It might seem like a no-brainer to former DEEP PURPLE members to pursue a hard rock route after they were out of the ensemble’s fold, yet some of them were quite willing to experiment. Of course, those who first spring to mind in this regard are Jon Lord and Ian Paice – before joining David Coverdale in WHITESNAKE, the two had an interesting combo with Tony Ashton – but Ian Gillan found some pleasure in going out of a limb too. The singer would find solid success with GILLAN in the late ’70s, only that collective followed another of his endeavors, IAN GILLAN BAND, a jazz-rock outfit with a legacy of three studio albums and assorted concert and outtakes releases, mostly issued via the now-defunct Angel Air label. All of those records now are to be gathered into a comprehensive box set and see the light of day on February 27th, 2026.
