Ian Gillan hospitalized, Deep Purple cancel two concerts in Germany

Deep Purple were forced to cancel two concerts in Germany, Saturday 31 October in Leipzig and Sunday 1 November in Hamburg, due to a "medical emergency" involving frontman Ian Gillan, 81, currently hospitalized. The British hard rock band itself, engaged in the Splat! tour in recent weeks, announced it on its social media profiles.

"With great regret - we read in Saturday's post - Deep Purple must announce the impossibility of performing, as planned, this evening at the QI Arena (Leipzig) and tomorrow evening at the Sporthalle (Hamburg). The decision is due to a medical emergency involving Ian Gillan, who is currently hospitalized. We are aware that this announcement comes at very short notice and we share the disappointment of all our fantastic fans that we will not be able to perform in Leipzig and Hamburg". Deep Purple and their staff "are working to identify a suitable date on which to recover both shows. All tickets already purchased will remain valid for the new dates. With immense affection and respect", concludes the message. At the moment, no other details have been released on the causes of hospitalization, on Gillan's health conditions or on the times of his possible recovery.