Classic onstage quotes

Anyone who has been to a Deep Purple concert knows that half the fun is listening to Ian Gillan talk between the songs. Here we are collecting some off the best stuff from Deep Purple tours around the world.

If you want to read longer anecdotes by Ian Gillan please visit the anecdotage archives available at Gillan's own website.

From 1996

Rosa's Cantina:
"A place where there's urine on the floor and also in what you thought was your glass of margarita"

Ted The Mechanic:
"A transvestite sitting down next to you at a strip club and telling you his life story - all of which took 30 minutes"

Speed King:
"Here's a ballad I used to sing to my little daughter before I put her to bed each night"

Osaka, December 3rd, 1993 ("The Battle" bootleg)

Introduction to Maybe I'm a Leo:
IG (on mike): Yes, well, here's a song about, can't remember how it was concieved, some mind bending situation, a huge PUSSY!
JL (off mike): WHAT!
Joe Satriani (off mike): A WHAT!

IG (on mike) : We're going to do something now that we've never done before......apart from yesterday! It's a song written in Montreaux, in Switzerland. I dunno what it's about, but one was obviously in a strange frame of mind, it's called Pictures of Home, thankyou.

IG (on mike): This is a song from the Fireball record, which is
JL (off mike): not the one which you think it is.
IG (on mike) : ... which is what it was. heh heh.
They then play Anyone's Daughter. At the end:
IG (on mike): In that song you can see the very roots of heavy metal, I'll tell ya!
JL (off mike): Ha!
JS (off mike): YEEEE HAA (imitating a cowboy!)
IG (on mike): Here's one that was written even earlier.
JL (off mike): How early was this written?
IG (on mike): this was written on a moderately cool Wednesday afternoon, in Southall or Hanwell, can't remember which, and it goes like this.
JL: G G A (Child in Time)

JL (off mike): You know, the last time I was here I thought they were too quiet, but now .........I think they're too quiet! Can't even hear a trouser rip.
IG (to audience but not using the mike): Shhh! can you hear me out there?
JS then simulates the sound of trousers ripping by running the plectrum slowly up the E string!

IG (who thinks the next song is Lazy) (on mike): In the Absence of...... (laughter from audience) In the Absence of Pink, here's a little Blues for you, it goes like this
(few seconds of silence, then someone says something to Ian which I can't quite hear), followed by:
IG screaming (off mike) : Oh God, Jesus Christ! why didn't you tell me - hah, smarty pants.
They then launch into When a Blind Man Cries, with AWESOME guitar from Joe and after the song ends:
IG (off mike) : Hey, that were fun, thanks guys
JL (off mike) : Don't mention it.

From 1985

How Ian introduced the songs for most of the night during a concert during the Perfect Strangers tour.
"This one is entitled Orange".
"This one is Red"
"Blue"

Made In Japan, 2nd night in Osaka

Intro to Strange Kind of Woman:
"Thank you, this next thing is like an old song, and it's a about fat Joey this time, and an evil woman, evil woman he got mixed up with, she did all sorts of rotten things to him, and it ended up that it was a very sad ending to the song anyway. Why I'm talking such a lot is cos like we got to tune up again, cos the there's a big time change from England you see, and the guitars are still not recovered from it, they're a bit sleepy and they're gone out of tune. So here's what it's called, it's a thing called Strange kind of woman.
Very important announcement to make at this stage, we're pleased to announce that next week we're turning professional, ha."

Intro to Space truckin:
"This next thing is a, like sort of thing that would've been written if everything had happened at the same time, like r'n'r and space travel, but it didn't, so this song doesn't exist, what we're about to do now is not a song at all but nothing at all, it's a thing called Space truckin?."

Aachen 1970

Introduction to Mandrake root:
"I'll tell you what we want you to do: if you don't feel too cold we want you to get all your gear off, take all your clothes off, and and let it all hang down to your knees and everything like that. You know, I mean there's no one around, and the fuzz are all at the back, so, so, get it all off and be very rude here's a filthy, rude song, it's a thing ha?, yeah it's very rude it's a diabolically rude song, so if you feel like getting all your diaboliclies out let's do it, it's a thing called Mandrake root."

Contributors: Tom Booth, Ante Senjanovic, Pat.

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