Deep Purple is an English rock band formed in Hertfordshire in 1968. Together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath they are considered to be heavy metal pioneers. Especially influential to heavy metal were Ian Gillan's powerful screams and Ritchie Blackmore's virtuoso solos. Deep Purple were also very influential to progressive rock. ...show more

Deep Purple is an English rock band formed in Hertfordshire in 1968. Together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath they are considered to be heavy metal pioneers. Especially influential to heavy metal were Ian Gillan's powerful screams and Ritchie Blackmore's virtuoso solos. Deep Purple were also very influential to progressive rock.

Deep Purple's early output ranged from rock (such as their cover of Joe South's "Hush)" to strongly classically influenced pieces (such as "April", from their third album). Their first few albums contained very long solos, such as those on the band's covers of "Hey Joe" and "I'm So Glad". After their third album, founding member and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in particular felt the band should move in a harder direction - and felt that then singer Rod Evans and bassist Nicky Simper were incapable of working in that direction. Both were therefore let go, and replaced with singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover from Episode Six, producing what is now thought of as the classic Deep Purple lineup with keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice.

The first output of this new lineup was a mixed electric and orchestral album with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Deep Purple In Concert, with the centrepiece being Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra". The whole project was reputedly initiated after idle chat with the band's manager about the possibility led to him book the orchestra and give the inexperienced composer a deadline to produce the work of a public concert. Following on from this unusual venture were four very influential studio albums over the next four years: Deep Purple In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, and Who Do We Think We Are?, and the live album Made In Japan. Though this lineup still recorded some songs with a lighter, pop tone such as "Strange Kind Of Woman" and "Black Night", the influence of their new blood and the impetus this provided to the existing members showed strongly in hard rock songs such as "Speed King", "Child In Time", and the massively successful "Smoke On The Water". ...show less