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| Background information | |
| Born | 21 August 1941 Cannock, Staffordshire, England, UK |
| Genres | Hard rock, funk rock, progressive rock, heavy metal, blues rock, pop rock, blue-eyed soul |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, singer-songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Bass guitar, vocals |
| Years active | 1967–present |
| Labels | Frontiers, Pony Canyon, SPV GmbH, Yamaha Music, Zero Corporation |
| Associated acts | |
| Website | Official website |
| Notable instruments | |
| Fender Precision Bass Rickenbacker 4001 Vigier basses (with HTP) |
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Glenn Hughes (born 21 August 1951 is an English rock bassist and vocalist, best known for playing bass and performing vocals for funk rock pioneers Trapeze, the Mk. III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple, as well as briefly fronting Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s.
In addition to being an active session musician, Hughes also maintains a notable solo career. He fronted the supergroup Black Country Communion from 2009 to 2013, and California Breed from late 2013 to early 2015. On 8 April 2016, Hughes was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple.
Hughes was born in Cannock, Staffordshire, England. He fronted Finders Keepers in the 1960s as bassist/vocalist, as well as the British funk rock band Trapeze. Hughes was recruited to replace Roger Glover as bassist in Deep Purple in 1973, though he considered himself more a vocalist than a bassist. He was reportedly uninterested in the Deep Purple job until some of the other members proposed that Paul Rodgers of Free be brought in as co-lead vocalist.
Although the recruitment of Rodgers fell through, Hughes had now become interested in the “two-lead-singer thing”, and David Coverdale was later hired as Deep Purple’s lead vocalist The two would ultimately share lead vocal duties in the band for the next three albums, until the break-up of Deep Purple in 1976. Battling severe cocaine addiction, Hughes embarked on a solo career following his departure from the group, releasing his first solo album in 1977 called Play Me Out
In the mid-1980s, Hughes recorded several different albums with bands and artists including Phenomena (Phenomena, Phenomena II: Dream Runner), Gary Moore (Run For Cover), and Black Sabbath (Seventh Star; originally a solo album by Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi that was released as a Sabbath album due to record label pressure).
Hughes’ health problems due to overeating, drugs and alcohol began to seriously affect his musical projects, and this contributed to very short stints with Gary Moore and Tony Iommi, as Hughes was unable to tour with them properly due to his bad health. In 1985 Black Sabbath re-united with original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne for the one-off Live Aid performance. While waiting for a break in Osbournes’ career, Iommi decided to record a solo album and Hughes was brought in to provide the vocals. Due to the aforementioned contractual obligations with the record company the album was released as Black Sabbath featuring Tony Iommi in 1986, to generally positive critical reviews, with Hughes in particular putting in a fine performance. While touring to promote the new album Glenn was replaced by vocalist Ray Gillen after six shows due to a fight with Black Sabbath’s production manager, as the injuries contributed to a degradation in his voice and he was also in no physical shape to complete the tour.
Bass Stuff 