Iconic hard rock band Deep Purple has been around since 1968. That’s impressive, to say the least. While Deep Purple has endured a bit of a revolving door of members through the years, the band still has a solid lineup today. Drummer Ian Paice is the sole original member left. However, the iconic vocalist Ian Gillan, who joined back in 1969, is still part of the band as well. Add in killer bassist Roger Glover and (somewhat) newcomers Don Airey and Simon McBride, and you’ve got a recipe for a killer band; even if it isn’t the original lineup.
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Like I said, the band has been around for a hot minute. And there are some songs that are just too difficult (or nearly impossible) to play nowadays. One such song is the Deep Purple classic from 1970, “Child In Time”.
Even if you aren’t a diehard Deep Purple fan, you probably recognize this song. That doesn’t surprise me, considering it boasts one of Ian Gillan’s finest and most attention-grabbing vocal performances of his career.
Why Deep Purple Rarely Plays the Song “Child In Time” Anymore
Released in 1970, “Child In Time” is a unique track in that it features the full range of Gillan’s vocal ability. It’s quite a long track too, clocking in at over 10 minutes. The lyrical content of “Child In Time” is vaguely political with a loose focus on the Cold War. However, the real focal point of the song is Gillan’s insane vocal range.
I don’t believe another song exists that features the full breadth of what Gillan could do with his voice in his prime. Plus, that jam session between Ritchie Blackmore’s guitar and Jon Lord’s organ is pretty fantastic, too.
After a little bit of digging around setlist.fm, it looks like the last time Deep Purple whipped this one out was back in 2002. So, why doesn’t Deep Purple perform this song anymore? The answer to that question is very understandable. Ian Gillan is close to 80 years old now. Back in 2002, he was 57 years old. Naturally, no matter how well one takes care of their voice, hitting insane notes when you’re almost 60 years old is not often possible.
In an interview from a few years back, Gillan was frank about why Deep Purple doesn’t perform “Child In Time” live anymore.
“No, no, it’s not possible,” said Gillan in an interview with RockFM in Spain, transcribed by Blabbermouth. “I could drop the key down, but it wouldn’t sound the same.”
“I always thought of ‘Child In Time’ not as a song but more like an Olympic event,” Gillan continued. “It was so challenging. But yeah, when I was young, it was effortless.”
Gillan went on to say that around the time he was 38 years old, he was ready to retire “Child In Time”. He eventually stuck to his mantra of “Better not to do it badly. Better not to do it.” Gillan noted that despite that notion, he still sings, but he’s smart about what he knows he can do live, and what he should skip.
“Here I am, at 77, and I’m still screaming, up to a point,” Gillan continued. “But the control element and the elevation of that note [in ‘Child In Time’] is beyond me, to be honest.”
Well, there you have it. We’ll probably never hear “Child In Time” live again. Thankfully, plenty of older recordings of the song exist.
Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images
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