The “Voice of Rock” for an entire generation of music fans, Hughes was recruited to Deep Purple in 1973 and became the band’s lynchpin bassist and singer until their initial split. Since then, Hughes has pursued a critically acclaimed solo career as well as collaborations with acts as diverse as Black Sabbath, Gary Moore and the 90s acid house group The KLF, before joining The Dead Daisies on bass and lead vocals in 2019.
Radiance is The Dead Daisies’ second album since Hughes joined the group. Described by Razor’s Edge magazine as “an unstoppable force in the world of hard rock” and a “thick and meaty deep-in-the-blues rocker that satisfies on every level” by Metal Injection, the immense bass tones on the album come courtesy of Hughes’ array of Orange Amplification gear, including the OBC810 cab, AD200 MKIII head, Crush Bass 100 combo and, of course, his signature purple Crush Bass 50 combo. Talking about his signature amp, Hughes said: “When you can go in the studio, take that bass combo and make your album with something like that, it’s truly outstanding. It’s gritty, it’s punchy: sustain is so important and it’s certainly got all that.” He added: “Orange all the way… It’s the future, it’s the way to go, you heard it from me!”
Catch rock legend Glenn Hughes fronting The Dead Daisies with his Orange equipment at the following venues this December:
https://orangeamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/The-Dead-Daisies-Glenn-Hughes-AD200--scaled.jpg20012560Ella Stormarkhttps://orangeamps.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Orange-Pics-logo-307px-279x103.pngElla Stormark2022-11-14 09:00:002024-01-29 16:42:15Glenn Hughes to tour fronting supergroup The Dead Daisies
Our followers and fans will already be familiar with you through your previous work in Deep Purple, Trapeze, California Breed (the list goes on and on…) and solo career, but they might not all know The Dead Daisies, can we get a bit of an introduction of the band? Glenn: The Dead Daisies are a musical collective, a family if you will. I’ve been aware of the band for a long time, we had been on a similar circuit around Europe. I was contacted by their management in 2019 in regard to getting together with the guys in NYC to have a little “jam session”. We clicked right away. Of course, I had toured with Doug Aldrich (guitarist in The Dead Daisies) previously as he was a member of my touring band in 2016 – so that was already set it stone. David Lowy is a solid guitarist and Deen Castronovo is a fantastic drummer with lots of flare. It was a natural progression to write together and go into the studio to record.
You just released your single “Bustle and Flow”, what can you tell us about it? Glenn: We were recording at La Fabrique studios in the south of France, Dec 2019. The studio is an old Chateau set in a beautiful part of the countryside. We had recorded the music and I had most of the lyrics written. The setting of the studio was very inspiring, I could not fail to be influenced whilst living and working there. Find it here.
This year has been quite a bumpy road for most people, how have you adjusted to the ‘new normal’, and how do you stay creative and inspired during tough times? Glenn: I have tried to maintain my own daily routines and rituals as much as possible. I meditate when I wake up, I like to walk, drink lots of water and read a lot. So personally, I have been able to stay creative within my own inner sanctuary.
Of course, in an Orange interview we gotta do some gear talk! You’ve been using Orange for quite some time, what’s your history and experience with our amps? Glenn: I was using the AD200 heads live and, in the studio, but for the last 18 months I’ve been using the Terror Bass heads. They really sound amazing. I run 2 at the same time via the Orange ‘Amp Detonator’ pedal. I don’t use any distortion pedals, I use the gain structure of the amps, this allows me to get a far more natural crunch..
You’ve been in the game for a long time, and you’ve influenced a lot of people and musicians along the way. Was there anyone in specific who’s style of playing, way of writing or performing that inspired, of keeps inspiring you as an artist? Glenn: I think like many people of my generation, The Beatles were a big influence in my youth. Their song writing is still hard to beat all these years later. As for bass playing, my roots are very much set in the early Motown recordings, James Jameson really was the benchmark for groove playing. Of course, more local to home we had guys like Andy Fraser who was an incredibly soulful bassist, he knew when to leave a space or two. I also read a lot of books and one of my favourite authors at the moment is Eckhart Tolle. I always have 1 or 2 of his books with me when travelling.
What would your advice be to aspiring musicians who’s just getting into playing? Glenn: My advice would be to love what you’re doing, enjoy every moment and don’t take anything for granted. You need to dedicate your time to learning your craft and being the best, you can be. Walk through the fear.
