Gilla Band

Ian Gillan formed the Gilla Band in December 1975, inspired by his appearance at The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper's Feast. Originally called Shand Grenade, they changed their name to The Ian Gillan Band for commercial reasons. The original line-up included Ian Gillan on vocals, Ray Fenwick on guitar, John Gustafson on bass, Mark Nauseef on drums, and Mike Moran on keyboards.

In February 1976, Mike Moran left the band and was replaced by Mickey Lee Soule, who was later replaced by Colin Towns in May of that year. This line-up remained for the next two years. However, in June 1978, Ian disbanded the band as he wanted to produce a much harder sound. He and Towns went on to form [a374018] in July 1978.