When Ian Gillan of Deep Purple fame was told his song features in the Netflix show, Stranger Things, he had no idea what they were talking about.
Among the top 1970s rock bands, some are still performing live, even in their 80s. This is the case with Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, who, at the age of 8, is still going strong. However, while the rock icon is still performing and thrilling audiences, he has no idea about a sci-fi series on Netflix called Stranger Things. The show, which has reached season 5 as it draws to an end, is a great hit for Netflix, but not everyone knows this. It turns out Gillan doesn’t even own a television, so it is easy to understand his confusion.
Gillan, frontman for the legendary Deep Purple, was caught off-guard when he learned that one of his band’s most celebrated songs had featured on Netflix. The 1970 classic rock number, Child In Time, featured in the season 5 trailer of Stranger Things. As they say, you could have knocked him over with a feather, while informing the rock icon about how the song features in an iconic sci-fi series.
Stranger Thing fans know well that the series has featured some of the top classic rock, from Metallica to Kate Bush, so for a Deep Purple track to feature in the show isn’t that much of a shock, except for Gillan, a man who lives without a television in the current modern times.
The rocker was interviewed by Classic Rock magazine, and was asked if he knew about the show featuring Child In Time in its soundtrack. He was asked if it was surprising that the classic song was used on Netflix, he said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
When it was explained to him, he responded, “I don’t have Netflix. I don’t have a television. So, yes, in that respect it’s a surprise.”
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Most people in these modern days have a television and keep up with the latest shows, so how does Gillan keep himself occupied? It turns out, like many others from those classic rock 70s, he doesn’t have free time, as he is busy preparing for an eight-month tour in 2026. Gillan, 80, says he still loves performing to fans, but did admit it feels a little different now than it did in the 70s.
“Throughout your entire life, you’ve had to deal with this thing – you get older every day,” he admitted, adding:
It’s a slow process, but it happens. When you’re a kid, you write about fast cars and loose women and that sort of thing, or at least we did in those days. And it’s very rock ’n’ roll and had a lot of attack and youthful energy.
Looking back into his younger years and writing songs, Gillan recalls that by the time he reached his 30s, he remembers thinking, “‘This is ridiculous – this feels uncomfortable’ you have to find other things to write about – stuff that’s interesting and off-the-wall. You have to adapt, otherwise you look like a fool. But you can write a song about anything, at least in my experience.”
However, while he is still active and performing for his fans, Gillan does admit that he has faced some health challenges, including retaining only 30 percent of his vision, but he still carries on.
“Nothing’s changed really, apart from I can’t pole vault anymore! Other than that, things move a little more slowly. If you’ve got a sense of humor you can get by with most things.”
When asked about retirement, he says it will be entirely up to him about when he should stop, adding, “I think if I lose my energy I’m going to stop. I don’t want to be an embarrassment to anyone. We’re not far off that. It creeps up on you – you don’t really notice.”
Meanwhile, while managing the physical challenges and the demands of touring, Gillan stresses that his work is more mental than anything. “But then this isn’t like a normal job. It’s all in your mind. The writing certainly is, and the ability. And these guys who I work with just seem to keep improving. The hard thing is to keep them down.”
Fans of classic rock and the Netflix series, Stranger Things are no doubt grateful that even though the series is over, classic rock is forever.
