![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan3.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey2.jpg)
The pent-up feeling
Ian Gillan spoke to France’s Riff X, and the interview appears in their METALXS series. The conversation revolves around the latest album =1, some anecdotes from the bygone days, and his, ahem, unique sense of fashion. Ian’s words are in original English, with subtitles en française.
Speaking of anecdotes and the unique sense of fashion, here’s an excerpt from the interview:
I remember doing a show in Germany, a solo show with an orchestra. It was a disaster. It was in a mining facility [with] huge machinery. It was like a science fantasy kind of background, a Ferropolis, it was called in Germany. They have big festivals there sometimes. It was a disaster. It was raining and they sold no tickets. Should have held 20,000 people. There were 200 or 300 [people] there. The promoter put the seats a long way from the stage. There was no cover on the stage. There were no monitors. There were no lights — just one white light on the stage. One caravan for me. Nothing for the orchestra or the musicians. The rain was coming down. We reached halftime. Everything was terrible. They’re all sheltering under the stage, wet with their instruments. I’m sitting naked in my caravan. My P.A. [personal assistant] comes in. My clothes are drenched. She said, ‘Oh, they’re making a fortune out there’ — she’s joking, ‘they’re selling ponchos. Look, I bought one for you.’ It’s like they have at Niagara Falls when you get on the boat, and they’re just transparent plastic ponchos. I said, ‘That’s what I’m wearing on stage for the second half of the show.’ So she said, ‘I dare you.’ I said, ‘Okay, I will.’ So I walked out naked on the stage, apart from this plastic poncho, which was transparent. And the orchestra got up, and they realized what was going on, and they started playing with fire. And we had just the most wonderful time because we were laughing at the rain, we were laughing at the circumstances. And the audience all got out of their seats — there weren’t many of them — and they all came to the front of the stage, and suddenly we were all entwined in this thing.
Somebody took a film of it on their camera, and it went up on YouTube that night. Around midnight, the phone started ringing. My manager: ‘What the fuck do you think you’re doing?’ And then the DEEP PURPLE manager comes on: ‘What is he doing, destroying the reputation of the band?’ And so, I said, ‘Well, actually, if you were there, you would have understood. But this camera recorded things, the sound and the vision was out of sync, because of the distance. The lighting was horrible, the orchestra was all out of tune, because of the rain. And it sounded like a cacophony of absolute nonsense. But if you were there, you understood the circumstances. And it was Sally, my P.A., who had said, ‘Ian actually saved the day.’ If you just watched it on YouTube, you’d think this is the worst thing that ever happened. In actual fact, it was one of the best experiences of my life.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info and quotes.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Ah, Ian Gillan being Ian Gillan, good on him. He has always been an anarchist in that sense, a rebel with a cause so to speak. I do think he & Blackmore were the reasons the Purps were not the flavour of the month, year or decade in the British & USA establishments eyes. This comment is a follow on from what DeeperPurps was talking about over at another post & I responded with the Blackmore antics comment. Led Zep were much more within the establishments rock ‘n roll image so to speak, hence their huge popularity. They embraced the USA & played it out where Purple never did. Just who did Deep Purple think they were. Good on them (Blackmore & Gillan), give the knobs heaps I say. No pun intended re Gillan’s see through poncho, Uwe behave yourself. Cheers.
September 26th, 2024 at 22:39Très bien, c’est magnifique!
As if anyone of us here minded “Big” Ian performing stark naked, let it all hang out bro! Live your life like a dangle in the wind.
September 26th, 2024 at 23:18Karin, this is NOT for you. Go fetch us some drinks please, tak skal du have.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUHJyL7Hgrw&t=122s
September 26th, 2024 at 23:24By the way, “Hang Me Out To Dry”-Big Ian lies about the size …
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/32/Ian_Gillan_in_Ferropolis_2009-09-04.jpg/900px-Ian_Gillan_in_Ferropolis_2009-09-04.jpg
… of the audience (Now what did YOU think?!). Almost 3.000 people were there (pretty much the standard attendance at these Rock Meets Classic Travelling Circuses) though not all may have born witness to the full length …
… of the set given the amount of precipitation going down.
September 26th, 2024 at 23:39Finally, and I have this from a trustworthy source, who was there: Ian did wear a G-string which gives new meaning to his popular stage rap: “Thank you for your support, I shall wear it always.”
The orchestra played Highway Star, Strange Kind Of Woman,
September 26th, 2024 at 23:52Woman From Tokyo, Pictures Of Home, Fireball, Ted The Mechanic, Perfect Strangers, Black Night and Smoke On The Water. For obvious reasons “Loosen My String” was dropped from the set.
Excellent interview of Ian Gillan. Interesting how he refers to the cathartic effect that Simon McBride had on the band….the pent up feelings that were released in the rest of the guys, and how everything became easy!
September 27th, 2024 at 02:59Well I did warn Uwe to behave himself. Where is Sigmund these day, not that we really need him. Uwe just expressing his ‘feminine’ side, again. Cheers
September 27th, 2024 at 05:52@ 6 – if that is the case DeeperPurps, it would be a very similar scenario as 1994/5 with the then new banjo player Steve Morse. A different frustration perhaps, but a sort of similar outcome. Best record since Machine Head, hmmmmmm. Musicians always or usually rave about their latest release highly & rate it this way & that. As the dust settles though, that very often does change. Anyway, time gentlemen, time is all we have for a simple song as Gillan wrote. It is in the present day until the next one etc etc. Cheers.
September 27th, 2024 at 06:22@3
September 27th, 2024 at 07:37Alright then, what are you all having? 😊
@6 DeeperPurps
September 27th, 2024 at 07:52nothing more true!
🍻
By the way gentlemen, I got a dvd from my very own sweetheart, it’s a dvd about Ian Gillan, and the title is: Ian Gillan Highway Star, a Journey in Rock.
September 27th, 2024 at 09:14And there is mentioned how Ian and his darling wife both endured nudism, so please my dears don’t be alarmed 😄
K
“Uwe behave yourself.”
Alas!, I tried, but I’m too much a fan of performance art.
September 27th, 2024 at 09:35