Gillan (band) Gillan (band) Gillan was a rock band formed in 1978 by Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. Gillan was one of the hard rock bands to make a significant impact and commercial success in the United Kingdom during the early 1980s, with 5 albums in the Top 20. In July 1978 Ian Gillan had become dissatisfied with the jazz fusion style of his band Ian Gillan Band and dissolved it, retaining only keyboard player Colin Towns, and formed this new band entitled Gillan. He added Steve Byrd on guitar, Liam Genockey on drums and John McCoy on bass, and initially pursued
David Coverdale Whitesnake's "Greatest Hits" album. The band again broke up after the tour. After this Coverdale once again retreated from the music business, for three years. In 1997 Coverdale returned and released "Restless Heart" (with Vandenberg on guitar). The album was originally supposed to be Coverdale's solo album, but the record company forced it to be released under the moniker "David Coverdale & Whitesnake". The tour was billed as Whitesnake's farewell tour, during which Coverdale and Vandenberg played two unplugged shows, one in Japan and the other for VH1. The first of the two shows was released the next year under