DEEP PURPLE

Pictured from left to right: Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Don Airey and Simon McBride The original band was formed out of an obscure psychedelic project named Roundabout, created by the former drummer of The Searchers Chris Curtis, in 1967, which was aborted when Chris quit. The "classic" line-up of Deep Purple first came together with the addition of Gillan and Glover to the trio of Blackmore, Paice and Lord for the Concerto For Group And Orchestra live album in 1969, and lasted until Gillan and Glover left, after the release of Who Do We Think We Are in 1973. This line-up became known as the "Mark II" version of Deep Purple, as the band essentially started over and the first three "Mark I" albums were consigned to relative obscurity. This started an informal tradition of subsequent line-ups being known by a new "Mk" designation, with nine widely recognized as of 2022. Original member Rod Evans would later do vocals for Captain Beyond in 1973, while Nick Simper would form the very Purple-ish Warhorse in 1970. Evans was also involved in a very shifty and short-lived Purple bogus reunion version in the early 80s that featured no former members other than himself, playing Mk II and Mk III songs. They played several shows in Mexico, USA and Canada and were subsequently stopped by a lawsuit from the original band that confirmed them as the only legitimate version and ordered Evans to pay compensation. For this reason the Evans version is definitely not to be considered a