Badlands (American Band) - Gillen's Death

Gillen's Death

After the UK tour was complete, Gillen was officially fired from the band. Lee insisted to the press that the band would continue with singer John West. The band wrote and recorded some new songs, however, Atlantic Records had had enough and dropped the band from their label entirely. Gillen then appeared with George Lynch’s solo band on the album Sacred Groove. Following that, he formed Sun Red Sun with guitarist Al Romano, former Alice in Chains bassist Mike Starr, and drummer Bobby Rondinelli. But, just as the new group was off and running, Gillen was diagnosed with HIV. On December 1, 1993, he died at his New Jersey home due to AIDS-related complications. Ironically, John West was brought in to finish the Sun Red Sun recordings, and in 1998 toured with George Lynch. Five years later, the unreleased Badlands album Dusk was released in Japan.