TIME is of the essence in an interview with Ian Gillan. Flapping around first thing in the morning, trying to cope with remembering all my plusses and zeros when dialling Portugal, I’ve unfortunately lost a few minutes of my interview slot with him. His efficiency is apparent as he tells me, apologetically – although it is my fault – that I only have 10 minutes with him as he doesn’t want to be late for his next interview.

But, luckily for me, London-born Ian doesn’t beat around the bush when it comes to talking about living in Dorset.

He couldn’t resist signing up to take part in Lyme Regis’s Guitars on the Beach. Taking place on Saturday, the resort is aiming to break the world record for the most people playing guitars simultaneously.

The current record is held by Poland, where 6,000 guitarists performed together in 2009.

This year, the guitarists will be led by Ian who will be singing Deep Purple’s iconic track Smoke on the Water.

Ian didn’t hesitate to become involved.

He said: “I’d come back from the US and my daughter told me about it as she had been playing on the beach with a band.

“I don’t normally get involved in anything like this as I like a quiet life, but I thought it would be churlish not to get involved.

“It should be a lot of fun. I just hope it’s not raining on the day.

“I think it’s going to be a challenge to try and break the record, but the event has a wonderful spirit about it so I’m hopeful we can do it.”

Ian has called Lyme Regis his home for the past 19 years.

He said: “Like a lot of incomers here, you go for a holiday in Lyme Regis and you never leave.

“I really enjoy the atmosphere here, and I love the fact that you have to drive for an hour to get to a main road.

“I can be working in a different country every day, so to come home to a place like Lyme Regis is incredibly easy.

“I love going for a walk by Undercliff, I find it so inspirational.”

Ian is speaking to me while he is in Portugal, where he is currently writing new material.

He said: “I’m hoping to get into the studio in November or December.

“It’s very busy being in the band - we’ve got a lot of summer festivals coming up around Europe.

“Hopefully, I’ll get a bit of a holiday in September.”

Ian tells me he appreciates every job he is given and every gig he gets to play.

“I’m glad for the work. When we were younger as a band and we couldn’t get the bookings it wasn’t fun.

“I love to work and to be busy, it goes back to when I was a kid. I grew up with helping out in the house.

“I’ve got this Calvinist Work Ethic.”

Guitars on the Beach has received the seal of approval from PM David Cameron, who has given the venture the thumbs-up for encouraging young people to learn to play music.

Ian said he would like to see a different approach to the way music is taught in schools.

“The schools have got enough problems and I think music is taught enough, but I’d like to see more focus on music appreciation so students can learn about music through history.

“Nothing in music is new, it all comes from different influences. We had someone in the band who had been to the Royal College of Music and a drummer who was influenced by a big band sound.”

Despite his busy schedule, Ian has spent a lot of time in Armenia helping to rebuild a community in the aftermath of an earthquake which killed 25,000 people in 1988.

He said: “They were in a situation where they had snow blowing through the wall of their music room. Speaking to them a year after the event, they had no music on the radio.

“It took a long time to rebuild the music school but a generation later it’s doing well, they’ve got their music back.

“I still get regular reports from Armenia and stay in touch with the people there.”

Earlier this year Ian was named as the 2014 Friend of the Armenians by the 112th Diocesan Assembly in New York City in recognition of his commitment to the rebuilding of The Octet Music School of Gyumri.

And so, my time with Ian, short but sweet, is over.

If enthusiasm is infectious then Ian can expect to see a legion of guitarists on the beach in Lyme Regis in world record beating form.

Music starts from 11am on the beach and the world record attempt is at 4pm.

See guitarsonthebeach.co.uk for more information.