Ian Gillan Admits Deep Purple’s The Long Goodbye Tour Was a Marketing “Joke”

Influenced by legends like Elvis Presley, Ian Gillan decided to take the stage in hopes of leaving his mark on the music industry. While performing with bands like Black Sabbath, Gillan eventually found his home with the rock band Deep Purple. Having been part of the group for decades, the singer, who is currently 79 years old, recently opened up about his career in the spotlight and how The Long Goodbye tour was nothing more than a “Joke” as he doesn’t plan on retiring soon. 

Appearing on SiriusXM with Eddie Trunk, Gillan took fans back to the beginning of the tour and how it all sprouted from the promoters. For many fans, they believed the tour marked the end for Gillan, but that wasn’t the case as he explained, “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, ‘OK, 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.”

Although suggesting the name stemmed from a joke, back in 2018, Gillan claimed the band was considering retiring. Even guitarist Steve Morse said at the time, “For me, personally, it’s a farewell tour.” 

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Ian Gillan Shares The Importance Of Energy

Continuing his discussion with Trunk, Gillan insisted he wanted to continue for years. “There’s no intention to stop. 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.”

With Gillan understanding his age, the singer promised Ultimate Classic Rock he would end his time on stage when the energy ended. “As soon as you start feeling unable to deliver at that [high] level – of course, you adjust, of course, you adapt and make do the best you can. But when the energy level goes, that’s time to stop because then it gets embarrassing and nobody wants that. But so far, so good.”

 (Photo by Theo Wargo/Getty Images)