79 Comments to “Golden dust not included”:

1. 1
   Georgivs says:

   When I look at the releases like that, sometimes I wish I were a collector and a completista. I would have had a whole hall in my mansion dedicated to music with a huge case for beautifully printed vinyls and CDs, a high end audio system and a studio for playing music myself. I would have been spending most evenings playing music by IGB, Gillan, DP and all of them, comparing the subtle nuances in one or another live version of my fav song. Sometimes, I would invite my friends, also collectors and comlpletistas just like me, and we would listen to the music and eloquently debate whether Ian should have given IGB another chance.

   As it goes, though, I have other important things to spend money on, rather than collector’s items, no room to host a collection, and not enough spare time to fully indulge in music. And my friends have no idea of IGB; they can master some Whitesnake at best. So, I will just cast a quick glance at this beautiful release and then return to my CD version of the Rockfield Mixes of a questionable origin, or just blast the MP3 rip of the Budokan show in my headphones while going on a bus. I hope Ian will not disapprove. To each his own.

   December 12th, 2025 at 09:08
2. 2
   MacGregor says:

   Well someone here is going to be beyond pleased. Standby for a tsunami comment and excitement levels never before seen at THS. I just recently purchased the Gillan box set, now this. Will I fork out again for some progressive rock music. Hmmmmmmm, I wonder how much this will be, not that the money is of concern, just the fact that I may have been able to finally own a castle somewhere, or would have been able to if not for this release. The even bigger question is…………drum roll…………………………………ka bang crash………………………..will the lady of the north purchase this. Cheers.

   December 12th, 2025 at 09:52
3. 3
   Richard Paul Jones says:

   Good value CD Box Set, and for those not too falimar with what big Ian got up too post leaving DP MKII besides buying hotels, motobike companies and recording studios etc before he formed GILLAN? Some effort has gone into this collection such as complete Budokhan on CD, the RAINBOW show (might unfortunately be the heavily edited audio from the VHS/DVD), the Hiroshimo Show and the Rockfield mixes? If quick you can get a signed card of the artwork? I’ve always has a soft spot for Scarabus – great record? Fondly remember buying the extremely expensive Japan Only Live a Budokhan single LP’s in the 80’s? Cheers – PJ

   December 12th, 2025 at 10:01
4. 4
   AndreA says:

   I’ve always loved Gillan and her career, except for the IGB period…🤷

   December 12th, 2025 at 11:57
5. 5
   Uwe Hornung says:

   Finally! The – how does that word go again? – ah yes … solipsist detected in me can of course not help but attribute the existence of this compendium solely to my tireless and incessant burrowing work here and everywhere else regarding all things IGB. Make way, ye mortals, I am the IGB mole! 😂

   When all the Rainbows, Whitesnakes and GILLANs of this world emulated and integrated aspects of the DP recipe in(to) their respective sounds, who avoided the well-trodden path? Repeat after me: IGBeeee (rhymes!).

   My work is done here.

   December 12th, 2025 at 12:00
6. 6
   Uwe Gerecke says:

   Even as collector type you have to ask what’s in it. On the regular albums (1,2,4,6) I find 8 extra tracks on CD1. Together with The rarities on CD 5 that makes 15 tracks.
   By coincidence I have the “Rarities 1975-1975” CD with 15 tracks. They don’t match exactly but that only leaves a couple of studio demos from Child in Time.
   Rockfield mixes have been in my collection for 20 years, Live at the rainbow I have on DVD. Yubin Chokin Hall I am not sure anymore actually, but it has been available on CD for some time.

   Nice box set though, let’s see if I can resist temptation.

   If it’s going to be released anyway. 2 years ago I was looking forward to the release of the 6CD Box Set “Back In The Game – Live (1978-1982)”. Never appeared from what I know.

   December 12th, 2025 at 14:18
7. 7
   Max says:

   Karin, your prayers have been answered!

   Now ain’t that the thingy for x-mas?

   December 12th, 2025 at 15:16
8. 8
   Pete says:

   Hello budokan

   December 12th, 2025 at 15:34
9. 9
   Uwe Hornung says:

   Another Uwe! Vornamensvetter und -leidensgenosse, it will likely be remastered as was the recent GILLAN set, which made no mention of being remastered either in the pre-release announcements, but then was even though the credit for the remastering was hidden away in small type at some unusual place in the booklet that even Phil Aston missed it and thought it was not remastered (yours truly, leaving his solipsist bubble for a fleeting moment, made Phil aware of it).

   I remember the Hiroshima gig being of dull bootleg quality at its first release, maybe they can improve on it a little with modern tech, but don’t expect great things from it in audio quality.

   All that said: finally redemption for IGB! GET INTO DULUTH! (A nod to Robert Zimmermann aka Bob Dylan btw who lived his first six years in that Minnesota harbor town at Lake Superior together with his parents.)

   December 12th, 2025 at 16:23
10. 10
    Karin Verndal says:

    @7

    Will you be very much surprised when I tell you I already have ordered them ☺️😉

    I am maturing in here like a caterpillar to a butterfly 😊

    December 12th, 2025 at 18:06
11. 11
    MacGregor says:

    I am only interested in the three studio albums and the live DVD concert. As the three albums are rare or more to the point totally unavailable, that alone will twist my arm to reach into my pocket for my wallet. A shame there isn’t a blu-ray, just made for me of course with the recordings I mentioned. We can dream of our desires and expectations can’t we. Mr Uwe Hornung will be pleased that a ‘fellow’ progressive rock geek has finally seen the light. I wonder if Max will join the elite prog rockers here? Karin is auspiciously quiet. Maybe Anton has disconnected the internet knowing this box set is going to be available. Santa will be relieved that this isn’t being released until after he arrives back home, safe and sound. Cheers.

    December 12th, 2025 at 21:23
12. 12
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Karin would do well to make this release a mainstay of her future musical education. We can all be a better version of ourselves and a young lady from the windswept Danish countryside should especially welcome any chance of broadening her horizons so she can be well-versed musical companion to her husband in later years.

    https://media.istockphoto.com/id/147501079/photo/retro-woman-listening-to-music-on-gramophone.jpg?s=612×612&w=0&k=20&c=Dsg4YnYzZjRfjE1clrRBMhQQE7LZSoc3XdxQoLczoPQ=

    I ordered mine even with the Jazzrock singer’s signature! Only while stocks last, Karin!

    December 12th, 2025 at 21:40
13. 13
    Fla76 says:

    #1 Georgivs:
    I’m in pretty much the same situation as you, it’s mostly just the time I don’t have to sit back and listen to albums like I did in my 20s and 30s!!

    Besides that, I haven’t bought the Made in Japan remix yet, and I have all the reissues of the Ian Gillan band that came out on RPM and the Connoisseur collection, so I’m very undecided about buying this beautiful box set…it would just be pure collecting

    In any case, I saw it on sale on eBay for around €45. The price in shops or on Amazon, even if it were €55/60, is not excessive.

    December 12th, 2025 at 21:49
14. 14
    Uwe Hornung says:

    “it would just be pure collecting …”

    And what’s wrong with thaaat … I’d like to knooow … ‘cause here I gooo … a-gain!!! 😂

    https://youtu.be/ap87QgZKTNw

    December 13th, 2025 at 00:52
15. 15
    Uwe Hornung says:

    “Will you be very much surprised when I tell you I already have ordered them ☺️😉
    I am maturing in here like a caterpillar to a butterfly 😊”

    Spread your wings, honey, and get them feelers out, you warm my heart!

    https://ww2.kqed.org/science/wp-content/uploads/sites/35/2017/07/DL_413Caterpillars_MONARCH_BUTTERFLY_EMERGES_500_.gif

    December 13th, 2025 at 00:58
16. 16
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Too bad neither Colin Towns nor Mark Nauseef, the two other survivors from IGB (Fenwick and Gustafson have both passed), were asked (or willing) to contribute to the liner notes. Both have immersed themselves in Jazz and Modern Classical/soundtrack work, i.e. in Mark’s case: Jazz and World Music more fully since their IGB days:

    https://youtu.be/HfWAqcAUdFA

    https://youtu.be/SBYL6LpiCQQ

    https://youtu.be/65QmrMXTRk0

    https://youtu.be/vc2zJApbaPI

    https://youtu.be/56Dlg6r1zn8

    https://youtu.be/WFOfXluaDpY

    People often think that Colin Towns only came into his own as the chief songwriter of early GILLAN, yet his handwriting is all over the second and third IGB offerings. Likewise, Mark Nauseef’s love for polyrhythms from his Lebanese migrant roots very much shaped the rhythm bed of IGB, think of Goodhand Liza 0r Angel Manchenio, a song about Big Ian’s Lebanon experiences with Episode Six.

    This is just incredibly smart and thinking-outside-the-box music.

    December 13th, 2025 at 03:55
17. 17
    MacGregor says:

    @ 10- well well well, Uwe will be pleased and my prediction a few weeks past looks like it is slowly coming to fruition. Of course that was only a prediction of sorts, I would never seek to take any credit for influencing Karin into purchasing this set. Uwe has worked tirelessly advocating for the IGB (old habits die hard) and not only to Karin. Now if only he could complete the trifecta. He has me feeling so guilty that I will most likely purchase the boxset, although all the bells and whistles I don’t need, but still. Who is the third individual? Regarding Karin’s purchase, I have to admit to seeing an image of a rather forlorn little doglet in Denmark, watching his master at the computer, bank card in one hand, the other hand wavering over the ‘submit purchase’ button. Eight more cd’s of Gillanism for the poor little thing to endure. Anton that is. Below is a butterflies life cycle and it is the ‘devouring everything in it’s path’ stage that has me concerned. Cheers.

    https://louisvillezoo.org/butterfly-exhibit/butterfly-life-cycle/

    December 13th, 2025 at 04:43
18. 18
    Karin Verndal says:

    @11 & 12

    Gentlemen, please read my answer to Max 😊

    Indeed I have ordered it, signed, sealed, delivered and ev’rything ☺️

    Yes Uwe I do look at it as my musical education…

    No dog of mine disconnects the internet MacGregor! He loves to look at, ahem, cat-videos 😄

    I ordered it from Townsend. And apparently it will arrive in February I believe they said. And yeah Ian may have printed his signature too, at least that’s the copy I ordered.

    BTW Uwe, I often see your name when our adorable Admin guys bring us news. Now and then I have some exciting news to share in this, well, brotherhood, but to whom do I send my findings?

    December 13th, 2025 at 05:27
19. 19
    alakulju says:

    I’ve had that Yubin Chokin show for decades, and I’ve been wondering:
    Is the title a pun of ‘You’ve been choking’ or is it a real place?

    December 13th, 2025 at 05:32
20. 20
    Uwe Hornung says:

    As regards all things Ian Gillan, Karin’s spirit animal is of course den sultne larve aldrigmæt …

    https://www.paedagogisk.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/den-sultne-larve-aldrigmaet_142527.jpg

    I usually send my news to those two quintessential good-for-nothings Nick & Svante who both really have nothing better to do in their lives than see to the execution of my errands.

    The fact that I missed IGB in 1977 when they played with inter alia Ozzy Sabbath relatively close by my then home town

    https://share.google/images/b7hrTGiVdWPmf7dEl

    belongs to my life’s great regrets. I think I had run out of Taschengeld due to some other gigs around the time. Darn.

    December 13th, 2025 at 14:11
21. 21
    Fla76 says:

    #14 Uwe:
    There’s nothing wrong with being a collector, just as there’s nothing wrong with being an audiophile!

    Both require huge financial and time investments, and since I don’t have the time to listen to this box set as it deserves, it’s better that – if I find the time – I listen directly to the old IGB CDs that I have down in the display cabinet in my basement room!

    December 13th, 2025 at 14:30
22. 22
    Max says:

    Well @11 Mr. MacCregor…many timesdid I praise those IGB albums here on these sacred pages…. for those are not prog….they’re most adorable funky’n’groovy jazzrock.or sumthin.

    December 13th, 2025 at 14:59
23. 23
    Karin Verndal says:

    @22

    Ohh man I hope you’re right!!
    If not then I will look at my newest purchase as a collector’s item and as Uwe said: what is wrong with thaaat 😃

    December 13th, 2025 at 15:55
24. 24
    Karin Verndal says:

    @20

    Yes I know ….
    And if Ian sold his old sunglasses or other more personal items I sure would be first in line to buy that too!!!
    Hoping that maybe just a tiny fleck of his brilliance would come my way and make me a better person ☺️

    I know about the gentlemen Nick und Svante, aber leider habe Ich keine addresse 😝

    December 13th, 2025 at 16:01
25. 25
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I’ve always collected, even as a child. Anal-retentive, what can I say? 🤗 I can’t even bring myself to part with the original late 80s releases of the IGB albums by Virgin (the first CDs I ever bought – I didn’t even have a CD player yet), which were flat and hissy affairs and which I will likely never listen to again.

    I have limited edition audiophile versions of Clear Air Turbulence and Scarabus – and those are a joy to listen to. As you would expect with a band consisting mostly of session musicians, the aural result is extremely neat and ordentlich, the Toto effect so to say.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qhw-XlTMB5I

    And while the Yanks from Toto were a lot more ear-friendly than IGB, both bands share that “this just fits right & and is smart to boot”-element in their sound(s). It’s not that I cannot appreciate raw music too,

    https://youtu.be/HFU5vawwUJk

    but gleaming perfection is sometimes a guilty pleasure. Listening to IGB, even after all these years, there is always new nuances to discover. Mark Nauseef especially fascinates me. The German term filigran comes to mind.

    December 13th, 2025 at 16:43
26. 26
    Karin Verndal says:

    @17

    “Regarding Karin’s purchase, I have to admit to seeing an image of a rather forlorn little doglet in Denmark, watching his master at the computer, bank card in one hand, the other hand wavering over the ‘submit purchase’ button”
    – but I always make sure there is plenty of food for my household 😄

    It wasn’t that expensive though!

    December 13th, 2025 at 20:03
27. 27
    Karin Verndal says:

    @20

    Uwe, I am well aware of the two admin Sirs, that’ll be Nick und Svante, aber Leider habe ich ihre Adresse nicht.
    Bitte hilf mir Uwe, or I will drain your pond and put in awful Danish beer 😂 and make your gigantic fishs drunk as skunks. And that is a promise 😄

    December 13th, 2025 at 20:22
28. 28
    MacGregor says:

    Bummer, so it isn’t Max then the third person……………….Uwe that is a pretty critical miss that IGB concert. Same era of two of my concerts (Rainbow and Tull) that I regret missing. Seeing the IGB along with ACDC would have you regretting that even more wouldn’t we all think, he he he. I know, you have been there before from my memory of what you have said in the past. At least the IGB were after ACDC we presume and before Sabbath. And even seeing Sabbath at that washed out time of their hedonistic career after the IGB, that would be a musical comedown of sorts wouldn’t it. Anyway the main thing is we have Karin under our spell here, and that gentlemen, is something to behold. Cheers.

    December 13th, 2025 at 20:56
29. 29
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I’m piecing this together from memory, but there were several circumstances: Because it was a multi-bill, tickets were more expensive, I was short on dough (I had at that point a weekly allowance of 20 Deutsche Mark which I thought ample but I sacrificed most of it for vinyl which around then would be at 15 DM or so for a newish release if you looked around a little), there was some school exam looming and no one wanted to go with me. AC/DC wouldn’t have held me back (even though I had been unimpressed by them opening for Rainbow a few months before), but I would have certainly liked to see – besides IGB – the Sabs and the Doctors of Madness whose new wave/glam/Bowie’sque underground mix was right up my alley.

    https://youtu.be/yehbfgVZTKo

    In short: It was an idiot decision not to go especially as I heard later on that both Sabbath and IGB were quite excellent at that gig. Somehow I thought that IGB would be touring Germany soon enough again and of course that wasn’t the case.

    December 14th, 2025 at 03:59
30. 30
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Liebe orientierungslose Karin @27: Have you ever thought of training that mutt Anton of yours as your guide dog in the web? I swear, if all members of the Dutch Resistance in WW II had been as intelligence reconnaissance savvy as you, I would still be patrolling your beaches in feldgrauer Uniform … 🤣

    https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTc5J1XxgLeSfD8denXwCrP3vP7dU1CVgaHAQ&usqp=CAU

    Ok, here we go:

    Move your cursor to the right hand top on the HS starting page, don’t daydream or be distracted, but do as you’re told and hit:

    Poke Around —> About Us, move cursor down to —> Meet the editors and click

    —> first pic you see is that of a stunningly handsome, youngish and Nordic-looking man, to the left hand Svante’s email is featured (the pic is of course AI, Svante looks nothing like that);

    —>brace yourself, slide the cursor down and you see a more grimly naturalistic pic of a slightly unkempt, longhaired and bearded man of unspecified age apparently inebriating himself, Nick’s email is displayed there.

    Änt rememberrr ze rülez:

    NOT MORE THAN ONE GUSHING IAN GILLAN TOPIC PER DAY + ANY RONAN KEATING NEWS IS STRENG VERBOTEN, ES WIRD VON DER HANDFEUERWAFFE GEBRAUCH GEMACHT !!!

    December 14th, 2025 at 04:36
31. 31
    Karin Verndal says:

    @28

    MacGregor, the admirer of long legs, as I read in another post – and btw: here I have been warning you consciously before each and every video that may have been a sore spot in your clean mind….. 🤔🫣😃

    You write: “Anyway the main thing is we have Karin under our spell here, and that gentlemen, is something to behold.”
    Well, well, well… I’m not suggesting you’re wrong, but what if 🥳😉😉

    December 14th, 2025 at 05:15
32. 32
    Karin Verndal says:

    @25

    “which were flat and hissy affairs and which I will likely never listen to again.”
    – but they might be valuable to your heirs! (Not me! All I want is Ian P’s drumstick)

    Slade is better than Toto any day 😄

    And I never got the 99 song… are they in love with an ice cream?

    December 14th, 2025 at 05:25
33. 33
    Karin Verndal says:

    @30

    Now settle down Uwe! 😄

    I have a VERY busy schedule every single day, also during the weekends, so bear with me!

    And thank you! And also thanks to Nick 👍🏼

    I will certainly not post anything about anyone else than my favourite band and branches, and I’m pretty sure that if something about Ronan K and more of his sorts were to pass through my hands, Nick and Svante would certainly ban my outbursts!

    And now allow me to let your ears feast at this glorious Danish band Gasolin, sadly the lyrics is in Danish but just listen to the beautiful music and vocal arrangements 😍
    https://youtu.be/2cjT40JKr9Q

    Good day Gentlemen ☺️

    December 14th, 2025 at 10:23
34. 34
    Purpledaniel says:

    I’ll go with the Rainbow box set instead.

    http://www.imwan.com/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=124153&sid=61c52c05d27497190fc50d047137150b

    December 14th, 2025 at 12:44
35. 35
    Uwe Hornung says:

    And I never got the 99 song … are they in love with an ice cream?

    Not an ice cream exactly, but the environment is still cold: The song was inspired by a dystopian love story by George Lucas “THX 1138” from 1971 (back when he still made something other than a children’s movie franchise)

    https://youtu.be/eHgqfVQWv7s

    where technology-subjected and chemically manipulated humans are only allowed to refer to each other by number sequences given to them and any emotional relationship much less romance between the genders is streng verboten. (Kind of what Rush used to like to sing about.)

    December 14th, 2025 at 12:55
36. 36
    Karin Verndal says:

    @35

    Ok then! Thank you very much 😊
    And I thought it was either an ice cream or that the first 98 girls have been less of what he had expected ☺️😉

    I feel the urge to end this annoying weekend with a decent rock tune:
    https://youtu.be/-q9kuejj1xA

    And no, haven’t abandoned Purple! Just like Thunder very much too….

    December 14th, 2025 at 18:32
37. 37
    Thorsun says:

    I have a very much love/hate relationship with IGB.

    If anything remarkable is on their hands – it’s [i]”Clear Air Turbulence”[/i], which, beyond being absolutely bang on the money of an album, heralds something more extraordinary, which is arrival of Sir Colin Towns to the field. Ian Gillan would never have a lasting post-Purple career without the extraordinary talents of Colin (whom I rate as my favourite keyboard player, right next after Jon Lord). His playing and compositional skills are beyond the reach of most of his peers in Purple family.

    Other than that… Gustafsson, Fenwick and Nauseef might have felt as being the jazz-rock royalty, but this was a tad overblown. Few years ago I fell deeply in love of the Dutch band Focus – and when I found out that they nicked the “Scarabus” riff 1:1 off “Hamburger Concerto” and the way Jan Akkerman played it – that was IT for me. Not to mention the vocal run of the verse got then copied by Ian to Sabbath’s “Disturbing the Priest” – also almost in 1:1 ratio. Nice try, dudes, but you ran out of creative fuel all too quick, it seems. Big stumble after the high flight of the excellent “CAT”. No suprise, given the fact that I never felt like there was more than a squishy sniff of chemistry between them, certainly not of bubbling monster that Gillan-Towns-Torme-McCoy-Underwood had for their run, 1979-81. Compare typhoon to the breeze, if you want.

    The contents of this box are re-milking the long dead cow, all of this has been there before. I won’t be investing in that one.

    December 15th, 2025 at 14:18
38. 38
    David Black says:

    Has anyone got any insight into CD8: Live Yubin Chokin Hall, Hiroshima 1977? I’ve searched on youtube and it sounds err..rubbish. Is it soundboard and are there better versions than the ones on youtube?

    I’ve always loved the studio version of Trying To Get To You. A belting live version would be desirable. (And would have been a better choice for Turning To Crime than many)

    December 15th, 2025 at 14:55
39. 39
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Thorsun, Ray Fenwick adored Jan Akkerman and even had him play on one of the Forcefield albums.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WiuqZNKgLew

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w6a1rsM63E

    The interesting thing about the IGB members was that none of them had initially a Jazz Rock or Fusion background, the were all dyed in the wool rockers and pop session men:

    – Fenwick came from Spencer Davis Group (where he played with Eddie Hardin and pete York) and Fancy (where he played with Les Binks, Mo Foster and the great Annie Kavanagh, now an Aussie),

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uKGM4JQWUY

    – Gustafson from The Big Three, Quatermass, Hard Stuff and Roxy Music

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KGrdWwYE77c

    – Nauseef from The Velvet Underground and Elf (like RJD, he was a kid from Cortland, NY) and

    – Towns, the baby in the band as professional experience went, had been slated for Greenslade (the band) when he got the IGB offer.

    Not a single real Fusion act among those (though Greenslade with Dave Greenslade from Colosseum as the band leader – Colin would have been an additional keyboard player – certainly came closest with their Prog music). The individual members just naturally all gravitated to the music of acts like Weather Report which in the mid-70s was very popular among accomplished musicians. Which the IGB members of course all were, even the unknown gentleman dressed in black to the left of Ray Fenwick here

    https://darkerthanblue.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/ray-fenwick-ritchie-blackmore.jpg?w=1024

    rated him as a guitarist (Fenwick has a similarly terse style to Ritchie and also combines pick playing and finger picking, see @00:32 of the Fancy vid linked above). Actually the Jeff Beck-like “turning-to-Fusion-from-a-rock-background” of Fenwick, Gustafson, Nauseef and Towns is part of the IGB sound’s charm because you can actually hear that they are exploring Jazz Rock but were schooled in rock – it’s a different approach to true jazzers. When the NME reviewed Clear Air Turbulence (surprisingly, they didn’t pan it, but showed grudging respect, yet quite rightly doubted the commercial viability of the enterprise), they mentioned that IGB’s “instrumental brawn” set them apart from other acts ploughing a similar field. I hear a distinct rockers’ determination in how IGB play their songs too. It’s a huge part of their appeal to me because I don’t really listen to that much Jazz Rock at all.

    I agree that Colin Town’s compositional input played a huge role in IGB – it explains why both CAT and Scarabus (which contained shorter songs than CAT, but was still very adventurous and varied too) sound quite a bit different to the rather Pink Floyd’ish debut album Child in Time which had not yet featured Colin.

    Colin Towns once said something beautiful and apt about IGB: “There was too much music going on in IGB for Ian to remain the singer in the long run.” And both Colin and Ian have said that they musically learned enormously from their comparatively short time in IGB. Without Ian’s tenure in IGB, I do not think we would have heard some of the vocal melodies in GILLAN, Black Sabbath and DP Mk VII to VIII. He very much learned in IGB to not do the obvious when creating vocal melody lines. I can’t imagine David Coverdale or Ronnie James Dio having sung over the CAT backing tracks. Glenn Hughes, yes, but he would have come up with something far more expected (and US-American sounding) that Ian’s take.

    December 16th, 2025 at 03:53
40. 40
    MacGregor says:

    @ 37- hooray for Focus, well spoken and I will have to check out the comparison to Scarabus. Not many people talk Focus, not to worry. Hamburger Concerto and Moving Waves are classics. As one punter commented, in the early 1970’s all the other guitarists were ‘shitting themselves’ when they heard Jan Akkerman, he he he. Seriously what an extraordinary unique and brilliant band they were. Thijs Van Leer, what more can be said about his musical prowess. The drummers Pierre van der Linden and Colin Allen were sublime and bass guitarists Cyril Havermans Bert Ruiter are wonderful bassists. Baroque rock at its finest. Cheers.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yl8RbU1hXuQ

    December 16th, 2025 at 05:00
41. 41
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Focus had an influence on probably any thinking rock musician in the 70s (Blackmore dug Akkerman’s guitar skills too), but IGB – likely through Nauseef’s ethnic background – also had this distinct World Music component. For a bunch of Brits with rainy weather most of the year and one Yank from New York State, I think songs like Angel Manchenio and Goodhand Liza were quite unusual in the mid-70s.

    December 16th, 2025 at 13:24
42. 42
    Thorsun says:

    @40 Dear McG, I fell in love with Focus two years ago, when my friend bent me over to go to see them live. Thijs and Pierre keep the flame burning, their younger colleagues on guitars are no slouches either, especially Menno Gootjes on guitar, bringing Akkerman’s flair back but in a more controlled spirit. They are great live still, as they have always been. Baroque rock is a very fitting term to describe them and they still love to improvise live, kicking the hell out of the great set of tunes they have collected over the years.

    And Jan Akkerman… Well. I never saw a guy breaking so many strings in the concert, he’s at times like Keith Moon on drums, totally lost to his own velocity, but when he finds a phrase and a flair…. In excitement department he’s hard to match. And the guy plays the medieval 13 strings lute as proficiently as any guitar! No wonder he won respect of his peers early in 70s with his prowess.

    My Xmas present is under a tree – massive 26 CD box called “Complete Jan Akkerman”, summing up his solo activity and showing broad scale of his cut through most genres you can think of. It will be a hell to heaven ride of a journey to discover what he’s been up to, and All About Jazz comprehensive review of this collection only made it a present I’ve been dreaming of. Tonnes and bags of exciting guitar vibes to discover.

    https://www.allaboutjazz.com/the-complete-jan-akkerman-focusing-on-a-lifes-work-jan-akkerman-by-john-kelman

    December 16th, 2025 at 19:52
43. 43
    MacGregor says:

    Well I had a listen (again) to the song Scarabus and the full album and yes there is indeed a similarity there with that arrangement in part to the Focus ‘Hamburger Concerto’. Scarabus is definitely the poorest album of the three albums of The IGB, even as much to say it is rather annoying to my ears. Clear Air Turbulence has always sounded better to my ears and a few tracks on the debut release, Child In Time. Is that enough to persuade me to purchase the new box set, will I dive in at the deep end? Time will tell as I attempt to listen a little more to those other two albums over the coming months. Cheers.

    December 16th, 2025 at 21:48
44. 44
    Tillythemax says:

    The album Scarabus I grew to like very much in the last two years (Mercury High and Twin-Exhausted are just wonderful) whereas CAT was an instant winner. CiT on the other hand I didn’t really get into to this very day.
    Regarding prog-influences in the family tree: Am I the only one for whom Scarabus (the song) has some resemblence to 21st Century Scizoid Man? (Besides the obvious recycle — not only Ritchie is capable of such things — on Disturbing the Priest). Pre-Release on the other hand is a re-release of Painted Horse, both of course nicked from Cream’s I Feel Free.

    December 17th, 2025 at 05:59
45. 45
    MacGregor says:

    @ 42 – Thorsun, yes indeed that massive box set and I hope Santa had no problem getting down your chimney at your abode with that set of discs. That ‘truck load’ of cd’s (that is a huge box set) will include plenty of highlights of Akkerman’s with Focus, his solo material and a few earlier gems from the 1960’s and other performances. That is an excellent article on his career in music that you posted. I own his 1990 album ‘The Noise of Art’ and I enjoy that. I use to own the 1978 live album on vinyl. He gets a bit too jazzy at times for me from other material I have heard , just bits and pieces here and there listening online. I do like the Tabernakel album from the early 70’s that I have heard a few times. There is a lot of his material I have yet to listen to. You may know of these two performances below, the first link is a live performance with Paco De Lucia, Jan is on the electric guitar. Also the Lute playing performance from the early 1970’s. The later day Focus band I still have a listen to occasionally. Thijs van Leer commands a highly respected ensemble of musicians, no matter what lineup of Focus he is with. I have him on dvd guesting at the Uriah Heep ‘Magicians Birthday’ concert, 2001, a cameo on the flute on one song. Cheers

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vakx58fh4bA&list=RDVakx58fh4bA&index=1

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvyB2-jdb_E&t=11s

    December 17th, 2025 at 07:01
46. 46
    Thorsun says:

    @43 I share your feelings Sir McG, “Scarabus” is the bottom way out of IGB’s discography – irks the helluva lot out of me, to the point of annoyance. Something about it is just sooo way off. A stark contrast to the magnificence of “Clear Air”. And “CiT” at least spawns just but few good tunes. “Lay Me Down” has a great groove and “Let it Slide” is a lusty (almost verging on the border porn in the lyrics dept), grooving slow burner. “You Make Me Feel So Good” is butchered though in comparison to “Cherkazoo” 1974 take, which was rockier and funkier. Bernie Holland (if I remember the guy’s name well) seemed to be much crunchy guitar player than Fenwick, too. “Scarabus” still… A rowdy low point for IGB!

    PS. I’m now really curious how would they sound if Akkerman was their axeman!

    December 17th, 2025 at 08:00
47. 47
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Nonsense, Tasmanian, Scarabus sounds great, is awash with clever melodic hooks (Twin-Exhausted, Mercury High)! It is less leftfield than CAT, true, but shows a band at the peak of its powers in the detail-rich arrangements. Not a weak track on it.

    (Walks off stage, huffing …

    December 17th, 2025 at 08:33
48. 48
    Uwe Hornung says:

    What’s “annoying” about songs like these here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IvRUHFFywc

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WQqPYINyP6U

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nlqsYuJtS-w

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVBF-abVaAo

    It’s dynamic and energetic music, exquisitely performed, detail-rich and studded with acerbic wit! Harmonically and melodically as well as in artful arrangements leagues above the Realschulrock of Rainbow, Whitesnake and even GILLAN.

    Scarabus is thinking man’s rock.

    December 17th, 2025 at 09:41
49. 49
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I only found out now that Eddie Jobson had a job offer from IGB after Mickey Lee Soule, who toured with them shortly, left. The contact to Eddie came no doubt about via John Gustafson’s joint tenure with him for three albums (Stranded, Country Life + Siren) in Roxy Music. But apparently Frank Zappa made Eddie a better offer, so Colin Towns, about to join Greenslade, was sought out instead. Without taking anything away from Colin, Eddie’s entrance into IGB would have been interesting as well, CAT would have seen some more pronounced Prog influences in the vein of UK, the band Eddie would form with John Wetton (another Roxy Music/Bryan Ferry alumni).

    Eddie Jobson was of course at one time also slated as a keyboarder for Rainbow – between the various Purple-offspring a lot of cross-fertilizing and incestuous behavior took place!

    December 17th, 2025 at 13:53
50. 50
    Max says:

    I bought Scarabus when it hit the shops and had a bit of a hard time with it first. Not because it wasn’t In Rock or Burn – even at a young age I had learned to treasure the not so obvious sounding albums of the ex Purple people, CAT among them – but because I felt it couldn’t decide if it wanted to be another jazzy groovy thing or a return to hard rock.

    Came Slags to Bitches I was won over. A fave to this day. The drumming on the title track, the feel good r’n’r of Twin Exhausted (nice lyrics too), Mercury High, the Elvis hommage (sorry, Karin) Poor Boy Hero…there is a lot to like.

    December 17th, 2025 at 22:26
51. 51
    Karin Verndal says:

    @50

    Well, I can’t wait to give it a proper listening 😊

    If I hate it more than bad coffee, I guess I’ll keep it anyhow and put it in my safe!
    On the other hand – should I end up loving it, well then I’ll be forever in your debt… (maybe except for the Elvis-thingy!)

    December 18th, 2025 at 06:12
52. 52
    Thorsun says:

    @ 49 Uwe, I must admit I wasn’t aware of the fact that Eddie Jobson was slated to be in IGB. Sounds interesting on the paper, and don’t get me wrong, I love the man’s work. As a core John Wetton afficionado, I absolutely adore UK, especially “Danger Money” record from 1979 which rates as one of my Top 10 favourite albums ever. In terms of IGB however, I think Eddie’s strive for precision in performing the music live note for note – it would be a deadly sting for IGB, if EJ was to apply that approach to them. Remember that both Bill Bruford and Alan Holdsworth left UK after the success of their debut album only because of that very reason. Alan couldn’t process playing things note for note, same with BB, a jazz player in the core with swing and swagger in the bag instead of precision and keeping in line.

    Now after having a thought of two of this (and yes, not taking a iota of glory from my Maestro Colin Towns’ achievements) – the line-up of Gillan-Gustafsson-Nauseef-Jobson-Akkerman – could be a blast. Even for just one album!

    December 18th, 2025 at 09:36
53. 53
    Thorsun says:

    @ 45 – Dear McG, the Akkerman box itself isn’t that big really, which surprises me. Strangely enough it’s smaller than my Yes box housing all albums from 1968-87 (up to “Big Generator”) and it isn’t much bigger than deluxe edition of “Infinite” I bought. CDs are probably housed in thin envelopes so they fit mid-size box. It’s OK, I’ll digitize them right away, anyway. I’m extremely curious and happy for that journey – I have no problem with Mr Akkerman going jazzy in places, I’ve been through this with other guitarists and actually with the passing time I’m more and more embracing it. “Tabernakel” album is really the one I look forward to, I love the baroque and lute sound and as I said before – JA is very capable at almost any string instrument he takes on, so I trust – it’s gonna be a blast. And Thijs van Leer – sure – master of Hammond, piano and flute – with classical background to boot. And a great undervalued voice too, he really can go full blown, almost operatic in places, which is audible in many corners of Focus discography. He just never wanted to bother with going into meaningful lyrics full time. I totally get it – the command he has of his instruments and imagination – is a big one and surely enough to have (literally) full hands of!

    December 18th, 2025 at 12:35
54. 54
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Scarabus was an act of compromise of course, CAT was perceived to leftfield in hindsight and hadn’t sold well, Scarabus was a slight return to a more hard rock sound, shorter songs, more guitar riffs. But as that it’s not bad at all + cleverly made. And Ian as a lyricist shines plus John Gustafson could write catchy tunes as he did here for Status Quo:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U-zIM7ofJSw

    It reached a respectable no 10 in the UK singles charts in 1982.

    Here is John’s version of it (also featuring Ray Fenwick):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hzM4jS70-Z8

    Gustafson once said in an interview that Ian’s disbanding of IGB surprised him because “we could have adjusted to more commercial rock no sweat”.

    Here are some IGB-related excerpts from an interview with him:

    https://dmme.net/interviews/gus/

    Q: Playing with ROXY MUSIC for a musically significant period of time, why weren’t you enrolled in the band’s line-up?

    JG: ROXY MUSIC did ask me to join them on a permanent basis after “Siren”, and although I enjoyed playing with them and I was very flattered to be the only bassist they had offered the job to, I probably felt I would be happier in the long run playing something with a harder edge. But I mean no disrespect to ROXY, they were all good lads.

    Q: How did you land a Simon Zealotes part in the original “Jesus Christ Superstar” recording?

    JG: I came about the role of Simon Zealotes through Gloria Bristow the manageress of EPISODE SIX and QUATERMASS. Gillan had been contacted to play J.C., and I was recommended for the other role by Gloria. I remember Gillan and I rehearsing the songs at Andrew Lloyd Webber’s flat in Kensington, while Tim Rice looked on.

    Q: Being musician, not an actor, how do you manage to be inhabiting the roles you played in “Jesus Christ” and “Butterfly Ball”?

    JG: I only sang on “J.C.” and never acted, Yvonne Elliman and I went to Antwerp to plug our two songs on a TV show, that’s all. Apart from singing “The Bat” on record, I only sang it live once at the Albert Hall performance of “Butterfly Ball”.

    Q: Did you ever think of an acting career?
    JG: No!

    Q: How did you get a part in “The Butterfly Ball”?

    Just a phone call from Roger [Glover], as simple as that!

    Q: Was it at “The Ball” live performance that you met up with Ian Gillan again?

    JG: Strangely, it was my only night off from a ROXY tour that enabled me to perform at the “Butterfly Ball”, and Gillan, who was also singing there, offered me a job with his new band which he wanted to call SHANGRENADE: a really terrlble name which he later tried blame me for.

    Q: Were you surprised to learn about the jazzy direction that IAN GILLAN BAND would be going to?

    JG: No, as Gillan just followed the band’s direction, during rehearsals we were jamming around jazzy / funk riffs. For instance, I instigated “Clear Air Turbulence”, then we all threw in ideas and developed the original theme: this was mainly how we worked. Gillan played no part in writing the music as he was out of his depth, but he wrote all the lyrics apart from “Twin Exhausted” which was my song entirely and “Mad Elaine” which we co-wrote.

    Q: Wasn’t it hard for you as a singer to just stay behind other vocalists in various bands – be it Gillan or Ferry – and not be singing?

    JG: You take on a gig with the understanding that you do whatever is necessary for your position in the band, if it involves singing or not. It’s OK with me, but I usually end up singing something!

    Q: What’s the story behind you taking the lead on IGB’s “Mad Elaine”?

    JG: I’m not actually taking the lead on “Mad Elaine”. It’s just the way the mix balance came out, but I usually get stuck with the high notes!

    Q: How did the stint with Ian Gillan end for you?

    JG: Gillan decided after three or four albums 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 and said that he loved it, though we were prepared to play anything he wanted.

    Q: If, as you said, IAN GILLAN BAND broke up due to Gillan’s desire to get heavy again, why didn’t he ask if not Ray Fenwick who’s not into that style, but you, a great hard rock bassist, to stay with him?

    JG: I imagine it was easier for Gillan to change the whole band rather than face the embarassment of firing individual members who were over-qualified to play whatever he wanted next, even though he was to blame for agreeing to the previous direction.

    Q: With your appearance on Ian Gillan’s “Naked Thunder” in 1990, I assume you’d been in touch all those years in-between?

    JG: It was a simple phone call from Gillan that led to me sing backing vocals on “Naked Thunder”. I also recommended my friend, the late Tommy Eyre, on keyboards, for his touring band. Pete Robinson was brought over from L.A. for some extra overdubs, since Gillan was a big fan of QUATERMASS.

    December 18th, 2025 at 15:45
55. 55
    Uwe Hornung says:

    If you’ll be a good girl, ready to make amends with IGB, Karin, there is always that tantalizing Little Ian drum stick waiting here …

    https://dearmrgable.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/gwtwss330.jpg

    December 18th, 2025 at 15:51
56. 56
    Karin Verndal says:

    @55

    I do Uwe! And please stop teasing me and hurl that drumstick to the little place north of Randers… ☺️

    Is that the scene where he visits her when she stays with her auntie? Or is it the last heartbreaking scene where he leaves her, saying: ‘Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn’?
    No matter what – it’s a fantastic and horrible movie!

    December 18th, 2025 at 21:48
57. 57
    Fla76 says:

    #48 Uwe:
    I agree with you, Scarabus is probably my favorite Gillan album ever, from the first to the last song.

    December 19th, 2025 at 00:03
58. 58
    MacGregor says:

    @ 56 – Karin, I implore you to send that drum stick back to Uwe, if he ever lets go of it. He needs to learn the ‘art’ of swing and as we all know, drumming is the key to that. I am aware that you still need to practice drum stick twirling, surely any old stick would suffice. Anton wouldn’t notice what stick it was, other than the one he may chase and bring back all covered in saliva. Uwe and the art of swing, that has a certain charm to it, as long as he doesn’t swing too much. Knowing him, it will be an over the top performance. Cheers.

    December 19th, 2025 at 07:43
59. 59
    MacGregor says:

    Eddie Jobson, or Edwin by birth. A stunning musician and he was only 16 years of age when in Curved Air and then approached to join Roxy Music. He certainly did tread the boards throughout the 1970’s and into the early 80’s. He was even in Yes for brief period, 1983 era appearing on the original Owner Of a Lonely Heart video clip . Yes messed him about in wanting Tony Kaye back in the band. Kaye never really enjoyed his stint in that Yes lineup, second on the keyboards to a guitarist and singer in Trevor Rabin, who was a dominating factor even on keyboards and not only in the studio. There is no way Jobson would have put up with that situation. His performance with Jethro Tull is second to none on the ‘A’ album and tour 1981, a sensational musician to have in your ensemble. Yes he would have changed the landscape in the IGB . He probably would have made them more progressive no doubt. However the ‘problem’ of melding with big Ian would have more than likely still come to a head, as it did with the other musicians in that band. Jobson has worked with so many wonderful high profile musicians, a fine all round musician. Cheers.

    December 19th, 2025 at 08:45
60. 60
    Karin Verndal says:

    @58

    MacGregor! Should I ever be so lucky to get my crocked and sweaty little hands on that Ian Paice-drumstick, I can promise you two things:

    1) I will NEVER LET GO of it! Actually when I die, the undertaker will have to let it burn with me, because no man alive can wriggle that out of my hand 😄

    2) I will indeed use it to practice what this gentleman with the long dark hair did so very very well:
    https://youtu.be/ysCA0cRXFLo
    I’m thinking of: 0:23 – 0:42 ohhh my! I need a lot practice to be doing this so perfectly and I’m convinced that drumstick will help me tremendously 😍

    Andy Scott is not bad either and of course the little bassist Steve Priest was really great too!

    I remember when I was in ‘that’ mood and was annoyed of the world in general and my mum in particular, I played that number quite loudly 😂 (until she threatened to withhold my weekly allowance – you see I needed those money to buy new records 😃)
    2:43 – 6:10 what a drum solo, garnished with a little twirling…. They were such an energetic band! (And no Uwe, I really don’t look at their clothing! I’m too busy enjoying the drumming 😄)
    I have often wondered MacGregor, how important is it to be fit and in good shape to play the drums? I guess it’s necessary to have at least some upper body strength?

    This song MacGregor:
    https://youtu.be/Ndnidos5HRU
    is also very very very well done, beautiful and so ugly at the same time!

    So no, sorry I cannot hurl the drumstick back to Uwe, should he ever take pity on me and hand it over 😄

    “Anton wouldn’t notice what stick it was, other than the one he may chase and bring back all covered in saliva.”
    – MacGregor, I love my little doglet, but not even Anton would be allowed nearby that drumstick!
    He has so many toys, you know balls, teddybears (without their heads… somehow he always dismantles their heads!) and all kinds of stuff to be thrown!

    ‘as long as he doesn’t swing too much’

    – MacGregor????
    I let him decide that with Edith!

    And at the end I will show you how musical Anton is, and no, the music isn’t loud, somehow my iPhone picks up on it very well:

    https://youtube.com/shorts/6kmRt-NYS6g?si=GtjS26Swo7skwXdj

    Have a nice Friday/Saturday 😃

    December 19th, 2025 at 10:57
61. 61
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Whether that drum stick continues to collect dust in a cabinet with some of my basses or is eventually chewed apart by Anton, all that lies solely in the hands of liebe Karin and her willingness to wholeheartedly atone for her sins against IGB.

    In my solipsist universe, I (re)imagine myself as a magnanimous celestial being – just watch this space and Karin’s path of penance to be possibly richly rewarded one day …

    https://i.pinimg.com/originals/18/96/a5/1896a5320d7da628f8c3f0b94184d14f.gif

    ****************************************************************

    Thorsun, you’re right, by all accounts Eddie Jobson could be and can be quite a handful as a band colleague. He was this shy boy when he joined/was poached by Roxy Music from Curved Air, but then of course he learned all the wrong things from Ferry & Co.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8hcd96GzMc
    (with a hilariously overplaying John Wetton 😂 rather than John Gustafson on bass, great violin solo by Eddie @03:23)

    December 19th, 2025 at 12:40
62. 62
    Thorsun says:

    As snooker master Jimmy White usually says: “Make no mistake”, I might be calculating Eddie Jobson’s approach to possible band lineups too analytically, BUT that doesn’t conflict with the fact that I love the man’s vast body of work and collaborations. Curved Air’s “Aircut” is a gem of an album. UK – it’s my big big love. Zinc album tells you quite much how he would fit Yes if this bunch of stubborns weren’t so stuck on Tony Kaye. Edwin would give a run for the money even to Rick Wakeman in this position. And “Theme of Secrets” is just a pure poetry of a keyboard magnificence embracing the technology of 80s. “Inner Circles” almost channels Colin Towns to the level of mesmerising indifference. Live, Edwin is a monster, I’ve heard people calling him Hendrix of keyboards and violin. Based on all of this I was always a bit kicked back by his strive for stage play precision – where a mam with his chops could easily go into let rip mode and just nail it and kill it.

    I met the man once in 2012 – very grounded and strict character, friendly to followers at the same time. Not long after the meet and greet the lineup of Wetton-Jobson-Gsry Husband and Alex Makachek played “Starless” and “Carrying no Cross”, back to back. This might have been as well one of the best, most exhilarating half of hours of a concert I had ever seen in my life, front row, heart out, jaw on the floor. Just pure bliss. Dream come true.

    December 19th, 2025 at 20:31
63. 63
    MacGregor says:

    @ 60 – thanks Karin for those Sweet performances from the 1974 filmed concert. They were a two sided entity indeed and the hard rock side was or is not what most people remember them for. As for the drum stick twirling by Mick Tucker (a wonderful percussionist), I never attempted that. Honestly you would be better at it than I ever was. I just never went for that bit of ‘theatre’ at all being a drummer. I just sit down and bang, crash wallop was my mantra. Uwe, don’t roll your eyes, it can work at times, he he he. Anyway, all good fun. @ 61 – Uwe that Roxy Music performance and I wasn’t aware or I have totally forgotten about John Wetton’s cameo with that band. That would have fallen in between King Crimson and Uriah Heep wouldn’t it? He does ‘overplay’ but it is fine with me, he is a progressive rock stalwart of sorts, particularly at that time of his career. He probably still had that Crimson blood running through his body at that time and just couldn’t help himself. Thanks for the clip, I enjoyed it. Cheers.

    December 19th, 2025 at 22:12
64. 64
    MacGregor says:

    ,@ 62- Thorsun, that Yes lineup did not have Grumpy Rick involved in any way. It was the 90125 debut recording and eventual tour 1983. Kaye was initially grafted in before Jon Anderson was. Probably because record company preferred to label it Yes, rather than ‘Cinema’ which is what it was initially titled. It was a Hammond only situation as Kaye is a superb Hammond player. Rabin is also quite gifted at keyboards (not the Hammond) and that was the problem in that band with Kaye often wondering, ‘what am I doing here’. Anyway, songwriting wise yes, if it wasn’t the AOR 80’s. I agree, they have had a few good non Wakeman keyboard payers. Patrick Moraz (1974), Tom Brislin (2001 Symphonic tour) and Igor Koreshev (The Ladder, late 90’s). Dazzling players and Jobson would have easily fitted into that situation. Plus the violin would have added another wonderful diverse dimension. Have to love violin in rock music. Being a Tullophile, I have Jobson on the ‘A’ album and the live ‘Slipstream’ video from the subsequent tour (1981). A devastating live performance from Tull and the heaviest I have ever heard them. Heavy I hear some say, a folk band, heavy? Yes indeed. Cheers.

    December 20th, 2025 at 01:15
65. 65
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Yeah, that was the period when Wetton toured the US with Roxy (Gustafson was unavailable) and met Ken Hensley et al and they made him an offer he couldn’t refuse. He said at the time he wanted to play harder music, hence the switch to Heep. His contact to Roxy initially came via playing with Bryan Ferry solo, he never played on their albums, Gustafson did that.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNAL4YhHnVk
    (With Paul Thompson and Phil Manzanera in the band as well as John Wetton and Chris Spedding, this is to all intents and purposes Roxy Music backing him.)

    You’re right, on that particular track with Roxy he plays like he did with King Crimson – no holds barred. He didn’t do that with Heep and not with Wishbone Ash or UK and Asia either, dumbing down his bass playing over the years. Of course he can entertain even when he overplays, I don’t really mind it either though Roxy kind of thrives on sparseness of sound, they’re not a sonic onslaught band.

    Thorsun, I saw UK on the reunion tour too – it was great! Also have that huge (and very expensive!) limited edition box set from them.

    December 20th, 2025 at 03:12
66. 66
    Uwe Hornung says:

    For the life of me, I can’t consider Mick Tucker a good drummer, he was as heavy-handed and stiff as Cozy Powell and Sweet often sounded leaden, sometimes even outright noisy because of him. Worlds apart from drummers like Little Ian or Bill Ward. Poor Mick drummed like a wind-up toy

    https://media.tenor.com/TQOfTk6OlH0AAAAM/monkey-tambourine.gif

    and never ever learned to relax into a groove.

    Anton otoh has a very sophisticated music taste!

    December 20th, 2025 at 11:18
67. 67
    Skippy O'Nasica says:

    @63 – MacGregor – Apparently Mick Tucker was modest about his own abilities. But I agree with your (and Karin’s) favorable opinion of his playing. A strong, exciting and tasteful percussionist.

    @66 – Uwe – Sweet’s music tended to be “in your face” to an almost cartoonish extent at times, and required larger-than-life drumming. Which Tucker delivered, in spades. But to call his playing “leaden” is unfair.

    Though “heavy-handed” – or, as some might say, “powerful” – his playing was also highly musical, eg.:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QM9eJTBU5Lo

    And though generally playing in a range somewhere between f and fff, he was capable of varying his dynamics to great effect:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04Qucd8x3Nc&list=RD04Qucd8x3Nc&start_radio=1

    Even at his most bombastic, he sounded relaxed behind the kit and would throw in some nice creative touches. Eg., how the way he makes the second verse sound different from the first with some nice work on the hi-hat:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFV7LzDmMZ4

    December 20th, 2025 at 15:40
68. 68
    Karin Verndal says:

    @66

    Well Uwe, I adore Mick’s way of drumming!
    And no, it’s not because he’s dead and therefore I feel obligated to speak nicely about him!
    I have always loved his energetic, powerful and passionate style 🤩

    You have to admit that he gave everything he had, to the last drop of blood…. And the guy could also sing!

    Antonious is a very sophisticated little doglet 😅
    And I’m so lucky we share the same love for Purple and especially Ian’s roaring voice 💜

    P.S: are you ok Uwe? You seem a little bit against everyone atm. It’s ok of course if you mean it, or else I am a very good listener and I almost never gossip 😁

    December 20th, 2025 at 23:16
69. 69
    Karin Verndal says:

    @67

    Yeah Skippy, I would have loved had he lived on, and after Brian C’s way too early death, he might have rubbed shoulders with the very big names in show business 🙃

    December 20th, 2025 at 23:19
70. 70
    MacGregor says:

    @ 67 – yes Skippy he was a rather decent drummer Mick Tucker who also dabbled in a few percussive implements as well, tubular bells, gongs etc. He did the job rather well with Sweet, all the band members and the people who enjoy their music and performances seem to think so too. Not to mention plenty of other musicians. I actually thought of Cozy when I watched those Musikladen live performances yesterday that Karin sent links to. That was in late 1974, Cozy didn’t have that style with Jeff Beck around that time, not as full on as when he was in Rainbow etc. Plus the double bass drum large setup with extra percussion, maybe Tucker was an influence on Cozy there we could think. Possibly that Carl Palmer could have influenced Tucker with that concert setup with extra percussion, I don’t know but I did think of Palmer too. I have never seen Sweet like that before. I really only know them from my teenage years, all those hits, as a lot of people do. I was aware they were a lot heavier band than the glam hit single era, but haven’t ever checked them out online. That second song from the Musikladen gig ‘No You Don’t’ is really full on Punk, in your face angst etc. Thanks for the links that you sent and that AC DC song they did. Not a AC DC song as such of course, an interesting song and name there in 1974. Uwe doesn’t enjoy Tucker as a drummer, too bad. We leave the distractors behind us and move on. Ian Paice cannot be in every band that has ever existed. All the drummers Uwe doesn’t like and now we can add Mick Tucker to that ever growing list of: John Bonham, Cozy Powell, Neil Peart, Carl Palmer, Barrymore Barlow and there are plenty of others. Too stiff, rigid, loud, bombastic, thunderous and angular, don’t forget the angular. And oddly of course, not enough SWING. Oh dear oh dear, there is that swing theme again. Our ancestors did swing from trees etc back in the early days and they moved to a drum kit of all things. Hmmmm, interesting indeed. Cheers.

    December 20th, 2025 at 23:34
71. 71
    Uwe Hornung says:

    I’m sorry, Mick’s drumming rocked at times, but it never rolled. I need both. If I can only have one, I prefer roll. There is a reason why I prefer Purple over Zeppelin and Mark Nauseef over Cozy Powell. “Power drumming” doesn’t do much for me. I rate someone like Charlie Watts or Pick Withers more.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_IGSgvNS8s

    I’m cognizant of the fact that this is oldfashioned and that “power drumming” has become the gold standard since the 80s, lamentably so.

    To Mick’s defense: That “Holzhackerschlagzeug” was an integral part of the Glam Rock sound not just with Sweet. It came initially largely courtesy of Phil Wainman who had been a drummer himself and produced Sweet up to Teenage Rampage.

    And on some songs Mick’s drum style actually worked:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5oKFRsrAog

    When Sweet tried to emulate DP however, the stark difference between Little Ian’s natural swing and Mick’s stomp grated in my ears. Mick clobbered, and while his drumming did become more sophisticated and detailed over time, he still clobbered.

    Ironically, Mick adored Little Ian’s drumming. Yet Andy Scott once observed quite rightly that Paicey was the totally wrong role model for Mick because he was more disposed to drumming and sounding like Bonham.

    December 21st, 2025 at 01:31
72. 72
    MacGregor says:

    It is a fine line, to rock or to roll or both. I certainly don’t choose my musical preferences because of swing or no swing. Melody etc is what influences my ear. Regarding hard hitting drummers, yes the 1980’s certainly ruined drumming in many aspects. So did the 80’s ruin it for guitarists (too fast etc) and bass guitarists, (too much slapping etc). It is the worst era for many things in rock music. Regarding the 70’s Sweet music, Mick Tucker was suited to the riffs of Andy Scott. Most hard rock bands are influenced by the guitar riffs, what do we need to fit this riff. Not always but most of the time. Harder drumming and also full on lead vocals. It is adrenalin and it started back in the late 50’s and into the 60’s. Wild loud noisy rock ‘n roll. Getting the drums heard in a live setting also influenced that over the top scene. The more it evolved the less swing was noticeable in that genre. Ian Paice lamented the early 1980’s in regard to his playing, frustrated most probably reverting back to the ‘less is more’ approach with Whitesnake from what he was previously doing in the mid 70’s. Cozy was never the same after joining Rainbow compared to his Jeff Beck days. Barrie Barlow loathes his later 70’s Tull drumming these days, embarrassed by the over the top embellishments and hard hitting. The musician who fit’s the bill at the time. Bonham was the right guy for Page’s riffs and writing style. It is what it is at that time. Bill Ward with Sabbath, early on nice and ‘jazzy’ and as they evolved and the amps were turned up he became too trashy to my ears. Trying to get over the loudness and the adrenalin and drugs also. The influence of swing is from an early age. What music influences they grew up on and they were turned on to. Some guys more so than others. Cheers

    December 21st, 2025 at 15:05
73. 73
    MacGregor says:

    Do we ‘blame’ Gene Krupa for the harder hitting stand out drummer influence on younger players of the rock ‘n roll era. In a way yes we could blame Gene, he is mentioned by many of the hard rock drummers we are talking about. Krupa was a ‘heavy metal’ jazz drummer, in that sense and a R&R rebel with an attitude to boot. Of course Krupa like so many never left the swing behind. However, we wonder in a hypothetical sense as to would he have left his swing behind if he was involved in the modern R&R era. Some do leave their past behind them and not only musicians. Just a thought. I am not attempting to place the blame anywhere else for the hard hitting ‘less’ swinging rock drummers. They have their influences and their way of doing things. It isn’t a crime as such, although to some it may be. Myself, I like to swing either way. Oh no, I don’t believe I just said that. The usual suspects here will latch onto that, go easy fellow commenters, it is xmas after all. Cheers.

    https://www.musicradar.com/artists/drummers/gene-krupa-drum-week

    December 21st, 2025 at 20:55
74. 74
    Uwe Hornung says:

    My favorite vicar delivers a warmherated sermon on the colored (translucent orange for those of you to whom such things matter) vinyl rerelease of Live At The Budokan

    https://www.demonmusicgroup.co.uk/catalogue/releases/ian-gillan-band-live-at-the-budokan-2lp-neon-orange-vinyl-national-album-day-2025/

    which has preceded the still not yet released CD set (it’s only a few more weeks!):

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p0hNDlDyXE

    Apparently, the IGB set will then also be remastered by Phil Kinrade

    https://www.airstudios.com/product/phil-kinrade/

    who also did the previous GILLAN set.

    It’s nice to hear that Phil is quite the IGB enthusiast and actually saw them a few times live. How I envy him.

    PS: Isn’t it ironic that Demon Records is now both the home of the Ritchie and Big Ian back catalogue?

    PPS: Judging from the comments section to Phil’s presentation which is almost all positive (I swear it wasn’t me writing them using alter ego monikers!) I detect a grassroots movement of belated benevolence in reappraisung IGB!

    February 18th, 2026 at 02:49
75. 75
    Max says:

    Uwe, I do the best I can to spread the word … since 1977. With very little success I’m afraid I have to say. While I could easily live in retirement would I have been given a buck for every person I turned on to DP, especially Whitesnake, even Gillan & Glover – IGB remains my Sorgenkind. Along with Play me out. Noone ever wanted to listen to that stuff again. To make up for my failure as a salesman here I have of course ordered the box set (and own several copies of Play me out).

    February 18th, 2026 at 12:03
76. 76
    Uwe Hornung says:

    My experience has been that drummers really take to IGB, they hear Nauseef playing and go WOW! in a way they would usually reserve for Simon Phillips.

    But such percussive life forms aside, it is a slog trying to sell IGB, especially, I must say, to wimmin. I think IGB focusing on the Mk II starved DP survivor fan base was ultimately their death knell. They would have done better securing a tour either with Return to Forever or Weather Report than opening in the US for bands like Nazareth, Ted Nugent and Thin Lizzy – that could not go well. Or perhaps with a band like Gentle Giant or even Jethro Tull (though Tull audiences are difficult).

    There was a music journo at German Musikexpress, Detlef Kinsler (“dk”, he’s still active although no longer with ME), who had really taken a shine to IGB in 1977. Now Detlef was generally someone who would pour ridicule over anything Purple-related (famously mocking early Judas Priest once as “Deep Purple NOT in rock, but in … leather. And without the great Jon Lord …”, but he really waved the flag for IGB in one longer feature on them – he was especially impressed with the (people didn’t call it that back then yet) ‘world music content’ in their playing (which came largely from Mark Nauseef and his Lebanese roots though let’s not forget Big Ian’s longer stint with Episode Six there). But he was already wary of “whether Ian Gillan who sings great and refreshingly different on CAT can shake off his ‘Made in Japan’ headbanger dandruff with them live – catering to the Deep Purple crowd won’t do this band any favors in the long run.”. I’m afraid he was right. 😑

    February 18th, 2026 at 16:10
77. 77
    MacGregor says:

    @ 74- one comment at Phil’s site was by a chap who said two drummers he use to play with in a band mentioned that Mark Nauseef had a ‘bad habit of opening and closing his hi hats in a certain way in order to try and sound funky’. Now that is a classic comment. Then the chap said that that actually nearly ruined his appreciation of the music as he was always listening to that hi hat ‘technique’ and it affected his overall listening experience?????????? Now that is getting pedantic big time………amusing as it is. Drummers eh? Why would you ever listen to their opinions on other drummers? Madness! Cheers.

    February 18th, 2026 at 20:50
78. 78
    Uwe Hornung says:

    At the end of this link (scroll all the way down) there is a very insightful and self-reflective recorded interview with the late Ray Fenwick on IGB and how it all ended – unlike with GILLAN there were apparently no hard feelings and Ian gave each member a call explaining his decision to them.

    https://rayfenwick.com/biography/the-seventies-ian-gillan-band/

    February 19th, 2026 at 02:02
79. 79
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Phil‘s review of the set is glowing and he‘s especially impressed by the quality of the remastering work:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P10ZZfXiF3c

    March 7th, 2026 at 23:27

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