Roger Glover

Roger Glover
Glover performing live with Deep Purple in 2006
Background information
Birth name	Roger David Glover
Born	(1945-11-30) 30 November 1945 (age 66) Brecon, Wales
Genres	Hard rock, heavy metal, pop rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter, producer
Instruments	Bass, vocals, guitar, keyboards, harmonica, saxophone
Years active	1964–present
Associated acts	Episode Six, Deep Purple, Rainbow, Gillan & Glover
Notable instruments
Rickenbacker 4001 Vigier

Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945 in Brecon) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.^[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 together 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 bands as Judas Priest, Nazareth, Elf, 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 two-and-a-half 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.

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 May 3, 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.

On October 7, 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 conduced 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 July 6, 2008).

On March 21, 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 currently resides in Switzerland where he lives with his partner Myriam. Myriam gave birth to a girl, Lucinda, on 27 June 2009.^[6] Glover has been married twice, and has another daughter, musician Gillian Glover (born 1976), from his first marriage.

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 wife Lesley.

Painting and photography

On October 22, 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 good purposes, but this was his first own big presentation.

Discography

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

With 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

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

Solo

• Let's Go To The Disco/Broken Man (single) (1974, with Ray Fenwick, released under the name Marlon)
• The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast (1974)
• Strawberry Fields Forever/Isolated Lady (single) (1975, with Eddie Hardin)
• Elements (1978)
• Mask (1984)
• Accidentally on Purpose (1988, with Ian Gillan)
• Snapshot (2002)
• If Life Was Easy (2011)

Guest appearances

• Rupert Hine & David MacIver – Pick Up A Bone (1971)
• Jon Lord – Gemini Suite (1972)
• Dave Cousins – Two Weeks Last Summer (1972)
• Nazareth – Loud 'n' Proud (1973, "Free Wheeler")
• Andy Mackay – In Search For Eddie Riff (1974)
• Dan McCafferty – Dan McCafferty (1975)
• Ian Gillan Band – Child In Time (1976)
• Eddie Hardin – Wizard's Convention (1976, "Loose Ends")
• John Perry – Sunset Wading (1976)
• Eddie Hardin – You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks (1977)
• David Coverdale – White Snake (1977)
• David Coverdale – North Winds (1978)
• Joe Breen – More Than Meets The Eye (1978)
• Wheels – Don't Be Strange (1979)
• Eddie Hardin – Circumstancial Evidence (1982)
• Ian Gillan – Naked Thunder (1990, "No More Cane On The Brazos")
• Pretty Maids – Jump The Gun (1990, "Dream On")
• Ian Gillan – Cherkazoo and Other Stories ('73/'75 sessions) (1992)
• Gov't Mule – The Deep End, Volume 1 (2001, "Maybe I'm A Leo")
• Gov't Mule – The Deepest End, Live In Concert (2003)
• Ian Gillan – Gillan's Inn (2006)
• Field Of Women / Domminney – Lucy's Song (for the field of women charity event) (2008)
• Bernhard Welz – Stay Tuned (2010, "Believe Me")

As producer

• Rupert Hine & David MacIver – Pick Up A Bone (1971)
• ELF – ELF (1972, with Ian Paice)
• Nazareth – Razamanaz (1973)
• Nazareth – Loud 'n' Proud (1974)
• Nazareth – Rampant (1974)
• Spencer Davis Group – Living In A Back Street (1974)
• Hardin & York, with Charlie McCracken – Hardin & York, with Charlie McCracken (1974, two tracks only)
• ELF – Carolina County Ball (1974)
• ELF – Trying To Burn The Sun (1975)
• Reflections – Moon Power/Little Star (single) (1975)
• Strapps – Strapps (1976)
• Ian Gillan Band – Child In Time (1976)
• Rory Gallagher – Calling Card (1976)
• Status Quo – Wild Side Of Life/All Through The Night (single) (1976)
• Judas Priest – Sin After Sin (1977)
• Young & Moody – Young & Moody (1977)
• Eddie Hardin – You Can't Teach An Old Dog New Tricks (1977)
• Strapps – Secret Damage (1977, with Louie Austin and Chris Kimsey)
• David Coverdale – White Snake (1977)
• David Coverdale – Northwinds (1978)
• Barbi Benton – Ain't That Just the Way (1978)
• Joe Breen – More Than Meets The Eye (1978)
• Grand Theft – Have You Seen This Band? (1978)
• Rainbow – Down to Earth (1979)
• Young & Moody – Devil Went Down To Georgia/You Can't Catch Me (single) (1979)
• Young & Moody – All The Good Friends/Playing Your Game (single) (1980)
• Michael Schenker Group – The Michael Schenker Group (1980)
• Rainbow – Difficult to Cure (1981)
• Rainbow – Straight Between the Eyes (1982)
• Rainbow – Bent Out of Shape (1983)
• Rainbow – Finyl Vinyl (1986)
• Pretty Maids – Jump the Gun (1990)
• Deep Purple – Slaves and Masters (1990)
• Deep Purple – The Battle Rages On (1993, co-producer with Thom Panunzio)
• Deep Purple – Purpendicular (1996)
• Deep Purple – Abandon (1998)
• Dream Theater – Made In Japan (live cover of the Deep Purple album) (2006)
• Gillian Glover – Red Handed (2007, additional production)
• Café Bertrand - L'Art délicat du Rock & Roll (2008, mixing)
• Young & Moody - Back For The Last Time Again (2011, archive recordings)

Film and TV appearances

• 1976 The Butterfly Ball (feature film)
• 1991 Deep Purple – Heavy Metal Pioneers (TV/video)
• 1995 Rock Family Trees, ep. 'Deep Purple' (TV)
• 2000 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock (TV)
• 2002 Gov't Mule – Rising Low (feature film)
• 2002 Classic Albums, ep. 'Deep Purple – Machine Head' (TV/video)
• 2004 Roger Glover – Made in Wales (TV)
• 2006 Memo – Ivan Pedersen's 40 års karriere (Video)
• 2006 Brick by Brick: The Building of Gillan's Inn (Video)
• 2007 Ian Gillan – Highway Star: A Journey in Rock (TV/Video)

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Roger Glover

• Roger Glover–the official website
• The Sam Buxton Sunflower Jam Healing Trust
• Bass Roger Glover signature Excess Custom
• Bass Roger Glover signature Excess Original