Gary Thain
Encyclopedia
Gary Mervin Thain was a rock
bassist
, best known for his work with British
band
, Uriah Heep
.
, New Zealand
, Thain was part of the rock trio The New Nadir, and with the drummer
Peter Dawkins
, he travelled from New Zealand to London
, and once jammed
with Jimi Hendrix
before the trio split in 1969.
Thain joined the Keef Hartley Band and, in 1971, they toured with Uriah Heep
; they asked him to join them (replacing Mark Clarke) in February 1972, and he stayed in the band until February 1975. He played on four studio
album
s: Demons & Wizards
, The Magician's Birthday
, Sweet Freedom
and Wonderworld
as well as their live album
, entitled Uriah Heep Live
.
During his last tour with Uriah Heep, Thain suffered an electric shock
at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas
, Texas
on 15 September 1974, and was seriously injured. Due to his drug addiction he was not able to perform properly, and was fired by the band in early 1975 and replaced by former King Crimson
bassist/vocalist, John Wetton
. Thain died of respiratory failure
due to a heroin overdose
, on 8 December 1975, aged 27.
- A Side
: "My Blue Heaven"
- B Side
: "The Dark at the Top of The Stairs"
- A Side: "Pretend"
- B Side: "Alright"
- A Side: "Can't Help Forgiving You"
- B Side: "I'll Never Be Blue"
- A Side: "It's You"
- B Side: "You're Wrong"
- A Side: "Me and the Others"
- B Side: "Love Is Not a Game"
- A Side: "Ba La Fouche" (MT/Jack Dupree)
- B Side: "Kansas City" (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
)
- A Side: "Don't Be Afraid"
- B Side: "Hickory"
- A Side: "Halfbread"
- B Side: "Waiting Around"
- A Side: "Just to Cry"
- B Side: "Leave It 'Til The Morning"
- A Side: "Plain Talkin'"
- B Side: "We Are All the Same"
- A Side: "Roundabout"
- B Side: "Roundabout pt 2"
- A Side: "Dance to the Music"
- B Side: "You and Me"
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
bassist
Bassist
A bass player, or bassist is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass, bass guitar, keyboard bass or a low brass instrument such as a tuba or sousaphone. Different musical genres tend to be associated with one or more of these instruments...
, best known for his work with British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band
Musical ensemble
A musical ensemble is a group of people who perform instrumental or vocal music. In classical music, trios or quartets either blend the sounds of musical instrument families or group together instruments from the same instrument family, such as string ensembles or wind ensembles...
, Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
.
Biography
Born in ChristchurchChristchurch
Christchurch is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand, and the country's second-largest urban area after Auckland. It lies one third of the way down the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula which itself, since 2006, lies within the formal limits of...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, Thain was part of the rock trio The New Nadir, and with the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
Peter Dawkins
Peter Dawkins (musician)
Peter Dawkins is a New Zealand-born record producer and musician, best known for his hit 1970s productions for Australian-based pop artists, including Dragon, Australian Crawl and Air Supply. He has won multiple production awards, including the Countdown Producer of the Year...
, he travelled from New Zealand to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, and once jammed
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
with Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
before the trio split in 1969.
Thain joined the Keef Hartley Band and, in 1971, they toured with Uriah Heep
Uriah Heep (band)
Uriah Heep are an English rock band formed in London in 1969 and regarded as a seminal classic hard rock act of the 1970s. Uriah Heep's progressive/art rock/heavy metal fusion's distinctive features have always been massive keyboards sound, strong vocal harmonies and David Byron's operatic vocals...
; they asked him to join them (replacing Mark Clarke) in February 1972, and he stayed in the band until February 1975. He played on four studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s: Demons & Wizards
Demons & Wizards (Uriah Heep album)
Demons and Wizards is the fourth album released by British rock band Uriah Heep.The original vinyl release was a gatefold sleeve, the front of which was designed by Roger Dean and contains a hidden erotic image of male and female genitalia...
, The Magician's Birthday
The Magician's Birthday
The Magician's Birthday is the fifth album released by British rock band Uriah Heep. The story line is "based loosely on a short story" written by Ken Hensley in June and July 1972....
, Sweet Freedom
Sweet Freedom
Sweet Freedom is the sixth studio album released by British rock band Uriah Heep.The original vinyl release was as a gatefold-sleeve, reproducing the lyrics within. There was also a central page with a photograph of each band member...
and Wonderworld
Wonderworld (album)
Released in 1974, Wonderworld is the seventh album released by British rock band Uriah Heep.The original vinyl release was a single sleeve, with the lyrics reproduced on the inner-liner.The album was the last to feature bass player Gary Thain...
as well as their live album
Live album
A live album is a recording consisting of material recorded during stage performances using remote recording techniques, commonly contrasted with a studio album...
, entitled Uriah Heep Live
Uriah Heep Live
Uriah Heep Live is a 1973 double live album by British rock group Uriah Heep. In addition to a live version of the band's hit "Easy Livin'", the record includes classic live cuts such as "Sweet Lorraine", "Sunrise" and an extended live version of "July Morning"...
.
During his last tour with Uriah Heep, Thain suffered an electric shock
Electric shock
Electric Shock of a body with any source of electricity that causes a sufficient current through the skin, muscles or hair. Typically, the expression is used to denote an unwanted exposure to electricity, hence the effects are considered undesirable....
at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas
Dallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
on 15 September 1974, and was seriously injured. Due to his drug addiction he was not able to perform properly, and was fired by the band in early 1975 and replaced by former King Crimson
King Crimson
King Crimson are a rock band founded in London, England in 1969. Often categorised as a foundational progressive rock group, the band have incorporated diverse influences and instrumentation during their history...
bassist/vocalist, John Wetton
John Wetton
John Kenneth Wetton is an English bassist, guitarist, keyboardist, singer and songwriter. He was born in Willington, Derbyshire, and grew up in Bournemouth. He has been a professional musician since the late 1960s...
. Thain died of respiratory failure
Respiratory failure
The term respiratory failure, in medicine, is used to describe inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, with the result that arterial oxygen and/or carbon dioxide levels cannot be maintained within their normal ranges. A drop in blood oxygenation is known as hypoxemia; a rise in arterial...
due to a heroin overdose
Drug overdose
The term drug overdose describes the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities greater than are recommended or generally practiced...
, on 8 December 1975, aged 27.
Keef Hartley Band
- HalfbreedHalfbreed (album)Halfbreed is the debut album by the Keef Hartley Band.-1969 LP:Deram SML 1037 , DES 18024 # "Sacked " Halfbreed is the debut album by the Keef Hartley Band.-1969 LP:Deram SML 1037 (UK), DES 18024 (US)# "Sacked (Introducing Hearts and Flowers)" Halfbreed is the debut album by the Keef Hartley...
(1969) - The Battle of North West SixThe Battle of North West SixThe Battle of North West Six is the second album by the Keef Hartley Band. At the time, Hartley's six-piece group was appearing augmented with a brass section as The Keef Hartley Big Band, and a number of songs on the album feature this extended line-up....
(1969) - The Time is NearThe Time is NearThe Time Is Near is the third album by the Keef Hartley Band.-1970 LP:Deram SML 1071 , DES 18047 All songs written by Miller Anderson, except "Premonition", written by Dave CaswellTracks 1, 7 recorded at Trident Studios in December 1969...
(1970) - Little Big Band Live at The Marquee 1971 (1971)
- OverdogOverdogOverdog is the fourth album by the Keef Hartley Band.-1971 LP:Deram SDL 2 , DES 18057 All songs written by Miller Anderson, except * "Enroute", written by Keef Hartley and Gary Thain*"Imitations From Home", written by Keef Hartley...
(1971) - Seventy-Second BraveSeventy-Second BraveSeventy-Second Brave is the fifth album by the Keef Hartley Band.-1972 LP:Deram SDL 9 , XDES 18065 # "Heartbreakin' Woman" - 4:18# "Marin County" - 3:55# "Hard Pill To Swallow" - 5:40...
(1972)
Uriah Heep
- Demons and Wizards (1972)
- The Magician's BirthdayThe Magician's BirthdayThe Magician's Birthday is the fifth album released by British rock band Uriah Heep. The story line is "based loosely on a short story" written by Ken Hensley in June and July 1972....
(1972) - Uriah Heep LiveUriah Heep LiveUriah Heep Live is a 1973 double live album by British rock group Uriah Heep. In addition to a live version of the band's hit "Easy Livin'", the record includes classic live cuts such as "Sweet Lorraine", "Sunrise" and an extended live version of "July Morning"...
(1973) - Sweet FreedomSweet FreedomSweet Freedom is the sixth studio album released by British rock band Uriah Heep.The original vinyl release was as a gatefold-sleeve, reproducing the lyrics within. There was also a central page with a photograph of each band member...
(1973) - WonderworldWonderworld (album)Released in 1974, Wonderworld is the seventh album released by British rock band Uriah Heep.The original vinyl release was a single sleeve, with the lyrics reproduced on the inner-liner.The album was the last to feature bass player Gary Thain...
(1974)
The Strangers
- 1963:
- A Side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
: "My Blue Heaven"
- B Side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
: "The Dark at the Top of The Stairs"
- 1964:
- A Side: "Pretend"
- B Side: "Alright"
- 1965:
- A Side: "Can't Help Forgiving You"
- B Side: "I'll Never Be Blue"
The Secrets
- 1965:
- A Side: "It's You"
- B Side: "You're Wrong"
- 1966
- A Side: "Me and the Others"
- B Side: "Love Is Not a Game"
Champion Jack Dupree
- 1969
- A Side: "Ba La Fouche" (MT/Jack Dupree)
- B Side: "Kansas City" (Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
Jerome "Jerry" Leiber and Mike Stoller were American songwriting and record producing partners. Stoller was the composer and Leiber the lyricist. Their most famous songs include "Hound Dog", "Jailhouse Rock", "Kansas City", "Stand By Me" Jerome "Jerry" Leiber (April 25, 1933 – August 22, 2011)...
)
Keef Hartley Band
- 1969
- A Side: "Don't Be Afraid"
- B Side: "Hickory"
- 1969
- A Side: "Halfbread"
- B Side: "Waiting Around"
- 1969
- A Side: "Just to Cry"
- B Side: "Leave It 'Til The Morning"
- 1969
- A Side: "Plain Talkin'"
- B Side: "We Are All the Same"
- 1970:
- A Side: "Roundabout"
- B Side: "Roundabout pt 2"
- 1973:
- A Side: "Dance to the Music"
- B Side: "You and Me"