Ian Gillan Purple. By 1969, after having released nine singles, none of which charted in the UK, and finding their style of music too restrictive for him, he decided to leave Episode Six. By spring 1969, Deep Purple had had a top 5 US hit with "Hush", but the band, particularly Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, decided their future lay in hard rock, rather than the psychedelic pop sound of the early band. In June 1969, Blackmore, Lord and Paice went to see Episode Six perform at a pub gig and subsequently offered Gillan the job as new lead singer,
Ian Gillan 2011. It was subsequently released on DVD. Gillan was in a relationship with Zoe Dean from 1969 to 1978. They had known each other since his time in Episode Six. In 1984, Gillan married his girlfriend Bron, to whom he had dedicated "Keep It Warm" from Black Sabbath's 1983 album "Born Again". They have twice since renewed their marriage vows. Gillan moved to southern Portugal in the late 2000s. Gillan is a passionate football fan, supporting Queens Park Rangers. He is also a big fan of cricket. His surname is sometimes misspelled as "Gillian". Gillan himself made light of this