Formed in Hertford in 1968, Deep Purple’s original line-up featured Ritchie Blackmore, Rod Evans, Nick Simper, Jon Lord and Ian Paice. The band’s debut album landed a top five hit in the U.S. with “Hush.” The albums The Book of Taliesyn and Deep Purple followed. Evans and Simper soon left the band and Ian Gillan and Roger Glover took their places, marking the first of many line-up changes. After the success of Deep Purple In Rock and Fireball, the band decided on a European location to record their next album. They chose The Casino in Montreux, Switzerland – only to see it burn down the night before recording was to begin. With smoke literally wafting over the water of Lake Geneva, the band took up residence in the Grand Hotel and recorded the multi-platinum Machine Head. Gillian and Glover later left the band, while David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were recruited for 1974’s Burn. After finishing 1974’s Stormbringer, Blackmore left to form Rainbow. Deep Purple broke-up in 1976 and it wasn’t until 1984 that the classic line-up reunited for the platinum selling Perfect Strangers album. More recently, in 2013, the band released Now What?! The legendary Deep Purple continues to rock, performing all over the world.
