John Gustafson has been the finest British pop-rock bassists in England. He was a member of lots of bands, and he even had his own solo album, recorded in 1975, but unreleased until 1997.
John Gustafson was born John Frederick Gustafson on August 8th, 1942 in Liverpool, England.
CASS & THE CASANOVAS
Cass & The Casanovas was the first known group featuring John Gustafson, when he joined them in December 1959:
They toured supporting Duffy Power and Johnny Gentle.
Brian Casser was later more known as Casey Jones. They split in December 1960, but formed a new band, Big Three.
|
CASS & THE CASANOVAS #3 |
Dec 59-Dec 60 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Brian Casser vocals, guitar | Adrian Barber guitar | John Gustafson † bass, as Johnny Gustafson | Johnny Hutchinson drums, vocals |
Big Threeê | Big Threeê | Big Threeê | |
They toured supporting Duffy Power and Johnny Gentle.
Brian Casser was later more known as Casey Jones. They split in December 1960, but formed a new band, Big Three.
| Other info on members of Cass & The Casanovas (I know up to 5 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (2): | Adrian Barber, Johnny Hutchinson |
| Not enough info (2): | Brian Casser, Brian Hudson |
BIG THREE
The original lineup of Big Three was formed in January 1961. They were the same musicians as in Cass & The Casanovas, except for Cass. Now the lead singers were Gustafson and Hutchinson:
With this lineup, they also backed singer Cilla Black in several concerts.
They split in June 1962 (soon to reform next month).
Big Three reformed as a quartet in July 1962:
They play for a whole month at The Star Club in Hamburg. When they were to return to England that same month, Adrian Barber stayed in the club, as its manager.
A great live band. They were very popular among Merseyside audiences, and highly respected by fellow musicians, signing soon for Decca, and being managed by Brian Epstein.
Their first two singles, ´Some other guy´ and ´By the way´ entered the lower regions of the charts.
The band toured UK, also appearing in some TV programs. But, finally, Gustafson and Griffiths left the band in November 1963 to form a new band, The Seniors (Big Three kept on with Johnny Hutchinson for some more lineups, including great musicians such as Faron, Paddy Chambers or Paul Pilnick).
They released some singles, and an EP Live at The Cavern (released in November 63 by Decca). It was reissued in 1981. In 1985 this EP was added to the compilation At The Cavern, with some other bands. Some other tracks appears in several compilations, like Mersey sounds, Mersey Beat '62-'64, Cavern stomp (reissued on CD by Edsel), etc.
|
BIG THREE #1 |
Jan 61-Jun 62 |
|
|---|---|---|
|
êCass & The Casanovas |
êCass & The Casanovas |
êCass & The Casanovas |
Adrian Barber guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | Johnny Hutchinson drums, vocals |
With this lineup, they also backed singer Cilla Black in several concerts.
They split in June 1962 (soon to reform next month).
Big Three reformed as a quartet in July 1962:
|
BIG THREE #2 |
Jul 62 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Adrian Barber guitar | Brian Griffiths guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | Johnny Hutchinson drums, vocals |
They play for a whole month at The Star Club in Hamburg. When they were to return to England that same month, Adrian Barber stayed in the club, as its manager.
In August 1962, Big Three again became a trio:
|
BIG THREE #3 |
Aug 62-Nov 63 |
|
|---|---|---|
Brian Griffiths guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | Johnny Hutchinson drums, vocals |
The Seniorsê | The Seniorsê | |
A great live band. They were very popular among Merseyside audiences, and highly respected by fellow musicians, signing soon for Decca, and being managed by Brian Epstein.
Their first two singles, ´Some other guy´ and ´By the way´ entered the lower regions of the charts.
The band toured UK, also appearing in some TV programs. But, finally, Gustafson and Griffiths left the band in November 1963 to form a new band, The Seniors (Big Three kept on with Johnny Hutchinson for some more lineups, including great musicians such as Faron, Paddy Chambers or Paul Pilnick).
They released some singles, and an EP Live at The Cavern (released in November 63 by Decca). It was reissued in 1981. In 1985 this EP was added to the compilation At The Cavern, with some other bands. Some other tracks appears in several compilations, like Mersey sounds, Mersey Beat '62-'64, Cavern stomp (reissued on CD by Edsel), etc.
THE SENIORS
In November 1963, Griffiths and Gustafson form another trio band, The Seniors.
They came back to Germany (Hamburg, and later, Frankfurt). But in February 1964, the band breaks when Gustafson leaves them to join a very famous band, The Merseybeats.
|
THE SENIORS #1 |
Nov 63-Feb 64 |
|
|---|---|---|
|
êBig Three |
êBig Three |
|
Brian Griffiths guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | Ian Broad drums, vocals |
The Merseybeatsê | ||
They came back to Germany (Hamburg, and later, Frankfurt). But in February 1964, the band breaks when Gustafson leaves them to join a very famous band, The Merseybeats.
| Other info on members of The Seniors (I know up to 4 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (3): | Ian Broad, Howie Casey, Brian Griffiths |
THE MERSEYBEATS
When Gustafson joined The Merseybeats, the only remaining original member was Tony Crane. This was around February 1964:
|
THE MERSEYBEATS #2 |
Feb 64-Dec 64 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
êThe Seniors |
|||
Tony Crane guitar, vocals | Aaron Williams guitar, vocals | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | John Banks † drums |
They released a self titled album, The Merseybeats, and 3 EPs. But Gustafson was fired in December 1964 (and original member Billy Kinsley returned to the band).
.
This is the list of singles released by Merseybeats with John:
- ´Don't turn around / Really mystified´ (April 64)
- ´Wishin'n'hopin' / Milkman´ (June 64)
- ´Last night I made a little girl cry / See me back´ (October 64)
| Other info on members of The Merseybeats (I know up to 11 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (3): | John Banks, Dave Goldberg, Billy Kinsley |
| Not enough info (7): | Allan Cosgrove, Adrian Crane, Tony Crane, Bob Garner, Bob Packham, Lou Rosenthal, Aaron Williams |
THE JOHNNY GUS SET
In January 1965, Griffiths and Gustafson are playing together again as The Johnny Gus Set:
But their keyboardist soon left the band.
This was the second incarnation of The Johnny Gus Set, with new keyboardist Daryl Dougdale:
But the group's life was very short, and they disband in September 1965, after one single and short tours along UK and Germany.
|
THE JOHNNY GUS SET #1 |
Jan 65-? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
êThe Merseybeats |
|||
Brian Griffiths guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | Vinnie Parker keyboards | Ron Parry drums |
But their keyboardist soon left the band.
This was the second incarnation of The Johnny Gus Set, with new keyboardist Daryl Dougdale:
|
THE JOHNNY GUS SET #2 |
1965-Sep 65 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Brian Griffiths guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | Daryl Dougdale keyboards | Ron Parry drums |
But the group's life was very short, and they disband in September 1965, after one single and short tours along UK and Germany.
| Other info on members of The Johnny Gus Set (I know up to 5 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (2): | Brian Griffiths, Ron Parry |
| Not enough info (2): | Daryl Dougdale, Vinnie Parker |
JOHNNY GUSTAFSON (as a solo artist)
At this point, Johnny released two solo singles:
- ´Just to be with you / Sweet day´ (July 1965)
- ´Take me for a little while / Make me your number one´ (December 1965)
- ´Just to be with you / Sweet day´ (July 1965)
- ´Take me for a little while / Make me your number one´ (December 1965)
JOHNNY & JOHN
Johnny & John was a funny (but appropiate) name for this band. They had played together in the Merseybeats, and this time, they tried as a duo:
They only released a single in June 1966, ´Bumper to bumper´, on Parlophone before splitting soon.
|
JOHNNY & JOHN #1 |
? |
|---|---|
John Gustafson † bass, vocals, as Johnny Gustafson | John Banks † drums |
They only released a single in June 1966, ´Bumper to bumper´, on Parlophone before splitting soon.
| Other info on members of Johnny & John (I know up to 2 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (1): | John Banks |
THE QUOTATIONS
I can´t find proper info about The Quotations, so any additional info will be very welcomed.
It seems that this lineup released the single ´Cool it / Mark of her Head´ in 1968, produced by John Goodison:
The Quotations backed the Walker Brothers sometime between 1966 to 1970 (dates unknown, sorry). They also backed Duane Eddy on some of his UK tours.
It seems that this lineup released the single ´Cool it / Mark of her Head´ in 1968, produced by John Goodison:
|
THE QUOTATIONS #? |
? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
John Gustafson † vocals | Billy Bremner guitar | Graham Alexander bass | John Banks † drums |
The Quotations backed the Walker Brothers sometime between 1966 to 1970 (dates unknown, sorry). They also backed Duane Eddy on some of his UK tours.
| Other info on members of The Quotations (I know up to 10 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (4): | John Banks, Billy Bremner, Graham Dee, Barrie Martin |
| Not enough info (5): | Graham Alexander, Jimmy Butchart, Tony Droy, Tony Gilbert, John Goodison |
EPISODE SIX
In July 1969, Johnny Gustafson joins Episode Six (famous for having before some later Deep Purple guys - Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, although not at the same time as Johnny):
But in September 1969, Gustafson, Robinson and Underwood left to form their own band, Quatermass.
I think John Gustafson appears in some Episode Six compilation, but I'm not sure. Does anybody know?
|
EPISODE SIX #? |
Jul 69-Sep 69 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sheila Carter vocals | Tony Lander guitar | Graham Carter guitar, vocals | John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Peter Robinson keyboards | Mick Underwood drums |
But in September 1969, Gustafson, Robinson and Underwood left to form their own band, Quatermass.
I think John Gustafson appears in some Episode Six compilation, but I'm not sure. Does anybody know?
| Other info on members of Episode Six (I know up to 13 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (7): | Tony Dangerfield, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, John Kerrison, Tony Lander, Peter Robinson, Mick Underwood |
| Not enough info (5): | Graham Carter, Sheila Carter, Andy Ross, Graham Ross, Harvey Shields |
QUATERMASS
It was September 1969 when Quatermass was formed, and this band seemed to be ready to break the charts, with a fantastic potential:
|
QUATERMASS #1 |
Sep 69-Apr 71 |
|
|---|---|---|
|
êEpisode Six |
êEpisode Six |
êEpisode Six |
John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Peter Robinson keyboards | Mick Underwood drums |
They released only one album, the superb Quatermass (produced by Anders Henriksson, a Swedish guy, and provider of the Swedish connection between John and Jane Shaffer). But they didn't obtain the success that everyone could imagine, and they finally disbanded in April 1971.
I've read that Ian Gillan collaborated in a Quatermass single, but I can't check it out.
Many years later, the band was revamped as Quatermass II, although Gustafson was not involved there.
Their song, ´Black sheep of the family´ was the reason Ritchie Blackmore told for leaving Deep Purple. He wanted Deep Purple to record it, and after being denied, he formed his own band Rainbow, and finally recorded that track.
I've read that the great percussionist Morris Pert also was a member of the band, but don't know when. Can anyone confirm me this point, please?
In the early 2000s, Gustafson was involved in selecting tracks for a projected live album from their original lineup, but I guess it was never released.
DAEMON
Next I know from John Gustafson is that he put together this band in 1971 with John (Du)Cann and Paul Hammond, from the great band Atomic Rooster:
They released only one album, The entrance to hell, before Al Shaw quitting. The remaining three changed their name to Hard Stuff.
|
DAEMON #1 |
1971-? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
êQuatermass |
|||
Al Shaw vocals | John DuCann † guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Paul Hammond † drums |
Hard Stuffê | Hard Stuffê | Hard Stuffê | |
They released only one album, The entrance to hell, before Al Shaw quitting. The remaining three changed their name to Hard Stuff.
| Other info on members of Daemon (I know up to 4 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (2): | John DuCann, Paul Hammond |
| Not enough info (1): | Al Shaw |
BULLET
Bullet was the first name for this band:
But they were forced to change their name due a conflict with a band with the same name. So they adopted a new name, Hard Stuff.
|
BULLET #? |
? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Al Shaw vocals | John DuCann † guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Paul Hammond † drums |
But they were forced to change their name due a conflict with a band with the same name. So they adopted a new name, Hard Stuff.
| Other info on members of Bullet (I know up to 4 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (2): | John DuCann, Paul Hammond |
| Not enough info (1): | Al Shaw |
HARD STUFF
It was 1972, and John Gustafson formed Hard Stuff with his mates from Daemon:
They released two albums, Bulletproof and Bolex dementia, before disbanding.
Bulletproof has the same versions of the Daemon CD, excepting that of ´Mr Longevity´, sung entirely by Gustafson in the Hard Stuff LP. The Daemon CD included some jamming and 2 songs that dont appear in the Hard Stuff LP.
|
HARD STUFF #1 |
1972-? |
|
|---|---|---|
|
êDaemon |
êDaemon |
êDaemon |
John DuCann † guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Paul Hammond † drums |
They released two albums, Bulletproof and Bolex dementia, before disbanding.
Bulletproof has the same versions of the Daemon CD, excepting that of ´Mr Longevity´, sung entirely by Gustafson in the Hard Stuff LP. The Daemon CD included some jamming and 2 songs that dont appear in the Hard Stuff LP.
| Other info on members of Hard Stuff (I know up to 3 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (2): | John DuCann, Paul Hammond |
BIG THREE (again)
Back to the past! In 1973, Big Three reforms again, with original members Griffiths and Gustafson, and a great drummer, Nigel Olsson!
Brian Griffiths (guitar)
John Gustafson (bass, vocals)
Nigel Olsson (drums)
They released only one album, Resurrection, with help from Henry Lowther (trumpet) and Peter Robinson (keyboards). Mick Grabham is credited on the album for lending his guitar to Brian Griffiths during this recording.
|
BIG THREE #? |
1973-? |
|
|---|---|---|
Brian Griffiths guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Nigel Olsson drums |
Brian Griffiths (guitar)
John Gustafson (bass, vocals)
Nigel Olsson (drums)
They released only one album, Resurrection, with help from Henry Lowther (trumpet) and Peter Robinson (keyboards). Mick Grabham is credited on the album for lending his guitar to Brian Griffiths during this recording.
| Other info on members of Big Three (I know up to 11 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (10): | Mike Bankes, Adrian Barber, Paddy Chambers, Faron, Brian Griffiths, Johnny Hutchinson, Roy Marshall, Nigel Olsson, Paul Pilnick, Barry Womersley |
QUATERMASS (again)
Around January 1974, Quatermass had Barry De Souza on drums:
They toured opening for Shawn Phillips, and then, they also acted as Phillips´ backing band.
|
QUATERMASS #? |
1974 |
|
|---|---|---|
John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Peter Robinson keyboards | Barry De Souza † drums |
They toured opening for Shawn Phillips, and then, they also acted as Phillips´ backing band.
| Other info on members of Quatermass (I know up to 7 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (2): | Barry De Souza, Morris Pert |
| To be covered (4): | Malando Gassama, Peter Robinson, Janne Schaffer, Mick Underwood |
SHAWN PHILLIPS BAND
Around January 1974, Shawn Phillips was playing gigs backed by the later incarnation of Quatermass:
And, again in October 1974, Shawn Phillips was keeping the same backing band:
John Gustafson appears in two Shawn Phillips albums: Furthermore and Rumplestiltskin's resolve.
On Furthermore, the whole album is played by this lineup:
Shawn Phillips (vocals, guitar)
Caleb Quaye (guitar)
John Gustafson (bass)
Peter Robinson (keyboards)
Paul Buckmaster (cello)
Ann Odell (mellotron on 'Starbright')
Raul Mayora (percussion)
Barry DeSouza (drums)
On Rumplestiltskin's resolve, John only plays in one song, ´Spitefull´, with this lineup:
Shawn Phillips (vocals, guitar)
Caleb Quaye (electric guitar)
John Gustafson (bass)
Peter Robinson (keyboards)
Paul Buckmaster (organ)
John Pullen (oboe)
Barry DeSouza (drums)
|
SHAWN PHILLIPS BAND #? |
1974 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Shawn Phillips vocals, guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Peter Robinson keyboards | Barry De Souza † drums |
And, again in October 1974, Shawn Phillips was keeping the same backing band:
|
SHAWN PHILLIPS BAND #? |
1974 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Shawn Phillips vocals, guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Peter Robinson keyboards | Barry De Souza † drums |
John Gustafson appears in two Shawn Phillips albums: Furthermore and Rumplestiltskin's resolve.
On Furthermore, the whole album is played by this lineup:
Shawn Phillips (vocals, guitar)
Caleb Quaye (guitar)
John Gustafson (bass)
Peter Robinson (keyboards)
Paul Buckmaster (cello)
Ann Odell (mellotron on 'Starbright')
Raul Mayora (percussion)
Barry DeSouza (drums)
On Rumplestiltskin's resolve, John only plays in one song, ´Spitefull´, with this lineup:
Shawn Phillips (vocals, guitar)
Caleb Quaye (electric guitar)
John Gustafson (bass)
Peter Robinson (keyboards)
Paul Buckmaster (organ)
John Pullen (oboe)
Barry DeSouza (drums)
| Other info on members of Shawn Phillips Band (I know up to 7 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Barry De Souza |
| To be covered (2): | Shawn Phillips, Peter Robinson |
| Not enough info (3): | Jim Varley, Pete Walmsley, Tony Walmsley |
QUATERMASS (again)
Sometime in 1974, Quatermass expanded to a quintet after the musicians played together in an album called Ablution. So, they started toured with this lineup:
|
QUATERMASS #? |
1974 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Janne Schaffer guitar | John Gustafson † bass, vocals | Peter Robinson keyboards | Malando Gassama † percussion | Barry De Souza † drums |
| Other info on members of Quatermass (I know up to 7 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (2): | Barry De Souza, Morris Pert |
| To be covered (4): | Malando Gassama, Peter Robinson, Janne Schaffer, Mick Underwood |
ROXY MUSIC
John Gustafson joins Roxy Music in April 1975, after John Wetton's sudden departure:
Gustafson appears in some tracks in the live album, Viva. He was replaced by Rick Wills. But as a session man, he also appears in three Roxy Music studio albums: Stranded, Country life and Siren. His most famous contribution is the bass line to their hit ´Love is the drug´.
For their British and American tour (from October to Nov 1975), Roxy Music hired John Gustafson on bass, plus The Sirens on backing vocals (Doreen Chanter and Jacqui Sullivan):
|
ROXY MUSIC #? |
Apr 75-1975 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bryan Ferry vocals, keyboards | Phil Manzanera guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Eddie Jobson keyboards, violin | Andy Mackay sax, oboe | Paul Thompson drums |
Gustafson appears in some tracks in the live album, Viva. He was replaced by Rick Wills. But as a session man, he also appears in three Roxy Music studio albums: Stranded, Country life and Siren. His most famous contribution is the bass line to their hit ´Love is the drug´.
For their British and American tour (from October to Nov 1975), Roxy Music hired John Gustafson on bass, plus The Sirens on backing vocals (Doreen Chanter and Jacqui Sullivan):
|
ROXY MUSIC #? |
Oct 75-Nov 75 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bryan Ferry vocals, keyboards | Phil Manzanera guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Eddie Jobson keyboards, violin | Andy Mackay sax, oboe | Paul Thompson drums |
Doreen Chanter backing vocals | Jacqui Sullivan backing vocals |
| Other info on members of Roxy Music (I know up to 46 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (2): | Doreen Chanter, Sal Maida |
| Old pages (2): | Paul Carrack, Rick Wills |
| To be covered (41): | Sewuese Abwa, Tawatha Agee, Sarah Brown, Roger Bunn, Jorja Chalmers, Michelle Cobbs, Brian Eno, Yanick Etienne, Bryan Ferry, Guy Fletcher, Colin Good, Aleysha Gordon, Neil Hubbard, Neil Jason, Eddie Jobson, Michelle John, Zev Katz, Rik Kenton, Dexter Lloyd, Andy Mackay, Jimmy Maelen, Phil Manzanera, Jeremy Meehan, Andy Newmark, Davy O´List,... up to 41 musicians. |
BUTTERFLY BALL LIVE
This project started as a studio concept by Roger Glover. The album features an all-star lineup, comprising, among others: Tony Ashton (vocals), David Coverdale (vocals), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), John Gustafson (vocals on the short track 'Watch out for the bat'), John Lawton (vocals), Glenn Hughes (vocals), Helen Chappelle (vocals), Kay Garner (vocals), Barry St. John (vocals), Liza Strike (vocals), Joanne Williams (vocals), Jimmy Helms (vocals), Neil Lancaster (vocals), Ray Fenwick (guitar), Mo Foster (bass), Eddie Hardin (keyboards), Mike Moran (keyboards), Ann Odell (keyboards), Mickey Lee Soule (keyboards), Eddie Jobson (violin), Les Binks (drums), Mike Giles (drums), Chris Karan (percussion).
This musicians' fest was assembled on October 16, 1975 by Deep Purple bassist, Roger Glover, in order to perform a stage version of his studio album with the same title. Ian Gillan became lead singer because the original singer, the great Ronnie James Dio, couldn't assist. John Gustafson (yet part of Ian Gillan Band) also played there with lots of other superb musicians. This has been released on video. Can anyone provide me with a list of musicians, as I don't have that video?
This musicians' fest was assembled on October 16, 1975 by Deep Purple bassist, Roger Glover, in order to perform a stage version of his studio album with the same title. Ian Gillan became lead singer because the original singer, the great Ronnie James Dio, couldn't assist. John Gustafson (yet part of Ian Gillan Band) also played there with lots of other superb musicians. This has been released on video. Can anyone provide me with a list of musicians, as I don't have that video?
IAN GILLAN BAND
Formed in September 1975 by former Deep Purple singer, Ian Gillan, under the name Shand Grenade, soon changed into Ian Gillan Band. The initial lineup was:
|
IAN GILLAN BAND #1 |
Sep 75-Apr 76 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ian Gillan vocals | Ray Fenwick guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Mike Moran keyboards | Mark Nauseef drums |
They released the album Child in time. But Mike Moran, being a studio session man, left the band very soon.
Mickey Lee Soule (from Rainbow, the band of another ex-Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore) was the 2nd keyboardist in Ian Gillan Band, joining in April 1976:
|
IAN GILLAN BAND #2 |
Apr 76-May 76 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ian Gillan vocals | Ray Fenwick guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Mickey Lee Soule keyboards | Mark Nauseef drums |
They played their first gig as a band, but Soule stayed just one month with them.
But finally, in May 1976, the keyboard seat in Ian Gillan Band is filled with the definitive player, Colin Towns:
|
IAN GILLAN BAND #3 |
May 76-Jun 78 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ian Gillan vocals | Ray Fenwick guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Colin Towns keyboards | Mark Nauseef drums |
A superb lineup! They released two studio albums, Clear air turbulence and Scarabus, very underrated (along with Child in time), because Ian Gillan didn't follow the hard rock style he performed in Deep Purple. He tried to make a different style, and his fans didn't understand this move.
Clear air turbulence contained six lenghty tracks, co-written by the whole band. One of my favourite songs is ´Money lender´. Yes, maybe it was too jazz-rock oriented, but I enjoy it anyway!
Scarabus is a more rock oriented album. All the songs were again written by the whole band.
It was also released a double live album, Live at Budokan, vol. 1 & 2, recorded in September 1977 (originally, it was sold as two different albums), with songs from their studio albums, as well as some Deep Purple covers (´Child in time´ - with superb guitar solos from Mr. Fenwick in a very different version from the original, ´Smoke on the water´, ´Woman from Tokyo´). Very passionate playing and singing, I love these albums.
In June 1978, Ian Gillan splits the band to form a different outfit, more rocking, not so jazz-funk oriented, under the nickname Gillan. He only kept Colin Towns with him.
A later release, The Rockfield mixes, seems to be an alternate mix for Clear air turbulence album.
There's a new live album released. It's called Live at the Rainbow, and it was recorded in London, in May 1977.
And a new live one! Live Yubin Chokin Hall, Hiroshima 1977 was released in 2001.
Rarities 1975-1977 is a recent album of unreleased tracks. Roger Glover plays in 4 tracks.
| Other info on members of Ian Gillan Band (I know up to 21 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (3): | Steve Byrd, Tommy Eyre, Chris Glen |
| To be covered (17): | Pete Barnacle, Richard Brampton, Ray Fenwick, Liam Genockey, Jannick Gers, Ian Gillan, Dave Lloyd, John McCoy, Ted McKenna, Mike Moran, Steve Morris, Mark Nauseef, Mick O´Donoghue, Mickey Lee Soule, Bernie Torme, Colin Towns, Mick Underwood |
GORDON GILTRAP BAND
This was the Gordon Giltrap Band still around November 1978:
This was the Gordon Giltrap Band in March 1979:
They released a studio album, The peacock party, although John Gustafson only plays in two songs, being replaced in the other tracks by great bassist John G. Perry. This album is very good, and its cover is incredibly beautiful! The list of musicians is: Gordon Giltrap (guitar), Bimbo Acock (sax, flute, clarinet), Rod Edwards (keyboards), Richard Harvey (recorders, soprano crumhorn), Ian Mosley (drums), John G. Perry (bass), John Gustafson (bass), Morris Pert (percussion), Ric Sanders (violin), Eddy Spence (keyboards). My favourite track is ´Dodo's dream´.
They released the live recording, simply called Live.
I think there was a different (smaller) lineup Gordon Giltrap Band still in 1979:
|
GORDON GILTRAP BAND #? |
1978 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gordon Giltrap guitar | Shirlie Roden vocals | Roger Hand guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Rod Edwards keyboards | Eddie Spence keyboards |
Ian Mosley drums |
This was the Gordon Giltrap Band in March 1979:
|
GORDON GILTRAP BAND #? |
1979? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gordon Giltrap guitar | Shirlie Roden vocals | John Gustafson † bass | Rod Edwards keyboards | Eddie Spence keyboards | Ian Mosley drums |
They released a studio album, The peacock party, although John Gustafson only plays in two songs, being replaced in the other tracks by great bassist John G. Perry. This album is very good, and its cover is incredibly beautiful! The list of musicians is: Gordon Giltrap (guitar), Bimbo Acock (sax, flute, clarinet), Rod Edwards (keyboards), Richard Harvey (recorders, soprano crumhorn), Ian Mosley (drums), John G. Perry (bass), John Gustafson (bass), Morris Pert (percussion), Ric Sanders (violin), Eddy Spence (keyboards). My favourite track is ´Dodo's dream´.
They released the live recording, simply called Live.
I think there was a different (smaller) lineup Gordon Giltrap Band still in 1979:
|
GORDON GILTRAP BAND #? |
1979 |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Gordon Giltrap guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Eddie Spence keyboards | Ian Mosley drums |
| Other info on members of Gordon Giltrap Band (I know up to 24 members) | |
|---|---|
| Old pages (2): | Rod Edwards, Ian Mosley |
| To be covered (17): | Bimbo Acock, Clive Bunker, Lucy Finch, Gordon Giltrap, Roger Hand, Richard Harvey, Dave MacDonald, John G Perry, Shirlie Roden, Joe Skeaping, Rod Skeaping, Eddie Spence, Oliver Wakeman, Phil Wallman, David Ward, Graham Ward, Doug Wooton |
| Not enough info (4): | Steve Anderson, Johanne James, Nick Kendall, Paul Manzi |
ROWDY
Rowdy was a band formed around 1983, comprising veteran musicians who have played together in different bands along the years:
They recorded some tracks, but they were never released.
|
ROWDY #? |
? |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Jackie McAuley vocals, guitar | Ray Fenwick guitar | Billy Bremner guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Les Binks drums |
They recorded some tracks, but they were never released.
| Other info on members of Rowdy (I know up to 5 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (4): | Les Binks, Billy Bremner, Ray Fenwick, Jackie McAuley |
THE PIRATES
This band was formed in the sixties by the late Johnny Kidd, under the name Johnny Kidd & The Pirates. Later, his famed guitarist Mick Green supposedly reformed the band after the split of his own band Shanghai, and Johnny Gustafson played with them for seven years. He replaced Johnny Spence, probably sometime around 1985:
They only released a single in Finland, featuring ´Lights out / I'm into something good´ on blue vinyl.
Sometime later, Frank Farley left the band.
When Frank Farley left the band in the mid 80s, he was replaced by another veteran, drummer Geoff Britton:
They released an album, Still shakin´.
|
THE PIRATES #? |
1985-? |
|
|---|---|---|
Mick Green † guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Frank Farley drums |
They only released a single in Finland, featuring ´Lights out / I'm into something good´ on blue vinyl.
Sometime later, Frank Farley left the band.
When Frank Farley left the band in the mid 80s, he was replaced by another veteran, drummer Geoff Britton:
|
THE PIRATES #? |
1985-? |
|
|---|---|---|
Mick Green † guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Geoff Britton drums |
They released an album, Still shakin´.
THE FABULOUS SINGLETTES
The Fabulous Singlettes is an Australian female trio singing Motown covers, formed in 1986. A live album, Stop in the name of love - live at The Piccadilly was recorded in August 1988 with this backing band:
|
THE FABULOUS SINGLETTES #? |
1988 |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Naomi Eyers vocals | Alison Jiear vocals | Lisa Shipley vocals | + | Anthony Glynne guitar | John Gustafson † bass |
Wayne Findlay keyboards | Jason McDermid trumpet, percussion | David Glyde sax, flute | Gordon Marshall drums |
| Other info on members of The Fabulous Singlettes (I know up to 16 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (4): | Wayne Findlay, Anthony Glynne, Gordon Marshall, Neil Warden |
| Not enough info (11): | Sheryl Black, Simone Dee, Diane Dixon, Naomi Eyers, David Glyde, Alison Jiear, Karen Johns, Melissa Langton, Melissa McCaig, Jason McDermid, Lisa Shipley |
THE PIRATES (again)
Another change in The Pirates´ drummer seat happened when Geoff Britton left:
They released a new album, Live in Japan. Later, John Gustafson left the band probably around 1992 or so.
|
THE PIRATES #? |
?-1992 |
|
|---|---|---|
Mick Green † guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Les Sampson drums |
They released a new album, Live in Japan. Later, John Gustafson left the band probably around 1992 or so.
| Other info on members of The Pirates (I know up to 18 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Ged Peck |
| To be covered (15): | Geoff Britton, Johnny Carroll, Clem Cattini, Vic Cooper, Al Cottrell, Frank Farley, Mick Green, John Kerrison, John Morshead, Nick Simper, Johnny Spence, Mick Stewart, Mick Taylor, Roger Truth, John Weider |
| Not enough info (1): | Les Sampson |
POOR-MOUTH
Poor-Mouth was the band for guitarist and singer Jack-E McAuley (Jackie McAuley, a former member of Them). He assembled a backing band for concerts, Poor-Mouth, without an stable lineup, but always comprising superb musicians, such as John Gustafson (bass), Rod Demick (bass), Don Airey (keyboards), Chris Parren (keyboards), Nick Payn (sax, flute), Clive Bunker (drums), Howard Tibble (drums).
The band released two albums, but I don't have them, so I don't know if Chris Parren appears there. Help, please!
The band released two albums, but I don't have them, so I don't know if Chris Parren appears there. Help, please!
|
POOR-MOUTH # |
? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jackie McAuley vocals, guitar | + others culled from: | John Gustafson † bass | Rod Demick bass | Phil Rynhart bass | Don Airey keyboards |
Chris Parren keyboards | Tommy Lundy | Nick Payn sax, flute | Clive Bunker drums | Steve Dixon drums | Howard Tibble drums |
Tony Ryan drums |
| Other info on members of Poor-Mouth (I know up to 12 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (1): | Chris Parren |
| Old pages (1): | Don Airey |
| To be covered (6): | Clive Bunker, Rod Demick, Steve Dixon, Jackie McAuley, Nick Payn, Howard Tibble |
| Not enough info (3): | Tommy Lundy, Tony Ryan, Phil Rynhart |
AND THEN...
When I first published my page on John Gustafson, he was preparing an ANTHOLOGY for Angel Air records (the same that released his Goose grease album) and would include 3 BIG THREE tracks that are unreleased. Angel Air expected to release it in February 99, but as far as I know, this finally didn´t happen. Why?
BILLY KINSLEY BAND
After many years not knowing from him, John Gustafson reappeared, even if for a one-off gig! Billy Kinsley is a founder member of The Merseybeats (leading the band on and off for 4 decades, along with Tony Crane. Curiously, when John was in the band Billy had left, so they hadn't played together in The Merseybeats). Even though Billy is still fronting The Merseybeats, he assembled this band for a special gig:
They played a concert in Liverpool (I think it was October 2002, but can't remember for sure).
|
BILLY KINSLEY BAND #? |
? |
||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Billy Kinsley vocals, guitar | Kenny Parry guitar | John Gustafson † bass | Pete Phillips keyboards | Albie Donnelly sax | Alex Watt drums |
+ guests: | Beryl Marsden vocals | Colin Areety vocals |
They played a concert in Liverpool (I think it was October 2002, but can't remember for sure).
| Other info on members of Billy Kinsley Band (I know up to 8 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (5): | Albie Donnelly, Billy Kinsley, Beryl Marsden, Kenny Parry, Pete Phillips |
| Not enough info (2): | Colin Areety, Alex Watt |
AL JARREAU BAND
I once read that John Gustafson played bass in Al Jarreau Band, but can´t find any other info. Help, please!
|
AL JARREAU BAND #? |
? |
||
|---|---|---|---|
Al Jarreau vocals | John Gustafson † bass | Peter Robinson keyboards | + others unknown to me. Help! |
| Other info on members of Al Jarreau Band (I know up to 72 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (71): | Alex Acuna, Nadirah Ali, Michael Baker, Stanley Banks, Tom Barney, Joe Baron, George Benson, Ross Bolton, Robbie Buchanan, Stacy Campbell, Tom Canning, Terri Lyne Carrington, Lenny Castro, Felicia Collins, Randy Crawford, Paulinho Da Costa, Debbie Davis, Debra Dobkin, Dr Gibbs, Charlie Drayton, Nathan East, Kiki Ebsen, Buzzy Feiten, Steve Gadd, Eric Gale,... up to 71 musicians. |
THE STAR COMBO
John Gustafson has also been a member of The Star Combo, but I can´t find other info:
|
THE STAR COMBO #? |
? |
|---|---|
John Gustafson † bass | + others unknown to me. Help! |
| Other info on members of The Star Combo (I know up to 5 members) | |
|---|---|
| To be covered (4): | Howie Casey, Brian Griffiths, Tony Newman, Roy Young |
JOHN COGHLAN´S DIESEL BAND
John Gustafson also played with John Coghlan´s Diesel, but don´t know when:
|
JOHN COGHLAN´S DIESEL BAND #? |
? |
|
|---|---|---|
John Gustafson † bass | John Coghlan drums | + others unknown to me. Help! |
| Other info on members of John Coghlan´s Diesel Band (I know up to 34 members) | |
|---|---|
| Already covered (2): | Mick Grabham, Chris Parren |
| Old pages (4): | Ian Ellis, Bernie Marsden, Ray Minhinnet, Andy Pyle |
| To be covered (19): | Jeff Bannister, Andy Bown, Jeff Brown, Chick Churchill, John Coghlan, Gordon Edwards, John Fiddler, Dave Lloyd, Jackie Lynton, Ray Majors, Phil May, Noel McCalla, Charlie McCracken, Micky Moody, Jim Rodford, Chrissie Stewart, John Verity, Bob Young, John Young |
| Not enough info (8): | Mark Booty, Jon Bowers, Hilly Briggs, Paul Carr, Mike Grady, John Heywood, Mac McCaffrey, Rob Sas |
AND THEN...
John Gustafson sadly passed away on September 12th, 2014.
John was one of the first musicians to be covered in my website, back in 1998. He'll always be remembered.
25 BANDS (WITH 47 SELECTED RECORDINGS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||||
| Big Three | 3 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| Bullet |
| |||||||||||
| Cass & The Casanovas |
| |||||||||||
| John Coghlan´s Diesel Band |
| |||||||||||
| Daemon |
| |||||||||||
| Episode Six |
| |||||||||||
| The Fabulous Singlettes | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| Ian Gillan Band | 13 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| Gordon Giltrap Band | 3 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| The Johnny Gus Set |
| |||||||||||
| John Gustafson Band | 3 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||||
| Hard Stuff | 2 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| Al Jarreau Band |
| |||||||||||
| Johnny & John |
| |||||||||||
| Billy Kinsley Band |
| |||||||||||
| The Merseybeats | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||||
| Shawn Phillips Band | 4 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| The Pirates | 3 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| Poor-Mouth | 1 COMPILATIONS:
| |||||||||||
| Quatermass | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| The Quotations |
| |||||||||||
| Rowdy |
| |||||||||||
| Roxy Music | 7 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||||
| The Seniors |
| |||||||||||
| The Star Combo |
| |||||||||||
11 ALBUMS FOR 8 BANDMATES AND FRIENDS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Axispoint | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Bryan Ferry Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Pauline Gillan Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Roger Glover Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Andy Mackay Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Phil Manzanera Band | 1 COMPILATIONS: 
| |||||||||
| Nutshell | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Janne Schaffer Band | 3 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
3 COLLECTIVE ALBUMS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS |
| VVAA | 2 RECORDINGS: 
|
3 MUSICALS / CASTS:
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS |
| VVAA | 2 RECORDINGS:
|
42 SESSIONS (FOR 30 ARTISTS):
| BAND / ARTIST | . | RECORDINGS | ||||||||
| Ablution | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Mick Audsley Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Kevin Ayers Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Baltik | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Teresa Brewer Group | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Caravan | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Allan Clarke Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Chi Coltrane Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Lynsey De Paul Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Yvonne Elliman Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Mick Farren Band | 2 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Eugenio Finardi Band | 2 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Martyn Ford Orchestra | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Ted Gardestad Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| David Garriock Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Steve Hackett Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Ian Hunter Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Mike Hurst Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Yosui Inoue Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Jerry Lee Lewis Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Juan Martin Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Nutshell | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Ann Odell Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Kai Olsson Band | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Janne Schaffer Band | 3 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Sphincter Ensemble | 1 RECORDINGS: 
| |||||||||
| Steve Swindells Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Rick Wakeman Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Eugene Wallace Band | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
| Howard Werth & The Moonbeams | 1 RECORDINGS:
| |||||||||
RELATED WEBSITE LINKS: 31
Official site(s) - tell them you saw the link here:
- Shawn Phillips Official Website
- The Pirates Official Website (by Jason Farley)
- Nigel Olsson (by Noreen Romano)
- Don Airey Official website
From the always interesting Alex's Picks (by Alex Gitlin), we have:
From the great site DME (by Dmitry M. Epstein), we have fantastic interviews:
From the fantastic The British Sound blog (by Bruno Ceriotti), we have rock family trees about:
Wikipedia doesn´t want to include links to this website, but I won´t do the same with them. So, from the great Wikipedia, we have:
- Shawn Phillips
- Roxy Music
- Bryan Ferry
- Andy Mackay
- Phil Manzanera
- Nutshell
- Kevin Ayers
- Martyn Ford
- Rick Wakeman
- Don Airey
Assorted links:
- Shawn Phillips Canadian homepage (by Jean Boissonneault)
- Quatermass website (by Bas Möllenkramer)
- Mott The Hoople / Ian Hunter fanzine (by Sven Gusevik)
- Just a Buzz Online - The Mott The Hoople Web Site (by Justin Purington) - great site
- Drummers Can Sing Too! A Tribute to Nigel Olsson (by Noreen Romano)
RELATED VIDEO LINKS: 5
Disclaimer: I don´t own or upload any of the videos linked here. I just include links to live videos that are already available, in order to show the work of this musician. Anyway, if someone feels that some link shouldn't be included, please write me at the email address shown below. And if you know of more videos featuring John Gustafson, please, also write me with the link.
- Roxy Music - Both Ends Burning (1975) Roxy Music live in 1975. (Resolution: 360)
- Roxy Music - Both Ends Burning (1975) Roxy Music live on TV in 1975. (Resolution: 480)
- Roxy Music - Love Is The Drug (1975) Roxy Music live on TV in 1975. (Resolution: 240)
- Ian Gillan - Money Lender Ian Gillan live in 1977. (Resolution: 480)
- Roxy Music - Street Life Roxy Music on TV. (Resolution: 360)
Featuring: Doreen Chanter, Bryan Ferry, John Gustafson, Eddie Jobson, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, Jacqui Sullivan, Paul Thompson.
Featuring: Doreen Chanter, Bryan Ferry, John Gustafson, Eddie Jobson, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, Jacqui Sullivan, Paul Thompson.
Featuring: Doreen Chanter, Bryan Ferry, John Gustafson, Eddie Jobson, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, Jacqui Sullivan, Paul Thompson.
Featuring: Ray Fenwick, Ian Gillan, John Gustafson, Mark Nauseef, Colin Towns.
Featuring: Bryan Ferry, John Gustafson, Eddie Jobson, Andy Mackay, Phil Manzanera, Paul Thompson.
THANKS:
Special Thanks to:
Thanks to:
WHAT'S NEW:
30/September/2014 - Page added to the blog.
03/February/1998 - Original page written by me (in the old site).
RELATED MUSICIANS:
John Gustafson mostly worked with these musicians: (name + number of credits)
Peter Robinson (25)
Ray Fenwick (19)
Barry De Souza (16)
Ian Gillan (16)
Mark Nauseef (13)
Colin Towns (13)
Mike Moran (12)
Ann Odell (12)
Phil Manzanera (11)
Paul Buckmaster (10)
Page created by Miguel Terol on: 03/February/1998 - Last modified on: 30/September/2014. If you want to contribute with info, please write to: molympus1@gmail.com
Please, note than you can check the indexes (musicians, bands, obituaries) at the top of this page.
