Highway Star: The Autobiography of Deep Purple's Lead Singer

I bought this book so I could read it on vacation and in airports, etc...I've read many rock star biographies, and this is one of the worst I've read. I could barely make it through the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the book due to Mr. Gillan's horrible writing style, which is pretty much tongue in cheek and very "cheeky" to coin English slang. He makes light of pretty much every story he tells, and to be fair, I appreciate him trying to make it upbeat and funny. Having said that, his writing is horrendous by any English standard. Virtually every paragraph in the book has at least two or three sentences ending in an exclamation point! It really makes it hard to take anything he says seriously. He frequently references people, places and things which an American reader, like myself, has no idea what he's talking about, and I'm pretty up to speed on English slang and vernacular. If you are looking to find out any details on what it was like to work with the rock icons in Deep Purple, then you will be very disappointed like I was. He makes almost no references to Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Roger Glover and Ritchie Blackmore as human beings and what they were like, or the issues that led to the frequent lineup changes and issues that broke up the band. I reread that section several times, and I still have no idea why Mr. Gillan left Deep Purple the first time. There is also very little reference to the drugs that we all know these guys did that contributed to conflicts in the band, although he admits he was a heavy drinker and talks freely about alcohol and some of the 'amusing' drunken events that happened while on tour. In short, most of the information that anyone would buy a rock star's auto-biography for are not in this book, and it's really disappointing that Mr. Gillan left them out. Perhaps he was worried about legal ramifications or perhaps he simply does not remember due to his drinking, but then why write a book in the first place unless one was desperate for money? He should have co-written this with the help of a professional writer (as most rock stars do), but sadly did not...and the results are apparent.

FROM START TO MIDDLE (AS FAR AS I COULD BEAR TO GET TO) IT WAS ALL IAN IAN IAN IAN IAN. THREW IT OUT..I'VE READ DOZEMN OF ROCK STAR BIO'S THIS WAS BORING AND AWFUL...

Ian Gillan the voice of Deep Purple, historically the best of them all, is such a genuime bloke. He's one of us. Loves rock and is gifted enough to display his wares. He gives a very humble story of his beginings as the frontman of a super group and it is telling. Oh yeah BTW he was Jesus on the original score of JC Superstar. What a performance that was ! Great guy, ego under control and fame just the byproduct of his great talent. If Steve Perry be the Voice, Ian Gillan is the Scream. Great singer, great guy, Great book.

If you want to read about Deep Purple get a biography about Deep Purple. This is about Ian Gillan from his perspective. I actually enjoyed the read. Like others I was a little disappointed he didn't dive into details but I think he's just not a gossipy type of guy. The book felt like he's sitting at a bar telling you his life story and the misadventures that stood out and setting the record straight on a few things. Overall it was a pleasant read.

I came to be a fan of Ian Gillan through his work on Jesus Christ Superstar, and have enjoyed his music for many years. I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it illustrates his wicked sense of humor, undying devotion to his family and his seemingly boundless work ethic. I had no idea he was involved in so many diverse ventures, and found myself caught between laughing hysterically at some of his antics to sharing in his feelings of sadness during times of loneliness that being a celebrity entails. How wonderful to be invited to share the "human" side of this phenomenal rock star!

I enjoyed this book very much but Ian goes to some length to not dish any dirt and be as gentlemanly as possible. That makes him a nice guy but the book would have been more compelling with more details .

If you are an American, get out your English (UK) slang dictionary. Not very well written. I had hoped for more details and insight into the MKII band.

Ian spends too much time listing every song on every album, every song on a tour, each venue of every tour and inserting song lyrics in every chapter which lend nothing to the book. This can be Googled and really, who would actually care enough to take the time to do that?? His stories are more like disjointed fleeting memories instead of solid informative anecdotes. Real fans who read this book are looking for good behind-the-scenes info on Deep Purple and his other musical projects. Instead they are treated to constant “I can’t go into that because I’m too much of a gentleman” rhetoric. I love Ian’s voice but when it comes to writing.....as the saying goes, “Don’t quit your day job”.

I used to read lots of rock and metal biographies, so much so that I probably should have taken a break to read other literature non music related. But then I just stopped for quite a while, easily a couple of years without reading a single rock bio. I decided to purchase Highway Star, the biography of Ian Gillan, and let me tell you this guy has lived. After finishing reading this book, I got the bug back for reading more crazy rock yarns which I had deprived myself of over the last couple of years.If you only know/care for Ian Gillan for his various stints in Deep Purple, I would recommend you read this book. Because he goes into great detail about his misadventures in his own band Gillan, as well as fronting for heavy metal titans Black Sabbath. And let me tell you right now, Gillan were a great band in which the rock press and various rock and metal magazines have virtually ignored and resigned to the scrap heap. That was a great rockin' band!Ian Gillan went through all the excesses, the booze, the women, the drugs...yet he didn't become one of the rock casualties, he isn't a malnourished, stuttering, mumbling bumbling senior citizen which many of rock's survivors have become. After reading this book, I could quite easily picture myself having a pint with Ian, just listening about his very interesting and gloriously long career.

Excellent book, really goes behind the "glam" & tells a good account of the ups & downs of Deep Purple.

Needed to know much more about the creativity around Smoke on the water and Made in japanLost of time

Great book to get anecdotes of Ian's life from his point of view. Lots of snippets on how he saw many well known and other situations.Written in a very banterish tone it's a great read...