Classic Rock caught up with Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan to discuss the band's new album, Whoosh! - their 21st record - and how the current global pandemic has affected the band. Following is an excerpt from the chat.

Q: When somebody suggests you make a new Deep Purple album, do you think: “Oh God, not again?”

Gillan: "No, no, no. Quite the reverse. We went through a time years ago when everyone seemed under the weather for whatever reason, then everyone felt a bit better and the energy came back, When that’s there, you’ve just got to find an outlet for it." 

Q: Whoosh! is like the last two Purple records in that it sounds like a bunch of mates having a good time. 

Gillan: "Absolutely right. Everything is done together. We write the songs together, we arrange them together, we record them together. Hopefully that joy and immediacy comes across. You can’t recreate it artificially." 

Q: You’ve talked about recent albums putting the "Deep" back into Deep Purple. It’s a great line, but what does it actually mean? 

Gillan: "Deep is the opposite of shallow, and I think that’s what I was getting at. I think we lost the plot to a certain extent for a while, especially after (1984 comeback album) Perfect Strangers, because we’d not really followed the ethos of the band that was so successful. And that was to be brave and bold and write from the heart. A hint of commercialism crept into the band. Which is why I left in '73, anyway."

Q: Why did you lose the plot?

Gillan: "Ritchie (Blackmore / guitar) – brilliant, but he had an ear for a commercial tune. He had an ear for the more popular stuff. And it was very successful. But I thought it couldn’t survive, because it was planting itself in a fashion, and fashions come and fashions go. Once you’re out of fashion, you’re out of fashion. When it became focused on the more commercial elements, we started writing songs. Anyone can write songs. The thing about Purple was that it was always about finding something exciting to do. The diversity of the influences of the musicians – from orchestral compositions to big-band swing to blues, rock’n’roll, soul music – there was enough energy and music there for a lifetime." 

Read the complete interview here.

Whoosh! is available as a Standard CD, a Digital Album, a Limited Edition CD+DVD Mediabook (including the 1 hour feature “Roger Glover And Bob Ezrin In Conversation” and, for the first time, the full live performance at Hellfest 2017 video), and a Vinyl 2LP+DVD edition (earMUSIC). Order here.

Whoosh! marks Deep Purple’s third album produced by Bob Ezrin (Alice Cooper, Pink Floyd). The first - 2013’s Now What?! - charted at #1 in five European countries, as well as Top 10 in over 15 countries worldwide. Cementing itself as one of their most successful albums, inFinite, released in 2017, broke chart records the band accumulated over their 50+year history. With chemistry this electric, it only made sense for Deep Purple and Ezrin to collaborate a third time.

Whoosh! tracklisting:

"Throw My Bones"
"Drop The Weapon"
"We're All The Same In The Dark"
"Nothing At All"
"No Need To Shout"
"Step By Step"
"What The What"
"The Long Way Around"
"The Power Of The Moon"
"Remission Possible"
"Man Alive"
"And The Address"
"Dancing In My Sleep"

"Nothing At All"  video:

"Man Alive" video:

"Throw My Bones" video: