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Colin joined forces with ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan in 1976 to form the jazz-rock outfit Ian Gillan Band. He replaced keyboard player Mike Moran after just one LP (Child In Time), going on to record a further three albums with this line-up:
Ian Gillan Band Clear Air Turbulence LP (1977) |
Ian Gillan Band Clear Air Turbulence CD (1989) |
Ian Gillan Band Live At Budokan (Vol 1 and 2) LP (1978) |
Ian Gillan Band Live At Budokan (Vol 1 and 2) CD (1989) |
Ian Gillan Band Scarabus LP (1977) |
Ian Gillan Band Scarabus CD (1989) |
Colin felt Ian could do better and set out to prove it. He wrote and recorded a demo called Fighting Man (which later turned up on the Mr Universe album); a monster of a song that enabled Ian to showcase his full vocal range. Ian liked it and Colin was given the task of principal songwriter. Out went the seasoned session players and a new era dawned for the band. They shortened their name to Gillan, and after a couple of early personnel changes, soon became a stable globe-trotting outfit, touring endlessly in the likes of the UK, Europe and Asia. The band line-up was complete and to my mind, the best incarnation: the main protagonists were Ian Gillan, Colin Towns, Bernie Tormé, John McCoy and Mick Underwood. Together, they were responsible for the following albums:
Gillan Gillan (Japanese) LP (1978) |
Gillan Gillan CD (1993) |
Gillan Mr Universe (Japanese) LP (1979) |
Gillan Mr Universe LP (1979) |
Gillan Mr Universe CD (1989) |
Gillan Glory Road LP (1980) |
Gillan Glory Road CD (1989) |
Gillan Future Shock LP (1981) |
Gillan Future Shock CD (1989) |
... and singles:
Gillan Vengeance single (1979) |
Gillan Sleeping On The Job single (1980) |
Gillan No Easy Way single (1980) |
Gillan Trouble single (1980) |
Gillan Higher & Higher / Spanish Guitar flexi (1980) |
Gillan Mutually Assured Destruction single (1981) |
Gillan New Orleans single (1981) |
Gillan No Laughing In Heaven single (1981) |
In 1981 Bernie Tormé left the band, to be replaced by Janick Gers, guitarist in one of Gillan's support bands at the time White Spirit. For the next 18 months they released two more albums:
Gillan Double Trouble LP (1981) |
Gillan Double Trouble CD (1989) |
Gillan Magic LP (1982) |
Gillan Magic CD (1989) |
... and four more singles:
Gillan Nightmare single (1981) |
Gillan Restless single (1981) |
Gillan Living For The City single (1982) |
Gillan Long Gone single (1982) |
By the end of 1982 it was all over. Ian Gillan took a break from the band while having some throat nodules treated, only to return to the fold as lead singer of Black Sabbath! Gillan (the band) was no more........
Colin can also be found on the following albums, released long after Gillan's demise:
Gillan Live At Reading '80 CD (1990) |
Gillan BBC Tapes 1: Dead Of Night CD (1997) |
Gillan BBC Tapes 2: Unchain Your Brain CD (1997) |
Gillan What I Did On My Vacation LP (1986) |
Gillan What I Did On My Vacation CD (1986) |
 Gillan The Singles CD Boxset (2007) |
Gillan Live: Triple Trouble CD (2009) |
There have also been a plethora of other post-Gillan albums released over the years. Some are fine compilations, while others are a little more suspect, purporting to contain alternate versions of classic Gillan songs. To my ears, the songs are exactly the same as those on the original albums, and thus bring nothing new to the market place. Consequently, such releases are not included here.
Colin can also be found on the following music-related DVDs:
 Gillan Live Edinburgh 1980 DVD (2006) |
 Ian Gillan Highway Star Limited Edition DVD (2007) |
 Gillan The Promo Videos DVD (2007) |
 Gillan The Glory Years DVD (2008) |