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Lead up to the Album:
- Tom Galley spearheaded this project which took two years to complete. His goal was to bring this forward as a concept album using music, words, film, and painting.
- He paired with a painter, Ian Lowe, to illustrate the songs on the album.
- A promo video was made to act as a trailer for the single “Dance With The Devil” in Europe.
- For the US they made a video for “Kiss Of Fire.” In Kerrang they said they were unsure whether it would be this track or “Still The Night.”
- They also announced in Kerrang that they were working on a 70-minute long form video. This doesn’t appear to ever have been completed.
- Tom Galley talks about there being a large number of cinemas where he grew up in Staffordshire, his mother working at one.
- Galley mentions movies such as “This Island Earth” (1955), “The Day The Earth Stood Still” (1951), and “Jack The Giant Killer” (1962) referencing them as classics.
- He was always into science fiction and fantasy adventures more than war movies or westerns.
- He references American culture’s input into movies being an influence as well.
- He also references E.T., Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Stephen King’s Dead Zone.
- Galley began scripting a storyboard for his ideas.
- Presented are nine songs which each encapsulate one of the fantasies or visions related to the songs.
- The plot is described in Kerrang as such:
- The story concerns Professor Limit who has constructed a machine capable of transmitting telepathic energy created by the brain, aided by his nine-year-old daughter, Lucy, a natural telepath (the girl is actually the daughter of Limit’s wife and his former lab assistant, Chasen!). When the military becomes unhealthily interested in his experiment Limit seeks help from an influential friend called Frame to whom he demonstrates the machine’s power. In a further experiment Limit is killed and Lucy becomes inseparably linked to the machine. Frame calls on her natural father, Chasen, to rescue the girl by linking himself to the machine and leading her out of the world of fantasy into which she has plunged. The nine songs represent various confrontations through which they pass.
- Galley mentions the mirror scene in “Enter The Dragon” as a visual inspiration for the confrontation that Lucy has.
- The confrontations occur during the nine songs, each as a different struggle between good and evil.
- Tom said he thought the process would take a long time working with the people he was working with. He didn’t want to duplicate “War of the Worlds” and wanted to start looking at it in an audio/visual light.
- He felt himself getting carried away with the long form video so he enlisted Pete Winkleman of Arista Records who was interested in the project, Pete guided him to take it one step at a time.
- It mentions in the second issue of Kerrang that people such as Cozy Powell and Don Airey are not likely to be kicked out of their respective bands (ELP and Alaska) if the album isn’t a success. Tom Galley, on the other hand, is described as having his “every possession (house, wife, cat, record collection) has been placed in hock over the last couple of years in order to keep the project alive before a record company was prepared to step in and take up the financial reins and responsibilities.”
- They mention that the success of a future movie, etc. are dependent on how the album sells.
- Galley says he’d approached Ozzy Osbourne about doing the album and that he was going to do it but there was always some problem.
Technical:
- Engineer [Assistant, Mixing] – Dave Kemp*
- Worked with Uriah Heep.
- Engineer [Recording, Air Studios] – Jon Jacobs (tracks: A2)
- https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/artist/jon-jacobs/
- Worked with Geoff Emerick, George Martin, and Paul McCartney.
- Engineer [Recording, Magritte Studios] – Dan Priest (tracks: B2)
- Producer. Worked with Paul Rodgers
- Engineer [Recording] – Paul Robbins (2) (tracks: A1, A3 to B1, B3 to B5)
- Worked with Roger Chapman and Trapeze.
- Mixed By – Jon Jacobs
- Producer, Mixed By, Concept By – Tom Galley
- Recorded At – The Old Smithy Recording Studio
- Recorded At – Britannia Row Studios
- Recorded At – The Chocolate Factory
- Recorded At – Magritte Studios
- Recorded At – Air Studios
- Mixed At – Roundhouse Studios
Album Art & Booklet Reew
- Artwork [Front Cover] – Icon (21)
- Founded by Andrew Chapman
- Album Covers for Radiohead (Pablo Honey), Pink Floyd (Momentary Lapse of Reason), Abba (Gold), Krokus, The Who, Deep Purple’s Nobody’s Perfect.
- Artwork [Front Cover], Design [Book] – Richard Evans (7)
- https://www.rdevans.com/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Evans_(designer)
- Worked with Gentle Giant, The Who, Pink Floyd (Dark Side of the Moon, Animals),
- Painting – Ian Lowe (2)
- Did a previous album cover for Wishbone Ash.
- https://www.marineartists.co.uk/Artists/__IAN_LOWE_(British,_Contemporary)__/20129/artist.aspx
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Album Tracks:
Side One:
- Kiss of Fire (T. Galley, Bailey)
- Vampirism; the ability of some creatures, terrestrial or alien, to hypnotize or entrance their captives in order to make their kill. The protagonist needn’t be a vampire as such, however.
- Backing Vocals – Alison McGinnis, Pete Green*
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Green_%28musician%29
- Founding member of Fleetwood Mac
- Bass – Neil Murray
- Drums – Cozy Powell
- Guitar – John Thomas (6)
- Keyboards – Richard Bailey (3)
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Songwriter – Richard Bailey (3)
- Vocals – Glenn Hughes
- Still the Night (Hughes, Thrall, Delph)
- A conglomerate of all the different phenomena under investigation.
- Backing Vocals – Pete Green*
- Drums – Ted McKenna
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ted_McKenna
- Worked with The Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Rory Gallagher, The Michael Schenker Group, Gary Moore, and many more.
- Guitar – John Thomas (6), Mel Galley
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Delph
- Guitarist with Budgie and Voivod
- Keyboards – Robin Smith
- Songwriter – Pat Thrall, Paul Delph
- https://www.pauldelph.com/
- Worked with Suzi Quatro, Alice Cooper
- Sadly passed away in 1996.
- Vocals, Bass, Songwriter – Glenn Hughes
- Dance with the Devil (T. Galley, M. Galley, Bailey)
- The Dance of St. Vitus. Many evocations of spirts, demons and devils throughout the world begin with a ritual dance that builds to a frenzied crescendo.
- Backing Vocals – Alison McGinnis, Pete Green*
- Bass – Neil Murray
- Drums – Cozy Powell
- Fiddle – Rick Sanders*
- Guitar – John Thomas (6)
- Guitar, Songwriter – Mel Galley
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Songwriter – Richard Bailey (3)
- Vocals – Glenn Hughes
- Phoenix Rising (T. Galley, M. Galley, Bailey)
- Spontaneous human combustion. There have been numerous reports of such events, as if the soul itself had suddenly ignited from within to destroy the physical body.
- Backing Vocals – Alison McGinnis, Pete Green*
- Bass – Neil Murray
- Drums – Cozy Powell
- Guitar, Songwriter – Mel Galley
- Keyboards, Songwriter – Richard Bailey (3)
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Vocals – Glenn Hughes
Side Two:
- Believe (T. Galley, Bailey)
- Exorcism. Here the conflict involved is contained within one body, the self wrestling against the evil spirit that attempts to claim possession of the body.
- Backing Vocals – Alison McGinnis, Pete Green*
- Bass – Neil Murray
- Drums – Cozy Powell
- Guitar – John Thomas (6)
- Keyboards, Songwriter – Richard Bailey (3)
- Lyrics By – Tom Galley
- Vocals – Glenn Hughes
- Vocals [Boy Soloist] – Neil Willars
- Only Phenomena entries on Discogs
- Who’s Watching You (T. Galley, M. Galley)
- Ghosts and spirits. Just like “Ghostbusters” – the humans watching the ghosts haunting the humans!
- Drums – Ted McKenna
- Guitar, Songwriter, Backing Vocals – Mel Galley
- Keyboards – Don Airey
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Vocals, Bass, Backing Vocals – Glenn Hughes
- Hell on Wings (T. Galley, M. Galley, Bailey)
- The Battle Of The Somme. Where a beleaguered force of British troops are said to have been led to safety, away from the battle zone, by the appearance of a group of angels. The apparitions are seen in particular at sites of great destruction and devastation.
- Backing Vocals – Alison McGinnis, Pete Green*
- Bass – Neil Murray
- Drums – Cozy Powell
- Guitar, Songwriter – Mel Galley
- Keyboards, Songwriter – Richard Bailey (3)
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Vocals – Glenn Hughes
- Twilight Zone (T. Galley, Bailey)
- (it sez ‘ere) ‘David Stride, aged 25, Outlander . . . Mother and Father killed by Trigon’s Guards . . . raised by Chinese grandfather from the age of three . . . The terrain is hostile, barren and rocky. Inside the city the buildings are dark, dank and decaying the streets are run-down and strewn with litter.’ This one still has me foxed.
- Backing Vocals – Alison McGinnis, Paul Robbins (2), Pete Green*
- Bass – Neil Murray
- Drums – Cozy Powell
- Guitar – John Thomas (6), Mel Galley
- Keyboards, Songwriter – Richard Bailey (3)
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Vocals – Glenn Hughes
- Phenomena (T. Galley, Robbins)
- The final optimistic choral triumph of good over evil.
- Arranged By [Choral Arrangements], Songwriter – Paul Robbins (2)
- Choir – Midland Boys Singers
- Keyboards – Richard Bailey (3)
- Lyrics By, Songwriter – Tom Galley
- Music Director [Musical Director] – Alvena Grant, Peter Grant (4)
- Only credits are on Phenomena releases
- Vocals [Solo Vocalist] – Neil Willars
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Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet
Reception and Charts:
- Oddly the only mention this album gets in Glenn Hughes’s autobiography is in the discography section.
- Kerrang lists this album as the most ambitious project since Hawkwind’s “Space Ritual” or Pink Floyd’s “The Wall.”
Reviews
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/phenomena-mw0000766750?1689813539412
- Phenomena Review by Greg Prato
- Supergroups have been common in the realm of hard rock for decades — some have worked wonders (Cream), while some, well, stunk (too many to mention). One of the more obscure ones to surface was the ’80s outfit Phenomena, who debuted in 1985 with a self-titled release, and featured contributions from the likes of Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple), Don Airey (Ozzy Osbourne), and a trio of ex-Whitesnake members — Mel Galley, Neil Murray, and Cozy Powell. Those expecting tough, rip-roaring heavy metal may be a bit disappointed by the album (which features a cover shot of a young girl quite reminiscent of Linda Blair circa The Exorcist). Keep in mind — the mid-’80s was the era of polished, keyboard-heavy, melodic rock, and Phenomena fit in with the musical climate, especially on such tracks as the album-opening “Kiss of Fire” and “Still the Night.” If GTR could have scored a hit or two around this time, with the right push, there’s no reason why Phenomena couldn’t have also.
For Further Information:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phenomena_(Phenomena_album)
- https://www.discogs.com/release/519266-Phenomena-Phenomena
- Kerrang No 97 – June 27 to July 10 1985
- Kerrang No 98 – July 11-24 1985
- http://www.deep-purple.net/tree/glenn-hughes/glenn-hughes-1.html
- https://www.allmusic.com/album/phenomena-mw0000766750?1689813539412
- https://www.allmusic.com/artist/phenomena-mn0000335359#biography
- https://web.archive.org/web/20050210195321/http://www.phenomenamusic.co.uk/page4.htm
- https://www.45worlds.com/vinyl/album/207044
Listener Mail/Comments
- Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover? We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
