Deep Purple's Ian Gillan says he only has 30% vision, and retirement is 'not far off'
"I think if I lose my energy I’m going to stop. I don’t want to be an embarrassment to anyone."
Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan has revealed he only has 30% vision and his eyesight “won’t get better.”
80-year-old Ian Gillan is still actively touring with Deep Purple with concerts in Dubai and Malaysia taking place later this month, and more than a dozen shows in Europe and Japan already locked in for 2026.
However, in a candid new interview with Uncut, Gillan spoke openly about aging and conceded that retirement is “not far off.”
“It’s one of those things. I’ve only got 30 per cent vision. That won’t get better. It makes life mysterious,” Gillan said.
“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.”
He quipped: “It’s hilarious this growing old thing. It’s a laugh a minute. 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 anymore. Other than that, things move a little more slowly. But nothing’s changed.”
Reflecting on 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.”
Ian Gillan joined Deep Purple in 1969, and, live album ‘Concerto for Group and Orchestra’ aside, he made his studio debut on the band’s masterpiece album ‘Deep Purple in Rock’.
He left the band in 1973, and went on to form his eponymous solo bands Ian Gillan Band and Gillan before a short-lived tenure as Black Sabbath vocalist in 1983. He rejoined the reunited Deep Purple in 1984 and has remained a constant member ever since.
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