Ian Gillan Says Deep Purple is Booked Through the End of 2026

In 2017, heavy metal pioneers Deep Purple launched an epic tour known as “The Long Goodbye Tour” which lasted about two and a half years and spanned across four continents. That’s one hell of a long goodbye. Of course, they’ve put out three albums since then and gone on more tours, so it would seem that long goodbye wasn’t much of a goodbye.

According to Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan, the long goodbye was more of a long joke and there’s no plans for slowing down anytime soon. In a recent appearance on Trunk Nation with Eddie Trunk (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Gillan talked about the misnamed tour:

“I think it is. That was a joke, actually, because it was the promoters. And someone said, ‘We’ve gotta sell some more tickets.’ And it’s the good old standby, the farewell tour. So I said, Okay, we’ll call it ‘goodbye’ tour, but let’s call it ‘the long goodbye’, and let’s make the emphasis on the word ‘long’,’ so it’s kind of an enigmatic phrase.”

He then continued on about the plans for the future of Deep Purple:

“There’s no intention to stop. At the moment… I spoke to my manager the other day. I’ve got some solo project. He said, ‘You’re gonna have to put ’em back,’ and I’m putting them back years. We’re already booked to the end of ’26, in the planning stage, in the diary, with all the projects we’ve got for DEEP PURPLE. So, yeah, years to come, hopefully.”

So there’s going to be plenty of touring over the next few years. Here’s the tour dates Deep Purple has announced so far:

Deep Purple and Yes 2024 Tour

Aug. 22 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Aug. 23 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Aug. 25 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Aug. 28 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
Aug. 30 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Aug. 31 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sept. 1 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Sept. 3 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
Sept. 4 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
Sept. 6 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sept. 7 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Sept. 8 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain

** Deep Purple only

Deep Purple Latin American Tour Dates:

Sept. 13 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Espaco Unimed
Sept. 15 – Rio, Brazil @ Rock in Rio
Sept. 17 – Santiago, Chile @ Estadio Santa Laura

Deep Purple =1 More Time Tour dates:

Oct. 17 – Katowice, Poland @ Spodek Arena
Oct. 19 – Berlin, Germany @ Max-Schmeling-Halle
Oct. 20 – Berlin, Germany @ Messehalle
Oct. 22 – Mannheim, Germany @ SAP Arena
Oct. 23 – Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
Oct. 25 – Essen, Germany @ Grugahalle
Oct. 26 – Lingen, Germany @ Emsland Arena
Oct. 28 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
Oct. 29 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggodome
Oct. 31 – Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal
Nov. 01 – Paris, France @ Zenith
Nov. 04 – Birmingham, UK @ Resorts World Arena
Nov. 06 – London, UK @ 02
Nov. 07 – Leeds, UK @ FD Arena
Nov. 09 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena
Nov. 10 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro