Deep Purple recently released their new studio album, =1. In a new feature at The Independent, frontman, Ian Gillan, speaks with Mark Beaumont about booze, the sexual wildness of the Sixties, living out Spinal Tap moments, and the new album. An excerpt follows…
Produced by Bob Ezrin, =1 also throws back somewhat to the sounds, themes and sonic intensity of Purple’s imperial Seventies period, when Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice and since departed keyboard and guitar legends Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore were considered part of an “unholy trinity” of British hard rock alongside Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath.
“No Money To Burn” harkens back to his days of pre-stardom poverty – “Roger and I only had one set of clothes between us when we joined Purple in ’69, so we couldn’t go out at the same time,” he says. “I have been very poor at times. In fact, I was recording the other day and I had to steal dog biscuits to feed myself!”
It’s also, I suggest, a surprisingly lusty record for a band who long since swapped the Jack bottle for the travel kettle. “You mean salacious?” Gillan chuckles.
“It’s a bit naughty in places I suppose, but it’s only very mild and at my age [78], really, come on. [But] I’m a night person, I live the nightlife, I’m in rock’n’roll and I mix with exciting people. We don’t live in the conventional world.”
He cites “A Bit On The Side”, the true story of meeting a beautiful young woman in an “adult club” in Germany. “I poured her a glass of champagne and she sat down, we talked. She said her name was Charlene from Berlin, and we had a lot of interesting things [in common] – I had been to some interesting places and so had she.
We were winding down and I noticed that she needed a shave. It turned out she wasn’t really Charlene from Berlin. She was Charlie from Belfast.”
“I don’t care which way you lean,” Gillan sings, mingling the political with the overtly sexual with a tongue-lapping wail, “I don’t want no left or right/ I want front ’n back/ and a little bit o’ lovin’ on the side.”
The enigmatic album title, =1, encapsulates Deep Purple’s philosophy of unity amidst complexity, promising an album that resonates deeply with their five decades spanning hard rock legacy.
=1 is available via earMUSIC as Ltd. CD+DVD (Digipak), CD (Jewelcase), 2LP Gatefold (black, 180g), Ltd. Purple 2LP Gatefold (180g), Ltd.
Crystal Clear 2LP (180g) and Ltd. Box Set (CD+DVD Digipak, 2LP black Gatefold, 3x exclusive 10” vinyl editions feat. live recordings from Deep Purple’s 2022 tour, exclusive Collector’s T-shirt, 2x exclusive guitar picks, 1x exclusive art print, 1x exclusive lanyard, and the chance to win a Golden Ticket giving access to all shows on the Deep Purple =1 More Time tour).
All LPs include a rich 12-page vinyl sized booklet. The bonus DVD features the approx. 60min documentary ‘Access All Areas’ joining Deep Purple backstage on tour and providing an exclusive look behind the scenes.
Further exclusive items are available via the official album store (here): Ltd. 2LP Picture Disc, Ltd. Cassette, strictly limited canvas signed by all band members – limited to 50 items only and various other merchandise items.
