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Biography
Deep Purple (read: Deep People) is a British hard rock band formed in February 1968 (first under the name Roundabout) and considered one of the most notable and influential heavy music bands of the 1970s. . Music critics call Deep Purple among the founders of hard rock and highly appreciate their contribution to the development of progressive rock and heavy metal. The musicians of the “classic” line-up of Deep Purple (in particular, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, drummer Ian Paice) are considered virtuoso instrumentalists.Background
The initiator of the creation of the group and the author of the original concept was drummer Chris Curtis, who left The Searchers in 1966 and intended to resume his career. In 1967, he hired entrepreneur Tony Edwards as manager, who at the time was working in the West End for his family agency, Alice Edwards Holdings Ltd, but was also involved in the music business, helping singer Ayshea (later host of the TV show Lift Off). . At the moment when Curtis was considering plans for his comeback, keyboardist Jon Lord also found himself at a crossroads: he had just left the rhythm and blues group The Artwoods, assembled by Art Wood (Ron's brother) and joined the touring lineup of The Flowerpot Men, a group created solely to promote the hit Lets Go To San Francisco. At a party with the famous “talent scout” Vikki Wickham, he accidentally met Curtis, and he became interested in the project of a new group, the members of which would come and go “like a carousel”: hence the name Roundabout. Soon, however, it turned out that Curtis lives in his own “acid” world. Before leaving the project, which would have included George Robins, the former Cryin Shames bassist, as the third member, Curtis said he had a "fantastic guitarist in mind, an Englishman who lives in Hamburg" for Roundabout.
Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, despite his young age, had by this time managed to play with such musicians as Gene Vincent, Mike Dee And The Jaywalkers, Screamin' Lord Satch, The Outlaws (studio group of producer Joe Meek) and Neil Christian and the Crusaders thanks to whom and ended up in Germany (where he founded his own band, The Three Musketeers). The first attempt to recruit Blackmore to Roundabout coincided with the disappearance of Curtis (who then turned up in Liverpool) and was unsuccessful, but Edwards (with his checkbook) persisted, and soon, in December 1967, the guitarist again flew in from Hamburg for an audition. Jon Lord:
Richie came to my apartment with an acoustic guitar and we immediately wrote And The Address and Mandrake Root. We had a wonderful evening. It immediately became clear that he wouldn’t tolerate fools around him, but that’s what I liked. He looked gloomy, but that's how he always was.
Soon the group included Dave Curtiss (ex-Dave Curtiss & the Tremors) and drummer Bobby Woodman, who was living in France at that time, who in the 1950s, under the pseudonym Bobby Clarke, played in Vince Taylor's Playboys group, as well as with Marty Wilde in Wildcats. “Richie saw Woodman in Johnny Hallyday’s band and was amazed that he used two kick drums in his kit,” recalled Jon Lord.
After Curtiss left, Lord and Blackmore resumed their search for a bass player. “The choice fell on Nick Simper simply because he also played in The Flowerpot Men,” Lord recalled. He was also partial to lace shirts, which Richie liked. Richie generally paid more attention to the external side of the matter.” Simper (who also played in Johnny Kidd & The New Pirates), by his own admission, did not take the offer seriously until he learned that Woodman, whom he idolized, was involved in the new group. But once the quartet began rehearsing at Deaves Hall, a large farmstead in south Hertfordshire, it became clear that it was the drummer who was out of the picture. The parting was not easy, because everyone had an excellent personal relationship with him.
At the same time, the search for a vocalist continued: the group, among others, listened to Rod Stewart, who, according to Simper’s recollections, “was terrible,” and even tried to lure Mike Harrison from Spooky Tooth, who, as Blackmore recalls, “didn’t want to hear about it.” Terry Reed, who had contractual obligations, also refused. At some point, Blackmore decided to return to Hamburg, but Lord and Simper persuaded him to stay, at least for the duration of rehearsals in Denmark, where Lord was already well known. Following Woodman's departure, 22-year-old vocalist Rod Evans and drummer Ian Paice joined the band, both former members of The MI5 (a band that would later release two singles in 1967 under the name The Maze). With a new line-up, under a new name but still under the leadership of manager Edwards, the quintet conducted a short tour of Denmark.
All group members agreed in advance that the name needed to be changed.
Here at Deaves Hall we've put together a list of possible options. Almost chose Orpheus. Concrete God this seemed very radical to us. Sugarlump was also on the list. And one morning there was a new version of Deep Purple. After intense negotiations, it turned out that Richie had brought it in. For the reason that it was his grandmother's favorite song.
Jon Lord
Style and image
At first, the band members did not have a clear idea of what direction they would choose, but gradually Vanilla Fudge became their main role model. Jon Lord was blown away by the band's concert at the Speakeasy club and spent the whole evening talking with vocalist and organist Mark Stein, asking about technique and tricks. Tony Edwards, by his own admission, did not understand at all the music that the group was beginning to create, but he believed in the flair and taste of his charges.
The group's stage show was designed with Blackmore the showman in mind (Nick Simper later said that he spent a lot of time in front of the mirror next to Richie, repeating his pirouettes). Jon Lord:
Richie impressed me with his tricks from the very first days. He looked fabulous, almost like a ballet dancer. It was the school of the mid-60s: a guitar on the head just like Joe Brown!..
The band members dressed in Tony Edwards's Mr Fish boutique, with his own money. “These clothes looked very beautiful, but after about forty minutes they began to unravel at the seams For some time we liked ourselves terribly, but from the outside we looked like terrible dudes,” said Lord.
19681969. Mark I
The first line-up of Deep Purple (Evans, Lord, Blackmore, Simper, Pace)
The band's first opportunity to perform in front of a large audience came in April 1968 in Denmark. This was familiar territory for Lorde (he had played here the year before with St Valentine's Day Massacre), and Denmark was also away from the big rock scene, which suited the musicians. “We decided to start out like Roundabout,” Lord recalled, “and if that didn’t work, we’d turn into Deep Purple.” According to another version (by Nick Simper), the name changed on board the ferry: “Tony Edwards naturally called us Roundabout. But then a reporter suddenly came up to us and asked what our name was, and Richie answered: Deep Purple.”
The Danish public remained in the dark about these maneuvers. The band held their first concert as Roundabout, but the Flowerpot Men and Artwoods were mentioned on the posters. Deep Purple tried to make a strong impression on the public and, as Simper recalls, they were “a stunning success.” Pace was the only one with dark memories of the tour. “From Harwich to Esberg we went by sea. A permit to work in the country was required, and our papers were far from in perfect order. From the port they took me straight to the police station in a police car with bars. I thought: good start! When I returned, I stank of dog.”
Success in the USA
All of the material on Shades of Deep Purple's debut album was created in two days, during a nearly continuous 48-hour studio session at the ancient Highley Manor (Balcombe, England) under the direction of producer Derek Lawrence, whom Blackmore knew from his work with Jon Meek.
In June 1968, Parlophone Records released the group's first single, Hush, a composition by American country singer Joe South. However, the group took as a basis the version of Billy Joe Royal, with which the group was only familiar at that moment. The idea to use Hush as a launch release belonged to Jon Lord and Nick Simper (the thing was very popular in London clubs), and it was arranged by Blackmore. In the US, the single rose to number 4, and was extremely popular in California. Lord believes that this was partly due to a lucky coincidence: in those days, a variety of “acid” called “Deep Purple” became widespread in this state. The single was not successful in Britain, but here the group made their radio debut on John Peel's Top Gear program: their performance made a strong impression on the public and specialists.
The band constructed their second album, The Book of Taliesyn, according to the original formula, pinning their main hopes on cover versions. Kentucky Woman and River Deep Mountain High had moderate success, but it was enough to push the record into the American top twenty. The very fact that the album, released in the US in October 1968, appeared in England only 9 months later (and without any support from the record company), indicated that EMI had lost interest in the group. “In the USA, we immediately attracted the interest of big business,” Simper recalled. “In Britain, EMI, those stupid old guys, didn’t do anything for us.”
Deep Purple spent almost the entire second half of 1968 in America: here, through producer Derek Lawrence, they signed a contract with the Tetragrammaton Records label, financed by comedian Bill Cosby. Already on the second day of the group's stay in the United States, one of Cosby's friends, Hugh Hefner, invited Deep Purple to his Playboy Club. The band's performance on Playboy After Dark remains one of the most curious moments in its history, especially the episode where Ritchie Blackmore "teaches" the show's host to play the guitar. Even stranger was the band's appearance on The Dating Game, where Lord was one of the losers and was very upset (because the girl who rejected him "was so beautiful").
New direction
Deep Purple returned home for the New Year and (after such venues as Los Angeles' Inglewood Forum) were unpleasantly surprised to learn that they were invited to perform, for example, at the Students' Union of Goldmeath College in south London. Both the self-esteem of the group members and their relationships changed. Nick Simper:
Ritchie was especially annoyed by the fact that Evans and Lord had put their own thing on the b-side and made some money from the sale of the single. Richie complained to me: Rod Evans just wrote the lyrics! To which I answered him: Any idiot can compose a guitar riff, but you try to write meaningful lyrics!.. He didn’t like it at all. .
The group spent March, April and May 1969 in the USA, but before returning to America they managed to record the third Deep Purple album, which marked the group's transition to heavier and more complex music. Meanwhile, by the time it was released in Britain (a few months later), the band had already changed their line-up. In May, Blackmore, Lord and Paice met secretly in New York, where they decided to change the singer, which was informed by second manager John Coletta, who accompanied the group on the trip. “Rod and Nick had reached their limits in the band,” Pace recalled. Rod had excellent ballad vocals, but his limitations were becoming increasingly apparent. Nick was a great bass player, but his eyes were on the past, not the future." In addition, Evans fell in love with an American woman and suddenly wanted to become an actor. According to Simper, “Rock and roll had lost all meaning for him. His stage performances became weaker and weaker." Meanwhile, the rest of the members developed rapidly, and the sound became tougher day by day. Deep Purple gave their last concert of the American tour in the first department of Cream. After them, the headliners were whistled from the stage by the audience.
Gillan and Glover
In June, upon returning from America, Deep Purple began recording a new single, Hallelujah. By this time, Blackmore (thanks to drummer Mick Underwood, an acquaintance from his participation in The Outlaws) had discovered the (virtually unknown in Britain, but of interest to specialists) band Episode Six, which performed pop-rock in the spirit of The Beach Boys, but had an unusually strong vocalist. Blackmore brought Lorde to their concert, and he was also amazed at the power and expressiveness of Ian Gillan's voice. The latter agreed to move to Deep Purple, but in order to demonstrate his own compositions, he brought Episode Six bassist Roger Glover with him to the studio, with whom he had already formed a strong songwriting duo. Gillan recalled that when he met Deep Purple, he was struck first of all by the intelligence of Jon Lord, from whom he expected much worse. Glover (who always dressed and acted very simply) was intimidated by the gloominess of Deep Purple, who "wore black and looked very mysterious." Glover took part in the recording of Hallelujah, to his amazement, he immediately received an invitation to join the lineup, and the next day, after much hesitation, he accepted.
It is noteworthy that while the single was being recorded, Evans and Simper did not know that their fate was sealed. The remaining three secretly rehearsed with the new vocalist and bassist at London's Hanwell Community Center during the day, and played gigs with Evans and Simper in the evenings. “It was a normal modus operandi for Purple,” Glover later recalled. It was accepted here that if a problem arises, the main thing is to keep everyone silent about it, relying on management. It was assumed that if you are a professional, then you should give up basic human decency in advance. I was very ashamed of the way Nicky and Rod were treated.” The old Deep Purple lineup gave their last concert in Cardiff on July 4, 1969. Evans and Simper were given three months' salary, and in addition were allowed to take amplifiers and equipment with them. Simper won another 10 thousand pounds through the court, but lost the right to further deductions. Evans was satisfied with little and as a result, over the next eight years, he received 15 thousand pounds annually from the sale of old records. A conflict arose between the managers of Episode Six and Deep Purple, which was settled out of court through compensation in the amount of 3 thousand pounds.
19691972. Mark II
Remaining virtually unknown in Britain, Deep Purple gradually lost their commercial potential in America. Unexpectedly for everyone, Lord proposed a new, highly attractive idea to the group's management.
The idea of creating a piece that could be performed by a rock band with a symphony orchestra came to me back at The Artwoods. I was inspired by Dave Brubeck's album Brubeck Plays Bernstein Plays Brubeck. Richie was all for it. Shortly after Ian and Roger arrived, Tony Edwards suddenly asked me: “Remember when you told me about your idea? I hope it was serious? Well, here it is: I have rented the Albert Hall and the London Philharmonic Orchestra for September 24th.” I was at first horrified, then wildly delighted. I had about three months left to work on, and I started right away. Jon Lord
The publishers of Deep Purple brought in Oscar-winning composer Malcolm Arnold to collaborate: he was supposed to provide general supervision over the progress of the work, and then stand at the conductor’s stand. Arnold's unconditional support for a project that many considered dubious ultimately ensured its success.
The group's management found sponsors in The Daily Express and British Lion Films, which filmed the event. Gillan and Glover were nervous: three months after joining the group, they were taken to the most prestigious concert venue in the country. “John was very patient with us,” Glover recalled. “None of us understood music notation, so our papers were full of comments like, 'Wait for that stupid tune, then look at Malcolm and count to four.'
The album Concerto for Group and Orchestra (performed by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall on September 24, 1969, was released (in the US) three months later. It gave the band some press (which was what they needed) and entered the UK charts. But despondency reigned among the musicians. The sudden fame that had befallen the Lord Author infuriated Richie. Gillan in this sense agreed with the latter. “The promoters tormented us with questions like: Where is the orchestra? he recalled. One generally said: I can’t guarantee you a symphony, but I can invite a brass band.” Moreover, Lord himself realized that the appearance of Gillan and Glover opened up opportunities for the group in a completely different area. By this time, Blackmore had become the central figure in the ensemble, having developed a unique method of playing with “random noise” (by manipulating the amplifier) and calling on his colleagues to follow the path of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. It became clear that Glover’s rich, rich sound was becoming the “anchor” of the new sound, and that Gillan's dramatic, extravagant vocals fit perfectly with the radical new development that Blackmore had proposed. The group developed a new style during continuous concert activity: the Tetragrammaton company (which financed films and experienced one failure after another) by this time was on the verge of bankruptcy (its debts by February 1970 amounted to more than two million dollars). With a complete lack of financial support from overseas, Deep Purple were forced to rely only on earnings from concerts.
Worldwide success
The full potential of the new lineup was realized at the end of 1969, when Deep Purple began recording a new album. As soon as the band got together in the studio, Blackmore categorically stated: the new album will include only everything that is most exciting and dramatic. The requirement, which everyone agreed with, became the leitmotif of the work. Work on Deep Purple In Rock lasted from September 1969 to April 1970. The album's release was delayed for several months until the bankrupt Tetragrammaton was bought by Warner Brothers, which automatically inherited Deep Purple's contract.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. released Live In Concert a recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in the USA, and called the group to America to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. After several more shows in California, Arizona and Texas, Deep Purple found themselves embroiled in yet another controversy on August 9, this time on stage at the National Jazz Festival in Plumpton. Ritchie Blackmore, not wanting to give up his time on the program to latecomers Yes, staged a mini-arson on the stage and caused a fire, which is why the group was fined and received practically nothing for their performance. The band spent the rest of August and early September touring Scandinavia.
In Rock was released in September 1970, was a huge success on both sides of the ocean, was immediately declared a “classic” and remained in the first album “thirty” in Britain for more than a year. True, the management did not find a hint of a single in the presented material, and the group was sent to the studio to urgently come up with something. Created almost spontaneously, Black Night provided the band with their first big chart success, rising to number 2 in Britain, and became their calling card for many years to come.
In December 1970, a rock opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with a libretto by Tim Rice, “Jesus Christ Superstar,” was released and became a world classic. The title role in this work was performed by Ian Gillan. In 1973, the film Jesus Christ Superstar was released, which differed from the original by the arrangements and vocals of Ted Neeley as Jesus. Gillan was hard at work in Deep Purple at the time, and never became the movie Christ.
At the beginning of 1971, the group began work on the next album, without stopping concerts, which is why the recording lasted for six months and was completed in June. During the tour, Roger Glover's health deteriorated. Subsequently, it turned out that his stomach problems had a psychological basis: it was the first symptom of severe touring stress, which soon affected all members of the team.
Fireball was released in July in Britain (reaching the top of the charts here) and in October in the US. The group carried out an American tour, and ended the British part of the tour with a grand show at London's Albert Hall, where the invited parents of the musicians were seated in the royal box. By this time, Blackmore, having given free rein to his own eccentricity, had become a “state within a state” in Deep Purple. "If Richie wants to play a 150-bar solo, he'll play it and no one can stop him," Gillan told Melody Maker in September 1971.
The American tour, which began in October 1971, was canceled due to Gillan's illness (he contracted hepatitis). Two months later, the vocalist reunited with the remaining members in Montreux, Switzerland to work on a new album. Deep Purple agreed with the Rolling Stones to use their Mobile studio, which was supposed to be located near the Casino concert hall. On the day of the band's arrival, during a performance by Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention (where members of Deep Purple also went), a fire broke out caused by a rocket sent into the ceiling by someone in the audience. The building burned down, and the band rented the empty Grand Hotel, where they completed work on the record. Following fresh tracks, one of the most famous songs of the group, Smoke On The Water, was created.
Claude Nobs, director of the Montreux festival, mentioned in the song Smoke On The Water (“Funky Claude was running in and out”
According to legend, Gillan scribbled the text on a napkin, looking out of a window at the surface of a lake shrouded in smoke, and the title was suggested by Roger Glover, to whom these 4 words allegedly appeared in a dream. (The Machine Head album was released in March 1972, rose to number 1 in Britain and sold 3 million copies in the United States, where the single Smoke On The Water entered the top five on Billboard.
In July 1972, Deep Purple flew to Rome to record their next studio album (later released under the title Who Do We Think We Are?). All members of the group were morally and psychologically exhausted, the work took place in a nervous atmosphere, also due to the aggravated contradictions between Blackmore and Gillan. On August 9, studio work was interrupted, and Deep Purple went to Japan. Recordings of concerts held here were included in Made in Japan: released in December 1972, it is retrospectively considered one of the best live albums of all time, along with The Who's "Live At Leeds" and "Get Yer Ya-Yas Out" (The Rolling Stones). “The idea of a live album is to get all the instruments to sound as natural as possible, with the energy from the audience being able to bring something out of the band that they could never create in the studio,” Blackmore said. "In 1972, Deep Purple went on tour in America five times, and the sixth tour was interrupted due to Blackmore's illness. By the end of the year, in terms of total record sales, Deep Purple were declared the most popular group in the world, beating Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
Gillan and Glover's departure
During the autumn American tour, tired and disappointed with the state of affairs in the group, Gillan decided to leave, which he announced in a letter to London management. Edwards and Coletta persuaded the vocalist to wait a while, and he (now in Germany, at the same Rolling Stones Mobile studio) and the band completed work on the album. By this time, he no longer spoke to Blackmore and traveled separately from the rest of the participants, avoiding air travel. Who Do We Think We Are (so named because the Italians, outraged by the noise level on the farm where the album was recorded, asked a recurring question: “Who do they think they are?”) disappointed musicians and critics, although it contained strong songs the “stadium” anthem Woman From Tokyo and the satirical and journalistic Mary Long, which ridiculed Mary Whitehouse and Lord Longford, two of the then guardians of morality.
In December, when Made in Japan entered the charts, managers met with Jon Lord and Roger Glover and asked them to make every effort to keep the band together. They convinced Ian Paice and Ritchie Blackmore, who had already conceived their own project, to stay, but Blackmore set a condition for the management: the inevitable dismissal of Glover. The latter, noticing that his colleagues began to shun him, demanded an explanation from Tony Edwards, and he (in June 1973) admitted: Blackmore required his departure. An angry Glover immediately submitted his resignation. After Deep Purple's last concert together in Osaka, Japan, on June 29, 1973, Blackmore, passing Glover on the stairs, simply said over his shoulder: "Nothing personal: business is business." Glover took this trouble seriously and did not leave the house for the next three months, partly due to worsening stomach problems.
Ian Gillan left Deep Purple at the same time as Roger Glover and took a break from music for a while, going into the motorcycle business. He returned to the stage three years later with the Ian Gillan Band. After recovery, Glover concentrated on producing.
19731974. Mark III
In June 1973, the three remaining members of Deep Purple recruited vocalist David Coverdale (who by then was working in a fashion boutique) and singing bassist Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze). In February 1974, Burn was released: the album marked a triumphant return for the band, but also a change in style: Coverdale's deep, nuanced vocals and Hughes' soaring vocals gave a new, rhythm and blues flavor to Deep Purple's music, only demonstrated in the title track. true to the traditions of classic hard rock.
Stormbringer was released in November 1974. The epic title track, as well as "Lady Double Dealer", "The Gypsy" and "Soldier Of Fortune" became popular radio hits, but overall the material was weaker - largely because Blackmore (as he later admitted) disapproved the other musicians were passionate about “white soul”; he saved his best ideas for Rainbow, where he left in 1975.
Mark IV (19751976)
A replacement for Ritchie Blackmore was found in the person of Tommy Bolin, an American jazz-rock guitarist known for his masterful use of the Echoplex echo machine and the characteristic “luscious” sound of the classic “Fuzz” pedal for American musicians. According to one version (set out in the appendix to the 4-volume box set), the musician was recommended by David Coverdale. Additionally, in an interview with Melody Maker in June 1975 (published on the Deep Purple Appreciation Society website), Bolin spoke about meeting Blackmore and his recommendations to the group.
Bolin, who played early in his career with Denny & The Triumphs and American Standard, gained fame in the jazz community as a member of the hippy band Zephyr. The famous drummer Billy Cobham invited him to New York, where Bolin gave concerts and recorded with such jazz legends as Ian Hammer, Alphonse Mouzon, Jeremy Stig. Bolin gained popularity thanks to Cobham's album Spectrum (1973), performed solo, and later joined The James Gang (albums Bang (1973) and Miami (1974)).
On Deep Purple's new album, Come Taste the Band (released in the United States in November 1975), Bolin's influence was decisive: he co-wrote most of the material with Hughes and Coverdale. The composition "Gettin" Tighter" became a popular concert hit, symbolizing the new musical direction taken by the group. The group gave a series of successful concerts in the New World, but in the UK they faced dissatisfaction with the traditional audience regarding the new guitarist, who played differently than the British public was used to. Tommy Bolin's problems with drugs added to the mix. The concert in March 1976 in Liverpool was practically canceled.
There were two camps in the group: in the first there were Hughes and Bolin, who preferred improvisations in a jazz and dance vein, in the other Coverdale, Lord and Pace, who later became part of the group Whitesnake, whose music was more oriented towards the charts. After the concert in Liverpool, the latter decided to stop the existence of Deep Purple. The breakup was officially announced only in July.
Pause (19761984)
On December 4, 1976, shortly after finishing work on his second solo album (Private Eyes) in Miami, guitarist Tommy Bolin died of an alcohol and drug overdose. He was 25 years old, and jazz authorities like Jeremy Stig predicted a great future for him. Ritchie Blackmore continued to perform with Rainbow. After a series of heavy albums with mystical lyrics by vocalist Ronnie James Dio, he brought in Roger Glover as producer, and released a series of commercially successful albums whose music was more like a heavier version of ABBA, whom Blackmore greatly respected. Ian Gillan created his own jazz-rock band, with whom he toured in many parts of the world. He later joined Black Sabbath, with which he released the album Born Again (1983), replacing former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio in the group. (Even more interestingly, Tony Iommi originally offered the job to David Coverdale, but he turned it down). There were also funny coincidences with the other musicians: the first solo albums of David Coverdales Whitesnake were produced by Roger Glover (who played in Rainbow from 1979 to 1984), and after Jon Lord (who stayed in the group until 1984) came to the full-fledged Whitesnake, and a year later Ian Paice (who stayed there until 1982), Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell, who was at the same time a friend of Tony Iommi, was also there.
Reunion
In the early 80s, Deep Purple had already begun to be forgotten, when suddenly (after a meeting of the members, held in Connecticut), the group gathered in the classic line-up (Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Pace, Glover) and released Perfect Strangers, which was followed by the beginning of successful world tour. In Britain the group gave only one concert - at the Knebworth festival. But after the release of The House of Blue Light (1987), it became clear that the union would not last long. By the time the live album Nobodys Perfect was released in the summer of 1988, Gillan announced his retirement.
Slaves and Masters
Gillan, who released the single “South Africa” with Bernie Marsden back in the summer of 1988, continued to work on the side. From the musicians of the groups The Quest, Rage and Export, he assembled a band and, calling it Garth Rockett and the Moonshiners, gave a debut concert at the Southport Floral Hall in early February. In early April, after finishing his tour with the Moonshiners, Ian Gillan returned to the United States. The conflict between Gillan and the rest of the group continued to escalate. Jon Lord: “I think Ian didn’t like what we were doing. At that time he did not write anything, and often did not come to rehearsals.” But he was increasingly seen drunk. One day he stumbled almost naked into Blackmore’s room and fell asleep there. Another time, he publicly spoke obscenely at Bruce Payne. In addition, he was delaying the start of recording a new album, scheduled for release in early 1990. Finally, on May 14, 1989, Gillan again went on a tour of clubs in England with the group Garth Rockett and the Moonshiners. And during his absence, the rest of the group decide to fire “big Ian.” Even Glover, who usually supported Gillan, advocated expulsion: “Gillan has a very strong personality and cannot stand it when things don’t go his way. He could work with me, because he was ready to compromise, but with the rest of Deep Purple, and mainly with Richie, he always found it difficult to work. This was a conflict of strong personalities, and it had to be stopped. We decided that Ian should go. And it’s not true that it was Richie who kicked Gillan out, because this painful decision was made by everyone, guided only by one thing - the interests of the group.”
To replace Gillan, Blackmore suggested Joe Lynn Turner, who had previously sung in Rainbow. Turner had recently left Yngwie Malmsteen's group and was free from contracts. Turner's first auditions for Deep Purple went well, but Glover, Pace and Lord were not happy with this candidacy. An advertisement in the newspaper also did not bring any results. News appeared in the press that Deep Purple had recruited: Terry Brock from Strangeways, Brian Howe from Bad Company, Jimmy Jameson from Survivor. Managers denied these rumors. Roger Glover: “In the meantime, we still couldn't decide who the singer would be. We were simply drowning in oceans of tapes with recordings of candidates, but none of this suited us. Almost 100% of applicants unsuccessfully tried to copy the manner and voice of Robert Plant, but we needed something completely different.” Then Blackmore suggested returning to Turner's candidacy. By replacing Gillan, he, in his own words, “realized the dream of his whole life.”
Recording of the new album began in January 1990 at the Greg Rike Productions studio (Orlando). Final recording and mixing took place at Sountec Studios and Power Station in New York. Turner's arrival was not officially announced. For the first time, Joe appeared in front of the public as part of a football team next to Pace, Glover and Blackmore in a match against the WDIZ radio team from Orlando. On March 27, the European branch of BMG organized a press conference in Monte Carlo at which Turner was introduced. Four new songs from the group were played for the press, including “Hey Joe.”
The recording was mostly finished by August. On October 8, a single with the songs “King Of Dreams/Fire In The Basement” was released, and on October 16, a presentation of the album entitled “Slaves and Masters” took place in Hamburg. The name, as Roger Glover explained, the disc received from two 24-track tape recorders used during recording. One of them was called “Master” (main or leader), and the other was called “Slave” (slave). The album went on sale on November 5, 1990 and received mixed reviews. Blackmore was very pleased with the album, but music critics felt that it was more similar to the Rainbow album.
Almost simultaneously with the release of this album, the German branch of BMG released a record with the soundtrack to Willie Boner's film Fire, Ice And Dynamite, where Deep Purple performed the song of the same name. Notably, this song does not feature Jon Lord. Instead, Glover performed the keyboard parts.
The first concert of the Slaves And Masters tour in Tel Aviv was disrupted by Saddam Hussein, who ordered a missile attack on the capital of Israel. The tour began on February 4, 1991 in the city of Ostrava in Czechoslovakia. Local climbers helped install lighting equipment and speakers in the sports palace. In March, the single “Love Conquers All/Slow Down Sister” was released. The tour ended with two concerts in Tel Aviv on September 28 and 29.
The Battle Rages On
On November 7, 1991, the group gathered in Orlando to work on their next album. At first, the musicians, encouraged by the warm welcome during the tour, were full of enthusiasm. But soon the enthusiasm faded. For the Christmas holidays, the musicians went home, gathering again in January.
Meanwhile, tension was growing in the group between Turner and the rest of the members. According to Glover, Turner tried to turn Deep Purple into an ordinary American heavy metal band:
Joe came to the studio and said: maybe we can do something in the style of MG¶tley CrГјe? Or he criticized what we recorded, saying: “Well, you give! They haven’t played like that in America for a long time,” as if he had no idea what style Deep Purple work in.
The recording of the album was delayed. The advance paid by the record company has come to an end, and the recording of the album is only halfway through. The record company demanded Turner's dismissal and Gillan's return to the group, threatening not to release the album. Ritchie Blackmore, who had previously treated Turner with respect, understood that he could not sing in Deep Purple. One day Blackmore approached Jon Lord and said, “We have a problem. Be sincere, you’re not happy?” Lord replied that he was quite satisfied with the instrumental part of the recorded compositions, but “something is still not right.” Then Blackmore asked: “What is the name of this problem?”
And what should I have said? I replied, “The name of this problem is Joe, isn’t it?” I knew Richie meant it. Moreover, this really was a problem. Blackmore said that he wouldn't want to be the one who kicks another musician out of the band again, that he doesn't want to be the "bad guy", Joe has a gorgeous voice, he's a great singer, but he's not the singer for Deep Purple, he's a pop singer. rock vocalist. He wanted to be a pop star, causing girls to faint just by appearing on stage.
On August 15, 1992, Turner received a call from Bruce Payne saying he was fired from the band.
Since the beginning of 1992, negotiations have been going on between the record company and Gillan, the result of which should have been the return of the latter to the group. However, Blackmore was against Gillan's return and proposed
Deep Purple is a rock band from Britain. Founded in 1968 in the English city of Hartford, it became the founder of the hard rock genre and was one of the most influential rock bands in the 70s of the 20th century.
Below is a brief history of the group and the composition of Deep Purple by year.
Prequel
The one who came up with the idea to form a group was Chris Curtis, a drummer who previously played in the band The Searches. During a difficult period, after leaving the previous band, he met the same wandering soul in the person of John Londa, keyboardist. He also just left The Artwoods. The third member is a guitarist who, before joining the lineup, already had experience behind him and even managed to create his own team, The Three Musketeers.
Initially, the team had a different name - Roundabout.
A fourth and fifth member are soon added: Bobby Woodman (drummer) and Dave Curtiss (bassist).
Curtiss leaves the band and the search for a bassist and vocalist begins.
The gaze falls on musician Nick Simper, but during rehearsals the participants and Nick himself understand that he is a bird of a different feather.
A young guy named Rod Evans takes the place of the singer, and Ian Paice is appointed as the new drummer (after another departure, but this time by Woodman).
The established Deep Purple quintet, with a new name and under the command of manager Tony Edwards, tours Denmark. Thus began the creative path of the legendary group.
The first composition of "Deep Purple" (1968-1969)
Initially, the team did not have an exact decision in what style they would like to play. But later a pendulum appeared in front of him in the form of the group Vanila Fudge (psychedelic rock).
The first major performance took place in April 1968 in Denmark. Despite the discussed new name, the group held a concert under the old nickname. Judging by the audience's reaction, their "stage test" was an incredible success.
The band's debut album, "Shades of Deep Purple", was recorded in just 2 days. In June of the same year, the song “Hush” was born, which they decided to use as a start. In the United States, the track managed to take fourth place.
The second album, "The Book of Taliesyn", was less successful. Unlike the US, Britain was not interested in the collective. But despite the bad luck, the group managed to sign an agreement with the American label Tetragrammaton Records.
In 1969, a third work was recorded, in which the music was more harsh and complex. However, internal relationships did not go well, which quite clearly affected the group’s activities (they were booed at their last performance), during which the composition of Deep Purple again underwent changes.
Second cast (1969 - 1972)
Recording of a new track "Hallelujah" is underway. Ian Gillan (vocalist) and his duet partner drummer come to the post
A new album called "Concerto for Group Orchestra", created in 1969, brought success to the group, managing to enter the British chart.
Work on the fourth Deep Purple In Rock album began in September of the same year and continued until April '67. The UK lists kept the work in the top 30 for a full year, and the surprise track "Black Night" even gained signature status for a while.
The fifth studio album under the nickname "Fireball" is released in July for British listeners and in October for American listeners.
In 1972, they achieved worldwide success thanks to their sixth album, "Macine Head", which rose to number 1 in England and sold 3 million copies in the USA.
By the end of the same year, the group was declared the most popular in the world - they surpassed the group in popularity
The seventh work turned out to be less successful for the musicians: in it, according to critics, only two tracks were worthy.
Due to the strained relationship between Blackmore and Glover, the latter tenders his resignation. Vocalist Gillan at the same time left the band, and the date of their last concert was June 1973 in Japan.
Changing again.
Third line-up (1973-1974)
Bassist Glenn Hughes also takes the place of the vocalist.
The new line-up produces the eighth album, "Burn", albeit with notes of rhythm and blues (a song-and-dance style that is far from hard).
The ninth album, "Stormbringer", was weaker than the previous one, perhaps due to differences in genre issues.
Fourth line-up (1975 - 1976)
Blackmore is replaced by guitarist Tommy Bolin, who made a major contribution to the tenth album, Come Taste the Band.
After a series of unsuccessful concerts, the participants were divided into two sides: some were for the jazz-dance style, while others wanted to focus on the hit charts.
In July 1976, the group broke up.
Fifth line-up (1984 - 1989)
1984 - the long-awaited reunion of the classic line-up of "Deep Purple". The company, considered traditional, included Gillan, Lord, Glover, Blackmore and drummer Pace - the only member who never left his post in the entire history of the group.
The new collaboration "Perfect Stranges" is climbing to decent places in the UK and US charts.
Sixth cast (1989 - 1992)
Despite the success, the relationship between the participants did not work out, and Joe Turner took the place of vocalist Gillan.
The next album "Greg Rike Productions" is coming out, which was not very successful, according to critics.
Seventh cast (1993-1994)
Communication between Turner and the rest of the team became increasingly tense - they decided to return Gillan to his place.
The 1993 album "The Battle Rages On" failed to reach its previous positions.
After several unsuccessful and excellent concerts, guitarist Blackmore leaves the group.
Eighth cast (1994 - 2002)
Joe Satriani temporarily takes the place of the former instrumentalist. After successful projects, he was offered to stay on a permanent basis, but he was forced to refuse due to contractual obligations of other contracts.
With new member Steve Morse, the 15th and 16th albums "Purpendicular" with "Abandon" were recorded.
July 23, 1996 is the date of the first concert in Russia for the entire existence of the group. In addition to the main program, the musicians performed Mussorgsky’s brilliant cycle “Pictures at an Exhibition.”
Ninth cast (2002–present)
Keyboardist Lord makes a choice towards solo activities, and pianist Don Airey takes his place.
The new composition of "Deep Purple" releases the 17th album "Bananas" for the first time in the last 5 years, with which the audience is satisfied.
In 2005, 2 more studio works were born - “Rapture on the Deep” and “Rapture on the Deep tour”.
Project "Now What?!" 2013 is released even in Russia for their 45th anniversary.
In 2017, the last, 20th album, “Infinity”, was created. The group planned to celebrate its 50th anniversary with a farewell tour and retire.
The reason for this decision, according to Pace, is the obvious difference between a group with a young lineup, once everyone was 21 years old, and now they are already in their eighties.
Merits
The Deep Purple group, despite its regular variability, was able to create 20 studio works, hold hundreds of concerts and take its honorable and well-deserved place in the Hall of Fame.
"Chris Curtis, with the blessing of London businessman Tony Edwards, started the Roundabout project. In his opinion, it was supposed to be something like a supergroup, only with a regularly changing lineup (hence the “carousel” name). Chris was the first to sign his neighbor into the business at the rented apartment of The Artwoods keyboardist Jon Lord. The second person Curtis had in mind was the young guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who was not too lazy to fly to the audition from Hamburg. At that point, the mission of the “seeker” drummer was completed, and in the acidic fumes he jumped off the created one. "Carousel" for them. Meanwhile, Lord and Blackmore wanted to continue the work they had begun and took on the task of resolving the personnel issue on their own. John invited old acquaintance Nick Simper to play bass, and the microphone and drums were given to Maze natives Rod Evans and Ian Pace. At the same time, they stood up. There was a question about renaming the group, and from several options the musicians settled on the Blackmore version of “Deep Purple” (that was the name of the guitarist’s grandmother’s favorite song). Having dealt with the formalities, in May 1968 the quintet headed into the studio and in just a couple of days recorded the album "Shades Of Deep Purple". The team did not yet have a clear course, but one of the guidelines for it was the American band “Vanilla Fudge”. Although the disc went unnoticed at home, in the USA "Deep Purple" managed to attract attention thanks to the composition "Hush", which they removed from Billy Joe Royal's repertoire.
Based on the current situation, the second full-length was released overseas first, and only the next year “The Book Of Taliesyn” appeared in British stores. The album, like the first-born, had a progressive touch with quotes from the classics, but in places it still sounded heavier. As last time, the main focus was on covers, and the leader of the program was Neil Diamond's composition "Kentucky Woman", which was included in the Billboard Top 40 list. The third disc with the modest title "Deep Purple" remained underestimated, although in fact on it the team reached the pinnacle of their progressive stage of creativity, as evidenced by the monumental epic "April" and the beautiful Donovan cover of "Lalena". Meanwhile, changes were brewing in the team, and under pressure from the remaining members, Simper and Evans left the lineup.
Blackmore wanted to get Terry Reed as vocalist, but he preferred to pursue a solo career, and then the lead singer of “Episode Six” Ian Gillan was invited to the microphone. Bass player Roger Glover was also borrowed from the same ensemble, and thus the famous Mark II was born. The debut of the classic lineup was the team's performance with a symphony orchestra, initiated by John (who was the main energizer of the group at that time). The attempt to cross rock with classics caused conflicting responses, and if anyone became famous for this project, it was Lord himself. Other musicians (especially Blackmore) were fed up with the keyboard player's leadership, and at Richie's insistence, the band began playing hard guitar-based hard rock with powerful organ tabs and aggressive vocal delivery. The change in style brought “Deep Purple” to the forefront of the world stage, and the first signs of triumph were the album “In Rock” and the single “Black Night” that was not included in it. Confused England placed the full-length film in fourth place in the ratings, but the very next time the “ashes” found themselves at the very top of the island chart with the program “Fireball”. The culmination of the group’s creative success was the masterpiece album “Machine Head”, which, in addition to concert favorites such as “Highway Star”, “Space Truckin””, “Lazy”, gave birth to perhaps the loudest imperishable hard rock “Smoke On The Water”. A role model for subsequent generations The rockers were also inspired by the double live album "Made In Japan", but by the time the also quite successful studio work "Who Do We Think We Are" was released, relations in the team had gone wrong.
Gillan and Blackmore clashed more than others, and in the end it ended with the resignation of the vocalist. Glover left next, and all power was concentrated in the hands of the guitarist. Roger was replaced by singing bassist Glenn Hughes, and the main microphone went to David Coverdale, who was found through an advertisement (at that time a clothing salesman). The infusion of fresh forces colored the music of "Deep Purple" in blues and funk tones, and on the disc "Burn" only the track of the same name fit the style of "In Rock" and "Machine Head". It must be said that the newcomers quickly got used to the team, and on the album "Stormbringer" the usual hard rock was greatly replaced by funk and soul. Feeling that he was no longer the absolute master of the position in the group, Blackmore abandoned his colleagues and went to create "Rainbow".
The blow was strong, but the desire to make money on the promoted trade mark "DP" turned out to be stronger, and American guitarist Tommy Bolin was invited to replace Richie. For his sake, Coverdale and Hughes even advanced their songwriting, but the album "Come Taste The Band" came out relatively lackluster. At concerts, the public also did not want to recognize the new guitarist, and during the ill-fated British tour, the decision was made to disband the group. For about ten years the musicians were engaged in other projects, but in 1984, on Gillan’s initiative, the classic line-up got back together and recorded the disc “Perfect Strangers”. The fans, yearning for the “purple” creativity, greedily snapped up the album, as a result of which the record was a good success both in terms of circulation and chart positions. The accompanying world tour also took place at a high level, but during the recording of “The House Of Blue Light,” the relationship between Blackmore and Gillan became strained again. After the second resignation of the lead singer, John took his place. Don Airey, who took over the keyboard baton, tried his best to replace his colleague, but he still did not reach Lord’s level. One way or another, the fans received the 2003 album quite warmly, although “Bananas” was heavily criticized for its pop title and cover. "Rapture Of The Deep", released a couple of years later, was received similarly, but then the studio affairs were abandoned for a long time. Only in 2012 did Deep Purple begin work on a new album, and in the spring of next year, produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin, “Now What?!” went on sale.
PIONEERS OF HEAVY METAL – DEEP PURPLE
In the history of heavy music, there are very few groups that can be put on a par with the rock legends who painted the world in dark purple tones.
Their path was as winding as Ritchie Blackmore's guitar strums and Jon Lord's organ parts.
Each of the participants deserves a separate story, but it was together that they became iconic figures of rock.
On the carousel
The history of this glorious band goes back to 1966, when the drummer of one of the Liverpool bands, Chris Curtis, decided to create his own band, Roundabout. Fate brought him together with Jon Lord, who was already known in narrow circles and was known as an excellent organist. By the way, it turned out that he had a wonderful guy in mind who simply does miracles with a guitar. This musician turned out to be Ritchie Blackmore, who at that time was playing in the Three Musketeers band in Hamburg. He was immediately called up from Germany and offered a place on the team.
But suddenly the initiator of the project itself, Chris Curtis, disappears, thereby drawing a heavy cross on his career and putting the nascent group at risk. 
Drugs were rumored to be involved in his disappearance.
Jon Lord took over the case. Thanks to him, Ian Pace appeared in the group, impressing everyone with his ability to hammer the drums, knocking incredible shots out of them. The vocalist's place was then taken by Rod Evans, Pace's comrade in the former group. Nick Simper became the bass player.
Everything is deep purple for them
At Blackmore's suggestion, the group was named , and with this lineup the team recorded three albums, the first of which was released in 1968. The song “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo and April Stevens was Ritchie Blackmore’s grandmother’s favorite composition, so the musicians didn’t think twice about it and took it as the basis for the band’s name, without attaching any special meaning. As it turned out, the same name was given to the brand of drug LCD, which was sold in the USA at that time. But vocalist Ian Gillan swears and claims that the band members never took drugs, but preferred whiskey and soda.
Bathing in rock
Success had to wait several years. The group was popular only in America, but in its homeland it hardly attracted any attention. 
interest among music lovers. This caused a split in the team. Evans and Simper had to be “fired”, despite their professionalism and the path they had traveled together.
Not every band could cope with such bad luck, but Mick Underwood, a famous drummer and longtime friend of Ritchie Blackmore, came to the rescue. It was he who recommended Ian Gillan to him, who “screamed wonderfully in a high voice.” Ian, in turn, brought his friend, bass player Roger Glover.
In June 1970, the new lineup of the group released the album “Deep Purple in Rock,” which was a wild success and finally brought the “dark purple” into the echelon of the most popular rockers of the century. The undisputed success of the record was the composition “Child in Time”. It is still considered one of the group's best songs. This album remained at the top of the charts for a year. The band spent the entire next year traveling, but they also found time to record a new album, “Fireball.”
Smoke from Deep Purple
A few months later, the musicians went to Switzerland to record the next album, “Machine Head”. At first they wanted to make it in the Rolling Stones' mobile studio, in a concert hall, 
where Frank Zappa's performances ended. During one of the concerts, a fire started, which inspired the musicians to new ideas. It is about this fire that the song “Smoke on the Water”, which later became an international hit, tells the story.
Roger Glover even dreamed of this fire and smoke spreading over Lake Geneva. He woke up in horror and said the phrase “smoke on the water.” This became the title and line from the chorus of the song. Despite the difficult conditions in which the album was created, the record was clearly a success, becoming a calling card for many years.
Made in Japan
On the wave of success, the team went on tour to Japan, subsequently releasing an equally successful collection of concert music, “Made in Japan,” which went platinum.
The Japanese public made an amazing impression on the “dark purples”. During the performance of the songs, the Japanese sat almost motionless and listened attentively to the musicians. But after the end of the song they burst into applause. Such concerts were unusual for, because they were used to 
in Europe and America, spectators constantly shout something, jump up from their seats and rush to the stage.
During his performances, Ritchie Blackmore was a real showman. His games were always witty and full of surprises. Other musicians did not lag behind, demonstrating skill and excellent collective cohesion.
California show
But, as often happens, relations in the group became so tense that Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore had difficulty getting along with each other. As a result, Ian and Roger left the team, and the “dark purple” were again left with nothing. Replacing a vocalist of this caliber turned out to be a big challenge. However, as you know, a holy place is never empty, and the new performer in the group was David Coverdale, who had previously worked as an ordinary salesman in a clothing store. The position of bass guitarist was filled by Glenn Hughes. In 1974, the renewed group recorded a new album called “Burn”.
To try out new compositions in public, the group decided to take part in the famous California Jam concert in the Los Angeles area. He gathered an audience of approximately 
400 thousand people and in the world of music is considered a unique event. Until sunset, Blackmore refused to go on stage and the local sheriff even threatened to arrest him, but finally the sun set and the action began. During the performance, Ritchie Blackmore tore his guitar, damaged the camera of a TV channel cameraman and caused such an explosion at the end that he barely survived.
Revival of Deep Purple
The following records were successful, but, unfortunately, did not demonstrate anything new. The group quietly exhausted itself. As the years passed, fans began to think that the once beloved was history, but finally in 1984, the “dark purple” were revived with their “golden” lineup.
Soon a world tour was organized and in every city along the route, concert tickets sold out in the blink of an eye. It was not only a matter of old merits, the virtuosity of the participants 
The groups were not at all lost.
The second album of the new era, “The House of Blue Light,” was released in 1987 and continued the chain of undoubted victories. But after another showdown with Blackmore, Ian Gillan broke away from the group again. This turn of events was to Richie’s advantage, because he brought his longtime friend Joe Lynn Turner into the team. The album “Slaves & Masters” was recorded with a new vocalist in 1990.
Clash of the Titans
The band's 25th anniversary was just around the corner, and after a short break, vocalist Ian Gillan returned to his native land, and the anniversary album, released in 1993, was symbolically called “The Battle Rages On...” (“The Battle Continues”).
The battle of characters did not stop either. The buried hatchet has been unearthed by Ritchie Blackmore. Despite the ongoing tour, Richie left the team, which by that time had ceased to interest him. The musicians invited 
Joe Satriani to finalize concerts with him, and soon Blackmore’s place was taken by Steve Morse, a talented American guitarist. The team still held the hard rock banner high, as evidenced by 1996's Purpendicular and Abandon, released two years later.
Already in the new millennium, keyboardist Jon Lord announced to the band members that he would like to devote himself to solo projects and left the team. He was replaced by Don Airey, who had previously worked with Richie and Roger in the Rainbow group. A year later, the updated line-up released the first album in five years, “Bananas”. Surprisingly, the press and critics responded wonderfully to it, but few people liked the name.
Unfortunately, after 10 years of successful solo work, Jon Lord died of cancer.
Old robbers
In the 2000s, the group, despite the advanced age of the participants, continued touring. According to the musicians, this is why the band should exist, and not at all 
for the production of studio albums. The latest collection was the 19th album “Now What?!”, released for the 45th anniversary of the “dark purple”.
After such an eloquent album title, the question should follow: “What’s next?” And time will tell - whether we will see a reunion at least once again, and whether the musicians will have time to amaze their fans with something else. In the meantime, they are one of the few whose concerts grandfathers go to with their grandchildren and equally enjoy the music.
When asked: “Where are you going?”, they answer surprisingly logically: “Only forward. We do not stand still and are constantly working on ourselves, on new sounds. And we are still so nervous before every concert that it sends shivers down our spines.”
FACTS
While on tour in Australia in 1999, a teleconference was organized on one of the television programs. The band members performed “Smoke on the Water” in sync with several hundred professional guitarists and amateurs.
Interestingly, Ian Pace was a member of all the group's lineups, but never became its leader. 
The personal lives of musicians are also closely connected. Keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice married twin sisters Vicky and Jackie Gibbs.
Music lovers from the countries of the former Soviet Union, despite the Iron Curtain, found ways to get acquainted with the group’s work. In the Russian language, an amazing euphemism “deeply violet” even appeared, that is, “completely indifferent and far from the topic of discussion.”
Updated: April 9, 2019 by: Elena
Deep Purple are a British rock band formed in February 1968 in Hartford, England. She is considered one of the most prominent and influential in hard rock of the 70s. Music critics consider Deep Purple to be one of the founders of hard rock and highly appreciate their contribution to the development of progressive rock and heavy metal. The musicians of the “classic” line-up of Deep Purple (in particular, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, drummer Ian Paice) are considered virtuoso instrumentalists. Their albums have sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.
The first line-up of Deep Purple (Evans, Lord, Blackmore, Simper, Pace)
Over more than 40 years of the group’s history, its composition has changed several times, with a total of 14 people performing in the group at different times. Drummer Ian Paice is the only musician who has participated in all Deep Purple lineups.
Deep Purple lineups are usually numbered Mark X (abbreviated as MkX), where X is the lineup number. There are two different ways of numbering - chronological and personal. The first gives two more lineups due to the band returning to the Mark 2 lineup in 1984 and 1992. Because of this uncertainty, fans of the band often refer to lineups by the names of the members who were replaced.
The Mark 2 line-up (Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Pace) is considered the “classic” line-up of Deep Purple, since it was with this line-up that the group gained worldwide fame and recorded the hard rock classics In Rock, Fireball and Machine Head. Subsequently, this lineup assembled twice more and recorded a total of 7 studio albums out of 19 that the group has released to date.
The full potential of the new lineup was realized at the end of 1969, when Deep Purple began recording a new album. As soon as the band got together in the studio, Blackmore categorically stated: the new album will include only everything that is most exciting and dramatic. The requirement, which everyone agreed with, became the leitmotif of the work. Work on Deep Purple In Rock lasted from September 1969 to April 1970. The album's release was delayed for several months until the bankrupt Tetragrammaton was bought by Warner Brothers, which automatically inherited Deep Purple's contract.
Meanwhile, Warner Bros. released Live In Concert in the US - a recording with the London Philharmonic Orchestra - and called the group to America to perform at the Hollywood Bowl. After several more shows in California, Arizona and Texas, Deep Purple found themselves embroiled in yet another controversy on August 9, this time on stage at the Plumpton National Jazz Festival. Ritchie Blackmore, not wanting to give up his time on the program to latecomers Yes, staged a mini-arson on the stage and caused a fire, which is why the group was fined and received practically nothing for their performance. The band spent the rest of August and early September touring Scandinavia.
The album In Rock was released in September 1970; it rose to number 4 in the UK Albums Chart and remained in the top thirty lists for more than a year (in the US it only rose to number 143). Management was unable to select a single from the album's material, and the group went to the studio to urgently record something. Created almost spontaneously, “Black Night” secured Deep Purple second place in the UK Singles Chart and became the band’s calling card for some time.
In December 1970, a rock opera written by Andrew Lloyd Webber with a libretto by Tim Rice, Jesus Christ Superstar, was released and became a world classic. The title role in the original (studio) version of the album was performed by Ian Gillan. In 1973, the film “Jesus Christ Superstar” was released, which was distinguished from the original by the arrangements and vocals of Ted Neeley in the role of Jesus.
Fireball was released in July in the UK and in October in the US. The group carried out an American tour, and ended the British part of the tour with a grand show at London's Albert Hall, where the invited parents of the musicians were seated in the royal box.
Deep Purple agreed with the Rolling Stones to use their Mobile studio, which was supposed to be located near the Casino concert hall. On the day of the band's arrival, during a performance by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention (where members of Deep Purple also went), a fire occurred caused by a shot from a flare gun sent by someone in the audience into the ceiling. The building burned down, and the band rented the empty Grand Hotel, where they completed work on the record. Following fresh tracks, one of the group’s most famous songs, “Smoke On The Water,” was created. According to legend, Gillan scribbled the text on a napkin while looking out of a window at the surface of a lake shrouded in smoke, and the title was suggested by Roger Glover, who allegedly had a nightmare and woke up repeating “smoke on the water, smoke on the water.”
The Machine Head album was released in March 1972, rose to number one in Britain and sold 3 million copies in the United States, where the single Smoke On The Water entered the top five on Billboard.
In July 1972, Deep Purple flew to Rome to record their next studio album (later released under the title Who Do We Think We Are). All members of the group were morally and psychologically exhausted, the work took place in a nervous atmosphere - also due to the aggravated contradictions between Blackmore and Gillan. On August 9, studio work was interrupted, and Deep Purple went to Japan. Recordings of concerts held here were included in the album Made in Japan.
“The idea of a live album is to get all the instruments to sound as natural as possible, with the energy from the audience being able to bring something out of the band that they could never create in the studio,” Blackmore said.
In 1972, Deep Purple went on tour to America five times, and the sixth tour was interrupted due to Blackmore's illness. By the end of the year, in terms of total record sales, Deep Purple were declared the most popular group in the world, surpassing Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
Deep Purple. 2004
| Compound | Vocals | Guitar | Bass guitar | Keyboards | Drums |
| Mark 1 | Rod Evans | Ritchie Blackmore | Nick Simper | Jon Lord | Ian Paice |
| Mark 2 | Ian Gillan | Roger Glover | |||
| Mark 3 | David Coverdale | Glenn Hughes | |||
| Mark 4 | Tommy Bolin | ||||
| Mark 5 (2a, 2.2) | Ian Gillan | Ritchie Blackmore | Roger Glover | ||
| Mark 6 (5) | Joe Lynn Turner | ||||
| Mark 7 (2b, 2.3) | Ian Gillan | ||||
| Mark 8 (6) | Joe Satriani | ||||
| Mark 9 (7) | Steve Morse | ||||
| Mark 10 (8) | Don Airey |
