In a new interview with Spain's RockFM, Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan reveals why the band no longer performs "Child In Time" in concert.

Gillan: "No, it's not possible. I could drop the key down, but it wouldn't sound the same. I always make the analogy. When I was young, I used to be an athlete, and I used to do the pole vault; that was my sport. And when I was 25, I couldn't do the pole vault anymore. At 26? No, forget it. I can't do it. I always thought of 'Child in Time' not as a song, but more like an Olympic event. It was so challenging. But yep, when I was young, it was effortless. When I got to about 38 years old it just didn't sound right, so I thought, 'Better not to do it badly, better not to do it.' So it's been the same, and I never looked back.

"When I was 38, when I made that decision, I thought, 'My god, I'm nearly halfway through my life now.' And it made me think about the future. Do I want to be a singer for the rest of my life? Well, of course. I've been singing since I was five years old. And so, what do I do? I don't want to just be known for this scream, I don't want to be screaming when I'm 80 years old or 70 years old; it's undignified. But here I am, 77 and I'm still screaming - up to a point. But the control element and the elevation of that note is beyond me, to be honest."

Deep Purple have announced new tour dates for the US in February, and Europe in July. The band's current tour itinerary is below.

February
10 - XCITE Center at Parx Casino - Bensalem, PA
11 - State Theater - New Brunswick, NJ
13-17- Rock Legends Cruise X
19 - Jacksonville Theater - Jacksonville, FL
20 - Mahaffey Theater - Saint Petersburg, FL
21- Steinmetz Hall - Orlando, FL

March
13 - Budokan - Tokyo, Japan
17 - Ueno Gakuen HBG Hall - Hiroshima, Japan
19 - Sun Palace Hall - Fukuoka, Japan
21 - Intec Arena - Osaka, Japan

June
24 - Rock Imperium Festival II - Cartagena, Spain

July
7 - Rockwave Festival - Athens, Greece
12 - Stadthalle - Vienna, Austria
13 - Stadthalle - Graz, Austria
16 - Laszlo Papp Arena - Budapest, Hungary
18 - Stuttgart Jazz Festival - Stuttgart, Germany

The 2022 tour merch range is now available in the Official Deep Purple Store - links to EU and US stores here.