A biography for Ian Gillanhasn’t been written yet.
“You can never criticize a monumental musician like Jon Lord or Richie Blackmore, or the part they played in the group, but life goes on.”
“I've consciously avoided actually reading anything about Wikipedia.”
“I've always been optimistic - I always expect the sun to come out.”
“If you start adapting to audiences, you're really second-guessing the situation, and it becomes a bit more like cabaret.”
“I've never been troubled by disappointment, and I get over it quickly. But I'm not good at making plans, and I don't have any ambitions. I never did.”
“The people who come to Purple shows are there for the music.”
“To the general public in America, the lifespan of Deep Purple probably finished with our 1984 album, 'Perfect Strangers.'”
“I sang 'Nessun Dorma' twice with Pavarotti, and he told me he'd heard 'Smoke' about five or six times, and every time was different. He was so jealous because if he deviated one jot from the traditional interpretation of the famous arias, he'd be crucified. We have the freedom.”
“When I'm writing with Tony Iommi, for example, still it's very easy. We go in, and I know exactly what his style is. It's very distinctive, and you know exactly what he's looking for, and we know exactly where we're going from the first chord.”
“There's a wonderful woodland, spiritual song I wrote in Undercliff in Lyme Regis, and I used to walk up there with my dog and always come back with an idea.”
“I don't think we were anti-commercial. But we were anti-contrivance, and like Zeppelin, we found dignity through the music we were playing.”
“Singles - we hated it, going on 'Top Of The Pops' and all that rubbish.”
“I'm completely irresponsible, I'm afraid. I'm ignorant about money as a commodity - I have never really understood it.”
“Life's not so rocky now. It was very volatile when you're young: you've got no experience. Your sense of disappointment is far greater; your sense of success is overwhelming. And then you've got the emotional conflict within any group that you're not mature enough to deal with until you get older. It levels out.”
“The thing to remember when you're re-recording pieces from the past is that you have to have respect for the original performances, recordings, and arrangements.”
“When we arrive at the studio, we put the kettle on, have a cup of tea, say, 'How's the family? You still got that old car? Is that dog still alive?' and then we start jamming. That's how the songs get written.”
“My first contract was in 1965. There were six of us in this band - my band before Deep Purple - six in the band plus management, and the entire royalty rate was three-fourths of 1 percent.”
“Elvis's voice was unique. Like so many others, he had natural, technical ability, but there was something in the humanity of his voice, and his delivery.”
“I've played football with George Best, the greatest footballer that ever lived. That doesn't make me a footballer. And I've sung a duet with Pavarotti. That doesn't make me an opera singer. I can write and I have a story to tell, but I'm not going to make a career out of it.”
“Can you imagine doing 'Nessa Dorma' with Luciano Pavarotti the maestro? It's unbelievable. He's a very generous man.”