Deep Purple

With a body of work spanning nearly seven decades, England's Deep Purple are bonafide classic rock royalty. Along with Cream, Black Sabbath, and Led Zeppelin, they defined hard rock and early heavy metal. They have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies."

In 1968, Deep Purple moved into Pye Studios in London's Marble Arch to record their debut album, Shades of Deep Purple, pushing the Shades LP up to No. 24 on Billboard's pop albums chart. Machine Head was released in late March 1972 and became one of the band's most notable releases. It was the band's second No. 1 album in the UK. Come Taste the Band, was released in 1975, and despite mixed reviews and mediocre sales, the collection revitalised the band, bringing a new, extreme funk edge to their hard rock sound. Deep Purple split in 1976; until an official reunion in 1984. The album Perfect Strangers was recorded in Vermont and released the same year. Deep Purple enjoyed successful tours throughout the rest of the 1990s, releasing the harder-sounding Abandon in 1998. Deep Purple did concert tours in 48 countries in 2011. 'Throw My Bones' was released online, with a new album Whoosh!, released in 2020.