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Lead up to the Album:
- Before setting about recording, Ian debuted his new live band in Russia, arriving in Moscow on June 27th. Just a handful of gigs to warm them up, done as a four piece. Ian, Steve Morris, plus new bassist Brett Bloomfield (from Starship), and drummer Leonard Haze from Y&T. In Augist, Gillan, as they now seem to be calling themselves, played a long standing engagement in Denmark; festivals in Odense on the 10th and Skanderborg the next day.
- Rasmus Heide was at the shows – “It was a beautiful day, with the sun shining. Ian loved it but Steve wasn’t fond of playing outdoors in the daylight. Out of a set just over an hour long, they only did four old numbers, including ‘Maybe I’m A Leo’. While they were a little rough after just one rehearsal they sounded good. The bass player was a real livewire and Steve has grown immensely since the last tour, without keyboards or rhythm guitar he is working really hard and it sounds much better. At the second show Ian sensed the crowd were largely unresponsive, so they opened with ‘Smoke On The Water’ to get them going. ‘Black Night’ was also added.”
- “Toolbox”was recorded in 1991 in Battery Studios in Willesden, with production by Grammy-nominated
- Album released October 14, 1991
Core Band:
- Bass – Brett Bloomfield
- Drums – Leonard Haze
- Guitar – Leslie West (tracks: 1)
- Guitar – Steve Morris (2)
Technical:
- Engineer – Chris Tsangaradis*
- Engineer [Assistant] – Wood*
- Producer – Chris Tsangaradis*
- Management – Al Dutton, Performing Artistes Network Ltd.*, Phil Banfield

Album Art & Booklet Review
- Sleeve [Sleeve Design], Design [Sleeve Design] – Electric Echo
- Photography By – Ian Gillan, Julian Calverley
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Album Tracks:
All tracks by Ian Gillan and Steve Morris except where noted. Notes from Ian Gillan’s Wordography where available.
- Hang Me Out to Dry (Gillan, Leslie West)
- Leslie West
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leslie_West
- I’d always admired the sound Leslie West got from his guitar; witness ‘Mississippi Queen’ by Mountain. So I invited him over to stay with me and do some work. This was the result. Another bout of lyrical introspection; however I feel comfortable with the words, even though I can’t remember exactly what inspired them (and it would be unfair to guess).
- We recorded the tracks in London before Leslie had to go home. For some reason (technical if I remember rightly) there was a problem with the solo. Consequently it was replaced by a Steve Morris solo, and everyone was happy with the result. Everybody except Leslie that is, who went bonkers when I next saw him in Sweden and accidentally made my nose bleed when he gave me a friendly hug whilst screaming at the top of his voice….’what happened to my f…..g solo?’
- It’s still a cool track in my book.
- Toolbox
- Dirty Dog
- Candy Horizon
- Don’t Hold Me Back
- Pictures of Hell
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Deep Dive Podcast Network:
Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.
Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer
For More Information:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toolbox_(album)
- https://www.discogs.com/release/2443983-Gillan-Toolbox
- https://www.discogs.com/release/9592217-Gillan-Toolbox
- https://musicbrainz.org/release/06281dc1-be7e-3286-b601-8dea7b543131
- Darker Than Blue – Issue 42 December 1991
- https://www.gillan.com/naked-toolbox-cherkaszoo.html
Listener Mail/Comments
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