Glenn Hughes (born 21 August 1951) is an English bassist and singer, best known for playing bass and performing vocals in

funk rock Funk rock is a fusion genre that mixes elements of funk and rock. James Brown and others declared that Little Richard and his mid-1950s road band, The Upsetters, were the first to put the funk in the rock and roll beat, with a biographer stat ...

band Trapeze and in the Mk. III and IV line-ups of

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Originally formed as ...

, as well as briefly fronting

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...

in the mid-1980s. He is known by fans as "The Voice of Rock" due to his soulful and wide-ranging singing voice. In addition to being an active session musician, Hughes also maintains a notable solo career. He currently fronts the supergroups

Black Country Communion Black Country Communion is an English-American hard rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2009, the band is a supergroup composed of bassist and lead vocalist Glenn Hughes, guitarist and second vocalist Joe Bonamassa, drummer J ...

and The Dead Daisies, and fronted

California Breed California Breed was an English-American hard rock band based in Los Angeles, California. Formed in 2013, the band was a supergroup composed of bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes, guitarist Andrew Watt, and drummer Jason Bonham. Following the bre ...

from 2013 to 2015. In 2016, Hughes was inducted into the

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), sometimes simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and ...

as a member of Deep Purple.

Early life

Hughes was born in

Cannock Cannock () is a town in the Cannock Chase district in the county of Staffordshire, England. It had a population of 29,018. Cannock is not far from the nearby towns of Walsall, Burntwood, Stafford and Telford. The cities of Lichfield and Wolverh ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands C ...

, England, on 21 August 1951. He fronted Finders Keepers in the 1960s as bassist/vocalist, as well as the British

band Trapeze. Hughes was bassist and lead vocalist for the first three Trapeze albums, released between 1970 and 1972. He also credited with contributing guitar, piano and trombone to these albums.

Career

Deep Purple, Hughes and Thrall (1973-1982)

Hughes was recruited to replace

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and R ...

as bassist in

in 1973, though he considered himself more a vocalist than a bassist. He was reportedly uninterested in the Deep Purple job until some of the other members proposed that

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

of Free be brought in as co-lead vocalist. Although the recruitment of Rodgers fell through, Hughes had now become interested in the "two-lead-singer thing", and

David Coverdale David Coverdale (born 22 September 1951) is an English singer who is best known as the lead vocalist of Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after wh ...

was later hired as Deep Purple's lead vocalist. The two would ultimately share lead vocal duties in the band for the next three albums, until the break-up of Deep Purple in 1976. Battling a severe

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Am ...

addiction, Hughes then embarked on a solo career, releasing his first solo album in 1977, titled '' Play Me Out''. In 2016, Hughes was inducted into the

as a member of Deep Purple. In 1982, he joined with ex- Pat Travers guitarist

Pat Thrall Patrick Thrall is an American rock guitarist. Thrall began his recording career in 1972. He played guitar, vocals, and percussion with the group Cookin' Mama, which had his brother, Preston Thrall, on percussion. They released the album ''New Day ...

to form

Hughes/Thrall Hughes/ Thrall was a musical project formed in 1982 by former Deep Purple and Trapeze bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes and guitarist Pat Thrall. History While Pat Thrall had spent the late 1970s and early 1980s making a name for himself by playi ...

, and they released one self-titled album which went virtually unnoticed at the time. Part of the reason for the album's obscurity was the inability to support it with a proper tour, due to both parties suffering from drug addiction. As Hughes stated in a 2007 interview, "The Hughes-Thrall album was a brilliant, brilliant album, but we only did 17 shows because we were too loaded."

Gary Moore, Black Sabbath and health problems (1983-1990)

In the mid-1980s, Hughes recorded several different albums with bands and artists including

Phenomena A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried ...

(''Phenomena'', ''

Phenomena II Phenomena is a rock music concept formed by record producer Tom Galley and his brother, Whitesnake guitarist Mel Galley. During the recording of ''Phenomena I'', they were joined by Metalhammer founder Wilfried Rimensberger. Contributors were ...

: Dream Runner''),

Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, heavy metal, and jazz fus ...

('' Run for Cover''), and

(''

Seventh Star ''Seventh Star'' is the twelfth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath. Released in January 1986, it features founding guitarist Tony Iommi alongside musicians Geoff Nicholls, Eric Singer, and Dave Spitz, playing keyboards, ...

''; originally a solo album by Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi that was released as a Sabbath album due to record label pressure). Hughes' health problems due to overeating, drugs and alcohol began to seriously affect his musical projects and this contributed to very short stints with Gary Moore and Tony Iommi, as Hughes was unable to tour with them properly due to his bad health. In 1985 Black Sabbath reunited with original vocalist

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...

for their one-off

Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...

performance. While waiting for a break in Osbourne's career, Iommi decided to record a solo album and Hughes was brought in to provide the vocals. Due to the aforementioned contractual obligations with the record company, the album was credited to ''Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi'' and released in 1986 to generally positive critical reviews. While touring to promote the new album, Glenn was replaced by vocalist

Ray Gillen Raymond Arthur Gillen (May 12, 1959 – December 1, 1993) was an American rock singer. He is best known for his work with Badlands, in addition to his stint with Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s and recording most of the vocals on Phenomena's '' ...

after just six shows; this was due both to injury from a confrontation with Black Sabbath's production manager John Downing, which contributed to a degradation in his voice, and his not being in good physical shape to complete the tour. Glenn's first bass guitar was a salmon pink, pre-CBS Fender Jazz Bass. During his tenure in Trapeze, he played a Fender Jazz Bass as well as a Rickenbacker 4001 on the Deep Purple albums ''

Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur ma ...

'', '' Stormbringer'', and ''

Come Taste the Band ''Come Taste the Band'' is the tenth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, originally released in November 1975. It was co-produced and engineered by the band and longtime associate Martin Birch. It was the final Deep Purple studio ...

''. This Rickenbacker was eventually given to

bassist Geezer Butler, who subsequently used it on the Never Say Die! tour in 1978.

Health recovery and career rejuvenation (1991-2008)

At the end of the decade, Hughes realised his ongoing drug problem was derailing him; a clean, sober and fully rejuvenated Hughes returned by 1991 with the vocal for the hit " America: What Time Is Love?" with

The KLF The KLF (also known as the Justified Ancients of Mu Mu, the JAMs, the Timelords and other names) are a British electronic band formed in London in 1987. Bill Drummond (alias King Boy D) and Jimmy Cauty (alias Rockman Rock) began by releasing ...

. He also recorded all the vocals for former

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

guitarist

John Norum John Norum (born 23 February 1964) is a Norwegian-Swedish guitarist and one of the founders of the rock band Europe. Concurrent to his role with Europe, he also maintains a career as a solo artist. Biography As an infant, Norum moved with his p ...

's solo album '' Face the Truth''. He then re-embarked on a solo career that has been his primary focus to date. In 1999, Hughes did a short tribute tour to

Tommy Bolin Thomas Richard Bolin (August 1, 1951 – December 4, 1976) was an American guitarist and songwriter who played with Zephyr (from 1969 to 1971), The James Gang (from 1973 to 1974), and Deep Purple (from 1975 to 1976), in addition to maintaining a ...

in Texas, with Tommy's brother Johnnie (of

Black Oak Arkansas Black Oak Arkansas is an American Southern rock band named after the band's hometown of Black Oak, Arkansas. The band reached the height of its fame in the 1970charting ten albums according to Encyclopedia of Arkansas. Their style is punctuated ...

) on drums. In 2003, Hughes made a guest appearance in the metal opera project "AINA", alongside other guest vocalists like Michael Kiske, Tobias Sammet, Andre Matos, and Simone Simons on the debut album ''Days of Rising Doom''. In 2005 Hughes released ''

Soul Mover ''Soul Mover'' is a studio album by former Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Trapeze vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes. It was his tenth solo studio album and was released in 2005 on Frontier, Sanctuary, EMI and Yamaha records. History ''Soul Mover'' ...

'' supporting it with a European tour. He also collaborated with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi on the 2005 album '' Fused''. Hughes then released '' Music for the Divine'' in 2006, which featured

Red Hot Chili Peppers Red Hot Chili Peppers are an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1983, comprising vocalist Anthony Kiedis, bassist Flea, drummer Chad Smith, and guitarist John Frusciante. Their music incorporates elements of alternative rock, funk ...

members

Chad Smith Chad Gaylord Smith (born October 25, 1961) is an American musician who has been the drummer of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers since 1988. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2012. Smith is also the drummer of the ...

and John Frusciante. Hughes toured in support of the album throughout Europe in autumn 2006. ''Live in Australia'', an acoustic CD and companion DVD of a performance at Sydney's famous "Basement" club was released via

Edel Records Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

on 17 November 2007. The album ''

First Underground Nuclear Kitchen ''First Underground Nuclear Kitchen'' is a studio album by former Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Trapeze vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes. It is his twelfth solo studio album and was released in 2008 on Frontiers Records. History ''First Undergrou ...

'' was released on 9 May 2008 in Europe and on 12 May in the rest of the world.

Autobiography and other projects (2009-2016)

In 2009, Hughes formed

with Jason Bonham (drums), Joe Bonamassa (guitar) and

Derek Sherinian Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is an American keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, and Joe Bonamassa, among others. He was also a member of Dream Theater from 1994 to 1999, is the founder of Planet X an ...

(keyboards). The band released three albums through 2012 and disbanded in March 2013 following the departure of guitarist Bonamassa. Black Country Communion reunited in 2016 and released a fourth album in 2017. In July 2010, Hughes appeared as a guest vocalist (together with singer Jørn Lande) fronting Heaven & Hell at the High Voltage Rock Festival in London as a tribute to the late

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and ...

. Hughes' autobiography was published in May 2011 by British specialist limited edition publishers Foruli. The book, titled ''Deep Purple and Beyond: Scenes from the Life of a Rock Star'', was co-written with author Joel McIver and featured contributions by Tony Iommi, David Coverdale, Ozzy Osbourne, and

Tom Morello Thomas Baptist Morello (born May 30, 1964) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, and political activist. He is best known for his tenure with the rock band Rage Against the Machine and then with Audioslave. Between 2016 and 2019, More ...

, as well as a foreword by

Lars Ulrich Lars Ulrich (; ; born 26 December 1963) is a Danish musician best known as the drummer and co-founder of American heavy metal band Metallica. The son and grandson respectively of tennis players Torben and Einer Ulrich, he played tennis in his ...

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. The band was formed in 1981 in Los Angeles by vocalist/guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

. An extended paperback edition, retitled ''Glenn Hughes: The Autobiography'', was published in late 2011 by Jawbone Press. On 13 September 2012, Hughes and

met

Bako Sahakyan Bako Sahaki Sahakyan ( hy, Բակո Սահակի Սահակյան; born 30 August 1960) is an Artsakhi politician who served as the third president of the ''de facto''-independent Republic of Artsakh from 2007 to 2020. He is the longest-serving p ...

, the president of the breakaway Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and organised a concert in Stepanakert. In 2013, Hughes made a special guest appearance on the debut, self-titled album from Device. He is featured on the song "Through It All" accompanying

David Draiman David Michael Draiman ( he, דוד מיכאל דריימן; born March 13, 1973) is an American singer and songwriter. Noted for his distorted, operatic, baritone voice and percussive singing style, he is best known as the lead vocalist of the h ...

on vocals. Hughes has been touring as a member of Kings of Chaos, performing lead vocals, backing vocals and acoustic guitars, since early 2013. In late 2013, he formed a new band called

with drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Andrew Watt. The group released one self-titled album in 2014. California Breed announced in 2015 that they had broken up. During 2015, Hughes undertook a solo world tour, featuring guitarist Doug Aldrich and drummer Pontus Engborg. The next year, he released his most recent studio album, '' Resonate''.

The Dead Daisies (2019–present)

In September 2019, supergroup the Dead Daisies debuted a new track, "Righteous Days", on Planet Rock Radio in the UK. It was also announced that Glenn Hughes would be joining the collective as lead singer and bassist. The current incarnation of the Dead Daisies features guitarist Doug Aldrich, drummer

Deen Castronovo Deen J. Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer, best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline. He currently plays drums and shares lead vocals for the bands ...

, bassist and singer Glenn Hughes and rhythm guitarist David Lowy. In November, the band headed to the south of France to begin writing and recording the next album, which would be the first with Glenn Hughes. They spent two weeks in November then a further two weeks in December at La Fabrique Studios in Saint-Rémy de Provence (south of France) working with producer Ben Grosse. The new album was to be released in 2020. At the beginning of 2020, finishing touches and final mixing of the next album was completed with producer Ben Grosse. In February, a European tour starting at the end of May 2020 and stretching until well into July was announced but later postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In June it was announced that the band would be playing a few shows with Foreigner in Germany and Poland starting in Hamburg on 6 June 2021. In addition, it was announced that the band would also do a number of dates in Europe in summer 2021 with

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in th ...

. On 17 April, "Unspoken", the first single from the forthcoming album, was released. On 15 May US dance duo Dance With The Dead released a remix version of "Unspoken". On 17 July 2020 ''The Lockdown Sessions'' EP was released by the band on digital platforms. The band later announced that the release of ''Holy Ground'', as well as a supporting tour, had been pushed back to 22 January 2021. The next single to be released by the band was "Bustle and Flow" on 25 September. The song reached 15 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Chart. On 4 December the next single, "Holy Ground", which is also the title track of the forthcoming album, was released and was added to the Planet Rock 'A' playlist. 2021 saw the release of the fifth studio album '' Holy Ground''. The album came out on 22 January and was met with global praise from both fans and music critics featuring 11 songs including three singles to date, the album reached the top 10 on many international rock charts. The next day drummer Deen Castronovo announced that he had left the band, due to a future minor back surgery. In his place for future live shows he will be replaced by

Tommy Clufetos Tommy Clufetos (born December 30, 1979) is an American session drummer most noted for his work with Black Sabbath during their Black Sabbath Reunion Tour, which highlighted their new album '' 13''. He also toured with them on their final tour. ...

, formerly in the band as a session man. In September 30 2022 the band released Radiance, their newest studio LP. Featuring a return of Glenn Hughes on bass & vocals and this time,

Brian Tichy Brian Tichy (born August 18, 1968) is an American musician, best known as having been the drummer for Whitesnake, Billy Idol, Foreigner, Sass Jordan, and Ozzy Osbourne. He was the drummer of Whitesnake from 2010 to 2013. His surname means ''s ...

on drums replacing

. Once again the album received praise from fans and critics alike, which featured the singles 'Face Your Fear' and 'Radiance'.

Discography

* '' Play Me Out'' (1977) * '' L.A. Blues Authority Volume II: Glenn Hughes – Blues'' (1993) * '' From Now On...'' (1994) * '' Feel'' (1995) * ''

Addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use o ...

'' (1996) * '' The Way It Is'' (1999) * '' Return of Crystal Karma'' (2000) * ''A Soulful Christmas'' (2000) * '' Building the Machine'' (2001) * ''

Songs in the Key of Rock ''Songs in the Key of Rock'' is a studio album by former Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Trapeze vocalist/ bassist Glenn Hughes. It was his ninth solo studio album and was released in 2003 on Frontier and Pony Canyon records. History ''Songs in ...

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * '' Music for the Divine'' (2006) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Resonate'' (2016)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hughes, Glenn 1951 births Living people 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singers Black Country Communion members Black Sabbath members Blues rock musicians Deep Purple members English Christians English expatriates in the United States English funk musicians English heavy metal bass guitarists English heavy metal singers English rock bass guitarists Male bass guitarists English rock singers English male singer-songwriters English soul singers Finders Keepers (band) members People from Cannock The Gary Moore Band members Trapeze (band) members Heaven & Hell (band) members California Breed members Frontiers Records artists Pony Canyon artists Brazen Abbot members