Glasgow rockers Gun go back to Calton roots for new album and tour

Jools and Dante Gizzi, the two brothers who front the band, are performing a more stripped-back, chilled out version of the live shows Gun fans may be used to.

“It’s been really fantastic getting the chance to play these songs and talk about how they were written, in a setting that’s a bit more up close and personal,” explains Jools.

“The gigs are a bit different for us, maybe, but it’s something we have always wanted to do. And these songs were all written acoustically at first, of course.”

He grins: “Nobody had a computer back then to make recording music dead easy. All I had was an eight-track and an acoustic guitar, and then we’d rock it out in the studio.”

As The Glasgow Times previously revealed, the album, The Calton Songs - which includes single Backstreet Brothers - is out on October 14 and Jools explains it might not have happened at all had it not been for the pandemic lockdown.

“We were all set to go into the studio and make an album when Covid happened,” he says.

“But the whole thing really affected me. I couldn’t get my head round what was happening, all that negativity. When you’re making a record, you need to be positive. I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t write, couldn’t think about new songs.”

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He adds: “We wanted to keep content going for the fans, so we jammed a couple of songs acoustically - Better Days, Steal Your Fire - made some wee videos and put it on social media.

“The record label saw it, thought we could make something of it, and that’s how the acoustic thing started."

The album is called The Calton Songs, explains Jools, “because 90% of these songs were written in my bedroom, in my mum’s house in the Calton".

He adds: “We grew up in what was a pretty tough area of Glasgow. Back then, there were two ways you could go. It was either giving up, and crime, or drugs, or you made the decision to do something with your life.

"I saw a lot of people in the Calton take the first route, but it never appealed to me. I wanted to achieve something.”

Jools got into music early.

“There was always music playing in the house," he explans.

"My dad was a big Fats Domino fan, my mum loved Sinatra. When I was old enough to start buying records with my friends, I loved guitars, bluesy stuff, and I got my first guitar at the age of 12.

“You know those stories about young footballers who go to sleep at night holding a football? That was me. I was obsessed with that guitar, and I’d be in my room, strumming away until I fell asleep.”

Gun have enjoyed an amazing career over the last 30 years - top 20 albums and singles; an MTV Europe Music Award for Best Cover for their massive take on Cameo’s Word Up; tours with The Rolling Stones, Bon Jovi and Iron Maiden - and the current line-up (Jools on guitar, Dante on lead vocals, Paul McManus on drums, Andy Carr on bass, and Tommy Gentry on guitar) are looking forward to the future with "boundless optimism".

“Starting a band wasn’t easy,” admits Jools.

“There have been ups and downs over the years, but I always knew it was what I really wanted to do, and I would give my heart and soul to make it work.

“I mean, if something’s worth anything, you’ve got to fight for it, right?

“So there was rejection after rejection, dead-end gig after dead-end gig, but I stuck at it.”

He grins: “I was lucky, my parents really supported me, even if they didn’t really understand why I wasn’t getting a proper job.

“I think my mum finally got it when we had our first appearance on Top of the Pops. Then she was telling everyone her son was a pop star.”

Mario and Teresa Gizzi (pictured with Dante and Jools and their uncle Joe) sadly died within a few months of each other in 2005.

Jools says: “My mum was really proud of us and the band. My dad was quite a quiet man, very humble, but I knew he was proud of us too.”

Glasgow at the time Gun were starting out was a great place to be if you were an up-and-coming band, says Jools.

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“The city was absolutely buzzing,” he adds.

“There were so many great bands - Del Amitri, Love and Money, Deacon Blue, Texas - all part of a music scene that put Glasgow and Scotland on the map. We have always been super proud to be a part of that.”

Gun will have a new album out next year, says Jools.

“We’re just about to start recording a new studio album. We have about 10 songs we’re really happy with,” he smiles.

“We’re doing a bunch of shows at the end of the year too, at the Barrowland, in London, Spain, Portugal. We're excited about that."

For now, however, Jools and Dante are looking forward to performing at Frets, the successful acoustic concert series at Lanarkshire’s Strathaven Hotel, which has already played host to acts as diverse as Lloyd Cole, James Grant, Altered Images, Bernard Butler and The Bluebells.

“We’ve loved the tour so far. There’s a bit of banter with the fans, and we’re happy to answer questions, so there’s a really good vibe,” says Jools, adding with a laugh: “Sometimes they put us on the spot, but mostly they tell us how much our songs and albums have meant to them, which is really amazing.

“Sometimes, Dante and I will be sitting in the dressing room afterwards, having heard from people about how this song or that album got them through a tough time, and that’s really emotional for us. It’s actually a bit overwhelming.”

Jools and Dante from Gun play Frets at the Strathaven Hotel on August 19.

Find out more at fretsconcerts.com.