Ian Gillan Band the jazz fusion direction. Released at the height of punk rock, there was no success beyond Japan and their label Island Records dropped them. The following year Gillan dissolved the band but retained Colin Towns and formed a new band called simply Gillan. A live album was released after the breakup. John Gustafson said: "Gillan decided he didn’t like the band’s direction and wanted to do more rock stuff. In reality, he should have put his foot down a lot earlier. I personally was expecting Deep Purple stuff, but he let us do whatever we wanted." Ian Gillan Band The
Ian Gillan early days they were sponsored and championed by Tony Blackburn, who occasionally accompanied Gillan on stage. Later, as well as performing concerts in the UK, Episode Six also toured Germany and Beirut, and had regular appearances on the BBC Light Programme. During his time with Episode Six, Gillan began writing songs together with Glover, forming an ultimately long-lasting partnership. After a strained tour of Beirut, Shields left the band and was replaced first by John Kerrison, then by Mick Underwood. Underwood had previously played in The Outlaws with Ritchie Blackmore, and it was via him that Ian knew about Deep