Born: August 21, 1952, Cannock, Staffordshire, England
Active: '80s, '90s, 2000s
Genres: Rock
Instrument: Vocals, Bass
Representative Albums: "Burning Japan: Live", "Soulfully Live in the City of Angels", "Soul Mover"
Biography
Starting out as the bassist and lead vocalist for English hard rockers Trapeze (which evolved from British soulsters the News) in 1969, Glenn Hughes achieved his greatest fame as the bass player of Deep Purple from 1974 until the group split in 1976. Hughes subsequently reconvened Trapeze (with no records resulting) and issued his solo debut, Play Me Out, in 1978. His next effort, recorded with guitarist Pat Thrall under the name Hughes/Thrall, appeared in 1983, and worked in the supergroup Phenomena in 1985. Hughes then joined Black Sabbath as lead singer for 1986's The Seventh Star, departing after that album and eventually surfacing with -- of all artists -- the techno/house group the KLF, performing on their 1991 single "America -- What Time Is Love?." In 1993, Mike Varney's Shrapnel label issued the new Hughes solo album Blues, on which he played bass and sang with an array of guest guitarists. A string of solo releases followed through the '90s, including 1995's Burning Japan Live, 1997's Addiction (which addressed some of the personal problems that had kept Hughes out of recording for most of the latter half of the '80s), and 1999's The Way It Is. Mid-2000 saw the release of Return to Crystal Karma and Feel. The bluesy Building the Machine hit the shelves in 2001 while 2002's Hughes Turner Project coupled the bassist with another Deep Purple alumni, Joe Lynn Turner. Songs in the Key of Rock appeared in 2003, followed by Soul Mover in 2005. ~ Steve Huey, All Music Guide
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Hughes fronted Finders Keepers in the 1960s as bassist/vocalist, as well as the British funk rock band Trapeze.[1] Hughes then went on to serve as bassist/vocalist for Deep Purple between 1973 and 1976, embarking on a solo career following his departure from the group. In 1982, he joined with ex-Pat Travers guitarist Pat Thrall to form Hughes/Thrall, they released one self-titled album which went virtually unnoticed at the time but is now often cited by many fans/musicians to be the their favourite Glenn Hughes album. In the mid-1980s, Hughes recorded several different albums with bands and artists including Phenomena (Phenomena, Phenomena II: Dream Runner), Gary Moore (Run For Cover), and Black Sabbath (Seventh Star, though this was to have been a solo album by Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, and only came out as a Sabbath album due to record label pressure). Beginning in the mid 80's, Glenn's health problems due to over eating/drugs/alcohol began to seriously affect his musical projects, and this contributed to very short stints with Gary Moore and Tony Iommi, as Glenn was unable to tour with them properly due to his bad health. By the end of the 1980s, Hughes' ongoing drug problem was derailing him, and it wasn't until 1991 that a clean, sober and fully rejuvenated Glenn Hughes returned with the hit America: What Time Is Love? with the KLF. He also recorded a melodic rock album (Face The Truth) with Europe guitarist, John Norum, prior to re-embarking on an international solo career that he's primarily focused on to this day. In 1999, Glenn Hughes did a short tribute tour to Tommy Bolin in Texas, with Tommy's brother Johnny (of Black Oak Arkansas) on drums.
About to be released on edel records on November 17th 2007 is "Live in Australia", an acoustic CD and companion DVD of a performance at Sydney's famous "Basement" club. The show features songs from most recent Hughes albums, Purple classics and rare gems and covers.
He announced on tour that he is currently writing his autobiography with author Joel McIver.
It was announced by UK radio station, Planet Rock, on Thursday 14th January 2010, that Glenn Hughes was forming a new band with Jason Bonham drums, Joe Bonamassa guitar and Derek Sherinian keyboards, to be known as Black Country. An album is planned for release later in the year.
Various Artists - An All-Star Salute To Christmas (2009)
Film & TV appearances
1995 Rock Family Trees - Deep Purple (TV, interviewee)
2005 Heavy: The Story of Metal (TV, interviewee)
2008 Guitar Gods - Ritchie Blackmore (DVD, interviewee)
2009 A Shot of Whisky (History of The Whisky A Go Go club in LA) (TV, interviewee)
2009 August 26th "Spicks And Specks" (Guest on music games show)
