John Glascock died on November 17, 1979, at 28. His recordings with Jethro Tull included Songs from the Wood and Heavy Horses, and his contribution extended to harmony vocals. Alongside his bass playing, he gave the band another singer to work with Ian Anderson.
Glascock arrived with experience of making records in a very different setting. Carmen combined progressive rock with flamenco, incorporating dance into its performances. He played on the band’s three albums: Fandangos in Space, Dancing on a Cold Wind and The Gypsies, released between 1973 and 1975. The last of those included “High Time,” which he wrote and sang. Those records captured his work as a songwriter and lead vocalist as well as a bassist, before he took those skills into Tull.
Touring put the two bands in each other’s path. Carmen supported Tull in North America, and Anderson remembered being impressed by the group as a whole. In an interview published by Prog in 2026, he explained that Glascock fitted the vacancy left by Jeffrey Hammond, while Carmen was approaching its end. Glascock’s first Tull studio album was 1976’s Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die!.
His singing immediately changed what the musicians could do together. “I believe I am the first extra singer that Jethro Tull has ever had,” Glascock told Rose-Morris International in June 1976. He explained that Anderson had previously supplied the harmonies on the albums. Guitarist Martin Barre welcomed the prospect of two singers, particularly for television appearances, and felt it would help the group work more closely as a band.
Glascock then played on Songs from the Wood in 1977 and Heavy Horses in 1978, the first two records in the folk-rock sequence that concluded with Stormwatch. The studio work was accompanied by extensive touring. Bursting Out, released in 1978, preserved performances from the European Heavy Horses tour, with recordings made across May and June.
For that live album, Anderson recorded shows on a portable eight-track machine, then transferred the tapes and selected performances after the touring was over. His account, published by Rhino in 2024, describes an album assembled from several nights. The set brought newer material together with older songs, including “Aqualung” and “Locomotive Breath.” Glascock’s role could change with the arrangement, too. On “Skating Away (On the Thin Ice of the New Day),” he switched to electric guitar. The performance preserved on Bursting Out captures that change of instrument within the band.
By the Stormwatch sessions, Glascock’s failing health had sharply reduced his involvement. Recording stretched from August 1978 to July 1979, but he appeared on only three tracks on the original album. Anderson handled the remaining bass parts, and the record arrived that September. It was the last Jethro Tull studio album released during Glascock’s lifetime, carrying his bass performances on “Orion,” “Flying Dutchman” and “Elegy.”
