Deep Purple line-up 'best yet' says Gillan

By STEPHEN JEWELL

You need a scorecard to keep up with the ever-changing membership of English hard-rock legends Deep Purple.

In fact, drummer Ian Paice is the only surviving founding member of the group, who released their first album, Shades of Deep Purple in 1968.

Present vocalist Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover joined Paice, original keyboardist Jon Lord and guitarist Richie Blackmore in what was to become the definitive Deep Purple line-up in 1969.

Blackmore resigned for the first time in 1975 while Deep Purple's ranks in the intervening 30 years have included Whitesnake's David Coverdale and guitarist Joe Satriani.

The present incarnation, responsible for last year's 18th studio album, Bananas, consists of Gillan, Glover, Paice, guitarist Steve Morse, who joined the group in the mid-1990s, and keyboardist Don Airey, who replaced Lord in 2002.

"We had a conversation about this the other day and I think this is the best line-up there's ever been, without a doubt," says 58-year-old Gillan from Sydney. "With the level that we're working at, the musicianship is the thing that keeps us going. The greatest challenge is to keep yourself fresh."

According to Gillan, Lord's exit has changed Deep Purple for the better. "Jon had been leaving the group for about four to five years and you can tell when someone wants to leave," says Gillan. "You can never criticise a monumental musician like Jon Lord or Richie Blackmore, or the part they played in the group, but life goes on."

The night before the interview, Deep Purple played the last of three concerts to a seated audience at Sydney casino Star City. The band delivered an impressive selection of classic Purple tracks along with several new songs from Bananas. But aren't fans just coming to hear those old riff-monsters like Smoke On The Water?

"The people who come to Purple shows are there for the music," says Gillan.

"They are all aware that all of these songs were new at one time. When we did Smoke On The Water and the Machine Head album in 1972, that was the band's sixth album. When we first introduced those songs, they were brand new and had to be performed among their older brothers and sisters.

"We'd spread them out amongst older tracks, just like we do now with the songs from Bananas. Smoke On The Water was ignored by everybody to begin with. We only did it in the shows because it was a filler track from Machine Head.

"But then one radio station picked up on it and Warner Bros edited it down to about three and a half minutes. It then started getting played by lots of different radio stations."

Along with Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and AC/ DC, Deep Purple have undeniably influenced many of today's top rock bands, including The Datsuns and The Darkness, although Gillan believes that no debt is owed.

"Like everything else, music is an evolutionary process," says Gillan. "During our formative years, we copied everyone from Chuck Berry to Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Marvin Gaye. That was the beginning of our music development.

"The people that you're talking about, they are not cover bands, they write their own music. There may be some Deep Purple in there but as far as The Darkness is concerned there is also some Queen in there as well.

"But you don't rise above mediocrity unless you have that little bit extra. To capture great music, you've got to be more than a good craftsman."

Deep Purple last played in New Zealand more than 20 years ago and while it may have been a memorable night for the group's Kiwi fans, Gillan does not recall the occasion.

"It was a long time ago and I do apologise for not remembering it but I was drunk out of my head," he says. "I did sober up in time for the show but I didn't get to see anything of the country."

Performance

* What: Deep Purple, supported by Fur Patrol

* Where: North Shore Events Centre

* When: Tomorrow night

* Tickets: $95 to $85