Gillan was born in Hounslow, Middlesex, England. He joined the band Deep Purple in 1969. In 1970, he sang the part of Jesus in Jesus Christ Superstar. After leaving Deep Purple in 1973, he went into brief retirement before forming the Ian Gillan Band. The early band sound had a distinct jazz-rock aspect which proved unpopular and was replaced by a more high powered hard rock sound as Gillan reformed the lineup and shortened the groups name to Gillan. With the release of Mr. Universe Ian Gillan was back in the UK charts and through several more line up changes released a string of hit singles and successful albums including Glory Road, Future Shock, Double Trouble, and finally Magic.
Then he announced the band would fold as he needed to rest his damaged vocal cords. In 1983 he joined Black Sabbath to record the Born Again album before rejoining a reunited Deep Purple shortly after completing the Born Again tour in early 1984. He left Purple again in 1989, but rejoined for good in 1992. He remains in the band today.
Gillan is now working on a project to document his 40-year career, tentatively called Gillan's Inn. Tony Iommi, Jeff Healey, various members of Deep Purple and many others will be featured on this 2006 DVD project.
Smoke On The Water
Ian Gillan Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
To make records with a mobile
We didn't have much time
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Were at the best place around
But some stupid with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
They burned down the gambling house
It died with an awful sound
Funky Claude was running in and out
Pulling kids out the ground
When it all was over
We had to find another place
But Swiss time was running out
It seemed that we would lose the race
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
Making our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We make a place to sweat
No matter what we get out of this
I know we'll never forget
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
Ian Gillan's Smoke on the Water narrates the true story of a fire incident that occurred in Montreux, Switzerland, on December 4, 1971. Deep Purple, an English band, had booked a recording session at the Montreux Casino with a mobile recording studio owned by the Rolling Stones. However, the concert by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention on the night before proved to be the turning point of the story. A fan fired a flare gun towards the casino's rafters, which ignited the fire. The thick smoke and bright flames that rose from the casino painted the sky with a fascinating and captivating coloration. This incident inspired the song's title "Smoke on the Water, fire in the sky."
The second verse shifts the focus to the aftermath of the incident. The band fled the burning casino, as "Funky Claude" Nobs, a Swiss jazz lover and the casino's founder, helped to save some children from the ground level. The casino burned down entirely, and the band was forced to find another venue to continue their recording. The band eventually settled down at the Grand Hotel in Montreux, where they recorded the iconic riff behind Gillan's powerful vocals. The song ends with the assurance that the incident will always be remembered, and the success of the recording session further cements the legendary status of the music.
Line by Line Meaning
We all came out to Montreux
We traveled to Montreux together
On the Lake Geneva shoreline
We arrived at a place near Lake Geneva
To make records with a mobile
We were planning to record music using a mobile recording studio
We didn't have much time
We were in a hurry
Frank Zappa and the Mothers
Frank Zappa and his band were there too
Were at the best place around
They were performing at the best venue in town
But some stupid with a flare gun
However, somebody did something foolish with a flare gun
Burned the place to the ground
And as a result, the venue burnt down
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The smoke and fire from the burning venue created a striking visual in the sky
They burned down the gambling house
The venue that burned down was actually a gambling house
It died with an awful sound
The building collapsed with a loud noise
Funky Claude was running in and out
A person named Funky Claude was helping people escape from the burning building
Pulling kids out the ground
Funky Claude was rescuing children who were trapped
When it all was over
After the fire was put out
We had to find another place
We needed to find a new venue to record our music
But Swiss time was running out
We didn't have much time left in Switzerland
It seemed that we would lose the race
We thought we might not be able to complete our recording project in time
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The memory of the burning venue and its aftermath still lingered
We ended up at the Grand Hotel
We eventually found a new place to record our music - the Grand Hotel
It was empty cold and bare
The hotel was not in good condition and not well-equipped for recording music
But with the Rolling truck Stones thing just outside
However, we were able to use the Rolling Stones' mobile recording studio outside
Making our music there
And we were able to successfully record our music there
With a few red lights and a few old beds
We had to make do with limited resources - just a few lights and some old beds
We make a place to sweat
But we were able to create a place where we could work hard and make great music
No matter what we get out of this
Regardless of what comes out of our recording project
I know we'll never forget
We will always remember what happened in Montreux and how we overcame it
Smoke on the water, fire in the sky
The burning of the original venue had a lasting impact on us
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger D Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Raechelyn Dawn
Wow… impressive. One of the greatest singers in history and he still has it. ❤
Zigz Zagz
.... He isn't still one of the greatest. I'm a Gillan fan too.
Apart from the nostalgia it's actually sad to see the decline of greats like Gillan, Meat Loaf, Phil Collins.
Even bands that I grew up with who's singers weren't "greats" but we're part of the soundtrack to my life like Motley Crue... Great fat drunk and cavorting. Can't hit the notes. Words are incomprehensible gibberish.
Unless they desperately need the cash they should just stay home and let our memories be enough.
Fanel Neagu
A legend never dies. We love you Ian Gillan
theloathlydaddy
This literally brought tears to my eyes... to see Ian Gillan sing that song again, surrounded by such awesome musicians. It's just such a relief to see, after these decades, that he is still great! A moving and powerful performance!
Doug Tilaran
You mean half a century. Those screams caused the years to pass like a hurricane !
Natalie Finnigan
That's my little brother on the drums! Jon Finnigan. Simon McBride on guitar and Don Airey on keys. Thanks for the compliment about the musicians. Just stumbled on this vid again whilst trying to find one of my bro to show a friend. ☺️ Proud sis!
Natalie Finnigan
Ian's still got it!
D. Richard
Ian always had a power house voice and he still sounds great!
ольга к
Это потрясающе! Гиллан живее всех живых! Браво, дорогой! Обожаю! Forever!!!!
new born
The best singer for so many of the greatest band's of all times.