Ian Gillan is content with Simon McBride, the newest guitarist for Deep Purple.
It’s never easy to be the new guy in the workplace, but joining a band that has been together for more than 50 years must be particularly daunting. When longtime guitarist Steve Morse departed the groundbreaking metal band Deep Purple in 2022 to take care of his wife who was battling cancer, Simon McBride entered that circumstance. Fortunately, McBride appears to be a perfect fit for the legendary metal group.
In a recent Qobuz interview that Blabbermouth transcribed, Ian Gillan, the leader of Deep Purple, was asked about bringing McBride into the group in 2022.
It was humorous. After we left a pub one evening, after he had been with us for almost a year, I asked him, “Are you in the band yet, or what?” He stated, “I believe so.” “Yeah, I guess,” I replied. That’s how it was, then.
Before formally introducing McBride as a member, the group apparently felt comfortable having him play guitar. Gillan had nothing but praise for McBride at that point:
Simon has been outstanding. After replacing Steve Morse, he made a number of changes. In the sense that human chemistry allows one small thing to alter everything else, he is a catalyst.
“I believe Simon’s manner of playing makes us all feel really at ease. It fits in extremely well with our first approach, which was really direct. The platforms are easy to use. First-rate virtuosity. It’s not like bragging comes first, then. That playing is really exquisite. For him, everything comes naturally, like second nature. He’s also a fantastic rhythm musician, so they added a lot of vigor to the rhythm section. It’s thrilling, therefore, when he sits in there with drummer Ian Piece and bassist Roger Glover of DEEP PURPLE and they start to play. It’s very amazing. He doesn’t act inauthentically.
No pretense is present. He really does play every note perfectly, and I believe that’s what we need. I believe that’s a defining characteristic of DEEP PURPLE guitarists. Exactly atop their tree is where they are. He enjoys great regard among the guitar community.
Thus, even if Morse’s 2022 departure from the band was devastating, it’s encouraging to know that the group gets along so well with McBride. A newcomer may have found it extremely challenging to fit in with a band that has been around since the 1960s.
See McBride and his new bandmates live throughout the remainder of their 2024 tour dates to witness their effortless chemistry:
Current European Tour:
Jul. 28 – Gignac En Quecy, France @ Festival Ecaussysteme
Jul. 30 – Orange, France @ Positiv Festival
Aug. 2 – Notodden, Norway @ Notodden Blues Festival
Aug. 3 – Bergen, Norway @ Bergen Calling
Aug. 5 – Furuvik, Sweden @ Furuvik Amusement Park
Aug. 6 – Stockholm, Sweeden @ Grona Lund Amusement Park
Aug. 8 – Skandeborg, Denmark @ Smukfest
Deep Purple and Yes 2024 Tour
Aug. 14 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Aug. 15 – Tampa, FL @ Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
Aug. 17 – The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 18 – Durant, OK @ Choctaw Casino – Grand Theater **
Aug. 19 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
Aug. 21 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 22 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Aug. 23 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Aug. 25 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bell CentreAug. 28 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
Aug. 30 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Aug. 31 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sept. 1 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Sept. 3 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
Sept. 4 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
Sept. 6 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sept. 7 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Sept. 8 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
** Deep Purple only
=1 More Time Tour dates:
Oct. 17 – Katowice, Poland @ Spodek Arena
Oct. 19 – Berlin, Germany @ Max-Schmeling-Halle
Oct. 20 – Berlin, Germany @ Messehalle
Oct. 22 – Mannheim, Germany @ SAP Arena
Oct. 23 – Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
Oct. 25 – Essen, Germany @ Grugahalle
Oct. 26 – Lingen, Germany @ Emsland Arena
Oct. 28 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
Oct. 29 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggodome
Oct. 31 – Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal
Nov. 01 – Paris, France @ Zenith
Nov. 04 – Birmingham, UK @ Resorts World Arena
Nov. 06 – London, UK @ 02
Nov. 07 – Leeds, UK @ FD Arena
Nov. 09 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena
Nov. 10 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
