The hard rock crew Deep Purple, formed in 1967/68, was already dead in the mid-1970s. The original members dispersed into follow-up bands like (Ritchie Blackmore’s) Rainbow, Whitesnake or Gillan, which in turn docked to the sounds of Urband.
From 1984 the long phase of “reunification” began with various changes in personnel. In the camp of their numerous fans, ordinal numbers for the respective occupations have long been circulating. Deep Purple are the longest-serving band with the most changes in singing and playing personnel.
Exit for personal reasons
Now, guitarist Steve Morse, a longtime hero of the 1990s faction, has made it “official” (already confirmed by management) that he will be quitting as well. He wanted to take care of his wife Janine, who was suffering from cancer.
Morse had already suspended the old rocker’s last tour. He was replaced by Simon McBride.
Now, in a statement from Deep Purple, it says:
“Steve’s personal circumstances have made it impossible for him to attend the band’s dates in 2022 and beyond. A few months ago Steve publicly shared with fans the sad fact that his wife Janine is battling cancer and to put it in his own words, ‘I just need to be with her.'”
Steve Morse has recorded eight studio albums and several live records with the band since 1994. In his words it sounds like this:
“Last fall I left a DEEP PURPLE songwriting session in Germany because my wife had serious health problems. Almost a year later, we are now learning to accept that she will have stage IV cancer and chemotherapy for the rest of her life. We both miss the live concerts but I just couldn’t commit to long or distant tours as the situation at home can change so quickly.”
And it continues: “I will miss everyone in the band and crew. However, being by Janine’s side has made a huge difference. While Janine is getting used to her limits she can still do a lot of things on her own so we will try to play small tours nearby with friends so hopefully we can both get outside! I know Simon (McBride) has already done a fantastic job, but now I’m handing over the keys to the vault that holds the secret of how Ritchie’s ‘Smoke On The Water’ intro was recorded. I guess you have to turn and shake the key just right because I could never open the door.”