Ian Gillan says his surgery worked, but Deep Purple’s European tour is off while the 81-year-old rests
Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan says a procedure he needed after a medical emergency on tour in Germany was successful, and that he now has to rest to make a complete recovery. The band has postponed the rest of its European and UK tour until further notice. Its Latin American dates, starting in São Paulo on 5 December, were still on the schedule at last report.
Three things to know
- The emergency struck in Leipzig, forcing Deep Purple to call off shows at the QI Arena on 31 October and the Sporthalle in Hamburg on 1 November.
- Gillan said he had hoped to finish the tour but was told there were "very serious risks" in doing so; the remaining European dates, due to run until 25 November, are postponed.
- Neither Gillan nor the band has said what the medical problem was or what the procedure involved.
Ian Gillan, the voice of Smoke on the Water, says he is on the mend. In a Facebook post on Saturday, the 81-year-old Deep Purple singer wrote that he had undergone a procedure the day before and that it “was successful”.
“I now have to rest, in order to make a complete recovery,” he wrote, apologising to fans for the disruption.
The update came a week after a medical emergency stopped the band’s European tour in its tracks.
What happened?
Deep Purple postponed their 31 October concert at the QI Arena in Leipzig and the following night’s show at the Sporthalle in Hamburg, saying Gillan had suffered a medical emergency that had put him in hospital.
In a later message to fans, Gillan said he had a medical problem in Leipzig that needed urgent attention at the hospital. He said he had hoped to get the all-clear to carry on until the end of the tour, but that there were “very serious risks involved” in doing so.
The band then postponed the rest of the European and UK run, which had been due to finish on 25 November, until further notice. Gillan said the decision was in the best interest of everyone involved. No new dates have been announced.
Neither Gillan nor the band has disclosed the nature of the emergency or the operation.
Are any shows still going ahead?
Yes, for now. Deep Purple’s Latin American leg, which opens in São Paulo on 5 December and closes in Mexico City on 19 December, remained on the schedule as of Gillan’s latest update. The band has not said whether his recovery will affect those dates.
Why does it matter?
Deep Purple are one of rock’s founding heavy bands, and Gillan has been at the microphone for most of their best-known work. He first joined in 1969 and sang on Smoke on the Water, whose opening riff remains one of the most recognisable in rock. The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
At 81, Gillan is still touring arenas in a genre built on stamina. A postponement “until further notice” for a singer of his age will leave fans on both sides of the world watching closely for the next update.
How we got here
The key moments that brought this story into focus. Open any moment for detail.
1969Gillan joins Deep Purple
He becomes the band's singer, the first of several stints at the front of the group.
2016Hall of Fame
Deep Purple are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
31 October 2026Leipzig show off
A medical emergency puts Gillan in hospital and the Leipzig concert is postponed.
1 November 2026Hamburg postponed
The Sporthalle show is called off; the rest of the European tour is later postponed.
7 November 2026Surgery update
Gillan says a procedure the day before was successful and he must rest.
What happens next
The band has not announced new European or UK dates. The Latin American tour is due to begin in São Paulo on 5 December and end in Mexico City on 19 December, unless the band says otherwise.
Sources
- VNN
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