Deep Purple have postponed the rest of their European and U.K. tour until further notice on the advice of Ian Gillan‘s medical team. The 81-year-old singer required urgent hospital treatment in Leipzig, Germany, on October 31st, the day the band was due to play the city’s QI Arena.
“I had a medical problem whilst in Leipzig which required urgent attention at the hospital,” Gillan said in a statement issued November 2nd. He explained that he had hoped to get the all-clear to finish the tour, but that “there are very serious risks involved in me doing so.” Following the advice of his doctors and management, the band chose to postpone the remaining dates.
On Saturday, October 31st, Deep Purple had announced that a “medical emergency” forced them to cancel the Leipzig show and the following night’s concert at Hamburg’s Sporthalle, adding that “all tickets purchased will be valid for the rescheduled dates.” The postponement now extends to November shows in Dortmund, Berlin, Frankfurt, Nuremberg, Amsterdam, Strasbourg, Bordeaux, Nantes and Lyon, as well as the U.K. leg, which was set to end with two London nights at the Eventim Apollo and the Royal Albert Hall on November 24th and 25th.
The ‘Splat!’ tour was supporting the album of the same name, released July 3rd via earMUSIC. It is the band’s sixth album with producer Bob Ezrin and their second with guitarist Simon McBride, who rounds out the lineup alongside Gillan, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice and keyboardist Don Airey. The record reached No. 3 in Germany and No. 2 in Switzerland and Austria, and No. 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart in the U.S. Its singles were ‘Arrogant Boy’, ‘Diablo’, featuring Keith Urban on guitar, and ‘Guilt Trippin”.
After Europe, the band’s schedule includes December dates in South America and Mexico, starting December 5th in São Paulo and ending December 19th at Estadio Fray Nano in Mexico City. Gillan’s statement refers only to the European and U.K. tour, and neither the band nor local promoters have yet said whether those December shows will go ahead.
