Mr. Universe (album)

Mr. Universe
Studio album by Gillan
Released	October 1979
Recorded	Kingsway Recorders, London, UK, April 1979 – June 1979
Genre	Hard rock, heavy metal
Length	44:09
Label	Acrobat
Producer	Paul "Chas" Watkins Ian Gillan Colin Towns John McCoy
Gillan chronology
Gillan (1978) Mr. Universe (1979) Glory Road (1980)
Alternative cover
Cover of the Japanese release

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]

Mr. Universe is the second album by the British rock band Gillan, and the first with the classic line-up with Gillan, Towns, McCoy, Tormé and Underwood. Released in October 1979. The album reached No. 11 in the UK album charts.

Track listing

• All songs written by Ian Gillan and Colin Towns except where noted.

Side 1

1. "Second Sight" – (2.33) (Towns)
2. "Secret of the Dance" – (2.54)
3. "She Tears Me Down" – (5.07) (Towns)
4. "Roller" – (4.43)
5. "Mr Universe" – (6.14)

Side 2

1. "Vengeance" – (3.34)
2. "Puget Sound" – (4.23) (Gillan, Towns, McCoy, Tormé, Underwood)
3. "Dead of Night" – (4.04)
4. "Message in a Bottle" – (3.09)
5. "Fighting Man" – (7.28) (Towns)*

* Recorded at an earlier session (July/August 1978) with a different line-up and can be found on the original Japanese version of the album Gillan. Musicians for this track were Ian Gillan, Colin Towns, John McCoy, Steve Byrd (guitar) and Liam Genockey (drums).

Alternative version

A variant of the album was also released in 1979 in Japan (East World), Australia (Interfusion) and New Zealand (Parlophone) only. The release contained alternative tracks to avoid reusing songs already released in these countries on the album Gillan. The track listing was as follows:

Side 1

1. "Vengeance" – (3.34)
2. "Mr. Universe" – (6.14)
3. "She Tears Me Down" – (5.08) (Towns)
4. "Your Sister's on My List" – (4.09) ***

Side 2

1. "Street Theatre" – (2.42) (Towns)*
2. "Roller" – (4.37)
3. "Puget Sound" – (4.26) (Gillan, Towns, McCoy, Tormé, Underwood)
4. "Move with the Times" – (5.00) (Gillan, Towns, McCoy)*
5. "Sleeping on the Job" – (3.34) **

Total running time 39.24

* These appear on the 1993 RPM release Gillan – The Japanese Album, see Gillan
** This version has not yet been released on CD
***Used as a B-side to the UK "Trouble" single and appears on the first release of Future Shock on CD as a bonus track

1989 Re-release

In 1989 the album was re-released in CD format on the Virgin label. The revised track listing was as follows:

1. "Second Sight" – (2.33) (Towns)
2. "Secret of the Dance" – (2.54)
3. "She Tears Me Down" (5.08) (Towns)
4. "Roller" – (4.43)
5. "Mr. Universe" – (6.14)
6. "Vengeance" – (3.34)
7. "Puget Sound" – (4.23) (Gillan, Towns, McCoy, Tormé, Underwood)
8. "Dead of Night" (4.04)
9. "Message in a Bottle" – (3.09)
10. "Fighting Man" – (7.28) (Towns)*
11. "On The Rocks" (live) – (6.38) **
12. "Bite The Bullet" (live) – (5.38) **
13. "Mr Universe" (live) – (7.20) ***
14. "Vengeance" (live) – (4.42) ***
15. "Smoke on the Water" (live) – (10.10) (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice)***
16. "Lucille" (live) – (2.32) (Penniman, Collins)****

Total running time 80.02

* Recorded at an earlier session with a different line-up and can be found on the original Japanese version of the Gillan album. Musicians were Ian Gillan, Colin Towns, John McCoy, Steve Byrd (guitar) and Liam Genocky (drums)

** Recorded at the Reading Festival 29 August 1981

*** Recorded at the Reading Festival 22 August 1980

**** Recorded at Nottingham Rock City 04 March 1981, previously unreleased, in 2009 was included on Live: Triple Trouble album

This version of the album was produced by Ian Gillan and Paul "Chas" Watkins, and mixed by John McCoy and Watkins.

2007 Re-release

Re-released in remastered Format with new sleevenotes by Ian Gillan by Demon Music Group

1. Second Sight
2. Secret of the Dance
3. She tears me down
4. Roller
5. Mr Universe
6. Vengeance
7. Puget Sound
8. Dead of Night
9. Message in a Bottle
10. Fighting Man
11. Smoke on the Water – Bonus Track (live at the Kingsway Recorders)

Personnel

• Ian Gillan – vocals, harmonica
• Bernie Tormé – guitar
• Colin Towns – keyboards, flute
• John McCoy – bass
• Mick Underwood – drums, percussion

Production notes

• Produced by Gillan/Paul "Chas" Watkins
• Engineered by Paul "Chas" Watkins
• Recorded at Kingsway Recorders, London, UK, April – June 1979

Sales accomplishments

Chart positions

Audio files

	"Secret of the Dance" This sample from the album clearly demonstrates the band's dramatic departure from the jazz-rock fusion sound of the Ian Gillan Band— 500 KB
Problems playing this file? See media help.

References