(left to right) Nick Simper (top), Ritchie Blackmore (bottom), Ian Paice, Jon Lord and Rod Evans

(left to right) Jon Lord, Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore and Ian Paice

(left to right) Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale (top), Tommy Bolin (bottom), Ian Paice and Jon Lord

(left to right) Ian Paice, Roger Glover, Steve Morse, Don Airey and Ian Gillan

(left to right) Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Don Airey and Simon McBride

Deep Purple, from top to bottom, in 1968 (Mark I), 1970 (Mark II), 1976 (Mark IV), 2013 (Mark VIII) and 2022 (Mark IX).

Deep Purple are a British hard rock band originally from Hertford. Formed in March 1968, the group originally included vocalist Rod Evans, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Nick Simper, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice ("Mark I"). In mid-1969, Evans and Simper were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover ("Mark II"). After four years, Gillan and Glover departed by the end of 1973, replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes ("Mark III"). Tommy Bolin replaced Blackmore in 1975 ("Mark IV"), with this lineup continuing until Deep Purple broke up in July 1976. The group reformed in April 1984 with the "Mark II" lineup of Blackmore, Lord, Paice, Gillan and Glover. The current lineup, dubbed "Mark IX", features Paice, Gillan, Glover, guitarist Simon McBride and keyboardist Don Airey.

History

1968–1976

Deep Purple were formed under the name Roundabout in March 1968 by vocalist Rod Evans, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Nick Simper, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice.^[1] Lord and Simper had previously played together with The Flower Pot Men, and Simper had earlier worked briefly with Blackmore;^[2] Evans and Paice were brought in from The Maze, whom Blackmore had seen performing.^[1] The group soon changed their name to Deep Purple, after the song of the same name by Nino Tempo & April Stevens.^[3] Deep Purple quickly recorded their first album Shades of Deep Purple, which was issued in July 1968.^[4] After The Book of Taliesyn and Deep Purple, Blackmore, Lord and Paice made the decision in May 1969 to dismiss Evans and Simper, wanting to pursue a heavier direction for which they deemed the pair unsuitable.^[5]

By the time the original lineup, subsequently dubbed "Mark I", played their last show on 4 July 1969, new vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover had already been recruited from Episode Six.^[6] During its four-year tenure, the "Mark II" lineup established itself as the most commercially and critically acclaimed of the group's history, releasing the studio albums Deep Purple in Rock, Fireball, Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are, in addition to the live albums Concerto for Group and Orchestra and Made in Japan.^[7] However, following increasing tensions and exhaustion, in October 1972 Gillan informed the rest of the band that he would be leaving after the remaining tour dates were completed.^[8] Glover followed the singer later in providing his resignation, believing that Blackmore wanted him to leave.^[5] The final show of the tour took place on 29 June 1973 in Osaka, Japan, after which Gillan and Glover both left and "Mark II" came to an end.^[9][10]

On 14 July 1973, it was announced in Melody Maker magazine that Glenn Hughes of Trapeze had replaced Glover on bass.^[11] Paul Rodgers, who had been a member of Free until their recent breakup, was initially offered the role of frontman, but he declined to focus on the formation of Bad Company.^[12] The position vacated by Gillan was later taken by David Coverdale, who auditioned in the summer and was unveiled as Deep Purple's new vocalist on 23 September 1973.^[13] After "Mark III" released Burn and Stormbringer, the creatively frustrated Blackmore recorded a self-titled debut album by a new project dubbed Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (later shortened to just Rainbow) in early 1975.^[14] This ultimately led to his departure from Deep Purple, which was officially announced on 21 June 1975.^[15] Despite Blackmore's core creative role in the band, Deep Purple continued with the addition of former James Gang guitarist Tommy Bolin.^[16] After just one album, Come Taste the Band, "Mark IV" played their final show on 15 March 1976, before breaking up officially on 19 July.^[17] Bolin died of a heroin overdose that December.^[18]

1984 onward

After eight years of inactivity, on 27 April 1984 it was announced that the "Mark II" lineup of Deep Purple were set to return for a worldwide tour and a new album.^[19] The reunion of Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord and Paice lasted for five years and spawned two studio albums, Perfect Strangers and The House of Blue Light.^[7] By the middle of 1989, however, Gillan had left the group for a second time, with the other members firing him due to creative and personal differences.^[20] After auditioning and rehearsing with numerous potential replacements for the vocalist, the band eventually enlisted Joe Lynn Turner, who had previously worked with Blackmore and Glover in Rainbow, to take Gillan's place in December 1989.^[21] This "Mark V" lineup recorded just one album, Slaves and Masters, which was released in 1990 and promoted on tour throughout 1991.^[7]

In August 1992, despite having started work on the band's next album, Turner was suddenly dismissed from Deep Purple.^[22] Gillan subsequently returned for a third stint as lead vocalist, as management wanted the classic "Mark II" lineup back together for a planned 25th anniversary tour, and the band issued The Battle Rages On... in 1993.^[23][24] Blackmore was unhappy with Gillan's return and Turner's firing, however, which led to renewed and increasing tensions between the pair on the subsequent touring cycle.^[25] The guitarist played his final show with Deep Purple on 17 November 1993.^[26] After briefly considering disbanding, the band added Joe Satriani in Blackmore's place for a string of pre-arranged tour dates, including shows in Japan and Europe starting in December.^[27] This "Mark VI" arrangement was only temporary, however, with the guitarist returning to his solo career at the end of the run in July 1994.^[27]

Blackmore was eventually officially replaced by former Dixie Dregs and Kansas guitarist Steve Morse on August 17, 1994, who debuted with the band at three low-key gigs in November 1994 and was later offered the position permanently.^[28] The "Mark VII" lineup remained stable throughout the rest of the decade, releasing two studio albums in Purpendicular and Abandon.^[7] In March 2002, it was announced that Lord – a member of every lineup of Deep Purple to date – was set to amicably retire from the group, with Don Airey taking his place.^[29] The keyboardist's departure left Paice as the sole remaining constant member of the band.^[30] The "Mark VIII" lineup of Gillan, Morse, Glover, Airey and Paice released six studio albums: Bananas in 2003, Rapture of the Deep in 2005, Now What?! in 2013, Infinite in 2017, Whoosh! in 2020 and Turning to Crime in 2021.^[31] The lineup remained active until March 2022, when the band announced that Steve Morse would go on a hiatus and be replaced by Simon McBride,^[32] who has previously toured with both Ian Gillan and Don Airey.^[33] On 23 July 2022, it was announced that Steve Morse had permanently left.^[34]

Members

Current

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Ian Paice	1968–1976 1984–present	drums percussion	all Deep Purple releases
	Roger Glover	1969–1973 1984–present (hiatus 2011)	bass guitar additional keyboards occasional backing vocals (1984, 1990)	all Deep Purple studio albums from Deep Purple in Rock (1970) to Who Do We Think We Are (1973), and from Perfect Strangers (1984) onward all Deep Purple Marks II, VII and VIII live releases
	Ian Gillan	1969–1973 1984–1989 1992–present	lead vocals percussion harmonica occasional guitar	all Deep Purple studio albums from Deep Purple in Rock (1970) to Who Do We Think We Are (1973),Perfect Strangers (1984), The House of Blue Light (1987), and from The Battle Rages On... (1993) onward all Deep Purple Marks II, VII and VIII live releases
	Don Airey	2002–present	keyboards	all Deep Purple studio albums from Bananas (2003) onward all Deep Purple Mark VIII live releases
	Simon McBride	2022–present	guitar backing vocals	none to date

Former

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Jon Lord	1968–1976 1984–2002 (died 2012)	keyboards occasional backing vocals (1968–1969, 1974–1976)	all Deep Purple studio albums from Shades of Deep Purple (1968) to Abandon (1998) all Deep Purple Marks I–VII live releases
	Ritchie Blackmore	1968–1975 1984–1993	guitar	all Deep Purple studio albums from Shades of Deep Purple (1968) to Stormbringer (1974), and from Perfect Strangers (1984) to The Battle Rages On... (1993) all Deep Purple Marks I–III live releases
	Rod Evans	1968–1969	lead vocals	Shades of Deep Purple (1968) The Book of Taliesyn (1968) Deep Purple (1969) all Deep Purple Mark I live releases
	Nick Simper		bass guitar backing vocals
	Glenn Hughes	1973–1976	bass guitar backing and lead vocals	Burn (1974) Stormbringer (1974) Come Taste the Band (1975) all Deep Purple Marks III–IV live releases
	David Coverdale		lead and backing vocals
	Tommy Bolin	1975–1976 (died 1976)	guitar backing and occasional lead vocals	Come Taste the Band (1975) all Deep Purple Mark IV live releases
	Joe Lynn Turner	1989–1992	lead vocals	Slaves and Masters (1990)
	Joe Satriani	1993–1994	guitar	none
	Steve Morse	1994–2022	guitar backing vocals (1995)	all Deep Purple studio albums from Purpendicular (1996) to Turning to Crime (2021) all Deep Purple Marks VII–VIII live releases

Touring

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Notes
	Christopher Cross	1970	guitar	On 28 August 1970, Cross briefly filled in for Ritchie Blackmore, as he had a bad flu shot. Together with Cross, the group played a concert in the city of San Antonio at the «Jam Factory».[35][36][37][38]
	Randy California	1972 (died 1997)		On 6 April 1972, Randy temporarily filled in for Blackmore at a concert in Quebec, as he contracted hepatitis.[39][40]
	Candice Night	1993	backing vocals	Night performed backing vocals at select dates on Deep Purple's 1993 tour on the request of Ritchie Blackmore.[41]
	Nick Fyffe	2011	bass guitar	Fyffe filled in for Roger Glover for a series of European dates in 2011.[42]
	Jordan Rudess	2020	keyboards	Rudess filled in for Don Airey for one show in March 2020, while Airey was absent for undisclosed reasons.[43]

Session

Image	Name	Years active	Instruments	Release contributions
	Beth Hart	2003	backing vocals	Bananas (2003)
	Paul Buckmaster	2003 (died 2017)	string arrangement and cello
	Michael Bradford	2003	guitar
	Jason Roller	2012	acoustic guitar	Now What?! (2013)
	Eric Darken		percussion
	Mike Johnson		steel guitar
	David Hamilton		additional keyboards
	Students of Nimbus School of Recording Arts		gang vocals
	Bob Ezrin	2012 2016 2020 2021	vocals percussion additional keyboards	Now What?! (2013) Infinite (2017) Whoosh! (2020) Turning to Crime (2021)
	Tommy Denander	2016	additional guitar	Infinite (2017)
	Saam Hashemi	2020	programming	Whoosh! (2020)
	Ayana George		backing vocals
	Tiffany Palmer
	Nicole Thalia	2021		Turning to Crime (2021)
	Marsha B. Morrison
	Leo Green		tenor saxophone horns arrangement
	Matt Holland		trumpet
	Gina Forsyth		fiddle
	Bruce Daigrepont		squeeze box
	Julian Shank		percussion

Timeline

Lineups