Deep Purple were founded by vocalistRod Evans, guitaristRitchie Blackmore, bassistNick Simper, keyboardistJon Lord and drummerIan Paice. After three studio albums, the "Mark I" line-up came to an end in 1969 when Evans and Simper were dismissed from the band and replaced byIan Gillan andRoger Glover respectively, forming the classic "Mark II" line-up of Deep Purple.[12] Following the orchestral collaborationConcerto for Group and Orchestra (1969), the Mark II line-up recorded four studio albums –Deep Purple in Rock (1970),Fireball (1971),Machine Head (1972), andWho Do We Think We Are (1973) – and a live album –Made in Japan (1972) – that cemented their popularity and played a key role in shaping the emerging genres of hard rock and heavy metal.[12][13][14] Gillan and Glover both left the band in 1973 and were replaced byDavid Coverdale andGlenn Hughes respectively. The "Mark III" line-up recorded two studio albums –Burn andStormbringer (both 1974) – before Blackmore parted ways with the band in 1975 due to musical differences.[12][15][16] He was replaced byTommy Bolin, though after just one studio album with the "Mark IV" line-up –Come Taste the Band (1975) – Deep Purple disbanded in July 1976 and Bolin died from a drug overdose five months later.[17][18]: 191
The "Mark II" line-up reunited in 1984,[12] and recorded two studio albums –Perfect Strangers (1984) andThe House of Blue Light (1987) – before Gillan was fired from Deep Purple in 1989, due to creative and personal differences within the band.[19] He was replaced byJoe Lynn Turner, who appeared on one album with Deep Purple –Slaves and Masters (1990) – before his dismissal from the band in 1992.[20] After Gillan returned for their next album,The Battle Rages On... (1993), Blackmore left Deep Purple once again in 1993, and was replaced temporarily byJoe Satriani and then permanently bySteve Morse.[12][18]: 271 The "Mark VII" line-up (consisting of Paice, Lord, Gillan, Glover and Morse) lasted for nearly a decade, during which the band recorded two studio albums –Purpendicular (1996) andAbandon (1998) – before Lord retired from Deep Purple in 2002 and was replaced byDon Airey, leaving Paice as the only remaining original member.[21][22] The "Mark VIII" line-up of Paice, Gillan, Glover, Morse and Airey was the longest line-up in the band's history, spanning twenty years and six studio albums. Their first line-up change in twenty years took place in 2022, when Morse left Deep Purple after twenty-eight years as their guitarist and was replaced bySimon McBride.[12]
Deep Purple were ranked number 22 onVH1'sGreatest Artists of Hard Rock programme,[23] and a poll on radio stationPlanet Rock ranked them fifth among the "most influential bands ever".[24] The band received the Legend Award at the 2008World Music Awards. Deep Purple were inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
In 1967, formerSearchers drummerChris Curtis contacted London businessmanTony Edwards, in the hope he would manage a new group he was assembling, to be called Roundabout. Curtis' vision was a "supergroup" where the band members would 'get on' and 'get off', like a musical roundabout. Impressed with the plan, Edwards agreed to finance the venture with his two business partnersJohn Coletta and Ron Hire, who composed Hire-Edwards-Coletta Enterprises (HEC).[18]: 27
The first recruit to the band was classically trainedHammond organ playerJon Lord, Curtis' flatmate, who had most notably played withthe Artwoods (led byArt Wood, brother of futureFaces andRolling Stones guitaristRonnie Wood, and includingKeef Hartley).[25] Lord was then performing in a backing band for the vocal groupThe Flower Pot Men, along with bassistNick Simper and drummerCarlo Little (Simper had previously been inJohnny Kidd and the Pirates, and survived the 1966 car crash that killed Kidd). Lord alerted the two that he had been recruited for the Roundabout project, after which Simper and Little suggested guitaristRitchie Blackmore, whom Lord had never met.[26] Simper had known Blackmore since the early 1960s when his first band, the Renegades, debuted around the same time as one of Blackmore's early bands, the Dominators.[18]: 5
HEC persuaded Blackmore to travel in fromHamburg to audition for the new group. He was making a name for himself as a studio session guitarist, and had also been a member ofthe Outlaws,Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages, andNeil Christian & the Crusaders, the latter band prompting Blackmore's move to Germany. Curtis' erratic behaviour and lifestyle, fuelled by his use ofLSD, caused him to display a sudden lack of interest in the project he had started, forcing HEC to dismiss him from Roundabout. However, HEC was now intrigued with the possibilities Lord and Blackmore brought and persuaded Blackmore to return from Hamburg a second time. Lord and Blackmore began the recruitment of additional members, retaining Tony Edwards as their manager.[27] Lord convinced Nick Simper to join on bass, but Blackmore insisted they leave Carlo Little behind in favour of drummerBobby Woodman.[26] Woodman was the former drummer forVince Taylor's Play-Boys (for whom he had played under the name Bobbie Clarke). The band, still calling themselves Roundabout, started rehearsing and writing inCadogan Gardens in South Kensington.
In March 1968, Lord, Blackmore, Simper and Woodman moved into Deeves Hall, a country house inSouth Mimms, Hertfordshire.[28][29] The band would live, write and rehearse at the house; it was fully kitted out with the latestMarshall amplification[30] and, at Lord's request, aHammond C3 organ.[18] According to Simper, "dozens" of singers were auditioned (includingRod Stewart and Woodman's friend Dave Curtiss)[18] until the group heardRod Evans of club band the Maze, and thought his voice fitted their style well. Tagging along with Evans was his band's drummerIan Paice. Blackmore had seen an 18-year-old Paice on tour with the Maze in Germany in 1966, and had been impressed by his drumming. The band hastily arranged an audition for Paice, given that Woodman was vocally unhappy with the direction of the band's music.[26] Both Paice and Evans won their respective jobs, and the line-up was complete.[31]
During a brief tour of Denmark and Sweden in April, in which they were still billed as Roundabout, Blackmore suggested a new name: Deep Purple, after his grandmother's favourite song, "Deep Purple" byPeter DeRose.[27][30] The group had resolved to choose a name after everyone had posted one on a board in rehearsal. Second to Deep Purple was "Concrete God", which the band thought was too harsh to take on,[32] while other names suggested included "Orpheus" and "Sugarlump".[33]
In May 1968, the band moved intoPye Studios in London'sMarble Arch to record their debut album,Shades of Deep Purple, which was released in America in July byTetragrammaton Records, and in Britain in September byEMI Records.[18]: 41–42 Vanilla Fudge was a notable influence on the band, with Blackmore claiming that the group started out wanting to be a "Vanilla Fudge clone".[34] The group had success in North America with a cover ofJoe South's "Hush", and by September 1968, the song had reached No. 4 on theBillboard Hot 100 in the US and No. 2 in the CanadianRPM chart, pushing theShades LP up to No. 24 onBillboard's pop albums chart.[35][36] The following month, Deep Purple were booked to supportCream on the US leg of theirGoodbye tour.[35]
The band's second album,The Book of Taliesyn, was recorded quickly and released in North America in October 1968 to coincide with the tour. The album includedNeil Diamond's "Kentucky Woman", which cracked the Top 40 in both the US (No. 38 on theBillboard chart) and Canada (No. 21 on theRPM chart),[37][38] though sales for the album were not as strong (No. 54 in US, No. 48 in Canada).[39][40]The Book of Taliesyn would not be released in the band's home country until the following year and, like its predecessor, it failed to have much impact on theUK Albums Chart. During the late 1968 US tour, the band made several high-profile television appearances, includingPlayboy After Dark[41] and evenThe Dating Game (where, in addition to the band performing, Lord appeared as a contestant).[42]
Early in 1969, the band released the non-album single "Emmaretta", named after Emmaretta Marks, at that time a cast member of the musicalHair, whom Evans was trying to seduce.[18]: 324 By March of that year, the band had completed recording for their third album,Deep Purple. The album included the track "April", which featured strings and woodwind, showcasing Lord's classical antecedents such asBach andRimsky-Korsakov.
Deep Purple's North American record label, Tetragrammaton, delayed production of theDeep Purple album until after the band's 1969 American tour ended. This, as well as lackluster promotion by the nearly broke label, caused the album to sell poorly, finishing well out of theBillboard Top 100. Soon afterDeep Purple was finally released in late June 1969, Tetragrammaton went out of business, leaving the band with no money and an uncertain future. Tetragrammaton's assets were eventually assumed byWarner Bros. Records, who would release Deep Purple's records in the US throughout the 1970s.[43]
During the 1969 American tour, Lord and Blackmore met with Paice to discuss their desire to progress the heavy rock side of the band further. Having decided that Evans and Simper would not fit well with the style they envisioned, both were replaced that summer.[44] Paice stated, "A change had to come. If they hadn't left, the band would have totally disintegrated." Both Simper and Blackmore noted that Rod Evans already had one foot out of the door. Simper said that Evans had met a girl inHollywood and had eyes on being an actor, while Blackmore explained, "Rod just wanted to go to America and live in America."[45] Evans and Simper would go on to co-form the bandsCaptain Beyond andWarhorse respectively.
Deep Purple Mark II was formed in Hanwell Community Centre in West London in the summer of 1969.[46] In search of a new vocalist, Blackmore set his own sights on 19-year-old singerTerry Reid. Though he found the offer "flattering", Reid was still bound by an exclusive recording contract with his producerMickie Most and more interested in his solo career.[47] Blackmore had no other choice but to look elsewhere. The band sought out singerIan Gillan fromEpisode Six, a band that had released several singles in the UK without achieving any great commercial success. Six's drummerMick Underwood – an old comrade of Blackmore's from his days inthe Outlaws – introduced the band to Gillan and bassistRoger Glover. According to Nick Simper, "Gillan would join only with Roger Glover."[48] This effectively killed Episode Six, which gave Underwood a persistent feeling of guilt that lasted nearly a decade, until Gillan recruited him forhis new post-Purple band in the late 1970s. According to Blackmore, Deep Purple was only interested in Gillan and not Glover, but Glover was retained on the advice of Ian Paice.[45]
"He turned up for the session...he was their bass player. We weren't originally going to take him until Paicey said, 'he's a good bass player, let's keep him.' So I said okay."
— Ritchie Blackmore on the hiring of Roger Glover[45]
Mark II's first release was aRoger Greenaway–Roger Cook tune titled "Hallelujah".[49] At the time of its recording, Nick Simper still thought he was in the band and had called John Coletta to inquire about the recording dates for the song. He then found that the song had already been recorded with Glover on bass. The remaining original members of Deep Purple then instructed management to inform Simper that he had been officially replaced.[50] Despite television appearances to promote the "Hallelujah" single in the UK, the song flopped.[49] Blackmore had told the British weekly music newspaperRecord Mirror that the band "need to have a commercial record in Britain", and described the song as "an in-between sort of thing"—a compromise between the type of material the band would normally record, and openly commercial material.[49]
In September 1969, the band gained some much-needed publicity in the UK with theConcerto for Group and Orchestra, a three-movement epic composed by Lord as a solo project and performed by the band at theRoyal Albert Hall in London with theRoyal Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted byMalcolm Arnold.[35] AlongsideDays of Future Passed bythe Moody Blues andFive Bridges bythe Nice, it was one of the first collaborations between a rock band and an orchestra. This live album became their first release with any kind of chart success in the UK.[51] Gillan and Blackmore were less than happy at the band being tagged as "a group who played with orchestras", both feeling that theConcerto was a distraction that would get in the way of developing their desired hard-rocking style. Lord acknowledged that while the band members were not keen on the project going in, at the end of the performance "you could have put the five smiles together and spanned theThames." Lord would also write theGemini Suite, another orchestra/group collaboration in the same vein, for the band in late 1970, although the band's recording of the piece would not be released until 1993. In 1975, Blackmore stated that he thought theConcerto for Group and Orchestra was not bad but that theGemini Suite was horrible and very disjointed.[52] Roger Glover later noted that Jon Lord had appeared to be the leader of the band in the early years.[53]
Deep Purple Mark II live in Germany in 1970
Shortly after the orchestral release, Mark II began a hectic touring and recording schedule that was to see little respite for the next four years. The second album, and first studio album, of the Mark II era, released in 1970, wasIn Rock (a title supported by the album'sMount Rushmore–inspired cover), which contained "Speed King", "Into The Fire" and "Child in Time", all of which were staples of the band's live performances during that period. The non-album single "Black Night", released around the same time, finally put Deep Purple into the UK Top 10.[54] The interplay between Blackmore's guitar and Lord's distorted organ, coupled with Gillan's powerful, wide-ranging vocals and the rhythm section of Glover and Paice, now started to take on a unique identity that separated the band from its earlier albums.[5] Along with Zeppelin'sLed Zeppelin II and Sabbath'sParanoid,In Rock codified the buddingheavy metal genre.[2]
On the album's development, Blackmore stated: "I got fed up with playing with classical orchestras, and thought, 'well, this is my turn.' Jon was into more classical. I said, 'well you've done that, I'll do rock, and whatever turns out best we'll carry on with.'"[55]In Rock performed well, especially in the UK where it reached No. 4, while the "Black Night" single reached No. 2 on theUK Singles Chart, and the band performed the song live on theBBC'sTop of the Pops.[56][57] In addition to increasing sales in the UK, the band were making a name for themselves as a live act, particularly with regard to the sheer volume of their shows and the improvisational skills of Blackmore and Lord. Said Lord, "We took from jazz, we took from old fashioned rock and roll, we took from the classics. Ritchie and myself...used to swap musical jokes and attacks. He would play something, and I'd have to see if I could match it. That provided a sense of humour, a sense of tension to the band, a sense of, 'what the hell's going to happen next?' The audience didn't know, and nine times out of ten, neither did we!"[18]
A second Mark II studio album, the creatively progressiveFireball, was issued in the summer of 1971, reaching No. 1 on theUK Albums Chart.[57] The title track "Fireball" was released as a single, as was "Strange Kind of Woman", not from the album but recorded during the same sessions (although it replaced "Demon's Eye" on the US version of the album).[58] "Strange Kind of Woman" became their second UK Top 10 single, reaching No. 8.[57]
Within weeks ofFireball's release, the band were already performing songs planned for the next album. One song (which later became "Highway Star") was performed at the first show of theFireball tour, having been written on the bus to a show in Portsmouth, in answer to a journalist's question: "How do you go about writing songs?"[59] On 24 October 1971 during the US leg of theFireball tour, the band was set to play theAuditorium Theatre in Chicago when Ian Gillan contractedhepatitis, forcing the band to play without him, with bassist Glover singing the set. After this, the rest of the US dates were cancelled and the band flew home.[60]
In early December 1971, the band travelled to Switzerland to recordMachine Head. The album was due to be recorded at theMontreux Casino using theRolling Stones Mobile Studio, but a fire during aFrank Zappa andthe Mothers of Invention concert, caused by a man firing a flare gun into the ceiling, burned down the Casino. This incident famously inspired the song "Smoke on the Water". The album was later recorded in a corridor at the nearby emptyGrand Hôtel de Territet, with the exception of the music track to "Smoke on the Water". That was recorded at a vacant theatre called The Pavillon before the band was asked to leave.[61][62][63] On recording "Smoke on the Water", Blackmore stated toBBC Radio 2: "We did the whole thing in about four takes because we had to. The police were banging on the door. We knew it was the police, but we had such a good sound in this hall. We were waking up all the neighbours for about five miles in Montreux, because it was echo-ing through the mountains. I was just getting the last part of the riff down, we'd just finished it, when the police burst in and said 'you've got to stop'. We had the track down."[64]
Continuing to progress the musical direction of the previous two albums,Machine Head was released in late March 1972 and became one of the band's most famous releases. It was the band's second No. 1 album in the UK while re-establishing them in North America, hitting No. 7 in the US and No. 1 in Canada.[57] It included tracks that became live classics, such as "Highway Star", "Space Truckin'", "Lazy" and "Smoke on the Water", the last of which remains Deep Purple's most famous song.[54][65] They continued to tour and record at a rate that would be rare thirty years on; whenMachine Head was recorded, the group had only been together three-and-a-half years, yet it was their sixth studio album and seventh album overall.
In January 1972, the band returned to tour the US once again. They then headed over to play Europe before resuming US dates in March. While in America, Blackmore contracted hepatitis, and the band attempted one show inFlint, Michigan, without a guitarist before attempting to acquire the services ofAl Kooper, who rehearsed with the band before bowing out, suggestingSpirit guitaristRandy California instead. California played one show with the group, inQuebec City, Quebec on 6 April, but the rest of this tour was cancelled as well.[66]
The band returned to the US in late May 1972 to undertake their third North America tour (of four total that year). A Japan tour in August of that year led to a double live album,Made in Japan. Originally intended as a Japan-only release, its worldwide release became an instant hit, reaching platinum status in five countries, including the US. It remains one of rock music's most popular and highest selling live albums.[67]
Mark II continued to work and released the albumWho Do We Think We Are in 1973. Spawning the hit single "Woman from Tokyo", the album hit No. 4 in the UK charts and No. 15 in the US chart, while achieving gold record status faster than any Deep Purple album released up to that time.[68][69] However, internal tensions and exhaustion were more noticeable than ever. Following the successes ofMachine Head andMade in Japan, the addition ofWho Do We Think We Are made Deep Purple the top-selling artists of 1973 in the US.[70][71]
Gillan admitted in a 1984 interview that the band were pushed by management to complete theWho Do We Think We Are album on time and go on tour, although they badly needed a break.[72] The bad feelings, including tensions with Blackmore, culminated in Gillan quitting the band after their second tour of Japan in the summer of 1973, followed by the dismissal of Glover, at Blackmore's insistence.[73][74][75] In interviews later, Lord called the end of Mark II while the band was at its peak "the biggest shame in rock and roll; God knows what we would have done over the next three or four years. We were writing so well."[76]
Collage of Deep Purple Mark III in 1974, withGlenn Hughes (left),David Coverdale (top), Jon Lord (middle), Ian Paice (bottom), Ritchie Blackmore (right).
The band hired Midlands bassist/vocalistGlenn Hughes, formerly ofTrapeze. According to Paice, Glover told him and Lord a few months before his official termination that he wanted to leave the band, so they had started to drop in on Trapeze shows. After acquiring Hughes, they debated continuing as a four-piece, with Hughes as bassist and lead vocalist.[77][78] According to Hughes, he was told the band was bringing inPaul Rodgers ofFree as a co-lead vocalist, but by that time Rodgers had just startedBad Company.[79] "They did ask", Rodgers recalled, "and I spoke to all of them at length about the possibility. Purple had toured Australia with Free's final lineup. I didn't do it because I was very much into the idea of forming Bad Company."[80] Instead, auditions were held for lead vocal replacements. They settled onDavid Coverdale, an unknown singer fromSaltburn in north-east England, primarily because Blackmore liked his masculine, blues-tinged voice.[78]
Burn, the first album by Deep Purple Mark III, was released in February 1974 to great success, reaching No. 3 in the UK and No. 9 in the US, and was followed by another world tour.[57] Thetitle track, which opens the album and would open most concerts during the Mark III and IV eras, was a conscious effort by the band to embrace the progressive rock movement, which was popularised at the time by bands such asYes,King Crimson,Emerson, Lake & Palmer,Genesis andGentle Giant. Another notable song from the album was a slow-burning blues number called "Mistreated".
Deep Purple co-headlined theCalifornia Jam in 1974. They played to over 300,000 people at theOntario Motor Speedway in Ontario, Southern California.
Hughes and Coverdale brought vocal harmonies and elements of funk and blues, respectively, to the band's music, a sound that was even more apparent on the late 1974 releaseStormbringer.[78] Along with the title track, theStormbringer album had a number of songs that received significant radio play, such as "Lady Double Dealer", "The Gypsy" and "Soldier of Fortune", and the album reached No. 6 in the UK and No. 20 on the USBillboard chart.[57] Blackmore publicly disliked most of the album, however, derisively calling it "shoeshine music" out of distaste for its funk and soul elements.[84][85][86] A new live album,Made in Europe, culled from three shows on theStormbringer tour, was assembled during the summer of 1975, but would not see release until late 1976. After the show inStuttgart–Böblingen, Blackmore announced on 26 March 1975 to his co-musicians in a room of the Arabella Hotel inMunich that he was quitting the band. Lord, Paice, Coverdale and Hughes were speechless, for a few weeks later the band were due to go into the studio to record their next album.[87] Blackmore's departure from Deep Purple, and therefore the end of Mark III, was announced on 21 June 1975. Blackmore then formed his own band withRonnie James Dio ofElf, calledRitchie Blackmore's Rainbow, shortened to Rainbow after thefirst album.[88]
Deep Purple Mark IV in 1976. Left to right: Jon Lord, Glenn Hughes,Tommy Bolin, Ian Paice, David Coverdale.
Following Blackmore's departure, the group considered disbanding but decided to continue and find another guitarist.Clem Clempson (Colosseum,Humble Pie),Zal Cleminson (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band),Mick Ronson (The Spiders From Mars) andRory Gallagher were considered; the final choice was AmericanTommy Bolin.[18]: 179–180 There are at least two versions of the Bolin recruitment story: Coverdale claims to have been the one who suggested auditioning Bolin.[89] "He walked in, thin as a rake, his hair coloured green, yellow and blue with feathers in it. Slinking along beside him was this stunning Hawaiian girl in a crochet dress with nothing on underneath. He plugged into fourMarshall 100-watt stacks and...the job was his." But in an interview published byMelody Maker in June 1975, Bolin claimed that he came to the audition following a recommendation from Blackmore.[90] Bolin had been a member of many late-1960s bands – Denny & The Triumphs, American Standard, andZephyr, which released three albums from 1969 to 1972. Before he joined Deep Purple, Bolin's best-known recordings had been made as a session musician onBilly Cobham's 1973jazz fusion albumSpectrum, and as lead guitarist on two post-Joe WalshJames Gang albums:Bang (1973) andMiami (1974). He had also played withDr. John,Albert King,the Good Rats,Moxy andAlphonse Mouzon, and was busy working on his first solo album,Teaser, when he accepted the invitation to join Deep Purple.[91]
The resulting album from Deep Purple Mark IV,Come Taste the Band, was released in October 1975, one month before Bolin'sTeaser album. Despite mixed reviews and middling sales (No. 19 in the UK and No. 43 in the US), the collection revitalised the band once again, bringing a new, extreme funk edge to theirhard rock sound.[92] Bolin's influence was crucial, and with encouragement from Hughes and Coverdale, the guitarist developed much of the album's material. Despite Bolin's talents, his personal problems with hard drugs began to surface. During theCome Taste the Band tour, many fans openly booed Bolin's inability to play solos like Ritchie Blackmore, not realising that Bolin was physically hampered by his addiction. At this same time, as he admitted in interviews years later, Hughes was suffering from cocaine addiction.[93]
The last show on the tour was on 15 March 1976 at theLiverpool Empire Theatre.[94] At the end of the concert, Coverdale walked off in tears and handed in his resignation. He was told there was no band left to quit, as Lord and Paice had already decided to break up the band.[95] The break-up was made public in July 1976, with then-manager Rob Cooksey issuing a statement: "The band will not record or perform together as Deep Purple again".[96]Last Concert in Japan, a live album of the last concert on the Japanese leg of theCome Taste the Band tour, was issued in 1977.[97]
Bolin went on to record his second solo album,Private Eyes. On 4 December 1976, after a show in Miami supportingJeff Beck, Bolin was found unconscious by his girlfriend and bandmates. Unable to wake him, she hurriedly called paramedics, but it was too late. The official cause of death was multiple-drug intoxication. Bolin was 25 years old.[91]
After the break-up, most of the members of Deep Purple went on to have considerable success in a number of other bands, includingRainbow (1975–1984; Ritchie Blackmore and, from 1979, Roger Glover),Whitesnake (1978–2022; David Coverdale, Jon Lord until 1984, and Ian Paice during 1979–1982) andGillan (1978–1982; Ian Gillan). Gillan also joinedBlack Sabbath from late 1982 to early 1984 (Glenn Hughes would also join Sabbath for a short time later in the 1980s). The then-defunct Deep Purple began to gain a type of mystical status, with fan-driven reissues and newly assembled live and compilation albums being released throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s.[98] This fuelled a number of promoter-led attempts to get the band to reform, especially with the revival of the hard rock market in the late 1970s and early 1980s. In 1980, atouring version of the band surfaced; of this, Rod Evans, who had left Captain Beyond at the end of 1973, was the only member who had ever been in Deep Purple. The legitimate Deep Purple camp brought legal action over unauthorised use of the name; this was eventually successful, and Evans was ordered to pay damages of US$672,000 for using the band name without permission.[99]
Deep Purple Mark II during their reunion tour at theCow Palace, San Francisco, 1985. Pictured left to right: Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Richie Blackmore (out of shot: Jon Lord).
In April 1984, eight years after the demise of Deep Purple, a full-scale (and legal) reunion took place with the "classic" Mark II line-up of 1969–1973: Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.[100][101] The reformed band signed a worldwide deal withPolyGram, withMercury Records releasing their albums in the US, andPolydor Records in the UK and other countries. The albumPerfect Strangers was recorded inVermont and released in October 1984. The album was commercially successful, reaching No. 5 in theUK Albums Chart and No. 17 on theBillboard 200 in the US.[57][102] The album included the singles and concert staples "Knocking at Your Back Door" and "Perfect Strangers".[103]Perfect Strangers became the second Deep Purple album to go platinum in the US, followingMachine Head (Made in Japan would also finally hit platinum status in the US in 1986, the same yearMachine Head increased to double platinum).[104]
The reunion tour followed, starting in Australia and winding its way across the world to North America, then into Europe by the following summer. Financially, the tour was also a tremendous success. In the US, the 1985 tour out-grossed every other artist exceptBruce Springsteen.[105] The UK homecoming saw the band headline the 1985Knebworth Fayre in June, where the weather was bad (torrential rain and 6 inches (15 cm) of mud) in front of 80,000 fans.[106] The gig was called the "Return of the Knebworth Fayre".[107]
Mark II followedPerfect Strangers withThe House of Blue Light in 1987, which was supported by another world tour (interrupted after Blackmore broke a finger on stage while trying to catch his guitar after throwing it in the air). A new live albumNobody's Perfect, which was culled from several shows on this tour, was released in 1988. In the UK a new Mark II version of "Hush" was also released in 1988 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Deep Purple.
This Mark V line-up recorded just one album,Slaves and Masters (1990), and undertook a world tour for most of 1991. The album achieved modest success, reaching No. 45 in the UK and No. 87 in the USBillboard chart,[102] with some fans and critics feeling the music was closer in style to Rainbow than to Deep Purple.
Second Mark II reunion (1992–1993) and Mark VI (1993–1994)
With the tour complete, the band set to work on another album, the early sessions of which would see Turner being forced out. 1993 was going to be Deep Purple's 25th anniversary year, with Lord, Paice and Glover (and the record company) wanting Gillan back for another Mark II reunion to celebrate this milestone. Although Blackmore preferred Turner to remain in the group, he grudgingly relented, after requesting and eventually receiving $250,000 in his bank account[110] and Mark II completed the aptly titledThe Battle Rages On... in 1993.
Blackmore still disagreed with the decision, which created more tension between himself and the rest of the band, especially Gillan. Of particular contention was that Gillan had reworked much of the material that had been written with Turner for the new album. Blackmore felt that Gillan's rewrites had made the songs less melodic than they had been in their original versions.[111] The band began a European tour, which was documented on the live albumCome Hell or High Water, released in 1994. A live home video of the same name was also released, covering a show inBirmingham, England, that displayed a very disgruntled Blackmore, who did not perform many of the guitar parts and who at one point threw a cup of water at a cameraman, for unknown reasons. The complete show was eventually released in 2006 asLive at the NEC but was quickly withdrawn after Gillan publicly complained, feeling it represented a bad time in the group's history:[112] "It was one of the lowest points of my life – all of our lives, actually".[112]
Blackmore left Deep Purple for the second and final time after a show inHelsinki, Finland, in November 1993.[112]Joe Satriani was drafted to complete the Japanese dates in December and stayed on for a European summer tour in 1994. He was asked to join permanently, but his commitments to his contract withEpic Records prevented this. The band unanimously choseDixie Dregs and formerKansas guitaristSteve Morse as Satriani's successor in August 1994.[113]
"Musically, it was very satisfying. The setlist was straight out of classic rock heaven. And the band were just great. Their timing was just fantastic."
Morse's arrival revitalised the band creatively, and in 1996 a new album titledPurpendicular was released, showing a wide variety of musical styles – though in thepost-grunge mid-1990s it was no surprise that it never made chart success on theBillboard 200 in the US.[102] This Mark VII line-up then released a new live albumLive at The Olympia '96 in 1997. With a revamped set list to tour, Deep Purple enjoyed successful tours throughout the rest of the 1990s, releasing the harder-soundingAbandon in 1998, and touring with renewed enthusiasm.
1999 marked the 30th anniversary of theConcerto for Group and Orchestra. Lord, with the help of a Dutch fan,Marco de Goeij, who was also a musicologist and composer, painstakingly recreated the concerto, the original score having been lost. It was once again performed at theRoyal Albert Hall in September 1999, this time with theLondon Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann.[115] The concert also included songs from each member's solo careers, as well as a short Deep Purple set, and the occasion was released as the albumIn Concert with The London Symphony Orchestra in 2000.[115] 2001 saw the release of thebox setThe Soundboard Series, containing concerts from the 2001 Australian Tour plus two from Tokyo, Japan.[116] Much of the next few years was spent on the road touring. The group continued forward until 2002 when founding member Lord announced his amicable retirement from the band to pursue personal projects (especially orchestral work). His departure left Ian Paice as the band's sole remaining founder member. Lord left his Hammond organ to his replacement, rock keyboard veteranDon Airey, who had helped Deep Purple out when Lord's knee was injured in 2001. Airey had previously worked with Glover as a member of Rainbow from 1979 to 1982.
In 2003, the new Mark VIII line-up releasedBananas, their first studio album in five years, and began touring in support.EMI Records refused a contract extension with Deep Purple, possibly because of lower sales.[117]
The band played at theLive 8 concert inPark Place (Barrie, Ontario) in July 2005, and in October released their next album,Rapture of the Deep, which was followed by theRapture of the Deep tour. BothBananas andRapture of the Deep were produced byMichael Bradford.[118] In 2009 Ian Gillan said, "Record sales have been steadily declining, but people are prepared to pay a lot for concert tickets."[119] In addition, Gillan stated: "I don't think happiness comes with money."[119]
Deep Purple did concert tours in 48 countries in 2011.[120]The Songs That Built Rock Tour used a 38-piece orchestra, and included a performance atthe O2 Arena in London.[121] Until May 2011, the band members had disagreed about whether to make a new studio album, because it would not really make money any more. Roger Glover stated that Deep Purple should make a new studio album "even if it costs us money."[122] In early 2011, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes toldVH1 they would like to reunite Mark III for the right opportunity, such as a benefit concert.[123] This did not happen however, as Ritchie Blackmore was difficult to contact and was not interested, as he was busy with his current band Blackmore's Night. The band's chief sound engineer of nine years of tours, Moray McMillin, died in September 2011, aged 57.[124] After a lot of songwriting sessions in Europe,[125] Deep Purple decided to record through the summer of 2012, and the band announced they would release their new studio album in 2013.[120] Steve Morse announced to French magazineRock Hard that the new studio album would be produced byBob Ezrin.[126]
Glover and Morse in 2013 in Spain
On 16 July 2012 the band's co-founding member and former organ player, Jon Lord, died in London, aged 71.[127][128] In December 2012 Roger Glover stated that the band had completed work on 14 songs for a new studio album, with 11 or 12 tracks set to appear on the final album to be released in 2013.[129][130] On 26 February 2013 the title of the band's nineteenth studio album was announced asNow What?!, which was recorded and mixed inNashville, Tennessee, and released on 26 April 2013.[131] The album contains the track "Vincent Price", named after thehorror actor who had worked with both Gillan and Glover earlier in their careers.[132]
Deep Purple live at Wacken Open Air in 2013. Left to right: Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Steve Morse,Don Airey, Ian Gillan.
On 25 November 2016, Deep Purple announcedInfinite as the title of their twentieth studio album,[125] which was released on 7 April 2017.[133] In support for the album, Deep Purple embarked on 13 May 2017 in Bucharest, Romania onThe Long Goodbye Tour. At the time of the tour's announcement in December 2016, Paice told the Heavyworlds website it "may be the last big tour", adding that the band "don't know". He described the tour as being long in duration and said: "We haven't made any hard, fast plans, but it becomes obvious that you cannot tour the same way you did when you were 21. It becomes more and more difficult. People have other things in their lives, which take time. But never say never."[134] On 3 February 2017, Deep Purple released a video version of "Time for Bedlam", the first track taken from the new album and the first new Deep Purple track for almost four years.[135]
On 29 February 2020, a new track, "Throw My Bones" was released online, with a new albumWhoosh! planned for release in June.[136][137] The release of the full-length album would later be postponed to 7 August 2020 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic.[138] A review inNME said the album sounded nothing like contemporary music of 2020, but suggested that "maybe that's a good thing".[139] Gillan confirmed in an interview on 4 August 2020 that he and the other members of Deep Purple have no immediate plans to retire.[140]
On 6 October 2021, the band had announced the title of their covers album,Turning to Crime, which was released on 26 November 2021.[141][142]
Deep Purple live in Germany, July 2022. Left to right: Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Don Airey,Simon McBride.
In March 2022, Morse announced that he had to take a hiatus from the band after his wife was diagnosed with cancer. The band, who had recently returned to live performances, continued touring withSimon McBride, formerly ofSweet Savage, standing in for Morse who at that point officially remained in the band.[143] On 23 July 2022, it was announced that Morse would be leaving permanently in order to focus on caring for his wife as she battled cancer.[144] Later that September, McBride was made an official member of the band.[145]
Glover, Gillan and McBride performing in 2022
In June 2022, Gillan announced that the band had planned to work on their 23rd studio album after the conclusion of theWhoosh! tour: "Deep Purple has got a writing session booked in March 2023, which I believe is to get started on thinking about our next record."[146]
Titled=1 More Time, a 2024 tour was announced on 19 March of that year.[147]Jefferson Starship were special guests on the Europe dates, andReef were special guests for the UK shows.[148] On 24 April 2024, it was announced the forthcoming release of a new studio album - the first with McBride - whose title=1 and track listing were revealed, and the release date stated as 19 July of that year.[149][150] It was the fifth Deep Purple album that Bob Ezrin had produced. The first single "Portable Door" was released on 30 April.[151] A second single, "Pictures of You", was released on 5 June 2024. A third single, "Lazy Sod" was released on 5 July 2024.[152]
In a May 2025 interview withRolling Stone Brasil, Paice confirmed that Deep Purple have begun working on new material for their next album due for a possible 2026 release.[153][154]
In a November 2025 interview withUncut, Gillan confirmed that he has only 30% vision and that his eyesight "won't get better". He also opened up about potentially retiring from Deep Purple: "I think if I lose my energy I'm going to stop. I don't want to be an embarrassment to anyone. We're not far off that. It creeps up on you – you don't really notice."[155] Gillan later retracted his statement about retiring, saying that they are often looking a long way ahead, and currently have no plans to retire at this stage.[156]
Deep Purple are cited as one of the pioneers of hard rock and heavy metal, along withLed Zeppelin andBlack Sabbath.[2][157] TheBBC states they "made up the 'unholy trinity' of British hard rock and heavy metal during the genre's 1970s golden age."[64]
"My interest in classical music overall is what led me in the direction of trying to combine blues, rock and classical ideas into the stylistic statement."
— Ritchie Blackmore on early influences on Deep Purple[163]
Deep Purple's members were experienced musicians with different musical backgrounds: Lord had trained inclassical music and played injazz and blues rock ensembles,[18] Blackmore and Simper came from session work in pop rock[18] and Paice and Evans came frombeat bands.[18] This is evident on the band's debut album,Shades of Deep Purple, a contemporary mix of psychedelic rock, progressive rock and pop rock.[164][165]
Traces of the heavier sound that Deep Purple popularized in their Mark II line-up can be heard in the remaining albums by Mark I, mostly evident in Blackmore's guitar parts.[165] Evans was replaced by Ian Gillan, initially influenced byElvis Presley and similarly had roots in psychedelia and pop rock, as vocalist forEpisode Six with bassist Roger Glover, who replaced Simper. The first three Mark II studio albums have continued to attract critical praise as key early examples of thehard rock[18][166] andheavy metal genres,[167] whileWho Do We Think We Are showed a move to a moreblues-based sound, even featuringscat singing.[168]
According to Ritchie Blackmore, he was inspired bythe Allman Brothers Band,Vanilla Fudge andCream, but creditsJimi Hendrix as "the real deal for him and Deep Purple" and praising him as "at least 20 years ahead of his time." Hendrix's songs, "Stone Free" and "Fire", were the inspirations for "Speed King". Blackmore had the chance to meet Hendrix atWhisky a Go Go in Hollywood, but they did not talk, he toldSiriusXM's Guitar Greats in 2022.[173]
Mountain was another major influence on Blackmore. After touring with them, Deep Purple was shocked by how heavy their sound was with just three members, making them want to pursue a heavier sound onDeep Purple In Rock. "I really lovedLeslie West's playing, said Blackmore before reflecting on the first time hearing "Mississippi Queen".
"I remember being in a place in Germany, and Ian [Paice] and I were out drinking together. In those days, you could go to a club and listen to the new records in their entirety that had just come out. Paice and I heard, 'Mississippi Queen', and we both went white! We were thinking, 'Who the hell is that?!' It had such a big sound! For three guys, it was incredibly heavy."[163]
Ian Paice (pictured in 2017). Ranked number 21 inRolling Stone's 100 Greatest Drummers list, his magazine entry states, "without Deep Purple's only continuous member, there would be no heavy metal drumming."[178]
Def Leppard vocalistJoe Elliot stated that "in 1971, there were only three bands that mattered: Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Deep Purple."[3] Iron Maiden's bassist and primary songwriter,Steve Harris, states that his band's "heaviness" was inspired by "Black Sabbath and Deep Purple with a bit of Zeppelin thrown in."[223] Van Halen founderEddie Van Halen named "Burn" one of his favourite everguitar riffs.[64] Queen guitaristBrian May referred to Ritchie Blackmore as "a trail blazer and technically incredible — unpredictable in every possible way...you never knew what you were gonna see when you went to see Purple".[224] Metallica drummerLars Ulrich states, "When I was nine years old it was all about Deep Purple. My all time favourite [album] is stillMade in Japan".[225] The band's 1974 albumStormbringer was the first record owned byTill Lindemann, vocalist of GermanNeue Deutsche Härte bandRammstein.[226]
Although Deep Purple helped lay the foundation for the heavy metal, their consummate musicianship meant they also transcended the genre. Indeed, they began as a progressive rock group with their eyes, unusually, on the singles market. Yet they certainly rocked, as their shows from the earliest days conclusively proved.
David Roberts in the bookRock Chronicles: Every Legend. Every Line-up. Every Look. (published October 25, 2019) Firefly Books. p. 148.
In 2000, Deep Purple were ranked number 22 onVH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" programme.[227] At the 2008World Music Awards, the band received the Legend Award.[228] In 2011, they received the Innovator Award at the 2011Classic Rock Awards in London.[229] ARolling Stone readers' poll in 2012 rankedMade in Japan the sixth best live album of all time.[67]
Before October 2012, Deep Purple had never been nominated for induction into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame (though they had been eligible since 1993), but were nominated for induction in 2012 and 2013.[233][234] Despite ranking second in the public's vote on the Rock Hall fans' ballot, which had over half a million votes, they were not inducted by the Rock Hall committee.[235]Kiss bassistGene Simmons andRush bassistGeddy Lee commented that Deep Purple should obviously be among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees.[236][237] There have been criticisms in the past over Deep Purple not having been inducted.Toto guitaristSteve Lukather commented, "they putPatti Smith in there but not Deep Purple? What's the first song every kid learns how to play? ["Smoke on the Water"] ... And they're not in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? ... the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has lost its cool because of the glaring omissions."[238]Guns N' Roses andVelvet Revolver guitaristSlash expressed his surprise and disagreement regarding the non-induction of Deep Purple: "The list of people who haven't even been nominated is mind-boggling ... [the] big one for me is Deep Purple. How could you not induct Deep Purple?".[239][240] Metallica band membersJames Hetfield,Lars Ulrich andKirk Hammett had also lobbied for the band's induction.[241][242]
In an interview withRolling Stone in April 2014, Ulrich pleaded: "I'm not going to get into the politics or all that stuff, but I got two words to say: 'Deep Purple'. That's all I have to say: Deep Purple. Seriously, people, Deep Purple. Two simple words in the English language ... 'Deep Purple'! Did I say that already?"[243] In 2015,Chris Jericho, professional wrestler and vocalist of rock bandFozzy, stated: "that Deep Purple are not in it [Hall of Fame]. It's bullshit. Obviously there's some politics against them from getting in there."[244]
"With almost no exceptions, every hard rock band in the last 40 years, including mine, traces its lineage directly back to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple. Where I grew up, and in the rest of the world outside of North America, all were equal in status, stature and influence. So in my heart – and I know I speak for many of my fellow musicians and millions of Purple fans when I confess that – I am somewhat bewildered that they are so late in getting in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
—Excerpt from Lars Ulrich's speech, inducting Deep Purple into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.[245]
In response to these, a Hall of Fame chief executive said, "The definition of 'rock and roll' means different things to different people, but as broad as the classifications may be, they all share a common love of the music."[236] Roger Glover got an inside word in there and they were talking of us as not "fashionable" enough. "One of the jurors said, 'You know, Deep Purple, they're just one-hit wonders.' How can you deal with that kind of Philistinism, you know?".[246]
Ian Gillan also commented, "I've fought all my life against being institutionalised and I think you have to actively search these things out, in other words mingle with the right people, and we don't get invited to those kind of things."[247] On 16 October 2013 Deep Purple were again announced as nominees for inclusion to the Hall, and once again they were not inducted.[246][248]
In April 2015, Deep Purple topped the list in aRolling Stone readers poll of acts that should be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016.[249] In October 2015, the band were nominated for induction for the third time.[250] In December 2015, the band were announced as 2016 inductees into the Hall of Fame, with the Hall stating: "Deep Purple's non-inclusion in the Hall is a gaping hole which must now be filled", adding that along with fellow inductees Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, the band make up "the Holy Trinity of hard rock and metal bands."[251]
The band were officially inducted on 8 April 2016. The Hall of Fame announced that the following members were included as inductees: Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Rod Evans, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes. Excluded from induction were Nick Simper, Tommy Bolin, Joe Lynn Turner, Joe Satriani, Steve Morse and Don Airey.[252]
It was reported that Ian Gillan announced that he was barring Hughes, Coverdale, Evans and Blackmore from playing with them onstage, as these members are not in the current "living, breathing" version of the band. When interviewed by Loudwire he stated however that this was not the case. An email was sent from his management to Blackmore's management but Blackmore claimed he never received said email.[253] Of the seven living inducted members, five showed up. Blackmore did not attend; a posting on his Facebook page claimed he was honoured by the induction and had considered attending, until he received correspondence from Bruce Payne, manager from the current touring version of Deep Purple saying, "No!"[254] Evans, who had disappeared from the music scene more than three decades prior, also did not appear. Since Lord had died in 2012, his wife Vickie accepted his award on his behalf. The current members of the band played "Highway Star" for the opening performance. After a brief interlude playing theBooker T. & the M.G.'s song "Green Onions" while photos of the late Jon Lord flashed on the screen behind them, the current Deep Purple members played two more songs: "Hush" and their signature tune "Smoke on the Water". Although barred from playing with Deep Purple, both David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes (as well as Roger Glover) joined fellow inducteesCheap Trick and an all-star cast to perform a cover of theFats Domino song "Ain't That a Shame".[255]
Deep Purple with then-Russian PresidentDmitry Medvedev in 2011
Deep Purple are considered to be one of the hardest touring bands in the world.[256][257] They have toured the world since 1968 (with the exception of their 1976–1984 split). In 2007, the band received a special award for selling more than 150,000 tickets in France, with 40 dates in the country in 2007 alone.[258] Also in 2007, Deep Purple'sRapture of the Deep tour was voted number 6 concert tour of the year (in all music genres) byPlanet Rock listeners.[259]The Rolling Stones'A Bigger Bang tour was voted number 5 and beat Purple's tour by only 1%. Deep Purple released a new live compilation DVD box, Around the World Live, in May 2008. In February 2008, the band made their first-ever appearance at theState Kremlin Palace in Moscow, Russia[260] at the personal request ofDmitry Medvedev who at the time was a chairman of the state ownedGazprom company, which sponsored the concert,[261] and who was considered a shoo-in for the seat of the Presidency of Russia. Prior to that, Deep Purple has toured Russia several times starting as early as 1996 but has not been considered to have played such a significant venue previously. The band was part of the entertainment for theFIS Nordic World Ski Championships 2009 inLiberec, the Czech Republic.[262]
Deep Purple Debut Tour, 1968 in Scandinavian countries
^Rivadavia, Eduardo."Fireball – Deep Purple | Songs, Reviews, Credits".AllMusic.Archived from the original on 21 March 2021. Retrieved8 July 2019.1971's Fireball saw the band broadening out from the no-holds-barred hard rock direction of the previous year's cacophonous In Rock.
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