Roger Glover Reveals How Ian Gillan Came Up With Deep Purple's New Album Title ‘SPLAT!' and Why Their Songwriting Partnership Still Works

For more than five decades, the creative engine of Deep Purple has been driven by one of rock’s longest-running songwriting partnerships. As the band prepares to release its 24th studio album, SPLAT!, bassist Roger Glover says the process of making new music still comes back to the unique chemistry he shares with vocalist Ian Gillan.

Speaking to Noise11, Glover revealed that the album’s unusual title was entirely Ian Gillan’s idea.

“Ian came up with it,” Glover said. “At first I thought, ‘Really?’ But then he explained it.”

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Gillan’s concept was that SPLAT! acts as a companion piece to Deep Purple’s 2020 album Whoosh!. While Whoosh! suggested movement and momentum, SPLAT! provides the impact.

“He saw it as following on from Whoosh!,” Glover explained. “He has a wonderful way of taking an abstract idea and making complete sense of it.”

Importantly, Glover said the title should not be interpreted as any kind of final statement from the band.

“It’s not an ending. It’s not the sound of hitting a brick wall. Ian saw it as something energetic and immediate.”

That ability to find unconventional perspectives has long defined the songwriting relationship between Gillan and Glover, a partnership that stretches back to before either musician joined Deep Purple.

The pair entered the band together in 1969, having already established themselves as writing collaborators in the British group Episode Six. Their arrival transformed Deep Purple, leading directly to the landmark album Deep Purple In Rock and helping establish the band as one of hard rock’s most influential acts.

“We came in as a package,” Glover said. “We were already writing together, so that was part of the deal.”

Despite the passing decades and numerous line-up changes, their creative method has remained remarkably consistent.

Deep Purple songs typically begin with the band jamming musical ideas. From there, Glover and Gillan retreat to work through the material privately, often at Gillan’s home, where the songs gradually take shape.

“It’s almost backwards compared to how many bands work,” Glover said. “We have these musical fragments and then Ian and I sit down and try to understand what they want to become.”

During those sessions, lyrics, melodies and arrangements tend to develop simultaneously.

Glover describes himself as the more structured half of the partnership, often concentrating on melody and arrangement, while Gillan supplies the unexpected ideas.

“Ian has a wonderfully eccentric imagination,” he said. “He sees things from angles that most people simply wouldn’t consider.”

That contrast has proved central to Deep Purple’s longevity. Rather than repeating familiar formulas, Gillan’s lyrical concepts and Glover’s musical discipline continue to push the band into new territory.

The approach was also crucial during the recording of SPLAT!. In producer Bob Ezrin’s temporary absence, Glover effectively stepped into the producer’s chair while Gillan recorded his final vocal performances.

“I was on the other side of the glass while Ian was singing,” Glover said. “We’ve known each other for so long that there’s a trust there. We know instinctively when something is right.”

That trust has enabled Deep Purple to continue producing new music more than 55 years after Glover and Gillan first joined the band. At a time when many legacy acts focus almost exclusively on anniversary tours and catalogue reissues, Deep Purple remains committed to creating fresh material.

The forthcoming SPLAT! is another chapter in a partnership that began in the late 1960s and continues to define one of rock’s most enduring bands. For Glover, the secret is surprisingly simple.

“We still enjoy it,” he said. “Ian still surprises me, and that’s probably the most important thing of all.”