ARTISTDeep Purple

Deep Purple formed in Hertford in 1968. Its early members included vocalist Rod Evans, bassist Nick Simper, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice. The group released Shades of Deep Purple and The Book of Taliesyn in 1968, followed by the album Deep Purple in 1969. Deep Purple in Rock appeared in 1970, followed by Fireball in 1971 and Machine Head in 1972.

The group’s membership changed over the years. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover joined in 1969; Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale became members in 1973, and Tommy Bolin joined in 1975. After a break, Deep Purple resumed activity in 1984 with Gillan, Blackmore, Lord, Glover and Paice. Later releases include Now What?! (2013), Infinite (2017), Whoosh! (2020), Turning to Crime (2021) and =1 (2024). Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Don Airey and Simon McBride are listed as members from 2022 or earlier, with no end date given for their membership.