Perfect Strangers

"Look, this is going to sound a bit strange considering I helped the write the thing, but there's not a lot I can tell you at the moment,” laughs Gillan, when asked to spill the beans on Deep Purple's new album.

“I didn't even take a monitor mix out of the studio with me because it's all a bit dangerous in this day and age – you could find rough mixes floating out across the world. Also, I should tell you guys that we won't be performing any of the new material until the album's been released in April. Back in the day we used to play new songs almost as soon as they were written but again, things have changed and we've had to adapt to circumstances. That's the downside of the digital age I'm afraid.”

Despite being somewhat coy Gillan does admit that the album boasts Purple's penchant for diverse sounds, and that he's happy with the constant progression. “I don't think you can compare this album with any of our older ones because no two Purple albums sound alike,” he says. “Look at In Rock [1970] and Fireball [1971], we did those albums back to back and they don't sound anything alike. This happens because we never come into the studio with a single song written – all the songs come out of jam sessions. So what you get on each album is a snapshot of what the band is like at that particular time. And of course that changes over time.”

Just as Deep Purple like to jam in the studio, they also enjoy letting it all hang out live on stage. According to Gillan it's this habit that makes the band's shows so unique. “I always tell people not to worry about the setlists for a Purple show – it's the performance that counts. We can play the exact same setlist three nights in a row and deliver three radically different performances. We don't just run through songs in the same manner every night; we improvise, mix things up and feed off the energy [in the room].” 

Although 2013 is shaping up to be an exciting year for Deep Purple it's also one tinged with sadness following the death of founding member, and keyboardist, Jon Lord. Gillan has nothing but fond memories for his revered former bandmate.

“Well, obviously there are plenty of stories I could tell but just can't,” laughs Gillan. “What I can say is that Jon was such delightful company, he was just a wonderful man. One of my most treasured moments was when we were travelling on a tour bus from Monte Carlo down to Barcelona and we were on the coast road just about to go into Spain. I remember that the sun was just about to come up and we had this hugely difficult decision to make about whether to open another bottle of red wine. Jon decided that we probably should because the conversation was so interesting – and we carried on drinking and talking until we fell asleep.

“Jon would also put himself out to help you,” continues Gillan. “I just did a project with Tony Iommi called Who Cares – it was a benefit thing – and Jon flew from Germany to help us out in the studio. That's just the kind of guy he was.”

Speaking of Iommi, Gillan was asked how he felt about the recent remastered release of the controversial Black Sabbath album Born Again, on which he handled vocals way back in 1983. “I honestly had no idea that album had been re-released – I'm going to go and find it as soon as I get off the phone,” laughs Gillan. “That was definitely a great album but I was so disappointed with how muggy it ended up sounding – the original monitor mixes I have at home sounded fantastic. So I'm glad they've re-released the album, especially if they've improved the sound.”

Deep Purple will be playing the following dates:

Tuesday 26 February - Entertainment Centre, Brisbane QLD
Friday 1 March - Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 2 March - Entertainment Centre, Sydney NSW
Monday 4 March - Entertainment Centre, Adelaide SA
Thursday 7 March - Arena, Perth WA