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,
David Ian the original TV casting show "How do you solve a problem like Maria", hosted by Graham Norton. Ian, along with Lloyd Webber, was a judge on the programme. The TV show was a resounding success and led to the launch of "The Sound of Music" as a smash hit, starring Connie Fisher at the London Palladium. David Ian David Ian (born David Ian Lane; February 1961) is a British theatre producer and former actor. Ian started out as an actor and appeared in a number of UK theatre productions, including the musicals "The Pirates of Penzance", "Joseph and the Amazing