It took Deep Purple a long time to get to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, now that they’ve been elected, at least one member isn’t happy about it.
Ian Gillan has called the decision to only induct the members of Deep Purple Mark I, II and III as “very silly”, specifically saying that Steve Morse and Don Airey should be among those entering the Hall. Morse and Airy are members of the current version of the band which also includes Gillan, Ian Paice and Roger Glover. Morse joined in 1994 and Airy in 2002.
Other past members of Deep Purple that are not being inducted are early bassist Nick Simper, mid-70’s guitarist Tommy Bolin and later members Joe Lynn Turner and Joe Satriani along with Morse and Airy.
Gillan wrote the following on his website:
Dear Friends, Families and Fans,
Putting the past shenanigans to one side, the induction is not – in clear fact – for Deep Purple.
It is an arbitrary selection of past members, which excludes Steve Morse and Don Airey; both of whom have been with the living breathing DP for a very long time.
Obviously this is very silly, and so my response is quite simple: ‘Thank you very much’.
And….what a coincidence…This morning I got an invitation to a wedding from some dear old friends. Unfortunately my family was not invited and they said that I would be required to sit next to my ex (we divorced decades ago) at the wedding feast.
They were shocked when I called to thank them and decline the invitation.
Cheers,
Ian Gillan
The members of Deep Purple who will enter the Hall are Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Rod Evans, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
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