Ian Gillan (born 19 August 1945) is a British singer who is best known as the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band

Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. He is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice. Initially influenced by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, Gillan started and fronted several local bands in the mid-1960s, and eventually joined

Episode Six Episode Six were an English rock band formed in Harrow, London in 1965. The band did not have commercial success in the UK, releasing nine singles that all failed to chart, but they did find minor success in Beirut at the time. Group members Ia ...

when their original singer left. He first found widespread commercial success after joining Deep Purple in 1969. He resigned from the band in June 1973, having given a lengthy notice period to their managers. After a short time away from the music business, he resumed his music career with solo bands the

Ian Gillan Band The Ian Gillan Band were an English progressive jazz-rock band formed by singer Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in 1975. History After leaving Deep Purple in June 1973, Ian Gillan had retired from the music business to pursue other business ventures ...

and Gillan, before a year-long stint as the vocalist for

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

in 1983. The following year, Deep Purple reformed and two more successful albums followed before he left in 1989. He returned to the group in 1993, and has remained its lead singer ever since. In addition to his main work—performing with Deep Purple and other bands during the 1970s and 1980s—he sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948), is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End and on Broadway. He has composed 21 musicals, ...

rock opera A rock opera is a collection of rock music songs with lyrics that relate to a common story. Rock operas are typically released as concept albums and are not scripted for acting, which distinguishes them from operas, although several have been ad ...

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

'' (1970), performed in the charity supergroup

Rock Aid Armenia Rock Aid Armenia, also known in earlier stages as Live Aid Armenia, was a humanitarian effort by the British music industry to raise money to help those affected by the 1988 Armenian earthquake. Initiated by the international charity campaigner ...

, and engaged in a number of business investments and ventures, including a hotel, a motorcycle manufacturer, and music recording facilities at Kingsway Studios. More recently, he has performed solo concerts concurrently with his latter career in Deep Purple, and his work and affinity with

Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''Ox ...

, combined with his continued friendship with

Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi () (born 19 February 1948) is a British musician. He co-founded the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader and primary composer and sole continuous member for nearly five decades. I ...

since his brief time in Black Sabbath, has led him to form the

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

WhoCares WhoCares was a supergroup formed by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple and Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in 2011 with the participation of a great number of rock artists as a charity project to raise money to rebuild a music school in Gyumri, Armenia, aft ...

with Iommi. His solo career outside of Deep Purple was given a comprehensive overview with the ''

Gillan's Inn ''Gillan's Inn'' is an album by Ian Gillan in celebration of his 40 years as a singer. The first release was a DualDisc composed of both a CD and a DVD side. The CD featured re-recorded tracks from all eras of Ian Gillan's singing career. In a ...

'' box set in 2006.

Early life

Gillan was born on 19 August 1945 at

Chiswick Maternity Hospital Chiswick Mall is a waterfront street on the north bank of the river Thames in the oldest part of Chiswick in West London, with a row of large houses from the Georgian and Victorian eras overlooking the street on the north side, and their gard ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

. His father, Bill, was a storekeeper at a factory in London, who came from

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric?: ''Gwovan'?''; Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of south-west City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south ba ...

, Glasgow and left school at 13, while his mother, Audrey, came from a family where she was the eldest of four children, who all enjoyed music and singing, and whose father had been an opera singer and amateur pianist. His sister, Pauline, was born in 1948. One of Gillan's earliest musical memories was of his mother playing "

Blue Rondo à la Turk "Blue Rondo à la Turk" is a jazz standard composition by Dave Brubeck. It appeared on the album '' Time Out'' in 1959. It is written in time, with one side theme in and the choice of rhythm was inspired by the Turkish aksak time signatures. I ...

" on the piano. He grew up moving between

council flat A council house is a form of British public housing built by local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing a number of council houses and other amenities like schools and shops. Construction took place mainly from 1919 a ...

s before settling in a three-bedroom semi-detached on a

council estate Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

in Cranford,

. He was fond of animals in his early life, and enjoyed reading

Dan Dare Dan Dare is a British science fiction comic hero, created by illustrator Frank Hampson who also wrote the first stories. Dare appeared in the ''Eagle'' comic story ''Dan Dare, Pilot of the Future'' from 1950 to 1967 (and subsequently in repri ...

comic strips. His parents separated after Audrey discovered Bill had had an affair that started while he was stationed in the army during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Ian began attending Hounslow College and stayed there through his early teenage years. He was influenced by

by hearing his records at home and at the local youth club. Gillan briefly attended Acton County Grammar School (now

Acton High School Ark Acton Academy, is a coeducational secondary school and sixth form located in the Acton area of the London Borough of Ealing, England. The school teaches pupils between the ages of 11 to 18. It is sited on ''Gunnersbury Lane'' (A4000) jus ...

) to take his

O Level The O-Level (Ordinary Level) is a subject-based qualification conferred as part of the General Certificate of Education. It was introduced in place of the School Certificate in 1951 as part of an educational reform alongside the more in-depth ...

s but became distracted from studies after leaving the local cinema having watched a Presley film, deciding that he wanted to be a movie actor. He subsequently took a job manufacturing ice machines in

Hounslow Hounslow () is a large suburban district of West London, west-southwest of Charing Cross. It is the administrative centre of the London Borough of Hounslow, and is identified in the London Plan as one of the 12 metropolitan centres in Gr ...

Career

Early years

Gillan's first attempt at a band was called Garth Rockett and the Moonshiners, and consisted of himself on vocals and drums, alongside guitarist

Chris Aylmer Samson were a British heavy metal band formed in 1977 by guitarist and vocalist Paul Samson. They are best known for their first three albums with future Iron Maiden singer Bruce Dickinson, then known as "Bruce Bruce", and drummer Thunders ...

, who later went on to work with

Bruce Dickinson Paul Bruce Dickinson (born 7 August 1958) is an English singer who has been the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden from 1981 to 1993 and 1999–present. He is known for his wide-ranging operatic vocal style and energetic stage ...

. The band covered songs such as

Tommy Roe Thomas David "Tommy" Roe (born May 9, 1942) is a retired American rock and pop singer-songwriter. Best-remembered for his hits "Sheila" (1962) and " Dizzy" (1969), Roe was "widely perceived as one of the archetypal bubblegum artists of the late ...

's "

Sheila Sheila (alternatively spelled Shelagh and Sheelagh) is a common feminine given name, derived from the Irish name ''Síle'', which is believed to be a Gaelic form of the Latin name Caelia, the feminine form of the Roman clan name Caelius, meanin ...

" and

The Shadows The Shadows (originally known as the Drifters) were an English instrumental rock group, who dominated the British popular music charts in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in the pre- Beatles era. They served as the backing band for Cliff Richard ...

' "

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

". He discovered he couldn't sing and play drums at the same time, so settled on the role of lead vocalist, performing regularly at St Dunstan's Hall, the local youth club. He soon switched to another local band who also played at Dunstan's Hall, Ronnie and the Hightones, who renamed themselves as the Javelins after he joined. The band played covers of Sonny Boy Williamson,

Chuck Berry Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...

Jerry Lee Lewis Jerry Lee Lewis (September 29, 1935October 28, 2022) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Nicknamed "The Killer", he was described as "rock & roll's first great wild man". A pioneer of rock and roll and rockabilly music, Lewis made ...

and

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American musician, singer, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the " ...

, and were early customers of then-local music shop owner Jim Marshall. The Javelins disbanded in March 1964, with guitarist Gordon Fairminer leaving to join what eventually became the group

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones ...

. After the Javelins, Gillan joined a soul band, Wainwright's Gentlemen, which included another future Sweet member, drummer

Mick Tucker Michael Thomas Tucker (17 July 1947 – 14 February 2002) was an English musician, best known as the drummer and backing vocalist of the glam rock and hard rock band Sweet. Biography Mick Tucker was born on July 17, 1947, in Kingsbury, North W ...

. The band recorded a number of tracks including a cover of

The Hollies The Hollies are a British pop rock band, formed in 1962. One of the leading British groups of the 1960s and into the mid-1970s, they are known for their distinctive three-part vocal harmony style. Allan Clarke (singer), Allan Clarke and Graham ...

hit "Ain't That Just Like Me". Although the band played several local popular music venues, they did not find success, so in April 1965, he decided to join

Hatch End Hatch End is an area of North West London, situated within the London Borough of Harrow. It is located north west of Charing Cross. Attractions Hatch End is home to Harrow Arts Centre, a complex which centres on the 404-seat Elliott Hall and ...

-based

Episode Six

Gillan had been contacted by Episode Six's manager Gloria Bristow, who worked for Helmut Gordon, original manager of The Detours, later to become

the Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

. He replaced original lead singer Andy Ross, who left to get married, and joined keyboardist and singer Sheila Carter, guitarists Graham Carter and Tony Lander, bassist

Roger Glover Roger David Glover (born 30 November 1945) is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the member of the hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow. As a member of Deep Purple, Glover was inducted into the Rock and Ro ...

and drummer Harvey Shields. Gillan considers Episode Six to be his first truly professional band, and in their early days they were sponsored and championed by

Tony Blackburn Anthony Kenneth Blackburn (born 29 January 1943) is an English disc jockey, singer and TV presenter. He first achieved fame broadcasting on the pirate stations Radio Caroline and Radio London in the 1960s, before joining the BBC, on the BBC L ...

, who occasionally accompanied Gillan on stage. Later, as well as performing concerts in the UK, Episode Six also toured Germany and

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

, and had regular appearances on the

BBC Light Programme The BBC Light Programme was a national radio station which broadcast chiefly mainstream light entertainment and light music from 1945 until 1967, when it was replaced by BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 1. It opened on 29 July 1945, taking over the ...

. During his time with Episode Six, Gillan began writing songs together with Glover, forming an ultimately long-lasting partnership. After a strained tour of Beirut, Shields left the band and was replaced first by John Kerrison, then by

Mick Underwood Michael John Underwood (born 5 September 1945) is an English drummer. He first played drums at the age of 14 and was a professional musician by the time he left school. Underwood has collaborated with a number of notable musicians and groups, ...

. Underwood had previously played in The Outlaws with

Ritchie Blackmore Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard rock music that mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. He is prolific in creating guitar ...

, and it was via him that Ian knew about

. By 1969, after having released nine singles, none of which charted in the UK, and finding their style of music too restrictive for him, he decided to leave Episode Six.

Deep Purple, 1969–1973

By spring 1969, Deep Purple had had a top 5 US hit with "

Hush Hush may refer to: Film and television * ''Hush'' (1921 film), starring Clara Kimball Young * ''Hush'' (1998 film), starring Gwyneth Paltrow * ''Hush!'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film directed by Ryosuke Hashiguchi * ''Hush'' (2005 film), starring ...

", but the band, particularly

Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English orchestral and rock composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with the British rock band Deep ...

and

Ian Paice Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician, best known as the drummer and last remaining original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He is often cited as one of the greatest drummers of all-time. He remains the only member ...

, decided their future lay in

hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...

, rather than the psychedelic pop sound of the early band. In June 1969, Blackmore, Lord and Paice went to see Episode Six perform at a pub gig and subsequently offered Gillan the job as new lead singer, asking him if he also knew any good bassists. Since Glover was by this point a reasonably experienced songwriter, he was also recruited. They were both accepted into the band on 16 June 1969, replacing singer

Rod Evans Roderic Evans (born 19 January 1947) is a British former singer. In the late 1960s, he began his professional career in The Maze, formerly MI5, after which he was a member of the original Deep Purple line-up, who produced three studio albums ...

and bassist

Nick Simper Nicholas John Simper (born 3 November 1945) is an English bass guitarist, who was a co-founding member of Deep Purple and Warhorse. In the 1960s, he began his professional career in bands such as Johnny Kidd & the Pirates, The Flower Pot Men, ...

respectively. The old line up of Deep Purple continued to do several concerts until the end of

The Book of Taliesyn Tour Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock music, but their musical style has changed over the course of its existence. Ori ...

. Evans and Simper were both fired by managers Tony Edwards and John Colletta after the last show of that tour, which was at the Top Rank Club in Cardiff on 4 July. Ian Gillan 1971

Gillan made his first onstage appearance with Deep Purple at the

Speakeasy A speakeasy, also called a blind pig or blind tiger, is an illicit establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, or a retro style bar that replicates aspects of historical speakeasies. Speakeasy bars came into prominence in the United States d ...

in London's West End on 10 July. As the band had only been rehearsing for a few weeks, they relied on older instrumentals such as " Wring That Neck" and "

Mandrake Root "Mandrake Root" is a song by Deep Purple that is featured on their debut album ''Shades of Deep Purple''. The title is in reference to the mandrake plant, but is also the name of a pre-Purple band that Blackmore was trying to form in Germany ...

" to fill in a set. Unsure of what to do, Gillan found a pair of

conga The conga, also known as tumbadora, is a tall, narrow, single-headed drum from Cuba. Congas are staved like barrels and classified into three types: quinto (lead drum, highest), tres dos or tres golpes (middle), and tumba or salidor (lowest). ...

s onstage, and decided to play them during these instrumental sections. Deep Purple Mk.II continued rehearsing at

Hanwell Community Centre Cuckoo Schools was a large school for children of destitute families which was created as the Central London District Poor Law School by the City of London and the East London and St. Saviour Workhouse Unions in 1857. It was built on the land of ...

. One of Gillan's first contributions to the band during these rehearsals was the vocal melody and lyrics to "

Child in Time "Child in Time" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, taken from their fourth studio album, ''Deep Purple in Rock'', released in 1970. The track is loosely inspired by the Cold War and runs over ten minutes. History and characteristic ...

". At Hanwell, the band wrote what would eventually become most of '' In Rock'' during 1969, though they were interrupted in September to perform Lord's ''

Concerto for Group and Orchestra ''Concerto for Group and Orchestra'' is a live album by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold, recorded at the Royal Albert Hall, London, in September 1969. It consists of a concerto composed by Jon Lord, ...

'', a one-off performance in September at the Royal Albert Hall with the

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London, that performs and produces primarily classic works. The RPO was established by Thomas Beecham in 1946. In its early days, the orchestra secured profitable ...

. Gillan, along with Blackmore, was initially unhappy at having to perform the concerto, and wrote the lyrics to the second movement on the afternoon of the performance on a napkin in an Italian restaurant. In 1970, Gillan received a call from

Tim Rice Sir Timothy Miles Bindon Rice (born 10 November 1944) is an English lyricist and author. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote, among other shows, ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'', ' ...

, asking him to perform the part of Jesus on the original 1970 album recording of ''

'', having been impressed with his performance on "Child in Time". After rehearsing a few times with Rice and

, he recorded his entire vocal contributions in three hours. He was subsequently offered the lead role in the 1973 film adaptation. Gillan demanded to not only be paid £250,000 for his role in the movie, but also insisted, without the consent of his manager, that the entire band be paid because filming would conflict with a scheduled tour. The producers declined, instead casting

Ted Neeley Teddie Joe "Ted" Neeley (born September 20, 1943) is an American singer, actor, musician, composer, and record producer. He is known for portraying the title role in '' Jesus Christ Superstar'' (1973), a role for which he was nominated for two G ...

in the Jesus role, and Gillan continued on in the band. After 1971, particularly after the release of ''

Fireball Fireball may refer to: Science * Fireball (meteor), a brighter-than-usual meteor * Ball lightning, an atmospheric electrical phenomenon * ''Bassia scoparia'', a plant species Arts and entertainment Films * ''The Fireball'', a 1950 film starring ...

'', Gillan started to become disillusioned with the workload of the band, who had not had any holiday since their initial rehearsals at Hanwell. He started drinking, and relationships between him and the rest of the band became strained, particularly with Blackmore. On 6 November 1971, he collapsed with

hepatitis Hepatitis is inflammation of the liver tissue. Some people or animals with hepatitis have no symptoms, whereas others develop yellow discoloration of the skin and whites of the eyes (jaundice), poor appetite, vomiting, tiredness, abdominal pa ...

while waiting to board a plane in Chicago, cancelling the remainder of a US tour. By December 1972, having recorded ''

Machine Head A machine head (also referred to as a tuning machine, tuner, or gear head) is a geared apparatus for tuning stringed musical instruments by adjusting string tension. Machine heads are used on mandolins, guitars, double basses and others, and ar ...

'', '' Made in Japan'' and the yet to be released ''

Who Do We Think We Are ''Who Do We Think We Are'' is the seventh studio album by the English hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1973. It was Deep Purple's last album with singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover until 1984’s '' Perfect Strangers''. Musically ...

'' with Deep Purple, Gillan finally decided the workload had driven him to exhaustion. Unlike some band members, he was unhappy about ''Made in Japan'', and disliked live albums in general. He tended to go into the studio after the rest of the band had recorded and finished the backing tracks, particularly for ''Who Do We Think We Are'', to lay down his vocals separately. He had been continually at loggerheads with Blackmore, disagreeing about music regularly, which culminated in Gillan writing "Smooth Dancer" about him. While on tour in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater Day ...

, he sat down and wrote a resignation letter to the band's managers, stating he intended to leave the band, effective from 30 June 1973.

After Deep Purple

After his departure from Deep Purple, Gillan retired from performing to pursue various unsuccessful business ventures. These included a £300,000 investment in a hotel near Oxford. A second was the Mantis Motor Cycles project, which suffered from the collapse of the British motorcycle industry in the mid-1970s, culminating in Gillan being forced to file for

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistrib ...

. A more successful opportunity, however, came with his investment in Kingsway Studios in 1974. This led to a live performance at the

Butterfly Ball ''The Butterfly Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast'' is a concept album and subsequent live rock opera appearing in 1974 and 1975 respectively, based on the children's poem of a similar title. The album cover design is from Alan Aldridge's desig ...

on 16 October 1975, replacing

Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted and founded numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and H ...

at the last minute.

Ian Gillan Band

In 1975, Gillan formed the

with guitarist

Ray Fenwick Raymond John Fenwick (18 July 1946 – 30 April 2022) was an English guitarist and session musician, best known for his work in The Syndicats and in The Spencer Davis Group in the 1960s, and as the lead guitarist of Ian Gillan's post-Deep Purpl ...

, keyboardist Mike Moran, quickly replaced with Mickey Lee Soule and then

Colin Towns Colin William Towns (born 13 May 1948 in West Ham, London) is an English composer and keyboardist. He was noted for playing in bands formed by ex-Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan, and later worked extensively in composing soundtracks for film, telev ...

on keyboards, Mark Nauseef on drums and John Gustafson on bass. Their first album, ''

'', was released in July 1976, followed by ''

Clear Air Turbulence In meteorology, clear-air turbulence (CAT) is the turbulent movement of air masses in the absence of any visual clues, such as clouds, and is caused when bodies of air moving at widely different speeds meet. The atmospheric region most suscepti ...

'' in April 1977 and ''

Scarabus ''Scarabus'' is the third and the last studio album by British jazz rock band Ian Gillan Band, released in October 1977. The album was reissued in 1982 by Virgin Records in the height of popularity of Ian Gillan's group Gillan (a CD edition f ...

'' in October. The sound of the band had a distinct

jazz-rock Jazz fusion (also known as fusion and progressive jazz) is a music genre that developed in the late 1960s when musicians combined jazz harmony and jazz improvisation, improvisation with rock music, funk, and rhythm and blues. Electric guitars, ...

aspect which, although interesting to Gillan, proved commercially unsuccessful, particularly since punk rock was popular at the time.

Gillan

Gillan then formed a new band, simply called Gillan, retaining Towns (who would co-write most of the material), and adding guitarist Steve Byrd, bassist John McCoy and drummer

Pete Barnacle Pete Barnacle is an English rock drummer who has played for various bands including Gillan,Thompson, Dave (2004) ''Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story'', ECW Press, , p. 214 Girl,Jasper, Tony & Oliver, Derek (1985) ''The international En ...

. Byrd and Barnacle were quickly replaced by

Bernie Tormé Bernie Tormé (born Bernard Joseph Tormey; 18 March 1952 – 17 March 2019) was an Irish rock guitarist, singer, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner. Tormé is best known for his work with Gillan, as well as his brief stints wit ...

and by former Episode Six bandmate Mick Underwood, after Gillan saw Torme playing with his punk trio. This band had a more high-powered

sound, and the release of '' Mr. Universe'' in October 1979 saw Ian Gillan back in the UK charts although the independent record company the album came out on – Acrobat Records – folded soon after the album was released, prompting a contract with

Richard Branson Sir Richard Charles Nicholas Branson (born 18 July 1950) is a British billionaire, entrepreneur, and business magnate. In the 1970s he founded the Virgin Group, which today controls more than 400 companies in various fields. Branson expressed ...

Virgin Records Virgin Records is a record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British independent record label in 1972 by entrepreneurs Richard Branson, Simon Draper, Nik Powell, and musician Tom Newman. It grew to be a worldwid ...

. In Christmas 1979 Gillan was visited by Blackmore, who offered him the position of lead vocalist in

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

. Gillan declined due to the smaller workload the band had compared to his own. However, the pair did jam together for three nights at

Marquee Club The Marquee Club was a music venue first located at 165 Oxford Street in London, when it opened in 1958 with a range of jazz and skiffle acts. Its most famous period was from 1964 to 1988 at 90 Wardour Street in Soho, and it finally closed whe ...

– the first time the two men had shared a stage since 1973. Gillan continued releasing ''

Glory Road ''Glory Road'' is a science fantasy novel by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally serialized in ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'' (July – September 1963) and published in hardcover the same year. It was nominated for t ...

'' in 1980, which resulted in the band making the first of several appearances on ''

Top of the Pops ''Top of the Pops'' (''TOTP'') is a British Record chart, music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly between 1January 1964 and 30 July 2006. The programme was the world's longest-running weekly music show ...

''. He considered the album to be his best work since ''Machine Head'' nearly a decade earlier. Following subsequent album ''

Future Shock ''Future Shock'' is a 1970 book by American futurist Alvin Toffler, written together with his spouse Adelaide Farrell, in which the authors define the term "future shock" as a certain psychological state of individuals and entire societies. The ...

'', Torme left following disagreements over the band’s finances and after missing an appearance on ''Top of the Pops''. He was replaced by

Janick Gers Janick Robert Gers (; born 27 January 1957) is an English musician who is best known as one of the three guitarists in heavy metal band Iron Maiden. He initially joined to replace Adrian Smith, but remained in the band after Smith rejoined. G ...

. Tormé later sued Gillan for music royalties and won. Gers appeared on the band's next two albums, '' Double Trouble'' and ''

Magic Magic or Magick most commonly refers to: * Magic (supernatural), beliefs and actions employed to influence supernatural beings and forces * Ceremonial magic, encompasses a wide variety of rituals of magic * Magical thinking, the belief that unrela ...

''. In 1982 Ian Gillan announced the band would fold, as he needed to rest his damaged

vocal cords In humans, vocal cords, also known as vocal folds or voice reeds, are folds of throat tissues that are key in creating sounds through vocalization. The size of vocal cords affects the pitch of voice. Open when breathing and vibrating for speech ...

. The rest of the band Gillan, particularly McCoy and Towns, were not happy at the sudden disbanding of the group so soon after the success of ''Magic''.

Black Sabbath

In 1983, manager

Don Arden Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Move, Black Sabbath ...

invited Gillan to join

Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is a English musician and songwriter. He is best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heaven & Hell ...

and Bill Ward – founding members of

– in a supergroup. Although the band had reservations, on 6 April 1983, it was formally announced that Gillan had replaced

in Sabbath. The group recorded ''

Born Again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...

'' at the

Manor Studios The Manor Studio (a.k.a. The Manor) was a recording studio in the manor house at the village of Shipton-on-Cherwell in Oxfordshire, England, north of the city of Oxford. Overview The Manor and its outbuildings are listed Grade II on the Nati ...

in Oxfordshire. Ward recalled that he "didn't particularly like some of the lyrics that Ian was bringing forward and putting into the songs. Not because Ian doesn't write good lyrics or anything like that; I think Ian is an excellent performer, great singer and often at times I think his lyrics can be quite brilliant. But I just have a personal difference in what I like to hear in the way of lyrics, and so I felt terribly disconnected." Citing health problems, Ward decided not to accompany the others during the subsequent

tour Tour or Tours may refer to: Travel * Tourism, travel for pleasure * Tour of duty, a period of time spent in military service * Campus tour, a journey through a college or university's campus * Guided tour, a journey through a location, directed b ...

, and was replaced by

Bev Bevan Beverley Bevan (born 25 November 1944) is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). After the end of ELO in 1986, he founded ELO Part II. Bevan also was drumm ...

. Gillan was required to learn Sabbath's old repertoire, but had difficulty remembering the words. His solution was to write the lyrics on a perspex folder and put it on the stage floor, turning the pages with his feet. Unfortunately

dry ice Dry ice is the solid form of carbon dioxide. It is commonly used for temporary refrigeration as CO2 does not have a liquid state at normal atmospheric pressure and sublimates directly from the solid state to the gas state. It is used primarily a ...

on stage made it impossible to read the words, resulting in the audience catching glimpses of him peering over the

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and public ...

to sing a few lines and then disappearing below the dry ice to read the next set. Along with material from ''Born Again'' and older Sabbath numbers, the band regularly played Deep Purple's "

Smoke on the Water "Smoke on the Water" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, first released from the band's sixth studio album ''Machine Head'' (1972), which chronicles the 1971 fire at Montreux Casino. In a 2004 publication by ''Rolling Stone'' magaz ...

" as an encore. Gillan decided that he could not have a long-term role as Sabbath's singer and quit after a second North American tour. "We did an album and world tour and I loved every minute of it," he reflected. "It was the longest party I'd ever been to."

Reunion of Deep Purple, 1984–89 and 1992–present

After the disappointment of Black Sabbath, Gillan joined a reunited Deep Purple in April 1984, announcing their comeback on

Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM), al ...

's radio show. The reformed band rehearsed in

Stowe, Vermont Stowe is a town in Lamoille County, Vermont, United States. The population was 5,223 at the 2020 census. The town lies on Vermont Routes 108 and 100. It is nicknamed "The Ski Capital of the East" and is home to Stowe Mountain Resort, a ski faci ...

and recorded the album '' Perfect Strangers'' which was followed by a highly successful world tour. Another studio album with this formation, ''

The House of Blue Light ''The House of Blue Light'' is the 12th studio album by British rock band Deep Purple, released in 1987. It was the second recording by the reformed Mark II line-up, and the sixth studio album overall by this formation of the band. Recording ...

'' followed in 1987 but Gillan was concerned with the final results, stating "There's something missing in the overall album. I can't feel the spirit of the band." Deep Purple (1985)

This was followed by the live album '' Nobody's Perfect'' in 1988. The live album also featured a studio re-recording of the 1968 hit "Hush" with Gillan on vocals, to commemorate Deep Purple's 20th anniversary. (The original 1968 release had been sung by Rod Evans). Gillan later remarked that the album was "the embodiment of all the things wrong with Purple." In contrast to his experiences with Deep Purple in the 1970s, Gillan felt frustrated that the band were no longer working ''enough''. To fulfill his contract with Virgin, he formed a side project with Glover, writing and recording songs which didn't fit Purple's established hard rock style, which resulted in the album '' Accidentally on Purpose''. By 1989, tensions between Gillan and Blackmore had resurfaced, due to the former's greater enthusiasm for touring and differences over the music – the song "Mitzi Dupree" on ''The House of Blue Light'' is the original demo as Blackmore refused to re-record it. This culminated in Blackmore calling a rehearsal session without Gillan. After an acrimonious argument Glover told Gillan, "Ian you've gone too far this time," and he was fired. Gillan, meanwhile, formed a new version of Garth Rockett and the Moonshiners with keyboardist Mark Buckle, bassist Keith Mulholland, drummer Louis Rosenthal and guitarists Harry Shaw and Steve Morris. The band toured regularly through 1989, and recorded the album ''

Naked Thunder ''Naked Thunder'' is a 1990 solo album by Ian Gillan, released soon after his departure from Deep Purple in 1989. It features a varied selection of songs, with one of Gillan's most passionate and impressive performances on power ballad "Loving ...

''. Gillan later expressed dissatisfaction with the album, calling it "rather hum-de-dum". During this time, Gillan also made an appearance on a re-recording of "Smoke on the Water" with

, consisting of himself with

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

David Gilmour David Jon Gilmour ( ; born 6 March 1946) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and member of the rock band Pink Floyd. He joined as guitarist and co-lead vocalist in 1967, shortly before the departure of founding member Syd Barrett. P ...

Roger Taylor Roger Taylor may refer to: *Roger Taylor (Queen drummer) (born 1949), drummer for Queen *Roger Taylor (Duran Duran drummer) (born 1960), drummer for Duran Duran *Roger Taylor (author), author of epic fantasy Hawklan series *Roger Taylor (college pr ...

Brian May Brian Harold May (born 19 July 1947) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and astrophysicist, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead guitarist of the rock band Queen (band), Queen. May was a co-founder of Queen with lead singer Fredd ...

and

Paul Rodgers Paul Rodgers (born 17 December 1949) is a British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He was the lead vocalist of numerous bands, including Free, Bad Company, The Firm, and The Law. He has also performed as a solo artist, and co ...

as a charity record for aid relief in

following the then-recent

earthquake An earthquake (also known as a quake, tremor or temblor) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth's lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from ...

. He continued to tour with his solo band, albeit with several line-up changes throughout Europe, the US and Russia. At the urging of Glover, Lord and Paice, who wanted him in the fold for the band's 25th anniversary tour, Gillan rejoined Deep Purple in 1992 to record the album ''

The Battle Rages On ''The Battle Rages On...'' is the fourteenth studio album by the British hard rock band Deep Purple, released on July 19th, 1993 (Europe). It is the last album recorded with the band's classic Mk II line-up, which reunited for a second time (t ...

''. Gillan was unhappy with working on the album, as it had already been partially completed with Joe Lynn Turner, and he was only required to write replacement lyrics and vocal melodies, which, unsurprisingly, drew criticism from Blackmore. Blackmore left Deep Purple after the European tour promoting the album in 1993. Gillan and Blackmore subsequently repaired their relationship with each other. Gillan was especially enthusiastic about carrying on after Blackmore's departure, and after a brief stint with

Joe Satriani Joseph Satriani (born July 15, 1956)Prato, Greg"Joe Satriani – Music Biography, Credits and Discography". ''AllMusic''. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved May 28, 2014. is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and guitar teacher. Early in his ...

, Deep Purple recruited

Dixie Dregs The Dixie Dregs is an American rock band from Augusta, Georgia. Formed in 1970, the band's performance consists entirely of instrumentals that fuse elements of diverse genres such as rock, classical music, country, jazz and bluegrass into an ec ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

guitarist

Steve Morse Steve J. Morse (born July 28, 1954) is an American guitarist, best known as the founder of the Dixie Dregs and as the lead guitarist of Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022. Morse has also enjoyed a successful solo career and was briefly a member of ...

. He was keen to make changes to the live set immediately, adding the then-seldom played "

Maybe I'm a Leo "Maybe I'm a Leo" is a song by the British rock group Deep Purple, from their 1972 album ''Machine Head''. History Roger Glover says: "I wrote the riff to "Maybe I’m a Leo" after hearing John Lennon's " How Do You Sleep?". I liked the idea ...

" (named after Gillan's birth sign) and "

When a Blind Man Cries "When a Blind Man Cries" is a song by British rock band Deep Purple, originally only available as the B-side of the single " Never Before", released in 1972. It was recorded during the ''Machine Head'' sessions in December 1971. According to Ia ...

" – the latter becoming a mainstay in the band's setlist ever since. He said that their first album with Morse, ''

Purpendicular ''Purpendicular'' is the fifteenth studio album by the English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1996. It is their first album with guitarist Steve Morse from Dixie Dregs, who replaced Ritchie Blackmore. Recording The album was recorded at G ...

'', "was a such important record for Deep Purple that without that ther recordscouldn't have been possible." He has remained Purple's lead singer, though the band has found more success touring than with producing records. Gillan pays particular interest to the lyrics in Deep Purple and considers it his prime composing role within the band. Discussing the importance of lyrics, he said "Words have to sound good. They have to sound like an instrument, they have to have the right percussive value." He described the words of 2003's ''

Bananas A banana is an elongated, edible fruit – botanically a berry – produced by several kinds of large herbaceous flowering plants in the genus ''Musa''. In some countries, bananas used for cooking may be called "plantains", distinguis ...

'' as "politics mostly."

Later solo activity

Though Gillan has kept touring with Deep Purple regularly since 1994, he has found time to commit to other projects. On 31 March 2006 Gillan appeared at the

tribute concert in London. He was accompanied by

, Steve Morris, Dean Howard, Michael Lee Jackson, Harry James, Sim Jones and Richard Cottle. In April 2006 Gillan released a CD/multimedia project to document his 44-year career called ''

''.

Jeff Healey Norman Jeffrey Healey (March 25, 1966 – March 2, 2008) was a Canadian blues, rock and jazz singer, guitarist, and songwriter who attained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s. He reached No. 5 on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart with " Ang ...

, Dean Howard, as well as current and former members of Deep Purple such as Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Paice,

Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician who has been the keyboardist in the rock band Deep Purple since 2002, after the retirement of Jon Lord. He has had a long and productive career, playing with such acts as Gary Moore ...

and Steve Morse are featured on this 2006 CD and DVD. The project, produced by Nick Blagona, includes a re-recorded selection of his Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and solo tracks. At the same time as ''Gillan's Inn'', Gillan announced that his solo albums with the

and Gillan from the 1970s and 1980s would be re-issued late in 2006 and early 2007 through

Demon Records Demon Music Group (DMG) is a record company owned by BBC Studios that is mainly concerned with back-catalogue rights and re-issuing recordings as compilations on physical media (CDs and vinyl) via supermarkets and specialist stores. History DM ...

. Gillan performed the vocals in the song ''Eternity'' from the 2006 video game ''

Blue Dragon Blue Dragon may refer to: Biology * '' Glaucus atlanticus'', a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Glaucidae * '' Glaucus marginatus'', a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Glaucidae * '' Pteraeolidia ianthina'', a she ...

'', composed by

Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton Jo ...

. Ian Gillan sang on two songs off the

& Hoochie Coochie Men studio album, ''Danger. White Men Dancing'', released in late 2007. On 2 April 2007 Gillan released a DVD ''Highway Star – A Journey in Rock''. The DVD has 6 hours of footage including documentaries and music clips. This was followed in February 2008 by a double live album on

Edel Records Edel SE & Co. KGaA is a German independent media company based in Hamburg. As a label and publishing group, it also operates marketing and sales for artists and smaller music labels. The repertoire of the Edel labels includes dance, rock and po ...

, '' Live in Anaheim'' that features Gillan and Deep Purple classic songs and several rarities. A companion DVD was released in May 2008. On 3 May 2008 Ian Gillan performed at the

memorial concert in

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

, Canada. He had previously played live with Healey in Toronto in February 2005. He released a studio album entitled '' One Eye to Morocco'' in March 2009. In the 2010s, Gillan performed occasionally with orchestras in Europe, including rearrangements of Deep Purple songs.

WhoCares

Ian-Gillan-with-Armenian-State-Philharmonic-Orchestra-26Mar-2010

Gillan has expressed particular fondness for

and has maintained popularity there since Rock Aid Armenia in 1989, which has led to him forming the

as a side-project to Deep Purple. On 2 October 2009, in honour of the 20th anniversary of Rock Aid Armenia, Gillan together with

Geoff Downes Geoffrey Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English keyboardist who gained fame as a member of the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia. Born in Stockport, Downes moved to London ...

, and the project organiser Jon Dee were received by the

Prime Minister of Armenia The prime minister of Armenia is the head of government and most senior minister within the Government of Armenia, Armenian government, and is required by the constitution to "determine the main directions of policy of the Government, manage the ...

who awarded them with the republic's Orders of Honour. On 26 and 27 March 2010, in

Yerevan Yerevan ( , , hy, Երևան , sometimes spelled Erevan) is the capital and largest city of Armenia and one of the world's List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities. Situated along the Hrazdan River, Y ...

, Gillan performed with State Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia. At a press conference in Yerevan on 27 March, Gillan said he considers Armenia his spiritual motherland. In 2010, Ian Gillan met

Nicko McBrain Michael Henry "Nicko" McBrain (born 5 June 1952) is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the heavy metal band Iron Maiden since 1982. Having played in small pub bands since 1966 from the age of 14, McBrain paid his bills after grad ...

and

Mikko Lindström Mikko is a Finnish masculine given name and equivalent of the English name Michael, having been borrowed into the Finnish language. The given name Mikko is shared by the following notable people: * Mikko Alatalo, Finnish musician and politician * ...

from HIM and

Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician who was the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He first performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam from 1981 to 1986 before joining Metallica to su ...

at a studio in London to finish recording a song called " Out of my Mind", which was released the following year. This is for the benefit of the music school to be built in

Gyumri Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...

, Armenia – a project Ian Gillan has been working on with others since his 1990 solo concerts in Yerevan. On the flight back from Armenia in 2011, after each receiving the Armenian Presidential medal of Honour, Gillan and Iommi decided to form the side project WhoCares for ad hoc recordings (and possible performances) dedicated to raising money for specific causes. On 20 September 2013 Ian Gillan participated in the opening of the Octet Music School in Gyumri. The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America named Ian Gillan as its 2014 "Friend of the Armenians" and presented him the award at the 112th Diocesan Assembly in New York City.

Non-musical side projects

In 2010 Ian Gillan hosted a documentary about the Polish composer and pianist

Fryderyk Chopin The Fryderyk is the annual award in Polish music. Its name refers to the original Polish spelling variant of Polish composer Frédéric Chopin's first name. Its status in the Polish public can be compared to the American Grammy and the UK's BRI ...

in Poland directed by Jerzy Szkamruk. ''Chopin's Story'' is about the rise of the composer and documents his Polish years. The film has won several international awards, including the Best Documentary award at Tourfilm International Festival in Florianopolis, Brazil. It was aired on the Polish channel Discovery Historia on 21 June 2011. It was subsequently released on DVD.

Personal life

Gillan was in a relationship with Zoe Dean from 1969 to 1978. They had known each other since his time in Episode Six. In 1984, Gillan married his girlfriend Bron (1955 - 19 November 2022), to whom he had dedicated "Keep It Warm" from

's 1983 album ''Born Again''. They have twice since renewed their marriage vows. Their daughter Grace Gillan is also working as a singer for the band Papa LeGal. Gillan lives near

Lyme Regis Lyme Regis is a town in west Dorset, England, west of Dorchester and east of Exeter. Sometimes dubbed the "Pearl of Dorset", it lies by the English Channel at the Dorset–Devon border. It has noted fossils in cliffs and beaches on the Herita ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

and has a home in southern

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

. Gillan supports

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

and is a cricket fan. His surname is sometimes misspelled as "Gillian". Gillan himself made light of this in the lyrics to "MTV", a track from Deep Purple's 2005 album ''

Rapture of the Deep ''Rapture of the Deep'' is the 18th studio album by English hard rock band Deep Purple, released in October 2005. It is the fourth studio album from Deep Purple since Steve Morse joined the band in 1994 and the second to feature veteran keyboar ...

'', when he sang about "Mr. Grover 'n' Mr Gillian".

Selected discography

(1970) By

and

. With

Murray Head Murray Seafield St George Head (born 5 March 1946) is an English actor and singer. Head has appeared in a number of films, including a starring role as the character Bob Elkin in the Oscar-nominated 1971 film ''Sunday Bloody Sunday''. As a mus ...

Yvonne Elliman Yvonne Marianne Elliman (born December 29, 1951) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress who performed for four years in the first cast of the stage musical ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. She scored a number of hits in the 1970s and achieved ...

, John Gustafson, and musicians such as

Neil Hubbard Neil Terrence Hubbard (born 24 February 1948) is a British guitarist who has performed with Juicy Lucy, The Grease Band, Bluesology, Joe Cocker, Roxy Music, Kokomo, Alvin Lee, B.B. King, Kevin Rowland and Tony O'Malley, and played on the or ...

Henry McCullough Henry Campbell Liken McCullough (21 July 1943 – 14 June 2016) was a Northern Irish guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was best known for his work as a member of Spooky Tooth, The Grease Band and Paul McCartney and Wings. He also perfo ...

J. Peter Robinson John Peter Robinson (born 16 September 1945) is an English composer, musician, and arranger known for his film and television scores. Early years and pop music career He studied piano and composition at the Royal Academy of Music and enjoy ...

Karl Jenkins Sir Karl William Pamp Jenkins (born 17 February 1944) is a Welsh multi-instrumentalist and composer. His best known works include the song " Adiemus" and the ''Adiemus'' album series; '' Palladio''; ''The Armed Man''; and his ''Requiem''. J ...

and

John Marshall John Marshall (September 24, 1755July 6, 1835) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the fourth Chief Justice of the United States from 1801 until his death in 1835. He remains the longest-serving chief justice and fourth-longes ...

. with Deep Purple * ''

'' (1969) * ''

Deep Purple in Rock ''Deep Purple in Rock'' is the fourth studio album by Deep Purple, released on 5 June 1970. It was the first studio album recorded by the Mark II line-up of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. Work on ''In Rock ...

'' (1970) * ''

'' (1971) * ''

'' (1972) * '' Made in Japan'' (1972) * ''

'' (1973) * '' Perfect Strangers'' (1984) * ''

'' (1987) * ''

'' (1993) * ''

'' (1996) * ''

Abandon Abandon, abandoned, or abandonment may refer to: Common uses * Abandonment (emotional), a subjective emotional state in which people feel undesired, left behind, insecure, or discarded * Abandonment (legal), a legal term regarding property ** Chi ...

'' (1998) * ''

'' (2003) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

Now What?! ''Now What?!'' is the 19th studio album by English rock band Deep Purple. It was released on 26 April 2013 and produced by Bob Ezrin. A dedicated official web site was also created by the band to post updates about the album. It was the band's ...

'' (2013) * ''

Infinite Infinite may refer to: Mathematics *Infinite set, a set that is not a finite set *Infinity, an abstract concept describing something without any limit Music * Infinite (group), a South Korean boy band *''Infinite'' (EP), debut EP of American m ...

'' (2017) * ''

Whoosh! ''Whoosh!'' is the twenty-first studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 7 August 2020. Although he appeared on their next album '' Turning to Crime'', this is the last studio album of original material to feature longtime gu ...

'' (2020) * ''

Turning to Crime ''Turning to Crime'' is the twenty-second studio album by British rock band Deep Purple, released on 26 November 2021. It is composed entirely of covers, and is the last Deep Purple album to feature guitarist Steve Morse before he left the band ...

'' (2021) with Black Sabbath * ''

'' (1983) with The Javelins * ''

Sole Agency and Representation ''Sole Agency and Representation'' is an album by The Javelins, a 1960s band fronted by Ian Gillan, which never made recordings until it reunited in 1994 to record an album of rock and roll covers. It was released in September 1994 by RPM Rec ...

'' (1994) * '' Ian Gillan and the Javelins'' (2018) with Ian Gillan Band & Gillan * ''

'' (1976) * ''

'' (1977) * ''

'' (1977) * '' Live at the Budokan'' (1977/1983) * '' Gillan'' (1978) * '' Mr. Universe'' (1979) * ''

'' (1980) * ''

'' (1981) * '' Double Trouble'' (live) (1981) * ''

'' (1982) Solo * '' Accidentally on Purpose'' (1988, with

) * ''

'' (1990) * ''

Toolbox A toolbox (also called toolkit, tool chest or workbox) is a box to organize, carry, and protect the owner's tools. They could be used for trade, a hobby or DIY, and their contents vary with the craft. Types A toolbox could refer to several typ ...

'' (1991) * ''

Dreamcatcher In some Native American and First Nations cultures, a dreamcatcher ( oj, asabikeshiinh, the inanimate form of the word for 'spider') is a handmade willow hoop, on which is woven a net or web. It may also be decorated with sacred items such as ...

'' (1997) * ''

'' (2006) * '' Live in Anaheim'' (2008) * '' One Eye to Morocco'' (2009) with WhoCares (also known as Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi & Friends) * '' Ian Gillan & Tony Iommi: WhoCares'' (2012) Rock Aid Armenia (1990) : With

, Geoff Beauchamp,

Keith Emerson Keith Noel Emerson (2 November 1944 – 11 March 2016) was an English keyboardist, songwriter, and record producer. He played keyboards in a number of bands before finding his first commercial success with the Nice in the late 1960s. He became ...

Alex Lifeson Aleksandar Živojinović, (born 27 August 1953), known professionally as Alex Lifeson (), is a Canadian musician, best known as the guitarist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Rush. In 1968, Lifeson co-founded the band that wo ...

Chris Squire Christopher Russell Edward Squire (4March 1948 – 27June 2015) was an English musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist and backing vocalist of the progressive rock band Yes (band), Yes. He was the longest-serving original memb ...

and

Timeline

References

Citations Sources * * * Further reading * ''Candy Horizon'' (1980) – a book of poems written by Gillan. * ''Smoke This!: The Warblings, Rants, Philosophies, and Musings from the Singer of Deep Purple'' (2006)

External links

*
Authorised links from Gillan.com

Official site for the Gillan's Inn Project
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gillan, Ian 1945 births Living people English autobiographers English rock singers English heavy metal singers English male singer-songwriters British harmonica players People from Hounslow Deep Purple members Black Sabbath members Island Records artists English people of Scottish descent People educated at Acton County Grammar School English expatriates in Portugal EMI Records artists Conga players Gillan (band) members Episode Six members Ian Gillan Band members 20th-century English male singers 20th-century English singers 21st-century English male singers 21st-century English singers Blues rock musicians