Scottish hard rock band Nazareth have announced a major lineup change, parting ways with singer Carl Sentance and bringing in Italian vocalist Gianni Pontillo as their new frontman. The announcement comes ahead of what founding bassist Pete Agnew has described as “one of the busiest years in Nazareth’s history” in 2026.
On Sunday, December 21, Agnew confirmed the change via social media, stating, “Carl Sentance and Nazareth have come to a parting of the ways, and he is no longer with the band. We would like to introduce you now to our new lead singer, Gianni Pontillo. Those who have seen and heard Gianni will already know what an incredible voice he has, and those of you who haven’t are in for a wonderful surprise when you come to see us in 2026.”
Pontillo is no stranger to the European rock scene, having performed with Pure Inc., The
Order and Souls Revival. He has also taken part in high-profile rock productions such as Rock Circus and This Is Rock by Das Zelt. Since 2019, he has led the German hard rock veterans Victory and in 2023 launched a new project called Pontillo & The Vintage Crew. Agnew described Pontillo as bringing “amazing talent” to the band and encouraged fans to catch the new lineup on tour next year.
Nazareth wrapped up the 2025 leg of their Bending The Rules tour on December 17 in Berlin, Germany. Sentance had been with the band since 2015, stepping in after founding singer Dan McCafferty retired due to illness. Sentance’s most recent solo work includes the 2024 album Silent Angels.
Formed in Dunfermline, Scotland, in 1968, Nazareth began as a group of musicians from the semi-professional band the Shadettes. Original members included McCafferty, guitarist Manny Charlton, Agnew on bass, and drummer Darrell Sweet. Inspired by the Beatles and the Rolling Stones, the band took its name from Nazareth, Pennsylvania, famously mentioned in the opening line of the Band’s song The Weight.
After moving to London in 1970, Nazareth released their self-titled debut album in 1971, followed by Exercises in 1972. Their breakthrough came after supporting Deep Purple on tour, when they released the Roger Glover-produced Razamanaz in 1973. The album produced two UK Top Ten hits, Broken Down Angel and Bad Bad Boy, and set the stage for a series of successful releases including Loud ‘N’ Proud, Rampant, and the landmark 1975 album Hair Of The Dog.
Hair Of The Dog featured the hit title track, widely misremembered as Son of a Bitch, and the band’s enduring cover of Love Hurts, which became a Top Ten hit in the US and reached number one in multiple countries. Over the following decades, Nazareth continued to tour and release albums, navigating lineup changes, shifting music trends, and personal tragedies, including the deaths of Sweet in 1999 and original keyboardist John Locke in 2006.
The band has remained particularly popular in Europe and Germany, where their legacy has inspired cover versions by artists such as Guns N’ Roses. In 2013, McCafferty formally retired, leaving Agnew as the last original member. Following brief stints with Linton Osborne and Carl Sentance, Nazareth continued their global touring schedule and studio recordings, including the 2018 album Tattooed On My Brain.
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