DEEP PURPLE's IAN GILLAN Reveals He Only Has 30% Vision, And Says Retirement Is 'Not Far Off'
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Ian Gillan says DEEP PURPLE's retirement is "not far off", partly as a result of his growing vision problems.
The 80-year-old singer, who is still actively touring with DEEP PURPLE, with more than a dozen shows in Europe and Japan already scheduled for 2026, told Uncut magazine that is unsure how much longer he and his bandmates will be able to keep performing live.
"It's one of those things," he said. "I've only got 30 percent vision. That won't get better. It makes life mysterious. The hardest thing is working on my laptop. I can't see anything on the screen unless I use my peripheral vision; I pick up a line by looking at it sideways. But you find a way. You adapt. But it's achingly tiresome. It takes a long time to do the work."
Ian went on to say that he is grateful he still has his sense of humor.
"It's hilarious this growing old thing. It's a laugh a minute," Gillan said. "Well, sometimes yes and sometimes no. I walk down the road and hear something drop off — clang, there's something else gone. Nothing's changed really apart from I can't pole vault any more. Other than that, things move a little more slowly. But nothing's changed."
Contemplating the possibility of retirement, Gillan said: "I think if I lose my energy I'm going to stop. I don't want to be an embarrassment to anyone. We're not far off that. It creeps up on you — you don't really notice."
In August 2024, Gillan was asked by SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk" if retirement was out of the vocabulary for him and his DEEP PURPLE bandmates, more than eight years after they launched "The Long Goodbye" tour. He responded: "I think it is. That was a joke, actually, because it was the promoters. And someone said, 'We've gotta sell some more tickets.' And it's the good old standby, the farewell tour. So I said, Okay, we'll call it 'goodbye' tour, but let's call it 'the long goodbye', and let's make the emphasis on the word 'long',' so it's kind of an enigmatic phrase."
He continued: "There's no intention to stop. At the moment… I spoke to my manager the other day. I've got some solo project. He said, 'You're gonna have to put 'em back,' and I'm putting them back years. We're already booked to the end of '26, in the planning stage, in the diary, with all the projects we've got for DEEP PURPLE. So, yeah, years to come, hopefully."
In July 2022, guitarist Steve Morse officially left PURPLE to care for his wife, Janine, who was battling cancer. He has since been replaced by Simon McBride.
DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "=1", came out in July 2024 via earMUSIC.
(Source: www.blabbermouth.net)
Photo by Margarita Stefankova (c) HeadBanger.ru
