Colin Towns was the man responsible for bringing back Ian Gillan to the rock world after a small detour into the jazz zone in the mid-70s. The Gillan albums are now considered gems of the classic rock sound and Towns was behind them all! Nowadays, he is a successful composer of soundtrack music and not only…Rockpages.gr granted another exclusive interview for its readers!

On the other side of the telephone line: Sakis Nikas and Yannis Dolas

Rockpages.gr: Colin, can you please describe to me your musical background? How was the British scene in the early 60s?

Colin Towns: I started touring in the mid-60s and I was playing with many bands that were interested in all kinds of music…jazz, country, rock stuff…now that I look back on it, I think that it was my journey of discovering what style of music I was more into. I remember starting playing piano at the age of 8 and when I reached my 13th year I was doing all the London group-circuit…playing in weddings, school holidays etc.

Rockpages.gr: What was the name of your first band?

Colin Towns: Oh there were silly names…don’t forget that we were 14-15 years old…it was the time where we could go to a pub and ask for a slot before or after the set of the resident group…or I could jam with the guys and find myself playing with 4-5 different bands at a time. It was mostly a cover-band thing.  

Rockpages.gr: You found yourself in an experimental jazz-rock band with Ian Gillan. How did you meet him and how did you get the job?

Colin Towns: Actually, I was asked to replace Mickey Lee Soule because the band was ready to start a tour and Mickey was unable for some reason to carry on with Ian’s band. That’s about it…

Rockpages.gr: Were you aware of Ian Gillan’s career?

Colin Towns: I knew he was the singer of Deep Purple…especially “In Rock” was a successful album in London in the early 70s. After Deep Purple, I don’t think that he did that much, but obviously I was aware of the fact that he was a professional and established singer.

Rockpages.gr: I am gonna quote Ian Gillan right now: The catalyst for my musical direction was Colin Towns. An amazing talent and innovative musician. How do you feel when you hear such words by an accomplished singer and performer?

Colin Towns: It’s a nice thing for him to say that. The fact is that I know where I am good at and…Ian knew that, too (laughs). I am very good at organizing things, pulling things together and generally making sure that everything will work either in the studio or during a concert. That’s not Ian’s strong point, by any means. He is really good in other areas…But, I certainly feel good when Ian says such kind words for me, especially because he doesn’t have to do so.

Rockpages.gr: Was it a better overall atmosphere compared to the Ian Gillan Band?

Colin Towns: To tell you the truth, I never had any problem with either bands or band members to be precise. There were songs that I wasn’t too thrilled to record and others, which I definitely loved. But, that’s the music business. I really enjoyed the first period of Gillan when Bernie (Torme’) was in the band…that was a lot of fun and a really creative period for Gillan.

Rockpages.gr: What really changed when Janick Gers joined the band?

Colin Towns: Well, Janick is a lovely guy and an incredible guitar player. I would say that Janick was fine for Gillan at the time and perfect for Iron Maiden afterwards. But, Bernie was really unique and he was an integral part of the early Gillan’s chemistry…that’s why we call it the classic line-up.

Rockpages.gr: Lots of people don’t know it, but in December of 1978 Ritchie Blackmore joined the band on stage in Marquee for a number. Do you remember that night?

Colin Towns: (laughs) Yeah, I do…Ritchie was trying to persuade Ian to join Rainbow and even go further and reconsider a Deep Purple reunion. It was something that we know, but I personally I didn’t mind…I have a tremendous respect for Ritchie and it was nice to see Bernie and Ritchie sharing the same stage. It was a very nice moment…

Rockpages.gr: Do you remember what did you play with him on stage?

Colin Towns: Wow…I don’t really…I think he came up just for a song right before the end of our show (note: Ritchie joined the band for their encore 'Lucille'.Also, the guitarist at the time was Steve Byrd, not Bernie Torme...Ritchie jammed again with Gillan, at the Rainbow Theatre, London, on March 10th 1980 - Bernie Torme was in the band at that time.-thanks to David from the Deep-Purple.net-).

Rockpages.gr: In comparison with the band’s debut, you wrote fewer songs for the follow-up “Glory Road”. Did it just happen or was it a conscious decision by your side?

Colin Towns: It was a mutual decision in order for everybody to be equal in the band and contribute a share amount of work each time. Bernie is a really capable songwriter and it is really rough when you have four band members who can really write…but that’s what made Gillan such a special band.

Rockpages.gr: After a couple of albums later, Gillan unfortunately disbanded. The reasons are more or less well-known. Was there ever any word about a small or even full-time reunion?

Colin Towns: No! I wouldn’t have done it, even if there were any proposals. I am more interested in “today” and “tomorrow”…I don’t want to live in the past…Gillan was a fantastic period for me, but after that I took a different path in music and I found myself enjoying other styles that I could never experiment with during the Gillan years.

Rockpages.gr: What’s your favorite Gillan record and why?

Colin Towns: Well, I’d particularly enjoyed “Mr. Universe” because…

Rockpages.gr:…you wrote all the songs!

Colin Towns: (laughs) no, no…it’s not that! We still haven’t achieved any success and the album was really powerful and captured people’s imagination! We were still a hungry band and we came up with some classic tunes that people seem to enjoy…still to this day. The fact that I wrote or co-wrote all the songs it’s not so important…it was the chemistry of the band! “Mr. Universe” captured the band’s energy and it was an overall exciting period for us.

Rockpages.gr: Was there ever a business proposal for you to perform in Greece?

Colin Towns: No, I don’t think there was…but there is a possibility…I will let you know, soon.

Rockpages.gr: Thank you, Colin!

Colin Towns: No problem, guys!

Rockpages.gr: If you had to use just one word for Ian Gillan which one would that be?

Colin Towns: One word…oh, dear! That’s a tough one…I don’t think I could use just one word…for me it was a long time ago…what I really remember is that we had some magical moments as a band!