In the summer of 1990 I was involved with a charity radio station in Nottingham.
Amongst the programmes I was involved with at the time was the station's own rock magazine programme. We found out via the press that Ian Gillan would be in the city on a particular day to make a promotional appearance at a Nottingham record store and would be signing copies of his latest solo album.
Being something of a Gillan/DP fan I took the chance that if I went to the event with professional recording equipment I might just be able to grab an interview for the radio. I took the afternoon off work, found the venue and soon got in touch with the rep from the record company Ian was signed to at the time. I was told that it "might be possible" and to hang around till the long line of people who turned up to have various LP's etc signed had gone. Eventually I came to the conclusion it wasn't going to happen (often these type of things are very tightly scheduled and don't leave much room for unarranged interviews) but then the rep came up and said "OK - where do you want to talk to him?" So space was made at the back of the store and all of a sudden it's just me and the man! I asked him all the usual stuff about his new album and then wondered how best to broach the subject of his recent split from DP and the problems therein. I'm not quite sure what made me say it, I guess 'cos he just seemed so relaxed, but I specifically remember coming out with some comment like "You've all been around so long you'd think you'd all know better by now!" Well, just for a moment I thought I was leaving the store via the plate glass window, but a cheeky smile spread across his face and he answered all my questions smoothly and professionally. But the story isn't quite over. Interview finished, we were heading for the door and making small talk and my second rush of blood came. I thought "what the hell" and just said something like " Well that seemed to go nice and smoothly, fancy a pint?" expecting a "commitments" brush-off.
To my surprise he said "Well, we've finished all the promo stuff for the rest of the day, why not!" As it happens, the record shop is in a reasonably quiet backstreet and almost direcly opposite a pub. It was a warm sunny day and there's me, my girlfriend at the time, the record co. rep, a young girl who was a bit of a Gillanphile as well, and of course the big fella round a table outside the pub.
Soon the rep wandered off to deal with other stuff, my other half knew next to nothing about DP and I have to admit I rather dominated Ian's time. We sat and drank and talked and drank and lazed about and drank some more. The young girl took a photo of me and Ian, promising to send me a copy (and never did)...oh, and did I mention we had a few drinks as well...I must have bored him stupid but he told stories about his IGB days, the Gillan band (I even discovered that John McCoy's family came from around the Bradford/Leeds area of Yorkshire where I grew up myself!) and his relationships with other DP members ("Jon...an absolute gem, Rog's my oldest friend and Ritchie...well, he's a truculent fellow..."). He said that there had recently been a private reuinion of the old Episode Six players as well. He also mentioned that he had nearly taken John "Gus" Gustaffson on the tour to promote his latest album but Gus had been such a prat after the recording sessions that he wasn't invited on the road.
Most of the stuff he talked about came out later in his book anyway, so I'll leave it there. My partner and I were invited out to a curry in the evening but I declined - I thought he'd had enough questions for one day!
Needless to say I have a copy of Naked Thunder with the words "Lend us a quid or I'll rip your spine out" scrawled on it in that recognisible hand, and a lasting memory of a rather charming and decent bloke. Believe me or not, that's the way it happened, and if you look at page 192 of Child in Time (para 2) maybe Ian remembered it too...
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