page_title: Ian Gillan
section_title: Later solo activity
hierarchical_section_title: Ian Gillan / Career / Later solo activity
caption_attribution_description: Ian Gillan at the Sunflower Jam, London, 2008.
context_page_description: Ian Gillan is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and lyricist for the rock band Deep Purple and is known for his powerful and wide-ranging singing voice, in particular his high pitched banshee screams.
  Initially influenced by Elvis Presley, Gillan started and fronted several local bands in the mid-1960s, and eventually joined Episode Six when their original singer left. He first found widespread commercial success after joining Deep Purple in 1969. He resigned from the band in June 1973, having given a lengthy notice period to their managers. After a short time away from the music business, he resumed his music career with solo bands the Ian Gillan Band and Gillan, before a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath in 1983. The following year, Deep Purple reformed and two more successful albums followed before he left in 1989. He returned to the group in 1993, and has remained its lead singer ever since.
context_section_description: Though Gillan has kept touring with Deep Purple regularly since 1994, he has found time to commit to other projects.
  On 31 March 2006 Gillan appeared at the Tommy Vance tribute concert in London. He was accompanied by Roger Glover, Steve Morris, Dean Howard, Michael Lee Jackson, Harry James, Sim Jones and Richard Cottle.
  In April 2006 Gillan released a CD/multimedia project to document his 44-year career called Gillan's Inn. Tony Iommi, Jeff Healey, Joe Satriani, Dean Howard, as well as current and former members of Deep Purple such as Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Steve Morse are featured on this 2006 CD and DVD. The project, produced by Nick Blagona, includes a re-recorded selection of his Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and solo tracks. At the same time as Gillan's Inn, Gillan announced that his solo albums with the Ian Gillan Band and Gillan from the 1970s and 1980s would be re-issued late in 2006 and early 2007 through Demon Records.
  Gillan performed the vocals in the song Eternity from the 2006 video game Blue Dragon, composed by Nobuo Uematsu.
  Ian Gillan sang on two songs off the Jon Lord & Hoochie Coochie Men studio album, Danger. White Men Dancing, released in late 2007. On 2 April 2007 Gillan released a DVD Highway Star – A Journey in Rock. The DVD has 6 hours of footage including documentaries and music clips. This was followed in February 2008 by a double live album on Edel Records, Live in Anaheim that features Gillan and Deep Purple classic songs and several rarities. A companion DVD was released in May 2008.
  On 3 May 2008 Ian Gillan performed at the Jeff Healey memorial concert in Toronto, Canada. He had previously played live with Healey in Toronto in February 2005. He released a studio album entitled One Eye to Morocco in March 2009.
  In the 2010s, Gillan performed occasionally with orchestras in Europe, including rearrangements of Deep Purple songs.
caption: Ian Gillan at the Sunflower Jam, London, 2008.
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