Janick Robert Gers was born in Hartlepool, England on January 27, 1957. Swimming, football and music – “in that order” – were Janick’s chief interests as a kid. Gers started playing the guitar first when he was eleven, and he played his first gig at school. Then he played in a band called ‘White Spirit’, and around 1975, they turned professional. It’s not well known that Gers is left-handed, even though he plays right-handed guitars. White Spirit mostly did covers of Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, and toured in the North East.
Gers was the lead guitarist of the band White Spirit before joining Gillan, a group formed by former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan. After Gillan disbanded, he joined Gogmagog which included former Iron Maiden vocalist Paul Di’Anno and drummer Clive Burr. Gers also performed with other artists including former Marillion vocalist Fish. In 1990, he played guitar on the first solo album of Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson, Tattooed Millionaire. In March 1990, during the recording of the album, he was asked to join Iron Maiden in place of departing Adrian Smith. He has remained with the band ever since, even after Smith rejoined the band in 1999. Gers, along with Dave Murray are the only 2 guitarists to ever play with all 3 Iron Maiden recording vocalists, though Murray is the only one to do so as a member of Iron Maiden.
Gers’ playing style uses heavy distortion and is noted for having a very raw tone. He prefers staccato picking instead of playing legato using hammer-ons and pull-offs. Gers’ main influences are Ritchie Blackmore, Jeff Beck and Irish blues guitarist Rory Gallagher. He is noted for his energetic stage presence. He occasionally does tricks with his guitar, and his trademark is “dancing around stage while performing his guitar solos”.