The Glitter Band

The Glitter Band Are A Glam Rock Band From England Who Initially Worked As Gary Glitter's Backing Band But In 1973 Began Releasing Records Of Their Own. They Had 7 UK Top 20 Hits In The Mid-1970s And 4 Hit Albums. 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. 1 With A Few Changes In Personnel The Boston Showband Became The Glittermen And Later The Glitter Band Who Were Gerry Shephard John Springate Pete Phipps Tony Leonard Harvey Ellison And John Rossall. 2 They Backed Glitter Both On Record Although Glitter Claimed That Mike Leander Played All The Instruments Himself 2 And In Live Performances. 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 "Angel Face" Which Met With Leander's Approval But Not Without Some Changes. 1 The Band Played A Few Well-Received Live Shows Before Their First Single Came Out Mixing A Few New Songs With Covers Of 1950s And 1960s Songs. In March 1974 "Angel Face" Was Released On Bell Records Immediately Hitting The Chart And Reaching #4 Outselling Glitter's "Remember Me This Way". Further Hits Followed Between 1974 And 1976 Along With 4 Albums. Rossall Left The Band At The End Of 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". 3 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 Realized Even Then That Their Time Was Up. The Band Switched To CBS Records And Later Epic Records And Changed Their Name To The G Band To Dissociate Themselves From Glitter But Failed To Find Another Hit Single The Name Was Reverted Back To 'The Glitter Band' By CBS In March 1977 For The Release Of "Look What You've Been Missing" May 1977 Saw The Band Release A Final Single As The Glitter Band 'She Was Alright'. Finally As One Last Throw Of The Dice Springate/Phipps/Shephard Released "Gotta Get A Message To You" In September 1977 Under The New Name Of "Air Traffic Control" The Single Written By Springate & Phipps Never Made It Past A Few Initial Commercial Pressings On The Epic Label. They Regrouped In 1980 With Further Sporadic Releases Followed In The 1980s On A Variety Of Labels. The Band's Profile Was Maintained With A Slew Of Greatest Hits Releases Mainly Concentrating On Their Peak Mid-1970s Era. Guitarist/singer Gerry Shephard And Drummer/Pianist Pete Phipps Eurythmics XTC Genesis And The Stranglers 1982-1985 Reformed The Band In 1987 And Successfully Performed In The UK And Europe Until 2001 When They Split Gerry Shephard And Former Drummer Tony Leonard Formed One Band And Pete Phipps Formed A New Band. John Rossall And Harvey Ellison Also Had A Version Of The Band On The Road Making Three Band's In Total! With Gerry's Death In May 2003 Tony Leonard Retired To Concentrate On Musical Production Activities In Norway Whilst Both Phipps And Rossall Continued On The Road With Their Own Bands 1 Gerry Shephard And Pete Phipps Guested On Denim's Back In Denim Album In 1992. Pete Phipps Still Performs Live As The Glitter Band Also John Rossall And Harvey Ellison Also Perform As The Glitter Band. 1 read less