Deep Purple split in 1973 — and grew back as four bands

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:09:18 +0000

Ian Gillan says “outside influences” broke Mark II. Ritchie Blackmore says two alpha males who couldn’t share a room. Neither version explains the stranger part: what the wreckage built.

Five guys in a van in 1968. By 1980, if you had a rock station on, you were hearing Rainbow, Whitesnake, Black Sabbath and Deep Purple in the same hour — and the people in those four bands had mostly stopped speaking to each other. One argument, four discographies.

David Coverdale on Real Rock Lab

Deep Purple split in 1973 — and grew back as four bands