Deep Purple

In 1967, a drummer named Chris Curtis was making a new band where members would only be part of it when they wanted to. Because of this format, the band was named Roundabout. Guitar player Ritchie Blackmore and keyboard player Jon Lordwere the first musicians hired. Curtis was fired from the band because he used LSD. Blackmore and Lord finished putting the band together themselves, hiring singer Rod Evans, bass guitar player Nick Simper, and drummer Ian Paice. They renamed the band "Deep Purple" after a song Blackmore's mother liked.

This band lineup, known as "Mark I", released three albums: Shades of Deep Purple (1968), The Book of Taliesyn (1968), and Deep Purple (1969). In 1968, they released a single named "Hush" that was popular in North America. It was number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States. Blackmore and Lord decided to change the style of music the band played from soft progressive rock to hard rock. While Ian Paice agreed to the change, they decided Evans and Simper would not fit this new style. They were fired from the band.

The band hired a singer named Ian Gillan and a bass guitar player named Roger Glover, forming Deep Purple Mark II. Lord played in orchestras, and wanted to base the Deep Purple sound around orchestra instruments. Whilst the band did perform as an orchestra (with new singer Ian Gillan writing lyrics) gaining the band some publicity, Gillan and Blackmore did not like the band being associated with orchestras, and were firm about Deep Purple being a hard rock band, though Jon Lord would write another orchestral piece for the band.

The band eventually started making hard rock music again, and released Deep Purple in Rock in 1970. This album was very successful. The album cover shows the band members' faces on Mount Rushmore. The album itself had popular songs such as "Speed King", "Child in Time", and "Bloodsucker" (which was later re-recorded by the band in 1998). Critics and fans liked Gillan's high-pitched singing and screaming. The album has since been considered a classic of the time.

The band released Fireball in 1971. which did show hints of creative progressive rock but was still as heavy as the last album. Weeks later, the band started working on their next album, which would become Machine Head. An incident at a The Mothers of Invention concert inspired the band to write their most popular song, "Smoke on the Water", which was on the album. Deep Purple released Machine Head in 1972. It was also successful, and had many popular songs on it such as "Highway Star" and "Space Truckin'".

Mark II's last album was Who Do We Think We Are (1973). It had "Woman from Tokyo" on it, which was popular. Ian Gillan left the band that year, as he did not like when the band went on concert tours and recorded new music. He also argued with Blackmore. Glover left shortly after for the same reason.

The band hired singer David Coverdale and bass guitar player Glenn Hughes to replace Gillan and Glover. Hughes could sing, so he sang in some of the band's songs. Since Hughes was hired first, the band considered making music with only four members, with Hughes singing and playing bass guitar.

Mark III released Burn in 1974. The album was successful. Hughes' and Coverdale's music was inspired by funk and blues. These genres were explored more on the band's next album, Stormbringer, released later the same year. Blackmore left because he was unhappy with this style of music, saying it was "shoeshine music".^[1]

Although many fans were wondering if Deep Purple could keep making music without Blackmore, who had been their highly regarded guitar player from their formation up until this point, they hired American guitar player Tommy Bolin (forming Mark IV). Deep Purple's next album, Come Taste The Band, showed Bolin bringing more funk influence into the band's music, having more creative output than Blackmore did when he left the band.

After a concert tour in 1976, Paice and Lord agreed to end Deep Purple, but did not inform any other members. Shortly after, Coverdale told them he was leaving the band, and only then did Lord tell him: "David, there's no band to leave!"^[2] Hughes and Bolin were excited about the next Deep Purple album before they too were told that Paice and Lord had ended the band.

Coverdale started a band named Whitesnake. Paice and Lord were in the band for a few years. Gillan performed in a solo band after he left in 1973. Blackmore started a band named Rainbow after leaving in 1975, releasing some successful albums with Ronnie James Dio as lead singer, who would carry on his fame in Black Sabbath and Dio (his own solo band). However, Bolin only released one solo album before he died in 1976 due to drug abuse.

Rod Evans put together a band and tried to perform as "Deep Purple", advertising it as a reunion although he was the only member who had ever been part of the band during its initial time together. Legal action was taken against him by the real representatives of Deep Purple, who sued him for using the band name without permission.

A real Deep Purple reunion happened in 1984 when the Mark II lineup got back together, and released the album Perfect Strangers that same year. It sold very well and was well received from fans who were excited about the return of the band's iconic lineup. The songs "Knockin' At Your Back Door" and "Perfect Strangers" were popular. The band also enjoyed success on tour.

The House of Blue Light was the next album to come from the band, in 1987. Some fans noticed that the band sounded more "modern" on this album than before, which led to mixed opinions. A new version of the band's 1968 minor hit "Hush" was re-recorded in 1988 by the Mark II lineup to mark the 20th anniversary of Deep Purple. However, Ian and Ritchie started arguing again over the future of the band, and their differences had torn their working relationship too far apart, meaning Gillan was fired in 1989. Blackmore seemed to want to make the band sound more commercial (something he had tried to do with his band Rainbow back in the early 1980s). He hired Joe Lynn Turner (also a former Rainbow singer) to replace Gillan, and the Mark V band released Slaves and Masters in 1990.

However, the band's popularity was declining, and Turner was forced out in 1992 by the record company, who wanted the iconic lineup with Gillan back for the band's 25th anniversary. And so, the Mark II lineup released one more album together in 1993 named The Battle Rages On.... However, during the tour, audience attendances were getting lower, and problems between band members arose, with Ritchie Blackmore walking out on the band for good. Joe Satriani filled in for the rest of the tour, but did not become a full-time member afterwards, due to his label commitments. The band decided to hire American Steve Morse in 1994.

With Steve Morse in the band, Deep Purple enjoyed renewed success on tour. Ian Gillan was especially pleased that Ritchie Blackmore was no longer in the band, as he felt his departure saved them from a breakup. Since 1994, Deep Purple have enjoyed more success touring than with their studio albums, although their material written with Morse has received good reviews, with fans and critics feeling the band has more creativity again. Mark VII released two albums, Purpendicular (1996) and Abandon (1998), before Jon Lord retired in 2002, feeling the need to step down from the band's hard touring schedule. He was replaced by Don Airey.

Over the next few years, Deep Purple released two more albums, Bananas (2003) and Rapture of the Deep (2005). Their next tour, the "Rapture of the Deep tour" started in 2006, and finished in 2011, making it their longest tour as of 2024. In 2012, Jon Lord died after battling cancer at the age of 71. The band continue to record as well as tour, and released their nineteenth album, Now What?!, in 2013.

• Ian Gillan - Vocals (1969–1973, 1984–1989, 1992–present)
• Steve Morse - Guitar (1994–present)
• Roger Glover - Bass (1969–1973, 1984–present)
• Ian Paice - Drums (1968–1976, 1984–present)
• Don Airey - Keyboards, organ (2002–present)

• Ritchie Blackmore - Guitar (1968–1975, 1984–1993)
• Jon Lord - Keyboards, organ, vocals (1968–1976, 1984–2002)
• David Coverdale - Vocals (1973–1976)
• Glenn Hughes - Bass, vocals (1973–1976)
• Rod Evans - Vocals (1968–1969)
• Tommy Bolin - Guitar, vocals (1975–1976)
• Joe Lynn Turner - Vocals (1989–1992)
• Joe Satriani - Guitar
• Nick Simper - Bass, vocals

Studio albums

• Shades of Deep Purple (1968)
• The Book of Taliesyn (1968)
• Deep Purple (1969)
• Deep Purple in Rock (1970)
• Fireball (1971)
• Machine Head (1972)
• Who Do We Think We Are (1973)
• Burn (1974)
• Stormbringer (1974)
• Come Taste the Band (1975)
• Perfect Strangers (1984)
• The House of Blue Light (1987)
• Slaves and Masters (1990)
• The Battle Rages On... (1993)
• Purpendicular (1996)
• Abandon (1998)
• Bananas (2003)
• Rapture of the Deep (2005)
• Now What! (2013)
• Infinite (2017)
• Whoosh! (2020)
• Turning to Crime (2021)
• =1 (2024)

• Deep Purple Official Website www.deeppurple.org Archived 2007-09-28 at the Wayback Machine
• The Highway Star