Roger Glover

Biography

Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh musician, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as a bass guitarist and member of the hard rock band Deep Purple and formerly Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016.

Early career

Glover was born near Brecon, Wales, and moved with his family to the South Kensington area of London at the age of nine. Around that time, his interests started to shift towards rock music, and by the time he was thirteen, he began playing guitar.
He later moved to the North London district of Pinner, and while at Harrow County School for Boys he formed his first band, Madisons, with a group of friends; in time this merged with a rival band to become Episode Six, a band which later featured Glover's future Deep Purple bandmate, vocalist Ian Gillan. The two left Episode Six in 1969 to join Deep Purple.

Deep Purple and solo

Glover spent four years (1969–1973) with Deep Purple, during which the band saw their most successful releases in the albums Deep Purple in Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, Who Do We Think We Are and the live album Made in Japan. He is credited with developing the title for the band's iconic song "Smoke on the Water", thus inspiring the song's lyrics which were written by Ian Gillan. Glover says the title came to him when he awoke from a dream two days after the famous fire over Lake Geneva. While he liked the title, he was reluctant to have the band use it because he initially thought it sounded like a drug song. Glover also developed the guitar riff to "Maybe I'm a Leo", stating, "I wrote the riff to 'Maybe I'm a Leo' after hearing John Lennon's 'How Do You Sleep?'."
Glover contributed bass on Jon Lord's first solo album, Gemini Suite (1971), and was the featured soloist in the bass movement.
Glover departed Deep Purple, along with Gillan, after the band's second tour of Japan in June 1973.
Throughout the 1970s Glover produced albums and/or singles by such acts as Judas Priest, Nazareth, Elf, Status Quo, the Ian Gillan Band and David Coverdale.
In 1974 Glover released his first solo album, The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast, which generated the single "Love Is All×Love Is AllDecember 1975 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 3 tracksALove Is All3:16B1Old Blind Mole1:07B2Magician Moth1:34", featuring lead vocals by Ronnie James Dio. The single did little in the UK, but became an unexpected number one hit song in the Netherlands, Belgium, and Australia. The song came with an animated music video starring a guitar-playing frog. In 1978 Glover's second album followed: Elements×Elements1978 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 5 tracksA1The First Ring Made of Clay7:45A2The Next a Ring of Fire9:45B1The Third Ring’s Watery Flow9:00B2The Fourth Ring’s With the Wind6:33B3Finale2:17.
From 1979 to 1984 he was the bassist, lyricist and producer for Ritchie Blackmore's band, Rainbow, working on four of the group's studio albums.
In 1983 he recorded his third solo album, Mask, released the next year.
When Deep Purple reformed in April 1984, Glover returned to his old band where he has remained for the last four decades.
In 1988 Glover, along with fellow Deep Purple member Ian Gillan, recorded the side-project album Accidentally on Purpose. Almost two decades later Glover played with Gillan during Gillan's brief solo tour in 2006.
In 2002 Glover released his fourth post-DP album, entitled Snapshot×Snapshot2 September 2002 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1My Turn3:292Burn Me Up Slowly4:023Beyond Emily4:024Queen of England4:205No Place to Go3:316The Bargain Basement3:207What You Don't Say3:448Nothing Else4:089Could Have Been Me3:2210The More I Find2:4311When It Comes to You3:3112Some Hope5:0513If I Could Fly4:1214It's Only Life5:06, under the name Roger Glover and the Guilty Party. The album featured performances from Randall Bramblett (who shared co-writing credits on several tracks) as well as Glover's daughter, Gillian.

In 2011 he released his second Guilty Party album, If Life Was Easy×If Life Was Easy11 July 2011 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 16 tracks1Don't Look Now (Everything Has Changed)4:062Box of Tricks3:343Moonlight2:484The Car Won't Start3:335The Dream I Had3:276Stand Together4:477If Life Was Easy2:318Welcome to the Moon2:329Set Your Imagination Free3:3510When Life Gets to the Bone2:5811When the Day Is Done2:5612Staring Into Space3:4013Get Away (Can't Let You)3:2814The Ghost of Your Smile4:3015Cruel World2:2116Feel Like a King3:44, which featured guest appearances by Nazareth's Dan McCafferty and Pete Agnew as well as Walther Gallay and Daniel "Sahaj" Ticotin.

Notable collaborations and performances

In an interview for the Come Hell or High Water concert-documentary, he described how he was once forced to perform lead vocals for an entire Deep Purple concert in the 1970s due to Ian Gillan's illness. In 2021, he performed co-lead vocals on one track (The Battle of New Orleans) on the Turning to Crime album, the first time he has performed vocals of any kind on a Deep Purple record.
In 2001 Glover was among a host of bass players who contributed to Gov't Mule's double album The Deep End, recorded as a tribute to the late Allen Woody, Mule's original bassist. Glover played on Deep Purple's "Maybe I'm a Leo", which was one of Woody's favourite songs. On 3 May 2003, in New Orleans, Glover also took part in a special concert performed by Gov't Mule featuring appearances from all bass players who had contributed to The Deep End album.

On 7 October 2007 Glover joined his former bandmate Jon Lord to perform Concerto for Group and Orchestra at the Royal & Derngate in Northampton. The concert also featured the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann.
In 2008 Glover played bass on a charity single called "Lucy's Song", written and produced by David Domminney of Rogue Studios in London and available at iTunes. Income from the sale went to The Linda McCartney Cancer Centre (specifically to promote their Field of Women event which took place at Liverpool Cricket Club on 6 July 2008).
On 21 March 2012 Ian Paice was playing a gig with the Deep Purple tribute band Purpendicular in Pratteln, Switzerland. The band received a surprise reinforcement as Roger Glover "happened to be in the neighbourhood" and joined them on stage.

Personal life

Glover has been married twice and has three daughters. The eldest, musician Gillian Glover (born 1976), is from his first marriage. He currently lives in Switzerland with his partner and their two daughters.

Gear

Roger Glover played Fender Precision, Fender Mustang and Rickenbacker 4001 basses during his early years with Deep Purple. In late 1970s, he used a Gibson Thunderbird. In the mid-1980s Roger used Peavey Foundation with a neck from Peavey Fury Bass. Since the mid-1990s, he has used Vigier Bass Guitars, SWR heads and cabinets, and Picato and Ernie Ball Inc. strings.