballad, Alone Again. In late 1977, the group transferred to Epic for one final single, a cover of the Bee Gees' "Gotta Get a Message to You," but by 1978, the band had all but fallen apart. days. Running a mobile discotheque at the time I still have most of the Glitter Bands hit singles. Broadcast on 31st January 2021 for Soul Radio USA's Virtual 70's and 80's New Year's Eve Party, this is an exclusive Interview with Pete Phipps lead drummer . Dr. John was a great influence on him and this is where the tribal double drummer sound came from. Guitarist/vocalist Gerry Shephard, bassist/vocalist John Springate, drummers Pete Phipps and Tony Leonard, and horn players John Rossall and Harvey Ellison came together in 1972 . And while the band's original sound was firmly cut in the style of their namesake, by the end of their career, they'd developed into a wholly original and utterly captivating act in their own right. I thoroughly enjoyed this post. He added: We separated in 1974 he hated the fact we recorded our own records.. However, at the end of 1974 Rossall took leave of the band to follow a solo career which unfortunately didnt result in any hit singles. The Glittermen were renamed The Glitter Band and established a separate identity consisting of a six-member lineup Gerry Shephard (lead guitar/lead vocals), John Springate (bass/lead vocals ), Pete Phipps (drums and keyboards), Tony Leonard (drums), John Rossall (trombone) Harvey Ellison (saxophone). In 1976, as Gary Glitter announced his retirement, the Glitter Band cut their last sonic links with the old sound. In December 1975, their third album Listen to the Band, saw Phipps for the first time on lead vocals on the self-penned "My First Mistake". Random Hold composed of David Rhodes, Bill MacCormick, David Ferguson, and Pete Phipps were described by a music journalist[who?] The Glitter Band began its life as the backing group for now-disgraced rocker Gary Glitter, but soon established an identity of its own in the glam rock landscape. However, his 1975 single, I Was Only Dreaming, is a great glam tune and it really should have been a hit. and enjoys writing about music when working full-time doesnt get in the way. I have their albums playing in my car still x, Your email address will not be published. He then put this amazing droning guitar sound on it. RIP those no longer with us. The band switched to CBS Records and later Epic Records, and changed their name to The G Band to disassociate themselves from Glitter, but failed to find another hit single. Then in 1971, he joined CBS band Heaven and supported Jeff Beck on tour in the UK and Germany. He had been around for ten years by that time and done loads of records and he was very keen to take the chance.". As a wholly independent publication, we rely entirely on our ad bookings to keep The Quietus going. In 1982, Phipps was invited by Mike Rutherford to record the album Acting Very Strange, and later in the same year was invited by XTC to record with them on their Mummer album. With his first major concert tour looming, Glitter and producer/co-conspirator Mike Leander needed a full-time backing band for live work. The Glitter Band were supporting and it has to be said, that night, they should have been headlining. nick_honest. Apple Inc. It was written by Springate, Shephard and Eddie Seago, who also ran the bands management company. It got no airplay and failed to chart. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Playing hard-stomping glam rock with singalong choruses as well as more straightforward romantic pop, the Glitter Band were named for their association with glam idol Gary Glitter. Gary Glitter - GGs Drummer (88-97) : THE ANIMAL *RARE FOOTAGE* - YouTube Here we have a very rare insight into being one of Gary's Backing musicians,Mr Martin (ANIMAL) Clapson Gives a Chat. "), Buoyed by the massive success of "Goodbye My Love," the Glitter Band selected another soft rocker for their next single, "The Tears I Cried," following through over the next 12 months with the similarly styled "Love in the Sun" and "People Like You, People Like Me." Joyce tweets. Read Full Biography. Devotion) of Spacer fame. [4] After years of absence Gill reunited with his former Saxon colleagues in a new band, named Son of a Bitch with bassist Steve Dawson and guitarist Graham Oliver. Read the choicest cuts from the Quietus archive: reviews, features and opinion, New Weird Britain In Review For November By Noel Gardner, Gary Glitter, Re-Writing Musical History & The Danger Of Censorship, John Robb On Massive Attack's Blue Lines - 21 Years On, Discussing Uganda: John Robb Visits East Africa, A Spotify Playlist To Celebrate The Launch Of Louder Than War, The Last Of The True Believers: Ian Astbury Interviewed, The Sea, The Sea: An Interview With Lankum, Use Your Days: An Interview With Gina Birch, The Horrors Of Britpop: An Interview With Heavenly, Maternity Beat: An Interview With Hedvig Mollestad. The tabloids ring all the time looking for stories but I have nothing to tell. Producer Mike Leander kept the distinctive sound on many of the songs, but there is evidence of a slicker sound on a few of the tracks. He played all the instruments himself till he came up with the dark and strange rock & roll of 'Rock n roll part 1 and 2'. The music group originally came jointly in 1972, pursuing Glitter's very own breakthrough using the strike "Stone.". We're the musicians that played on parts of the records. Pete Phipps still performs live as The Glitter Band. The next year, Phipps played with the Legendary Purple Helmets a Stranglers offshoot. Are the Glitter Band capable of making rock n roll part3? Every day he would be in the studio producing session after session. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. A new version of Last.fm is available, to keep everything running smoothly, please reload the site. Share. Support tQ's work by becoming a subscriber and enjoy the benefits of bonus essays, podcasts and exclusively-commissioned new music. no.4 in the UK charts, remaining there for 10 weeks. 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