Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan has said seeing the “undiluted culture” of Japan while on tour in the early 1970s made him see his own English culture in a “different way”. Recordings from their concerts in Tokyo and Osaka went on to form Made In Japan, which is considered one of the greatest live albums of all time. Ahead of the British hard rock pioneers taking to the road in the UK more than 50 years later, Gillan recalled how visiting the east Asian country impacted them before visiting other parts of the globe on tour.
The 79-year-old singer told the PA news agency: “It was a shock to the system, there were no mobile phones, and I used to send postcards in those days to my mum...
I’ve got a small number of friends I send postcards to, and they love it. “In Japan, I noticed the first thing was the cultural change. I was able to do two things, one to learn about the different cultures and the values, number two was from a distance, to be able to see my own culture in England in a different way, from a different perspective.
“And there was a real eye-opener, how other people see you and how you see yourself from a distance. I suddenly realised what an undiluted culture was in Japan.” He noted that due to Japan historically having strict immigration policies, it slowed down the country being influenced by Western culture and meant their culture remains strong”.
“I’m not saying that’s great or wrong or anything like that, that’s just an observation w.