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The Glitter Band are a glam rock band from England, who initially worked as
Gary Glitter Paul Francis Gadd (born 8 May 1944), best known by his stage name Gary Glitter, is an English former singer, songwriter, and record producer. He achieved success during the glam rock era of the 1970s and 1980s, and his career ended after he w ...
's backing band under that name from 1973, when they then began releasing
records A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, ...
of their own. They were unofficially known as the
Glittermen The Glittermen were a glam rock band from England, who backed Gary Glitter, un-credited, on his first four hit singles, from June 1972 until the summer of 1973, when they then officially became known as The Glitter Band. Continuing to back G ...
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.


Early career and commercial success

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.Band biography on official fan club website
retrieved 2007-12-23
With a few changes in personnel, the Boston Showband became the
Glittermen The Glittermen were a glam rock band from England, who backed Gary Glitter, un-credited, on his first four hit singles, from June 1972 until the summer of 1973, when they then officially became known as The Glitter Band. Continuing to back G ...
, 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).Perrone, Pierre (2003) "Obituary: Gerry Shephard; Glitter Band guitarist and songwriter", '' The Independent'', 29 May 2003, p. 20 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.Thompson, Dave " Glitter Band Biography, Allmusic, retrieved 2010-04-13 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 Peter Gill (born 9 June 1951) is an English former heavy metal drummer, formerly a member of The Glitter Band, Saxon and Motörhead. Gill was one of the two drummers in The Glitter Band, then formed part of the original line-up of Saxon in ...
, 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 Bell Records was an American record label founded in 1952 in New York City by Arthur Shimkin, the owner of the children's record label Golden Records, and initially a unit of Pocket Books, after the rights to the name were acquired from Benny ...
, reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart, and outselling Glitter's "Remember Me This Way" that week, though this song ultimately peaked higher at #3. 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. The band switched to CBS Records and later
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony. The label was founded predominantly as a jazz and classical mu ...
, 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. May 1977 saw the band release a final single as the Glitter Band, "She Was Alright". Finally Springate, Phipps and Shephard released "Gotta Get a Message Back To You" in September 1977, under the new name of Air Traffic Control. The single, written by Springate and Phipps, never made it past a few initial commercial pressings on the Epic label. In 1979, Shephard and Phipps worked with former Sparks keyboard player
Peter Oxendale Peter Oxendale (b. ) is an English forensic musicologist and an expert witness on copyright infringement in music. He was involved as an expert in the notable Blurred Lines lawsuit. He was a keyboardist in the glam rock bands Sparks and Jet and ...
, recording the US only album ''Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is'' as Oxendale and Shephard. They regrouped as The Glitter Band in 1980 with the addition of Eddy Spence on keyboards and Brian Jones replacing Harvey on sax. Further sporadic releases followed in the 1980s on a variety of labels. Trevor Horn played bass guitar for the band in this era.Brown, Mick (1985) "Days of Whine and Poses", ''
SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thread by twisting fibers together, traditionally by hand spinning * Spin, the rotation of an object around a central axis * Spin (propaganda), an intentionally b ...
'', May 1985, p. 60, "Horn had come a long way from his days as bass guitarist playing the cabaret circuit with the Glitter Band."
The band's profile was maintained with a slew of Greatest Hits releases, mainly concentrating on their peak mid-1970s era.


Reformation

Guitarist/singer Gerry Shephard and drummer/pianist Pete Phipps ( Eurythmics, XTC, reformed the band in 1987, and successfully performed in the UK and Europe, including tours with Gary Glitter, until 2001 when they split up. Shephard and former drummer Tony Leonard formed one band, whilst Phipps continued to perform with his own band. After Rossall was taken to court in 1983, an injunction banned him from using Glitter in his band name; a second legal ruling in 1997, after Rossall had persistently breached the first order, resulted in him receiving a one-year suspended prison sentence which would come into force if he used the Glitter name again."Ruling on Glitter Band name", '' The Times'', 7 February 1997Harding, Luke (2000) "Glam rocker loses court fight to keep Glitter from halcyon days", '' The Guardian'', 7 February 1997, p. 9 Rossall was subsequently not allowed to use Glitter Band as part of his band's name, but was allowed to advertise his historical connections to the band. With Shephard's death in May 2003, Leonard retired to concentrate on musical production activities in Norway, whilst both Phipps and Rossall continued on the road with their own bands. Shephard and Phipps had previously guested on Denim's ''Back In Denim'' (1992).Petridis, Alexis (2006) "Film & Music: Rock & pop reviews: Pop reissue: Denim Back in Denim", '' The Guardian'', 21 April 2006, p. 12


Later career

Pete Phipps still performs live as The Glitter Band. In April 2010, The Glitter Band performed at Scala, Kings Cross, London where they were joined by special guests
Angie Bowie Angela Bowie (born Mary Angela Barnett; September 25, 1949) is an American model, actress, and journalist. Alongside her ex-husband David Bowie, she influenced the glam rock culture and fashion of the 1970s. She was married to Bowie (whom she a ...
and
Adam Ant Stuart Leslie Goddard, better known as Adam Ant (born 3 November 1954), is an English singer, musician, and actor. He gained popularity as the lead singer of new wave group Adam and the Ants and later as a solo artist, scoring 10 UK top ten ...
.Adam Ant + Zodiac Youth Fri Apr 30 Scala
", '' Time Out'', retrieved 2010-04-23
Rossall and Harvey Ellison continued to tour with their band, releasing the album ''Glitteresque'' in 2008, which was subsequently withdrawn from circulation by their record company because of trademark infringement. Following Ellison's death in 2017, Rossall continued to tour for the rest of his life. Springate and Shephard also wrote the UK's 2000
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pri ...
entry, "Don't Play That Song Again" performed by
Nicki French Nicki is a given name, and may refer to: Film and television * Nicki Aycox (1975-2022), American actress best known for her roles as Syl on the series ''Dark Angel'' and Stella Vessey on the dramedy ''Ed'' * Nicki Chapman (born 1967), English tel ...
.Pagett, Karen (2000) "Pick of the Day", ''
Birmingham Post The ''Birmingham Post'' is a weekly printed newspaper based in Birmingham, England, with a circulation of 2,545 and distribution throughout the West Midlands. First published under the name the ''Birmingham Daily Post'' in 1857, it has had a ...
'', 13 May 2000, p. 18
Phipps and Shephard appeared in the Identity Parade line-up on the first episode of '' Never Mind The Buzzcocks'', recorded on 28 October 1996. In December 2013, John Rossall released a new single, a Glitter styled version of the classic "White Christmas". In 2014 the song "Angel Face" was included on the soundtrack of the hit Spanish film ''
The Face of an Angel ''The Face of an Angel'' is a 2014 British psychological thriller directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Paul Viragh. The film was inspired by the book ''Angel Face'', drawn from crime coverage by ''Newsweek''/Daily Beast writer Barbi ...
''. Springate retired from the band in 2019, and in August 2020 Phipps, the only remaining original member, released his first solo album entitled ''Wherever You Are''. John Rossall died on 2 October 2021, at the age of 75.


Discography


Albums

* ''Hey'' (1974) UK No. 13, AUS No. 16 * '' Rock 'n' Roll Dudes'' (1975) UK No. 17, AUS No. 35 * ''Listen to the Band'' (1975) * ''Makes You Blind'' (1975), Arista (same songs as Listen To The Band) released outside UK * ''Paris Match'' (1977) ;Live albums: * ''Live at the Marquee'' (1986) * ''Glitz Blitz, Live!'' (1998), MCI * ''Greatest Hits ...Live!'' (2001), Armoury ;Compilations: * ''Greatest Hits'' (1976) UK No. 52 * ''The Collection'' (1990) * ''Pop Fire'' (1994), Pilz * ''Let's Get Together Again'' (1996) * ''20 Glittering Greats'' (1998), Music Club * ''Solid Silver: The Ultimate Glitter Band Vol. 1'' (1998), Edsel * ''The Best of the Glitter Band'' (1999) * ''The Glitter Band: The Bell Singles Collection'' (2000) * ''Greatest Hits'' (2002)


Singles


Members


Current

* Pete Phipps – drummer, keyboardist (1973–1979, 1985–present) * Dominic Rodgers – guitarist (2001–present)


Former

* John Rossall – trombonist, saxophonist (1973–1974); died 2021 * Harvey Ellison – saxophonist, guitarist, pianist, backing vocals (1973–1977); died 2017 * Pete Gill – drummer (1973) * Bob Edmunds – saxophonist (1973) * Gerry Shephard – guitarist, lead and backing vocals (1973-1979, 1981–2001); died 2003 * John Springate – bassist, lead and backing vocals (1973–1979, 1981–1987, 2009–2019) * Tony Leonard – drummer (1973–1977, 1981–1985) * Eddy Spence – keyboardist (1981–1987, 2009–2019) * Brian Jones – saxophonist (1981–1985) * Terry Popple – drummer (1981–1983)


Film appearances

*'' Remember Me This Way'' (1974), as themselves *''Never Too Young to Rock'' (1975), as themselves


References


External links


The Official Glitter Band Website - The Glitter BandThe Official Website for Pete Phipps and The Glitter Band John Rossall's Official Website + Detailed History of the Boston Showband/Glitter Band
*
High Court documents
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glitter Band, The 1973 establishments in England English glam rock groups Gary Glitter Musical groups established in 1973 Bell Records artists Epic Records artists