Thain was part of the rock trio The New Nadir,before the trio split in 1969. Then joined the Keef Hartley Band.He played on four studio albums: Demons & Wizards, The Magician's Birthday, Sweet Freedom and Wonderworld as well as their live album, entitled Uriah Heep Live.
Background
Born in Christchurch, New Zealand. During his last tour with Uriah Heep, Thain suffered an electric shock at the Moody Coliseum in Dallas, Texas on 15 September 1974, and was seriously injured. Due to his drug addiction he was not able to perform properly, and was fired by the band in early 1975 and replaced by former King Crimson bassist/vocalist, John Wetton. Thain died of respiratory failure due to a heroin overdose, on 8 December 1975, aged 27.
Career
He started performing around age 13. Gary also won a singing contest in his High School with the song "Where Have all the Flowers Gone". The official start to his career was with the New Zealand group "The Strangers". Besides his brother Arthur (vocals and lead guitar), the other members were Graeme Ching (Rhytm Guitar) and Dave Beattie (Drums). Gary wrote his first (released) song "I'll Never be Blue" with The Strangers in 1965 at age 16. "The Strangers" released 3 Singles.At age 17 Gary moved to Australia. Gary became part of "The Secrets", but they only released one Single in 1966.
After their one Single, "The Secrets" split up. It was still 1966 when Gary and Paul joined up with Peter Dawkins and Dave Chapman, taking the name "Me and the Others" to the UK, touring England, Scotland, Wales and Germany. In 1967 Gary became part of his first professional Band called "New Nadir". They were especially popular in Switzerland, where they played in a lot of clubs for about half a year. It was a trio that played Jazz influenced music. The other members were Ed Carter on guitar and a drummer named Mike Kowalski. Besides playing their own music, they also worked as a backing band for an all-female group called "The Toys".
In 1968 New Nadir dissolved Gary of course joined the Keef Hartley Band. Not only did Gary play on 6 of their albums, but he got to be part of Woodstock in 1969 with the Keef Hartley Band. They played on the second day (before Santana). However, there is no Video footage available. Before the Keef Hartley Band dissolved in 1972, Gary also did some other recordings. In 1970 he recorded "Fiends and Angels" with Martha Velez. Some other, now well-known names from that recording session, are Eric Clapton and Christine McVie. The music style on that recording has been described as British Progressive Blues and Martha's singing has been compared to somewhat of a Janis Joplin type of voice. Early in 1972, Gary received a phone call from Ken Hensley and joined Uriah Heep as their 3rd bass player (replacing Mark Clarke). Heep was touring the USA at the time, Gary flew in to join the band and practiced the material he had to perform for several weeks. Gary's first gig with Uriah Heep was on February 1, 1972 at the Whiskey A Go-Go in Los Angeles, California.
The first album that Gary recorded with Uriah Heep was "Demons & Wizards" (released May 1972), only 4 months after he joined Heep. All in all it was a very successful year for Uriah Heep and Gary alike.
Of course Gary also toured with Uriah Heep almost non-stop. In the beginning of 1973 the first collection of some of those touring efforts was released, aptly titled "Uriah Heep Live 1973". One of the points worth mentioning is the excerpt of their Rock 'N Roll Medley endings. It shows Gary's skill of using the 50's and R 'n R Bass lines that he had so diligently learned early on in his career.