DEEP PURPLE - GILLAN BLASTS 'DEATH SENTENCE' OF CLASSIC ROCK RADIO

DEEP PURPLE frontman IAN GILLAN believes U.S. radio stations that play nothing but classic rock are a "death sentence" for veteran bands. The British singer claims that because such radio stations play nothing but chart hits, older acts never get a chance to promote their newer material. Speaking to The Arizona Republic newspaper, Gillan says, "You have this thing called classic rock radio over here (in the U.S.). It's been a death sentence for all sorts of older bands. They don't play anything of ours other than Smoke On The Water and Highway Star. "I heard (Deep Purple bassist) Roger Glover doing a radio interview, trying desperately to talk about a record we did in 2003 called Bananas. "I was listening to it and my jaw just dropped, as this deejay ranted on about 1973. She wasn't the slightest bit interested in what he had to say, or anything that had happened in the last 30 years."