'You are my god', Japan's PM tells British rock band Deep Purple

'You are my god', Japan's PM tells British rock band Deep Purple32 minutes agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleMaia DaviesEPAJapan's prime minister told the band she had been listening to their hard rock music since she was in primary schoolThe British rock band Deep Purple met a long-time super fan in Tokyo on Friday - who just happened to be the Japanese prime minister."You are my god," Sanae Takaichi, a hard rock enthusiast, told the band's drummer Ian Paice, beaming as she handed him a pair of signed Japanese-made drumsticks.An avid drummer herself, Takaichi played in a Deep Purple tribute band as a girl after becoming a fan in primary school."These days, when I fight with my husband I drum to Burn and cast a curse on him," the 65-year-old conservative leader told the musicians at her office in the Japanese capital, Tokyo, on Friday.The band met Japan's first female prime minister as they returned to tour across the country where they recorded the 1972 live album Made in Japan - considered to be one of the greatest rock albums ever recorded."I can't believe Deep Purple are here," Takaichi said, smiling as she greeted the musicians."I have the deepest respect for the way you continue to make rock history while embracing new challenges and creating captivating music to this day," she said through an interpreter.The prime minister said she hoped the tour would "thrill and excite fans all over Japan" and promote cultural exchange between the UK and Japan.Paice said it was always a pleasure to visit Japan, but called the meeting an "added bonus".ReutersThe band visited their high-profile fan before their scheduled appearance at Tokyo's Nippon Budokan arena on SaturdayThe band wrote in a post on Instagram: "A lifelong fan of hard rock and heavy metal, Takaichi has often named Deep Purple as one of her favourite bands."She even told the group she bought their...