DEEP Purple is the very definition of a “band otai” (veteran or pioneering band), with a career spanning five decades. Few, if any, aside from the Rolling Stones, can boast of such longevity and still sell out tours when most of their peers have either left their mortal coil or are in nursing homes.
Deep Purple has been a going concern since 1968 and just released a critically acclaimed album last month =1.
Here are a few choice nuggets about one of heavy rock’s bona fide heavyweights.
Unholy trinity
The music press and many fans tend to pin ground zero for hard rock or heavy metal around the works of three British bands Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.
To add credence to the claim, Deep Purple is the authors of one of rock’s most recognisable anthems Smoke On The Water. You know you have made it when guitar shops ban customers and budding guitar gods from playing the opening power riff of the iconic song in their stores!
Modelled like cars
Deep Purple have gone through numerous line-up changes. Each line-up is identified by “Mk”, similar to old British car models. The band has four significant line-ups, thus carrying the MkI-IV denominations.
The MkII line-up is best known due to the aforementioned anthem and is also the most commercially successful with albums such as In Rock (1970), Fireball (1971) and Machine Head (1972) making significant impact on album charts upon initial release.
Rock trees
Some rock fans will be aware of “rock trees” – charts showing the movement of musicians from one band to another. This was highlighted in a scene in Jack Black’s comedy School of Rock, which outlined various musicians “branching out”. Deep Purple was very much part of that trend as its multiple line-up changes has seen the likes of Ian Gillan, David Coverdale (latterly of Whitesnake) and Joe Lynn Turner (ex-Rainbow) take microphone duties.
Gillan famously joined Black Sabbath for the ill-fated Born Again album while axe slinger supremo Ritchie Blackmore went on to form Rainbow, which featured Ronnie James Dio and later, Turner on vocals. Dio would later front Sabbath while Turner took lead vocal duties in Deep Purple’s Slaves and Masters.
Over the years, members of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake seemed almost interchangeable. It is so convoluted that there is a dedicated Wiki page for ex-members of Deep Purple!
Live Beast
Gillan, who is the current vocalist, has stressed Deep Purlpe were primarily an instrumental outfit with extended jams honed on stage. Its live prowess is highlighted by the sheer number of “in concert” recordings in its discography. There are just too many to mention but choice picks include Made in Japan (1972) and Nobody’s Perfect (1988).
Deep Purple has played on these shores numerous times, most notably when it played at the F1 post-race gig in 2014. It has also played shows at the Shah Alam Stadium in 1999 as well as in Genting Highlands in 2010, underlining the band’s popularity in these parts.
Montreux reenacment
Its most famous song Smoke On the Water recounts in detail the fire that consumed the venue at a Frank Zappa and Mothers of Invention gig in Montreux, Switzerland, where Deep Purple were supposed to record its new album.
That moment of fabled rock history was brought to vivid life earlier this year when Deep Purple was invited top perform at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Floating on a barge, the band struck up the famous power chords to a spectacular mix of fireworks, pyrotechnics and video display (clips can be viewed on Youtube).
Album #23
For a band with such a long career, it will feature its fair share of hits and misses. Albums worth checking out include Who Do We Think We Are (1973) and Perfect Strangers (1984), both featuring Gillan on lead vocals.
Choice picks for the Coverdale-fronted MkIII include Burn (1973) and Stormbringer (1974).
Its latest album =1 is the band’s 23rd studio album and has garnered a lot of positive buzz from the rock press and made significant headway in European rock album charts.
Does it live up to the band’s incredible legacy? See below for theSun’s review of =1.
