• Genre: Rock

Biography

Wainwrights Gentlemen was a mid-'60s group (sometimes misidentified as a late '60s outfit) most notable as one of future Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan's early bands and the distant spawning ground for the '70s glam-rock band Sweet. Wainwrights Gentlemen were already playing clubs with a mixture of R&B, Motown, and early psychedelic sounds when drummer Mick Tucker and vocalist Brian Connolly joined in 1966. Ian Gillan was aboard, having left a group called the Javelins to join Wainwrights Gentlemen, based on the idea that they had a recording contract. The latter proved to be nothing more than an audition, which Wainwrights Gentlemen failed. Gillan exited to join Episode Six, where he met bassist Roger Glover, both on their way to Deep Purple. Tucker and Connelly left to form Sweetshop, which became Sweet in 1970. ~ Bruce Eder, All Music Guide