ShockHound

Deep Purple evolved in 1968 following sessions to form a band around former Searchers drummer Chris Curtis (b. Christopher Crummey, 26 August 1941, Oldham, Lancashire, England). Jon Lord (b. 9 June 1941, Leicester, Leicestershire, England; keyboards) and Nick Simper (b. 3 November 1945, Norwood Green, Southall, Middlesex, England; bass), veterans, respectively, of the Artwoods and Johnny Kidd And The Pirates, joined guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (b. Richard Hugh Blackmore, 14 April 1945, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset, England) in rehearsals for this new act, initially dubbed Roundabout. Curtis dropped out within days, and when Dave Curtis (bass) and Bobby Woodman (drums) also proved incompatible, two members of Maze, Rod Evans (b. 19 January 1947, Slough, Berkshire, England; vocals) and Ian Paice (b. 29 June 1948, Nottingham, Nottinghamshire, England; drums), replaced them.
Having adopted the Deep Purple name following a brief Scandinavian tour, the quintet began recording their debut album, which they patterned on US band Vanilla Fudge. Shades Of Deep Purple included dramatic rearrangements of well-known songs, including "Hey Joe" and "Hush", the latter becoming a Top 5 US hit when issued as a single. Lengthy tours ensued as the band, all but ignored at home, steadfastly courted the burgeoning American concert circuit. The Book Of Taliesyn and Deep Purple also featured several excellent reworkings, notably "Kentucky Woman" (Neil Diamond) and "River Deep - Mountain High" (Ike And Tina Turner), but the unit also drew acclaim for its original material and the dramatic interplay between Lord and Blackmore.
In July 1969, both Evans and Simper were axed from the line-up, which was then buoyed by the arrival of Ian Gillan (b. 19 August 1945, Hounslow, Middlesex, England; vocals) and Roger Glover (b. 30 November 1945, Brecon, Wales; bass) from the pop band Episode Six. Acknowledged by aficionados as the "classic" Deep Purple line-up, the reshaped quintet made its album debut on the grandiose Concerto For Group And Orchestra, scored by Lord and recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra (reprised in October 1999 at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Symphony Orchestra). Its orthodox successor, In Rock, established the band as a leading heavy metal attraction and introduced such enduring favourites as "Speed King" and "Child In Time". Gillan's powerful intonation brought a third dimension to their sound and this new-found popularity in the UK was enhanced when an attendant single, "Black Night", reached number 2. "Strange Kind Of Woman" followed it into the Top 10, while Fireball and Machine Head topped the album chart. The latter included the riff-laden "Smoke On The Water", now lauded as a seminal example of the hard rock oeuvre and a Top 5 hit in America. The album was also the first release on the band's own Purple label.
Although the platinum-selling Made In Japan captured Deep Purple's live prowess, relations within the band grew increasingly strained, and Who Do We Think We Are! marked the end of this highly successful line-up. The departures of Gillan and Glover robbed Deep Purple of an expressive frontman and imaginative arranger, although David Coverdale (b. 22 September 1951, Saltburn-By-The Sea, North Yorkshire, England; vocals) and Glenn Hughes (b. 21 August 1952, Cannock, Staffordshire, England; bass, ex-Trapeze) brought a new impetus to the act. Burn and Stormbringer both reached the Top 10, but Blackmore grew increasingly dissatisfied with the band's direction and in May 1975 left to form Rainbow. US guitarist Tommy Bolin (b. Thomas Richard Bolin, 1 August 1951, Sioux City, Iowa, USA, d. 4 December 1976, Miami, Florida, USA), formerly of the James Gang, joined Deep Purple for Come Taste The Band, but his jazz soul style was incompatible with the band's heavy metal sound, and a now-tiring act folded in 1976 following a farewell UK tour.
Coverdale formed Whitesnake, Paice and Lord joined Tony Ashton in Paice, Ashton And Lord, while Bolin died of a heroin overdose within months of Purple's demise. Judicious archive and "best of' releases kept the band in the public eye, as did the high profile enjoyed by its several ex-members. Pressure for a reunion bore fruit in 1984 when Gillan, Lord, Blackmore, Glover and Paice completed Perfect Strangers. A second set, The House Of Blue Light, ensued, but recurring animosity between Gillan and Blackmore resulted in the singer's departure following the in-concert Nobody's Perfect. Former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner (b. Joseph Linquito, 2 August 1951, Hackensack, New Jersey, USA) was brought into the line-up for 1990"s Slaves And Masters as the band steadfastly maintained their revitalized career. Gillan rejoined in 1993 only to quit, yet again, shortly afterwards, while his old sparring partner, Blackmore, also bailed out the following year, to be replaced briefly by Joe Satriani (b. 15 July 1956). The line-up that recorded the credible Purpendicular and Abandon in the late 90s comprised Steve Morse (b. 28 July 1954, Hamilton, Ohio, USA) on guitar, with Lord, Gillan, Glover and Paice. At the start of the new millennium, Lord announced his retirement and was replaced in the line-up by rock veteran Don Airey. He was featured on the band's 2003 studio album, Bananas.
Time and time again Deep Purple is cited as the band that crafted heavy rock to a fine art. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath they remain the genre's undisputed leaders.
DISCOGRAPHY: Shades Of Deep Purple (Parlophone/Tetragrammoton 1968)**, The Book Of Taliesyn (Tetragrammoton/Parlophone 1968)***, Deep Purple (Tetragrammoton/Harvest 1969)***, Concerto For Group And Orchestra (Tetragrammoton/Harvest 1969)**, Deep Purple In Rock (Harvest/Warners 1970)****, Fireball (Warners/Harvest 1971)****, Machine Head (Purple/Warners 1972)****, Made In Japan (Purple/Warners 1972)***, Who Do We Think We Are! (Purple/Warners 1973)***, Burn (Purple/Warners 1974)***, Stormbringer (Purple/Warners 1974)***, Come Taste The Band (Purple/Warners 1975)***, Made In Europe (Purple/Warners 1976)***, Last Concert In Japan (Warners 1977)**, Live In London 1974 recording (Harvest 1982)**, Perfect Strangers (Mercury 1984)***, The House Of Blue Light (Polydor/Mercury 1987)**, Nobody's Perfect (Polydor 1988)**, Scandinavian Nights (UK) Live And Rare (US) 1970 recording (Connoisseur 1988)**, Slaves And Masters (RCA 1990)**, In The Absence Of Pink: Knebworth '85 (Connoisseur 1991)**, Gemini Suite 1971 recording (RPM 1993)**, Live In Japan 1972 recordings (EMI 1993)***, The Battle Rages On (RCA 1993)***, The Final Battle (RCA 1994)***, Come Hell Or High Water (RCA 1994)**, King Biscuit Flower Hour Presents: Deep Purple In Concert (US) On The Wings Of A Russian Foxbat (Live In California) (UK) 1976 recordings (King Biscuit Flower Hour/Connoisseur 1995)***, California Jamming (UK) Live At The California Jam (US) (EMI/Mausoleum 1996)**, Deep Purple In Concert On The King Biscuit Flower Hour (King Biscuit 1996)***, Purpendicular (RCA/CMC 1996)***, Mark III: The Final Concerts (UK) Archive Alive! (US) 1976 recordings (Connoisseur/Archive 1996)**, Live At The Olympia '96 (EMI Thames 1997)***, Abandon (EMI/CMC 1998)**, Total Abandon: Live In Australia '99 (Drew Thompson/Thames Talent 1999)**, with the London Symphony Orchestra Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Polydor/Eagle 1999)**, Days May Come & Days May Go 1975 recordings (Purple 2000)**, Extended Versions 1976 recordings (BMG 2000)**, This Time Around: Live In Tokyo 1975 recording (Purple/Sanctuary 2001)**, Live At The Rotterdam Ahoy (Thames/Thomson 2001)**, Live In Denmark '72 (Purple 2003)***, Bananas (EMI 2003)***, Live In Paris 1975 (Purple 2004)**, Rapture Of The Deep (Edel 2005)**, NEC 1993 (Sony 2007)*, Stuttgart 1993 (Sony 2007)***, They All Came Down To Montreux: Live At Montreux 2006 (Eagle 2007)***.
COMPILATIONS: The Best Of Deep Purple (Scepter/Polydor 1970)**, Purple Passages (Warners 1972)**, Early Purple (Polydor 1972)**, Mark I & II (EMI/Purple 1973)***, 24 Carat Purple (Purple/Warners 1975)****, Powerhouse (Purple 1977)***, When We Rock, We Rock And When We Roll, We Roll (Warners 1978)****, Singles A's & B's (Harvest 1978)***, The Mark II Purple Singles (Purple 1979)***, Deepest Purple: The Very Best Of Deep Purple (EMI 1980)****, The Anthology (EMI/Harvest 1985)***, The Best Of Deep Purple i (Telstar 1985)***, The Best Of Deep Purple ii (Creative Sounds 1990)**, Anthology (EMI 1991)***, Knockin' At Your Back Door: The Best Of Deep Purple In The 80's (Polydor 1992)***, Best On Stage 1970-1985 3-CD box set (Connoisseur 1994)***, Collection (Creative Sounds 1995)**, The Collection (EMI Gold 1997)****, Purplexed (BMG 1998)**, Smoke On The Water (PolyGram 1998)***, Very Best Of Deep Purple: 30th Anniversary Collection (EMI 1998)****, various artists The Friends & Relatives Album (Eagle 1999)***, Shades 1968-1998 4-CD set (Rhino 1999)***, Under The Gun (Spectrum 2000)***, Anthems (EMI Gold 2000)****, The Very Best Of Deep Purple (Rhino 2000)****, On The Road 4-CD box set (Connoisseur 2001)***, New, Live & Rare: The Bootleg Collection 1984-2000 12-CD box set (Thompson 2001)**, The Soundboard Series 12-CD box set (Thames/Thomson 2001)**, UK Single Anthology 1968-1977 (EMI 2002)****, Listen Learn Read On 6-CD box set (EMI 2002)****, as Deep Purple And Friends Purple And Other Colours (Recall 2003)**, The Early Years (EMI 2004)***.
VIDEOGRAPHY: Rises Over Japan (Warners 1976), Live At The California Jam (BBC Video 1981), Concerto For Group & Orchestra (BBC Video 1984), The Videosingles (PolyGram Music 1987), Bad Attitude (Polydor 1988), Doing Their Thing (Castle Music Pictures 1990), Scandinavian Nights (Live In Denmark) aka Machine Head Live 1972 (Connoisseur Collection 1990), Heavy Metal Pioneers (Warner Music Vision 1991), Come Hell Or High Water (BMG Video 1994), A Band Downunder (TMM/Thames Talent 1999), Total Abandon: Australia '99 (Drew Thompson/Thames Talent 1999), Live At The Royal Albert Hall (Eagle/Image Entertainment 2000), Around The World 1995-1999 (TMM/Thames Talent 2000), Bombay Calling: Deep Purple Live In Bombay '95 (TMM/Thames Talent 2000), New, Live & Rare: The Video Collection 1984-2000 (TMM/Thames Talent 2001), Perihelion (Direct Video Distribution 2002), They All Came Down To Montreux: Live At Montreux 2006 (Eagle Vision 2007).
BIBLIOGRAPHY: Deep Purple: The Illustrated Biography, Chris Charlesworth. The Great Single Book Of Deep Purple, Dirk Schultz. Smoke On The Water: The Deep Purple Story, Dave Thompson.

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