Mr. Universe (album)
1979 studio album by Gillan
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mr. Universe is the second studio album by the British hard rock band Gillan, and the first with the classic line-up with Ian Gillan, Colin Towns, John McCoy, Bernie Tormé and Mick Underwood. Released in October 1979. The album reached No. 11 in the UK Albums Chart,[5] and sold over 2 million copies worldwide.[6]
| Mr. Universe | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 12 October 1979[1] | |||
| Recorded | June–July 1979[1] | |||
| Studio | Kingsway Recorders, London, UK | |||
| Genre | Hard rock, heavy metal | |||
| Length | 44:19 | |||
| Label | Acrobat (UK) Eastworld (Japan) Interfusion (Australia) | |||
| Producer | Paul "Chas" Watkins, Ian Gillan, Colin Towns, John McCoy | |||
| Gillan chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Mr. Universe | ||||
| ||||
| Alternative cover | ||||
 Cover of the Japanese release | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"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 | ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal | 10/10[4] |
Mr. Universe features several songs also on the band's previous album, Gillan: "Secret of the Dance," "Roller," "Vengeance," "Dead of Night," "Message in a Bottle," and "Fighting Man." Along with these, "Street Theatre," "Move with the Times," and "Sleeping on the Job," from the alternate version of Mr. Universe also originally appeared on Gillan. These versions range from slightly different to complete re-recordings
Track listing
All songs written by Ian Gillan and Colin Towns except where noted.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Second Sight" | Towns | 2:33 |
| 2. | "Secret of the Dance" | 2:54 | |
| 3. | "She Tears Me Down" | Towns | 5:07 |
| 4. | "Roller" | 4:43 | |
| 5. | "Mr. Universe" | 6:14 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6. | "Vengeance" | 3:34 | |
| 7. | "Puget Sound" | Gillan, Towns, John McCoy, Bernie Tormé, Mick Underwood | 4:23 |
| 8. | "Dead of Night" | 4:04 | |
| 9. | "Message in a Bottle" | 3:09 | |
| 10. | "Fighting Man" | 7:28 |
Alternate version
An alternate album also called Mr. Universe was released on September 20, 1979 in Japan by Toshiba-EMI's (Eastworld) billed as Ian Gillan as opposed to "Gillan" and later in the year in Australia (Interfusion) and New Zealand (Parlophone). This release contained several tracks that were not on the version as above.
- Side one
- "Vengeance" – 3:34
- "Mr. Universe" – 6:14
- "She Tears Me Down" – 5:08
- "Your Sister's on My List" – 4:09***
- Side two
- "Roller" – 4:37
- "Puget Sound" – 4:26
- "Move with the Times" (Gillan, Towns, McCoy) – 5:00*
- "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 bonus tracks
In 1989 the album was re-released on CD by Virgin Records, produced by Ian Gillan and Paul "Chas" Watkins, and mixed by John McCoy and Watkins. It followed the original UK track listing and included six bonus tracks:
- "On the Rocks" (live) – 6:38**
- "Bite the Bullet" (live) – 5:38**
- "Mr. Universe" (live) – 7:20***
- "Vengeance" (live) – 4:42***
- "Smoke on the Water" (live) (Ritchie Blackmore, Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice) – 10:10***
- "Lucille" (live) (Richard Wayne Penniman, Albert Collins) – 2:32****
Total running time 80:02
** Recorded at the Reading Festival, 29 August 1981
*** Recorded at the Reading Festival, 22 August 1980
**** Recorded at Nottingham Rock City, 4 March 1981, previously unreleased, in 2009 was included on Live: Triple Trouble album
Tracks 11 - 15 appear as live bonus tracks on the 2007 Edsel Demon Music Group re-issue of Double Trouble
2007 re-release bonus track
In 2007, the album was re-released in remastered format with new sleevenotes by Ian Gillan by Demon Music Group and one bonus track:
- "Smoke on the Water" (live at Kingsway Recorders) – 8:25
Total running time 52:34
Personnel
- Gillan
- Ian Gillan – vocals, harmonica, producer
- Bernie Tormé – guitar
- Colin Towns – keyboards, flute, producer
- John McCoy – bass, producer
- Mick Underwood – drums, percussion
- additional track from The Japanese album
- Ian Gillan – vocals, production
- Steve Byrd – guitars
- Colin Towns – keyboards, flutes, arrangement, production
- John McCoy – bass
- Liam Genockey – drums, percussion (on the album)
- Production
- Paul "Chas" Watkins – producer, engineer
- George Peckham – mastering
Charts
| Chart (2007) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| UK Independent Albums (OCC)[8] | 33 |
References
- Gillan, Ian (2016). The Autobiography (3rd ed.). John Blake Publishing. p. 324. ISBN 978-1-786-06135-5.
- Henderson, Alex. "Gillan - Mr. Universe review". AllMusic. All Media Network. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- Popoff, Martin (October 2003). The Collector's Guide to Heavy Metal: Volume 1: The Seventies. Burlington, Ontario, Canada: Collector's Guide Publishing. pp. 116–117. ISBN 978-1894959025.
- "Gillan Official Charts". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
- Cartwright, Garth (21 March 2019). "Remembering Bernie Torme, Irish guitarist and sideman to rock heavyweights". The Independent. Retrieved 28 August 2025.
- "Official Albums Chart on 21/10/1979 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2024.
- "Official Independent Albums Chart on 8/4/2007 – Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved January 12, 2024.