Deep Purple

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Glenn Hughes, Joe Bonamassa and Chad Smith

Joe Bonamassa brings out his legendary Bolin ‘Burst to tear through Deep Purple classics with Glenn Hughes and Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Chad Smith

By Jonathan Horsley published 11 September 23

Fan-shot footage captures Bonamassa joining the Voice of Rock for an epic jam on Mistreated, with Smith’s rhythm powering them all through Burn and Highway Star

Black Sabbath perform in concert, New York, New York, October 29, 1983.

“I don't know whether we played it properly, but the audience loved it”: When Black Sabbath regularly covered Smoke on the Water – and unwittingly inspired Spinal Tap's Stonehenge

By Jackson Maxwell published 7 August 23

Sabbath's ill-fated Born Again tour featured comically oversized props “as big as the real Stonehenge”, onstage spills, and a crowd-pleasing hard-rock crossover

Glenn Hughes of California Breed performs at The Fillmore Detroit on October 5, 2014 in Detroit, Michigan.

“There’s not much swagger in that band.” For Glenn Hughes, joining Deep Purple wasn’t the clear-cut choice that you’d think

By Nick Wells published 21 July 23

The ‘Voice of Rock' looks back on his decision to quit Trapeze in 1973, and why Ritchie Blackmore was “a bit eccentric”

Deep Purple almost lost the legendary Smoke on the Water riff because of armed police storming their studio

By Matt Owen published 13 March 23

Despite having a self-imposed 10pm noise curfew while recording in Montreux's Pavilion, the band continued playing until four in the morning – and the resulting “racket” riled up some unhappy locals

An engineer has programmed a terrifying all-robot band – watch it nail Nirvana, Metallica and Deep Purple classics

By Matt Owen published 10 January 23

One Hacker Band is assembling the trio of the future, which has so far made light work of Enter Sandman, Smoke on the Water and even AI-generated original material

Steve Morse gives you a technique masterclass with this exclusive track and video lesson

By Jon Bishop published 9 December 22

In this exclusive video feature, the former Deep Purple guitarist and all-round guitar legend demonstrates and explains his stunning clean and distorted lead approaches

Ritchie Blackmore based Smoke on the Water on a classical masterpiece – and the riff’s roots might surprise you

By Matt Owen published 13 October 22

The Deep Purple legend divulged the origin of the riff in an interview back in 2007. But was he telling the truth?

Ian Gillan (left, background) and Simon McBride perform onstage with Deep Purple at the Tons of Rock festival on June 25, 2022 in Oslo, Norway

Simon McBride announced as Deep Purple's new permanent guitarist

By Jackson Maxwell published 19 September 22

"Simon’s playing is up there with the greats," the classic rock titans said in a statement welcoming him permanently into the fold

Push your skills to the limit with 5 Steve Morse licks

By Charlie Griffiths published 2 September 22

Alternate picking, string skipping through the arpeggios... This dip into the former Deep Purple guitarist's playing is bootcamp for your shred chops

The 30 greatest rock guitar albums of 1972

By Greg Prato published 24 August 22

In '72, Alice Cooper and Bowie grew ever more theatrical while the riffs of Iommi, Blackmore and co got bigger. 50 years on, we celebrate the best from a banner year for rock

Tony Iommi, Jimmy Page and Pete Townshend took rock further, with big volume, big ideas, and ever more ambitious songwriting

The greatest guitar albums of the ‘70s: Getting the Led out with Sabbath, the Who, Pink Floyd and more

By Jenna Scaramanga published 19 August 22

Punk was a revolution, disco a global phenomenon, but the guitar music of the '70s was dominated by the giants of rock. Here are the decade's top 10 guitar albums, as chosen by you...

Steve Morse onstage with Deep Purple in California, 2019

Steve Morse announces his departure from Deep Purple after 28 years with the band

By Jonathan Horsley published 23 July 22

The band pay a warm tribute to Morse as the guitarist leaves to look after his wife, who is battling cancer

Legendary producer Ken Scott says Steve Morse is the best guitarist he has ever worked with

By Jonathan Horsley published 27 June 22

Scott has worked with Jeff Beck, the Beatles, Mick Ronson, Pink Floyd and more, but he reveals why Deep Purple and Dixie Dregs guitarist is the greatest of them all

Simon McBride performing live with Deep Purple

Watch Deep Purple perform with stand-in guitarist Simon McBride for the first time

By Matt Owen published 24 May 22

The Irish blues-rocker is temporarily filling in for Steve Morse, who has put his Deep Purple duties on pause to take care of his ill wife

Simon McBride on joining Deep Purple: “Steve Morse is an amazing guitarist, so I know I’ve got big boots to fill…”

By Amit Sharma published 20 April 22

The Northern Irish blues-rocker talks taking on one of rock's biggest gigs, shaking up his tones on new album The Fighter, and the one thing every guitarist needs to consider when writing guitar solos

Ritchie Blackmore performs with Deep Purple at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on March 14, 1991

Ritchie Blackmore: "It's much easier to flow across the strings on a Gibson. Fenders have more tension, so you have to fight them a little bit"

By Mordechai Kleidermacher published 14 April 22

In this classic 1991 GW interview, the Deep Purple guitar hero chats about his whammy bar violence, his switch from Gibsons to Strats, and why he thinks Smoke on the Water has endured as a rock classic

Steve Morse announces temporary hiatus from Deep Purple due to personal reasons

By Matt Owen published 31 March 22

Blues-rock ace Simon McBride has been brought in to replace Morse, who is taking time out to support his ill wife

Petition launched for Ritchie Blackmore’s hometown to honor the guitarist with historic blue plaque

By Matt Parker last updated 2 March 22

The petition seeks to pay homage to the Deep Purple and Rainbow guitar hero in his native Weston-super-Mare

6 essential Fender Stratocaster albums

By Chris Gill last updated 14 January 22

Six albums that pushed the limits of this ever-versatile instrument.

Watch fan footage of Yngwie Malmsteen's career-spanning setlist at recent Pennsylvania show

By Sam Roche published 25 November 21

The shred legend blazed through Parabellum cuts including Wolves at the Door and Relentless Fury, older hits like Rising Force and Black Star, and Deep Purple's Smoke on the Water during his Nov 23 show at the Midtown Arts Center in Harrisburg

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