News / Published 2026-10-31

Deep Purple Postpone Leipzig and Hamburg Shows as Ian Gillan Is Hospitalised

Deep Purple cancelled two German shows after a medical emergency involving Ian Gillan, who is 81. The band gave no diagnosis, said both dates would be rescheduled and left tickets valid.

A flat vector illustration of an empty concert stage after a cancelled show: dark side drapes, one stool at centre, a single cool pool of light on bare boards and unlit floor lights along the front edge. Night blue palette, no instruments with brand marks, no banners, no people and no readable text.
Conceptual editorial illustration; not a photograph of the people or event described.

THE SHORT VERSION

  • Deep Purple called off shows at the QI Arena in Leipzig and the Sporthalle in Hamburg after what the band called a medical emergency involving singer Ian Gillan.
  • Deadline reports that the nature of the 81-year-old's medical situation was not disclosed, and that tickets will remain valid for rescheduled dates.
  • Rolling Stone reports the European tour is still scheduled to resume on 3 November in Dortmund and end on 25 November at the Royal Albert Hall.

Two German dates called off in a single post

Deep Purple called off two concerts this weekend after their singer, Ian Gillan, had what the band called a "medical emergency". The announcement went up on the band's Facebook page, according to Deadline, and it named both dates: the QI Arena in Leipzig that night and the Sporthalle in Hamburg the following evening. Deadline, which published on 31 October, says the post appeared that day; Rolling Stone says the band announced it on Saturday and describes Deep Purple as a Rock Hall-inducted act. The post does not say where Gillan is being treated, it gives no reason beyond the phrase itself, and the two venues are the only German dates either outlet names.

The wording was plain and left nothing to read between the lines. "With great disappointment, Deep Purple must announce that they are unable to perform as scheduled tonight at the QI Arena (Leipzig) and tomorrow evening at the Sporthalle (Hamburg)," the post reads. It continued: "This comes as a result of a medical emergency involving Ian Gillan, which has resulted in his current hospitalisation." Rolling Stone carries the same sentence with the American spelling of the final word, and neither version adds a detail the other lacks. Neither outlet quotes a spokesperson, a doctor or a family member.

The band did not describe the condition

Deadline reports that the exact nature of the medical situation was not disclosed, and identifies Gillan as the lead singer of the classic rock band. It also gives his age: 81. Rolling Stone says the band did not elaborate on the nature of the emergency or on his current condition, so the age is the only personal detail either outlet prints, and neither outlet names a hospital. Beyond the post, the only material either story adds is archive, in Deadline's interviews from last year and Rolling Stone's note on Glenn Hughes.

The magazine does add a reading of its own. It writes that the situation does not appear too concerning because the band is already looking to reschedule the gigs. That is an inference from the band's plans rather than a report about Gillan's health, and it is the closest either outlet comes to a prognosis. The band's own words say nothing about how serious the episode is.

Tickets will hold for whatever replaces the two nights

The post went on to apologise for the notice and to promise new dates. "We understand that this announcement comes at short notice and share the disappointment of all our wonderful fans that we are unable to perform in Leipzig and Hamburg." Then it says: "Deep Purple and their team are focused on finding a suitable time to reschedule both these shows."

Deadline reports that all purchased tickets will be valid for the rescheduled dates. Neither outlet has a new date for either city, and neither says whether the two shows will be paired again when they are rearranged or whether one will move further than the other. Neither report mentions refunds, and the band has not said when it will announce the new dates.

The rest of the tour is still on the books

Rolling Stone reports that, as of its press time, the band is scheduled to resume its European tour on 3 November in Dortmund, Germany. That run is due to end on 25 November at the Royal Albert Hall in London, after which the band spends December touring Latin America. None of those dates has been changed in either report, and that schedule is the only forward-looking detail either outlet has beyond the promise of new dates.

Deadline measures the schedule differently. Deadline says the current "Splat!" world tour is set to continue through the rest of the year, with a final concert in Poland in June 2027. Rolling Stone adds that the tour supports the band's 2026 album Splat!, which it calls their 24th studio LP. The two accounts do not conflict, because they describe different spans of the same tour.

A year of questions about his eyesight

The emergency follows a stretch in which Gillan has talked publicly about his sight. Deadline reports that in a November 2025 interview with the music magazine Uncut he disclosed a problem with his eyes, and it quotes him on the extent of it: "I've only got 30 per cent vision. That won't get better." The interview was given about a year before this weekend's cancellations.

Months later, according to the same report, he told Uncut that talk of retirement because of the vision was unfounded. In June he set out his own test: "I will retire or stop when I haven't got the strength to do it, or when it becomes embarrassing." He added: "I won't just keep going for the sake of it." Deadline does not say whether the current hospitalisation is connected to the eyesight problem it reported last year.

Glenn Hughes, the Mark II years and what is not known

Rolling Stone places the news beside another health story from the same band: the emergency comes weeks after Glenn Hughes, a former Deep Purple singer and bassist, said he was recovering from open heart surgery that lasted 10 hours. Rolling Stone also records that Hughes joined the band in Gillan's place, that Gillan sang in the Mark II line-up from 1969 to 1973, an era that produced Deep Purple in Rock and Machine Head, and that he came back in 1984 for five years before returning for good in 1992. Hughes's operation is the only other medical detail in either story.

Deadline supplies the career summary: solo work, a spell with Black Sabbath, and the Deep Purple years for which he is best known, including the 1972 hit "Smoke On The Water", which he co-wrote with his bandmates. What neither report has is a diagnosis, a statement from Gillan himself, a date for the rearranged shows or any indication of how long he will be out. Neither outlet says whether the rest of the European leg depends on his recovery. Related coverage on this site includes Powderfinger's 2027 reunion tour, Cheap Trick's touring break, Noah Kahan's 2027 tour and Redbird's one billion dollar music fund.

Sources & reporting limits

  1. Deep Purple Singer Ian Gillan Hospitalized After Medical Emergency; Weekend Tour Dates Canceled — Deadline
  2. Deep Purple Postpone Concerts After Singer Ian Gillan's 'Medical Emergency' — Rolling Stone
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