Ian Gillan adding the then-seldom played "Maybe I'm a Leo" (named after Gillan's birth sign) and "When a Blind Man Cries" – the latter becoming a mainstay in the band's setlist ever since. He said that their first album with Morse, "Purpendicular", "was a such important record for Deep Purple that without that [other records] couldn't have been possible." He has remained Purple's lead singer, though the band has found more success touring than with producing records. Gillan pays particular interest to the lyrics in Deep Purple, and considers it his prime composing role within the band. Discussing the importance of lyrics,
Ian Gillan Gyumri. The Eastern Diocese of the Armenian Church of America named Ian Gillan as its 2014 "Friend of the Armenians" and presented him the award at the 112th Diocesan Assembly in New York City. In 2010 Ian Gillan hosted a documentary about the Polish composer and pianist Fryderyk Chopin in Poland directed by Jerzy Szkamruk. "Chopin's Story" is about the rise of the composer and documents his Polish years. The film has won several international awards, including the Best Documentary award at Tourfilm International Festival in Florianopolis, Brazil. It was aired on the Polish channel Discovery Historia on 21 June