Glitter Band
| The Glitter Band | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United Kingdom |
| Genres | Pop, glam metal, glam rock |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Labels | Bell, CBS, Epic, Cherry Red |
| Associated acts | Gary Glitter |
| Website | theglitterband |
| Members |
Pete Phipps John Springate Dominic Rodgers Eddy Spence |
| Past members | Gerry Shephard Tony Leonard John Rossall Harvey Ellison Pete Gill Lennie Clayton Roger Saunders Bill Phillips Tony Catchpole Roger Carey Merilyn Bear Barry Haywood Brian Jones Marc Pearson |
The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as Gary Glitter's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing records of their own. They were unofficially known as the Glittermen on the first four hit singles by Gary Glitter from 1972 to 1973.
The Glitter Band had seven UK Top 20 hit singles in the mid-1970s, and three hit albums.Pete Phipps and John Springate are still currently touring with The Glitter Band. John Rossall tours under his own name, as did Harvey Ellison (b. 1951, died 1 February 2017 from bowel cancer).
When Gary Glitter's first single "Rock and Roll Parts 1 and 2" became a number 2 hit in the UK, his manager Mike Leander realised that he would need a backing band and contacted John Rossall who was then the musical director of the Boston Showband. With a few changes in personnel, the Boston Showband became the Glittermen, and later The Glitter Band in 1973 who were: John Rossall (trombone and musical director), Gerry Shephard (lead guitar and vocals), Pete Phipps (drums and keyboards, Tony Leonard (drums), John Springate (bass and vocals) and Harvey Ellison (saxophone). 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.
In 1973, Rossall approached Leander with the suggestion that the band record some material without Glitter. Leander agreed, but rejected the first recordings. 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. The band, now working as a separate entity with Tony Leonard having replaced Pete Gill, as well as continuing to back Glitter, played a few well-received live shows before their first single came out, mixing some new songs with cover versions of 1950s and 1960s songs. In March 1974, "Angel Face" was released on Bell Records, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart, and outselling Glitter's "Remember Me This Way". Further hits followed between 1974 and 1976, along with the release of four albums. Rossall left the band on 31 December 1974. Gerry Shephard, John Springate and Pete Phipps taking over leadership, with Springate taking lead vocal duties on hits such as the ballad "Goodbye My Love", "The Tears I Cried", and "People Like You". Sales dropped in 1976, with the advent of punk rock. Springate and Shephard saw the Sex Pistols perform at the Notre Dame Hall in 1976, and realised that their time was up. 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. The name reverted to The Glitter Band in March 1977 for the release of "Look What You've Been Missing", co-written by John Rossall and Gerry Shephard.
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