Being with a band might be a unique experience until, well, the dream all falls apart. See, it might be delightful to be a part of the dream, the music, the excessive touring, and the rock and roll experience along with fellow bandmates. Still, when a member departs or is fired from the band, it might take time for anyone to fill the emptiness of the once glorious dreams.
So, when Genesis’ Steve Hackett departed the band and took it easy for a while, it was out of curiosity that he listened to his former band’s first-ever album recorded without his guitar riffs. Hackett wanted to know what Genesis sounded like without him as he listened to the tracks one by one and had complicated but supportive feelings towards it.
However, not everyone might be as pleased with their band’s next record after departure. Ian Gillan decided he couldn’t stand hearing a particular Deep Purple record. It was awkward and strange for him to see the band releasing a new album, so he had complicated feelings about it.
The lineup of Deep Purple changed so much over the years that, at one point, it perhaps became unusual for the band not to change. So, even though it was the first-ever lineup change of the band, it may be pretty easy for Ritchie Blackmore and fellow rockers to move on without Ian Gillan and produce an album without the former frontman. However, the singer wasn’t as at ease.
Gillan was upset that he was no longer with the band. Even though he greatly appreciated the Deep Purple rockers, deep down, he couldn’t stand hearing the band’s first album without him, ‘Burn.’ He had been working on these tracks, and it wasn’t easy to accept that someone else just came in and filled in for him. So, when he was interviewed a year after the record was released, Ian was a bit sad though still supportive.
“Oh, no,” said Ian as he answered if there were any bad blood between him and his former bandmates. “Obviously, like anything, I couldn’t bring myself to listen to the next album in a way. It was something I had been a part of, and there was somebody else singing. I didn’t even want to listen to it. It was very personal. The whole band was personal. We had been through a lot together.”
The singer wasn’t pleased with someone else filling in for his place. Still, he was supportive while talking about his time within the band and mentioned, “I had never had such experiences onstage with such players. I have never been, for example, literally moved to tears. When I worked with Ritchie onstage, it was unbelievable.”
Deep Purple’s ‘Burn’ might have been challenging for Ian to listen to since it was the first album to be recorded without his vocals. Still, Gillan was appreciative of his former bandmates and celebrated the run he had with them. Perhaps the ironic thing is that Ritchie Blackmore left the band only months after this interview with Ian. So, if it’s Deep Purple, one might never know when someone will leave the band.
