1 	Second Sight 	
2 	Secret Of The Dance 	
3 	She Tears Me Down 	
4 	Roller 	
5 	Mr. Universe 	
6 	Vengeance 	
7 	Puget Sound 	
8 	Dead Of Night 	
9 	Message In A Bottle 	
10 	Fighting Man 	
11 	On The Rocks 	
12 	Bite The Bullet 	
13 	Mr. Universe 	
14 	Vengeance 	
15 	Smoke On The Water 	
16 	Lucille

Bass, Mixed By – John McCoy
Drums – Mick Underwood
Guitar – Bernie Tormé
Keyboards – Colin Towns
Vocals – Ian Gillan

Leading his own bands in the late '70s and early '80s, Ian Gillan continued to embrace music that, not surprisingly, was heavily influenced by his former band, Deep Purple. And he never sounded more Purple-ish than he does on Mr. Universe, which isn't quite on a par with Purple's Burn but is stronger than many of the albums the outfit had recorded after Gillan's departure (some of which were quite disappointing). This is Gillan at his most aggressive and passionately rockin'. Those with fond memories of his work with Purple will appreciate the testosterone-driven energy of "Vengeance," "Roller," and "Message in a Bottle." Headbangers shouldn't overlook this one. ---Alex Henderson, AllMusic Review

He was one of the voices of 70’s British hard rock and will always be associated with his two stints with the legendary Deep Purple, whom he joined, in the company with Roger Glover, in 1969, left in 1973, rejoined in 1983 and left again in 1989 to tales of acrimony and bad feeling. In between the comings and goings, Gillan fronted a number of bands named after himself. In 1979, the band called simply Gillan, released one of the best hard rock albums of that time, Mr Universe. A tough thing to do because Gillan and his contemporaries were under a cultural attack from the hoards of punk bands and their fans that were quickly growing and growling around him.

He was one of the voices of 70’s British hard rock and will always be associated with his two stints with the legendary Deep Purple, whom he joined, in the company with Roger Glover, in 1969, left in 1973, rejoined in 1983 and left again in 1989 to tales of acrimony and bad feeling. In between the comings and goings, Gillan fronted a number of bands named after himself. In 1979, the band called simply Gillan, released one of the best hard rock albums of that time, Mr Universe. A tough thing to do because Gillan and his contemporaries were under a cultural attack from the hoards of punk bands and their fans that were quickly growing and growling around him.

More than that, though, as this album was released, the band were not in the best of shape. Gillan himself had just left The Ian Gillan Band – that’s right, he left his own band – mainly because half of the then band wanted to explore jazz fusion rather than rock and ridiculed any movement towards the hard rocking style. So Gillan started again with Colin Towns as the core alongside himself while Bernie Tormé entered the guitar slot and John McCoy (who was with Gillan during the Pre-Deep Purple band, Episode 6) appeared on bass.

The band released the LP, Gillan, in the Far East in late 1978 and an updated version of that LP was released in the UK in 1979. As Tormé said, “I suppose my best memory is of being in a hotel guesthouse in a grim place in the north of England called Carlisle, up by the Scottish border. We had played a gig the night before, gone to this little hotel, got up in the morning to get some breakfast, except there was none: all there was a little instant coffee machine that didn’t work in the hall, which was about the size of two telephone booths put together. We were all cold, hungry, depressed and fed up. Then we had a call from our office in London to say that Mr. Universe, our first album, had just gone in the charts at No 11. What a feeling!”. ---Paul Rigby, theaudiophileman.com

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1 	Future Shock 	3:06
2 	Nightride Out Of Phoenix 	5:04
3 	(The Ballad Of) The Lucitania Express 	3:10
4 	No Laughing In Heaven	4:56
5 	Sacre Bleu 	3:02
6 	New Orleans	2:37
7 	Bite The Bullet 	4:49
8 	If I Sing Softly 	6:09
9 	Don't Want The Truth 	5:40
10 	For Your Dreams 	5:04
+
11 	One For The Road	3:00
12 	Bad News	3:04
13 	Take A Hold Of Yourself		4:40
14 	M.A.D.		3:09
15 	The Maelstrom (Longer Than The A Side)	5:07
16 	Trouble		2:37
17 	Your Sister's On My List	4:05
18 	Handles On Her Hips		2:09
19 	Higher And Higher	3:42
20 	I Might As Well Go Home (Mystic)	2:19	

Bass – John McCoy
Drums – Mick Underwood
Guitar – Bernie Tormé
Keyboards – Colin Towns
Vocals – Ian Gillan 

Ah, Gillan. Fronted of course by (then) ex and now current Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan. Born out of the jazz fusion (yes, you read that right) of the Ian Gillan Band, Gillan shone bright and fast over the glory days of the classic new wave of British heavy metal period.

Always put on a storming show as well as a few nights at the good old Sheffield City Hall bear testament to. Can’t recall which tours I was them on but probably Glory Road and Future Shock. Pretty sure the tour programmes are up in the loft somewhere. Might go have a look after posting this – who knows what I’ll find…….

So – back to Gillan. The band consisted of the one and only Mr John McCoy on the bass, Colin Towns on the keys, drummer Mick Underwood and the excellent (and with a somewhat unique sound) Bernie Torme on guitar.

Mr Universe appeared all the way back in 1979 as their debit and saw some instant success though it failed to save their record company from going belly up. In stepped Virgin records with a new deal just as NWOBHM was taking off and the group’s popularity grew. Mr Universe was followed up in 1980 with Glory Road which was even more successful. I think I had that album once.

But for me the timeless classic of Gillan’s output was what came next – the monumental Future Shock. Even now I can remember buying that one Friday afternoon from a branch of Bradleys in Sheffield. The amazing cover and the sci-fi influenced prints in the inner cover booklet type thingy. Man, if this sounds as good as it looks when I get home I’ll be very happy. And it did…..

Title track Future Shock kicks you right in the ‘nads – it’s brutal. The Lucitania Express will have you shouting out the chorus and the hit (yes, they were on Top of the Pops) single No Laughing will give you a smirk with it’s lyrics and pseudo-rap. There’s not a weak point anywhere with everything top notch. It’s heavy, melodic, well crafted and never bettered by anything Gillan did with this band or any other.

Sadly however Future Shock did mark the beginning of the end. Money issues became more of an, er, issue and people became somewhat disgruntled to say the least. Torme left and was replaced by ex White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers who would later find fame with Iron Maiden. Gillan plus Gers released two albums – Double Trouble and their finale – Magic but that was the end of the road after the tour to promote Magic.

A short but memorable career for the band with surely Future Shock being the legacy. Seriously recommend getting it yourself for a taste of not only the NWOBHM era but also for what it is – an absolute classic from a bloke associated by most with Deep Purple. I think Future Shock is better….! ---newwaveofbritishheavymetal.com

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