Glenn Hughes will visit our country next week during his European tour. The legendary musician will perform on April 24 in Warsaw's Progresja and the following day in Krakow's Klub Studio. Are you wondering if it is worth going to the aforementioned clubs or if the musician is completely unfamiliar to you? Let's do a quick analysis of the British artist's career, as his achievements should dispel any doubts and encourage you to see him live.
Hughes hails from Cannock, a town in England, where he grew up under the strong influence of various music genres. It was a time when The Beatles were achieving success, shortly followed by the islands being swept by a hard rock craze, and Glenn himself was deeply immersed in American soul and R&B. His first serious band was Trapeze, founded in 1969, in which he served as the vocalist, bassist, and pianist. He recorded 3 albums with the band – “Trapeze” (1970), “Medusa” (1970), and “You’re the Music, We’re Just a Band” (1972).
Glenn Hughes with Trapeze at a concert in Wolverhampton in 1969:
In 1973, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover left Deep Purple. The rest of the band (Blackmore, Lord, and Paice) appeared at Trapeze's concert at the iconic Whisky A Go Go in Los Angeles. Shortly thereafter, Glenn received an offer to join the legendary group, and he took it, despite his initial reaction being somewhat less than optimistic (he called Deep Purple's music uninteresting, and he agreed to the offer after the second inquiry). Hughes and vocalist David Coverdale joined the ranks of DP, and a year later, the album “Burn” was released. Before its release, the music community was quite skeptical about the band's future, but the album was received exceptionally well, reaching the 9th spot in the “Billboard 200” list of best-selling albums and is still regarded as one of the stronger points in their discography. During this time, Glenn's life was like a dream – with Deep Purple, he played gigantic concerts (including the famous California Jam in 1974, which was watched by nearly a quarter of a million people), they traveled on their private jet, “The Starship,” and after releasing two more albums, “Stormbringer” and “Come Taste the Band,” the group disbanded in 1976.
Deep Purple – Burn (live at The California Jam 1974):
In the following years, Hughes operated like a free electron. In 1977, he released his first solo material “Play Me Out,” then teamed up with Pat Travers Band guitarist Pat Thrall, resulting in the 1982 album “Hughes/Thrall.” However, one of the most important collaborations in Glenn's career came in the mid-80s with Tony Iommi's first solo release, “Seventh Star,” where we can hear his vocals. Due to marketing pressure from the label, the album was released under the name “Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi,” which in a sense made Hughes a member of another legendary lineup. The musicians worked together so well that after ten years, they returned to composing together, resulting in “The 1996 DEP Sessions,” which over the years has been released in the form of numerous bootlegs, and the official version was released in 2004. Glenn also marked his presence on Iommi's next solo album, “Fused,” which was released a few months later.
Black Sabbath – Seventh Star:
In the last twenty years, the artist has not slowed down. On his subsequent solo albums, he collaborated with musicians from Red Hot Chili Peppers – drummer Chad Smith and guitarist John Frusciante. In 2009, the supergroup Black Country Communion was formed, which Glenn still co-creates today with Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham (the son of John, the drummer of Led Zeppelin), and Derek Sherinian. The band has released 4 albums to date, and the long-awaited fifth album in his discography, “BCC V,” is set to debut in June of this year. It is also worth mentioning that in recent years, Hughes has been a member of another star-studded lineup – The Dead Daisies. With the band, through which musicians associated with Guns’N’Roses, Rob Zombie, The Cult, The Rolling Stones, Thin Lizzy, and Whitesnake have passed, the musician recorded two albums – “Holy Ground” (2021) and “Radiance” from 2022.
Black Country Communion – Red Sun:
Hughes's artistic output is certainly impressive, and it can be confidently stated that in the world of hard rock, the Brit has achieved everything. In 2016, he was inducted along with Deep Purple into the prestigious Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, which he owes largely to his work on the album “Burn.” This year the album celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, and we will be able to hear most of it live already next week at Glenn's two concerts in our country!