Roger Glover

Roger Glover

Glover performing live with Deep Purple in 2013
Background information
Birth name Roger David Glover
Born (1945-11-30) 30 November 1945
Brecon, Powys, Wales, United Kingdom
Genres Hard rock, heavy metal, pop rock, blues rock, progressive rock
Occupation(s) Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments Bass guitar
Years active 1960–present
Associated acts Episode Six, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Gillan & Glover

Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a British bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist for hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow.[1][2] Glover wrote the guitar riff on "Maybe I'm a Leo".[3][4]

Early career

Born near Brecon, Wales, Glover moved with his family to St Helens before settling in the South Kensington area of London, at the age of ten. Around that time, Glover's interests started to shift towards rock music, and by the time he was thirteen, Glover began playing guitar. He later moved to the North London district of Pinner and while at Harrow County School for Boys Glover formed his first band, Madisons, with a group of friends, which later merged with a rival band to become Episode Six, a band which later featured Glover's future Deep Purple bandmate, vocalist Ian Gillan. The two left Episode Six in 1969 to join Deep Purple.

Deep Purple and solo

Deep Purple, Roger Glover 1970

After spending four years with Deep Purple, where the band saw their most successful releases in the albums, in Rock and Machine Head, Glover, along with Gillan, departed after Deep Purple's second tour of Japan in the summer of 1973. Glover said, "I wrote the riff to "Maybe I'm a Leo" after hearing John Lennon's "How Do You Sleep?".[3]

Throughout the 1970s, Glover went on to produce such acts as Judas Priest, Nazareth, Elf, Status Quo, the Ian Gillan Band, and David Coverdale.

In 1974, Glover released his first solo album, Butterfly Ball, and in 1978, released his second solo album entitled Elements.

From 1979 to 1984, he was the bassist, lyricist and producer for Ritchie Blackmore's solo band, Rainbow, working on four of the group's studio albums.

In 1983, he recorded his third solo album, Mask, released the next year. When in April 1984 Deep Purple reformed, Glover returned to his old band where he has remained for the last three decades.[5]

In 1988, Glover and fellow Deep Purple member, Ian Gillan, recorded the side-project album, Accidentally on Purpose. Almost two decades later, Glover played with Ian Gillan during Gillan's brief solo tour in 2006.

In 2002, Glover released his fourth solo album entitled Snapshot under the name Roger Glover & The Guilty Party. The album featured performances from Randall Bramblett (who shared co-writing credits on several tracks) as well as Glover's daughter, Gillian.

Roger Glover in concert at Big Flats, New York in 2002

In 2011, Glover released his fifth solo album, If Life Was Easy, which featured guest appearances by Nazareth's Dan McCafferty and Pete Agnew as well as Walther Gallay and Daniel "Sahaj" Ticotin.

Notable collaborations and performances

In 2001, Glover was among a host of bass players who contributed to Gov't Mule's double album The Deep End, recorded as a tribute to the late Allen Woody, Mule's original bassist. Glover played on Deep Purple's "Maybe I'm a Leo", which was one of Woody's favourite songs. On 3 May 2003 in New Orleans Glover also took part in a special concert performed by Gov't Mule featuring appearances from all bass players who had contributed to The Deep End album.

Roger Glover performing in London for the Sunflower Jam, 2007.

On 7 October 2007, Glover joined his former bandmate Jon Lord to perform Concerto for Group and Orchestra at the Royal & Derngate Theatre in Northampton. The concert also featured Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann.

In 2008, Roger Glover played bass on a charity single called "Lucy's Song" written and produced by David Domminney of Rogue Studios in London and available at iTunes. Income from the sale went to The Linda McCartney Cancer Centre (specifically to promote their Field of Women event which took place at Liverpool Cricket Club on 6 July 2008).

On 21 March 2012, Ian Paice was playing a gig with the Deep Purple tribute band Purpendicular in Pratteln, Switzerland. The band received a surprise reinforcement as Roger Glover "happened to be in the neighbourhood" and joined them on stage.

Personal life

Glover has been married twice and has three daughters. Musician Gillian Glover (born 1976) is from his first marriage. He currently lives in Switzerland with his partner and their two daughters.[6]

In 2004, ITV Wales aired a TV special about Roger Glover called "Roger Glover – Made in Wales" (produced by Craig Hooper) which features interviews from fellow musicians Ian Gillan and Ian Paice, as well as Glover's mother, Brenda, and his then-wife.

Gear

Roger Glover uses Vigier Bass Guitars, SWR heads and cabinets, Picato and Ernie Ball strings.[7]

Painting and photography

On 22 October 2010 Roger Glover's artwork exhibition called "Happy Silence" opened at the K-8 e.V. Galerie in Cologne. Previously Glover has let many of his pictures be auctioned in other galleries for charitable purposes, but this was the first large-scale presentation of his work.

Discography

Episode Six
  • Put Yourself in My Place (1987)
  • BBC Radio 1 Live 1998/1969 (1997)
  • The Complete Episode Six (1991)
  • Cornflakes and Crazyfoam (2002)
  • Love, Hate, Revenge (2005)
Compilation albums of songs recorded between 1964 and 1969
Solo
Guest appearances

As producer
Film and TV appearances
  • 1976 The Butterfly Ball (feature film)
  • 1991 Deep Purple – Heavy Metal Pioneers (Warner, interviewee)
  • 1995 Rock Family Trees, ep. Deep Purple (TV, interviewee)
  • 1996 In a Metal Mood
  • 2000 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock (TV, interviewee)
  • 2002 Gov't Mule – Rising Low (feature)
  • 2002 Classic Albums, ep. Deep Purple – Machine Head (Granada, interviewee)
  • 2004 Roger Glover – Made in Wales (ITV, interviewee)
  • 2006 Memo – Ivan Pedersen's 40 års karriere (feature, interviewee)
  • 2007 Ian Gillan – Highway Star: A Journey in Rock (feature, interviewee)
  • 2011 Metal Evolution, ep. Early Metal, Part 2: UK Division (VH1, interviewee)
  • 2013 Behind The Music Remastered, ep. Deep Purple (VH1, interviewee)

References

  1. Turkey: Deep Purple Performs in Istanbul – Balkan Travellers
  2. "Purple haze". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
  3. 1 2 "Bass player's question time". Roger Glover official site. Archived from the original on 20 October 2007. Retrieved 19 November 2007.
  4. "A Highway Star: Deep Purple's Roger Glover Interviewed". The Quietus. 20 January 2011.
  5. Tobler, John (1992). NME Rock 'N' Roll Years (1st ed.). London: Reed International Books Ltd. p. 392. CN 5585.
  6. Perry, Shawn. "The Roger Glover Interview". Vintage Rock. Retrieved 20 July 2015.
  7. "Guitar Magazine, October, 2003". Retrieved 8 December 2014.

External links

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