Hughes has carved a distinctive vocal style blending the finest elements of hard rock, soul and funk. That astonishing voice is Hughes' calling card. He's known as a singer's singer: in fact, Stevie Wonder once called Hughes his favorite white singer.
Hughes, a native of Cannock, England, absorbed all kinds of influences, including early British hard rock, the Beatles and, most importantly, American soul and R&B. The sleek Motown sound from Detroit and the gritty Stax/Volt sound from Memphis left their mark on him.
The first important band Hughes was a member of that achieved notable success was Trapeze, while in 1973 he joined one of the most popular bands in the world, Deep Purple. The trailblazing hard-rock legends had just weathered the departure of vocalist Ian Gillan and bass guitarist Roger Glover, but guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice continued with the addition of Hughes and David Coverdale. Any skepticism was squelched with the 1974 release of Burn. This stunning album rejuvenated the band and stands tall among Deep Purple classics.
In the halcyon days, Purple headlined at the famous California Jam in 1974 in front of quarter of a million people. World tours via Purple's own jet plane, 'The Starship' and two more studio albums later, (the Hughes influenced Stormbringer and Come Taste the Band), Deep Purple finally split in 1976.
Now living in Los Angeles, Hughes' first solo album Play Me Out was released in 1977. He joined former Pat Travers guitarist Pat Thrall to form Hughes/Thrall, which released an acclaimed self-titled album in 1982. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Hughes made countless guest appearances (both credited and un-credited) as a vocalist, bass guitarist or songwriter on other artists' albums, in particular he appeared on the vastly underrated Seventh Star, was officially credited as 'Black Sabbath Featuring Tony Iommi'. Hughes and Iommi remained friends and in the past few years they have released one brand new studio album together.
More commercial recognition came when the KLF dubbed Hughes 'The Voice of Rock', proudly featuring him on their international best selling hit single America- What Time is Love'
Since 1992, Hughes has toured extensively in Europe, Japan and South America in support of solo albums such as Blues, From Now On..., Feel, Addiction, The Way It Is, Return Of Crystal Karma, Building The Machine, Songs In The Key Of Rock, Soul Mover and Music For The Divine.
Soul Mover saw the continuation of the successful creative partnership with Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith that began with Glenn's live DVD Soulfully Live in the City of Angels (2004). Soul Mover was voted 12th best album of the year by highly influential UK magazine CLASSIC ROCK.
After the release of his album Music For The Divine in 2006, 2007 saw Hughes make successful tours of Russia, South America, Italy, Norway and Spain, along with solo dates in London - at the prestigious Shepherds Bush Empire - Bulgaria and Greece. 2007 also saw Hughes headline at festival appearances in France and Norway. Hughes also took part in the Rock and Roll Fantasy Camp in New York, which was highly successful and he also appeared as a guest presenter at the Classic Rock Awards in both 2006 and 2007. Another highlight of a diverse and colorful year were the 2 sold out solo shows at the famous Whisky in Los Angeles and BB King's in New York.
2008 saw Hughes undertake another extensive European tour; including a month long trek across Russia, festival appearances, and his first live shows in Belarus, Estonia and Romania. Another highlight was Hughes' appearance in London at the Childline Charity concert in March 2008 where he performed a short set of Deep Purple classics with Purple drummer Ian Paice. This was particularly poignant as it was the first time the pair had played together since the Purple days. Ironically, in June 2008, Hughes played in Liverpool, England for the first time in over 30 years; a triumphant and emotional return to the city where Deep Purple Mark IV played their final ever concert before disbanding in 1976.
Other highlights of 2008 include Hughes' live on air performance on the USA radio show Rockline, and his first appearance in New Zealand since 1975 with Deep Purple, when Hughes brought the house down at the G-Taranaki Festival in July.
Hughes' album, the 2008 release "First Underground Nuclear Kitchen"
Chad Smith again plays out of his skin on the drums, and Hughes has rarely - if ever - sounded more inspired, written with such grace, or sung with more passion.
Another world jaunt accompanied the release, carrying on into 2009 with tours of Europe, Russia, South America and selected shows in the States including sell out shows in LA and NYC.
2010 was one of the most exciting and prolific years in Hughes' career as it saw him recording and touring in a new supergroup project, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION with guitar star Joe Bonamassa, keyboard player Derek Sherinian (Dream Theatre) and drummer Jason Bonham, son of the late Led Zeppelin legend John Bonham. The band released their debut album on September 20th, 2010. The album went to #13 in the Official UK Album Chart and #1 in the Official UK Rock Album Chart. Produced and mixed by Kevin Shirley (Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, The Black Crowes, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant, Journey etc), this is yet another world-class musical statement that raises the bar for rock singing.
In November 2010, Hughes was awarded the ChildLine Award at Classic Rock's Roll of Honour.
Hughes and Black Country Communion released their second album, "2", in 2011, followed shortly afterwards, by their debut live tour encompassing the USA, UK and Europe. Their third release, "LIVE OVER EUROPE", recorded live while on the European leg of their debut tour, reached the Top 5 spot world-wide with releases on DVD, CD, Blu-ray and Vinyl.
Hughes had his AUTOBIOGRAPHY published in 2011, in both hard and soft cover editions. The Number 1 best seller is available at all good retailers, both online and at traditional brick & mortar stores!
In November 2011, Black Country Communion won the prestigious Classic Rock Breakthrough Artist of the Year award at the Classic Rock Awards in London, with Glenn collecting the award on behalf of the band.
2012 saw Hughes touring Russia as a solo artist and also South America as a member of the Rock and Roll AllStars, featuring his good friends Gene Simmons, Matt Sorum, and Joe Elliot amongst others. Hughes also did solo shows and guest appearances in the UK, Israel, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Russia, Ukraine, China and Armenia but his main focus in 2012 was the writing, recording and press promotion for the third Black Country Communion album, "AFTERGLOW". Released worldwide in late October 2012, and again produced by Kevin Shirley, the album was another huge success for the band, and is possibly the most Hughes dominated album of the three, with many of the songs written solely by Glenn.
2013 saw Hughes embarking on some exciting new projects, with the best yet to come from this most eclectic, talented and inspired musician and songwriter.
Dark Star
Glenn Hughes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Cos I am not a fool
You're asking me the questions
And I will overrule
Down in Mississippi
On a road they watch the sky
There's something in the distance
And they choke and wonder why
Call the military
And the secret war defense
Let's make a big production
And capture the events
I'm not a fortuneteller
Now don't you hesitate
There's no communication
And I hope it's not too late
It's important to you
It's important to me
It's important to everyone
Another dark star fallin'
Another dark star callin'
Another dark star fallin'
Another dark star callin'
Take it to the government
The General's in a room
Take it to the preachers
Let 'em hear the sonic boom
Slipping into darkness
The hours getting late
Now tell me do you understand
We must evacuate
The lyrics to Glenn Hughes's song "Dark Star" describe a situation where something unidentified is spotted in the distance and creates fear among the people. The singer in the song talks about the need to take immediate action and inform the authorities. People are choking and wondering what the object could be, and the singer calls for military involvement and secret war defense. Despite not being a fortuneteller, he hints at the importance of understanding and communicating about the situation before it's too late. The urgency in his voice is felt when he mentions slipping into darkness, and the need to evacuate.
Overall, the song Dark Star is a representation of the fear and desperation that arises when people encounter something unknown. It’s also a commentary on the importance of being prepared, staying informed, and taking swift action when something out of the ordinary occurs. The lyrics use the dark star as a metaphor for an unknown object or event that could either bring destruction or could have a positive outcome depending on how we respond to it.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't want to shout it now
I don't want to be loud about this yet.
Cos I am not a fool
Because I'm not stupid.
You're asking me the questions
You're the one interviewing me.
And I will overrule
But I have the authority to contradict.
Down in Mississippi
In Mississippi.
On a road they watch the sky
On a road where they observe the sky.
There's something in the distance
There's an object in the distance.
And they choke and wonder why
And they gasp and question what it is.
Call the military
Report this to the military.
And the secret war defense
And the group responsible for military secrets.
Let's make a big production
Let's make a big deal of this.
And capture the events
Capture the occurrence.
I'm not a fortuneteller
I can't see the future.
Now don't you hesitate
Don't be indecisive.
There's no communication
There's a lack of communication.
And I hope it's not too late
And I hope there's still time to fix it.
It's important to you
It matters to you.
It's important to me
It matters to me.
It's important to everyone
It matters to everyone.
Another dark star fallin'
Another falling dark star.
Another dark star callin'
Another dark star beckoning.
Another dark star fallin'
Another falling dark star.
Another dark star callin'
Another dark star beckoning.
Take it to the government
Bring this to the government's attention.
The General's in a room
The General is currently in a room.
Take it to the preachers
Bring this to the preachers.
Let 'em hear the sonic boom
Let them hear the loud noise.
Slipping into darkness
Fading into oblivion.
The hours getting late
Time is running out.
Now tell me do you understand
So, do you comprehend?
We must evacuate
We need to leave immediately.
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: GLENN HUGHES, JOAKIM KURT MARSH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind