Deep Purple's Ian Gillan: It's 'Unconscionable' to Reunite Old Lineup

"To the general public in America, the lifespan of Deep Purple probably finished with our 1984 album, Perfect Strangers ," frontman Ian Gillan says. "America's been a world of its own since the beginning. I think people have gotten locked in the past."

Although the hard rockers have put out eight LPs since Perfect Strangers – the most recent of which, Now What?!, came out last year – the singer says that when the band does radio interviews, all anyone wants to ask about is "Smoke on the Water." "I think things have just developed at a different......