Deep Purple frontman eyeing solo shows

Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan is getting ready for the release of his solo album Gillan's Inn, and he's also looking at the possibility of a tour to support it. The singer is usually booked pretty solidly with Deep Purple shows, but he told us that a change in the group's plans might give him the chance to do his own thing: "You know, I'm hoping we can squeeze some dates in. I think Purple's shifting their calendar around, shifting some U.S. dates to next year, and if I get a month or so off for bad behavior this summer, I'm gonna be putting together some dates, and doing whatever I can."

Gillan's Inn is a kind of career retrospective, on which Gillan re-recorded songs from throughout his 40-year history. It features guests players including guitarist Joe Satriani, singer Ronnie James Dio, Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott, Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, and current and former members of Deep Purple. It comes out April 18th as a DualDisc -- one side has the music, while the other has footage from the recording sessions, rare performance video, and a track-by-track commentary, among other things.

Deep Purple's got shows in the Southern and Western Pacific from April 22nd through May 22nd.
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