Deep Purple was founded in 1968. The founder of the group was drummer Chris Curtis, who until recently played in The Searchers. Soon, the guy accidentally met keyboardist Jon Lord, with whom he managed to quickly establish a relationship.
Chris suggested calling the band "Roundabout", which literally meant "carousel". Soon the talented guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who at that time lived in Germany, joined the guys.
Oddly enough, Curtis, who founded the team, decided to leave the team. As a result, Lorde took matters into his own hands, not wanting the group to break up.
When the musicians began to give the first concerts, they decided to change the name of the band to - "Deep Purple". The author of the new name was Ritchie Blackmore.
During the existence of Deep Purple, its composition has changed several times. 14 musicians took part in it. An interesting fact is that only the drummer Ian Paice has remained the only member since the founding of the group.
The first performances of "Deep Purple" were held in Denmark. The band featured Rod Evans on vocals, Jon Lord on keyboards, Ian Paice on drums, and Ritchie Blackmore and Nick Simper on guitars. It is curious that in the UK their work went unnoticed, while in the US they already had a large army of fans.
At the same time, Blackmore and Lord met Ian Gillan, who impressed them with his vocal abilities. As a result, they invited Ian to come to them for an audition. The vocalist agreed, but he did not come alone, but together with bassist Roger Glover, with whom he worked closely.
It soon became clear to Lord and Blackmore that they were dealing with professionals, as a result of which Gillan and Glover were taken to Deep Purple. It is worth noting that Rod Evans and Nick Simper did not yet know that the rehearsals were already taking place without their participation. Their departure from the team was only a matter of time.
In the first part of "Deep Purple" recorded 3 records. The group gained real popularity after the release of the album "Deep Purple in Rock" in 1970, which ended up in the top lines of the charts.
After a long tour, the band presented the next disc "Fireball" (1971). This was followed in 1972 and 1973 by Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are. It was then that fans first heard the famous song "Smoke on the Water", which is still considered the calling card of "Deep Purple".