Ian Gillan in May 2008. On 3 May 2008 Ian Gillan performed at the Jeff Healey memorial concert in Toronto, Canada. He had previously played live with Healey in Toronto in February 2005. He released a studio album entitled "One Eye to Morocco" in March 2009. In the 2010s, Gillan performed occasionally with orchestras in Europe, including rearrangements of Deep Purple songs. Gillan has expressed particular fondness for Armenia and has maintained popularity there since Rock Aid Armenia in 1989, which has led to him forming the supergroup WhoCares as a side-project to Deep Purple. On 2 October 2009, in honour of
Ian Gillan early days they were sponsored and championed by Tony Blackburn, who occasionally accompanied Gillan on stage. Later, as well as performing concerts in the UK, Episode Six also toured Germany and Beirut, and had regular appearances on the BBC Light Programme. During his time with Episode Six, Gillan began writing songs together with Glover, forming an ultimately long-lasting partnership. After a strained tour of Beirut, Shields left the band and was replaced first by John Kerrison, then by Mick Underwood. Underwood had previously played in The Outlaws with Ritchie Blackmore, and it was via him that Ian knew about Deep