The following interview is courtesy of Debbie Bennett from Expressandstar.co.uk:

Everyone over the age of 25 has heard of it. It is the simplest of riffs which every wannabe guitarist learns first and foremost – even non-metal fans.

'Smoke On The Water' was, and still is, the song that gave British heavy rock band DEEP PURPLE a place in the music history books.

Now, almost 40 years on, after a number of break-ups, reunions, and various line-ups, Deep Purple seems to have finally found its comfy chair as the band continues to tour, record and amaze, with three of its earliest members still on board.

Although lead vocalist IAN GILLAN Gillan wasn’t the first singer with Deep Purple, which formed in 1968, he joined in 1969, bringing with him an incredible four-octave voice which has hardly aged over the years.

A European tour-leg begins in March with UK dates starting in April including a May date at the NEC Arena, and Ian sounds relaxed and calm following a month’s break in Queensland, Australia, where he’s spent a few lazy days swimming in the Great Barrier Reef.

He mentions spotting crocodiles and sharks: “Just like the music business, really,” he jokes.

Presumably, then, he can relax and stop writing when he’s away from it all.

“Oh no, I do write,” he replies. “I’ve got my little book with me all the time, plus my laptop. . . I’m always scribbling.”

And that’s not just lyrics, but thoughts, questions and general putting the world to rights. He never quite knows what his notes will be used for – but then he doesn’t ‘write’ in the conventional sense.

“Roger has a theory that if anything’s good enough, you’ll remember it,” he says of his fellow band member, bassist Roger Glover. “But some things that don’t seem that good turn out to be gems.”

Read more here.