Jon Lord Tributes Roll In Following Death Of Deep Purple Founder

Ian Gillan has revealed that worsening eyesight may soon bring his long career with Deep Purple to a close. Gillan, now 80, continues to perform with the band he first joined in 1969, yet he admits that time is catching up. He completed a major run of shows late last year, then committed to a smaller set of dates for 2025. He described his vision as limited, with only thirty per cent remaining. He said he must now read screens through peripheral vision, which makes daily tasks difficult. He added that he adapts when needed and prefers to keep working while he can.

David Coverdale has confirmed his retirement, closing a chapter that helped shape the sound of hard rock across five decades. At 73, the Whitesnake frontman and former Deep Purple singer announced in a video message that he is stepping away from touring and recording, saying the moment had finally arrived to hang up the platform shoes and skin-tight jeans that defined so much of his stage life.

Fifty years ago, Deep Purple closed one of the most turbulent chapters in rock history with Come Taste The Band. Released 7 November 1975, the record marked the final breath of the band before their split the following year, and the lone studio outing for the short-lived Mark IV line-up with Tommy Bolin on guitar. Half a century later, the album stands as one of rock's great “what if” stories, a bold reinvention from a band determined to push forward, even as its foundations were buckling.

Ian Gillan, the iconic vocalist of Deep Purple, celebrates his 80th birthday (19 August 2025). Still blessed with a powerful, wide-ranging voice—even into his eighth decade—Gillan has traversed the peaks and troughs of rock history with a rare grace and tenacity.

Few live rock albums have the mythic status of Deep Purple’s Made in Japan. Recorded across three blistering nights in August 1972 and originally released in late 1972/early 1973, it’s the record that crystallised the ferocious power of Deep Purple’s Mk II lineup (Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Roger Glover and Ian Paice) and set a blueprint for stadium-scale hard rock and heavy metal live performance.

Deep Purple’s iconic 1972 live album ‘Made In Japan’ has been given the Steven Wilson treatment.

Deep Purple will release a 20th anniversary remix of the largely ignored 2005 album ‘Rapture of the Deep’.