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The Original Deep Purple Web Pages
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Les Binks R.I.P.

Drummer Les Binks has passed away at the age of 73. He played on Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball and Eddie Hardin’s Wizard’s Convention. Later on, he joined Judas Priest on Roger’s recommendation and appeared on two of their albums Stained Class and Killing Machine (a.k.a. Hell Bent For Leather), both released in 1978, and the […]

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Graphic artist Ioannis R.I.P.

Internationally renowned graphic artist and designer Ioannis Vasilopoulos has passed away. Ioannis was the author of the cover art for Abandon and Rapture of the Deep and graphic designer for Bananas. He also designed numerous other record covers and merchandise for other bands, from Alan Parsons Project to Sepultura. The following message has been posted […]

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John Sykes R.I.P.

John Sykes, guitar player with Tygers of Pan Tang, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and his own band Blue Murder, has died, having lost a protracted battle with cancer. The following message has appeared on his website yesterday, January 20, 2025: It is with great sorrow we share that John Sykes has passed away after a hard […]

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Rainbow video director passes away

The Hollywood Reporter writes that Edd Griles, director of Rainbow 1980s AOR videos Death Alley Driver, I Surrender, Stone Cold, and Can’t Happen Here, among other things, has passed away. The eulogy mentions that he has also directed unspecified Deep Purple videos, but our search for relevant credits didn’t return any matches.

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Johnnie Bolin R.I.P.

Johnnie Bolin, Tommy’s brother, has passed away on September 5, 2024. He was known as a musician in his own right (played drums for Black Oak Arkansas since the mid-1980s), and an enthusiastic supporter of keeping his brother’s memory alive. A funeral service will be held at 2:00pm Saturday, September 14, 2024, at the Sioux […]

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Deep sense of gratitude

Roger Glover posts on his website a eulogy for the late Mick Underwood: Mick Underwood was a lovely man. I was deeply saddened to learn that he had died. It’s taken me a while to digest the news and put in perspective what he meant for Ian Gillan and me. When he joined Episode Six, […]

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Mick Underwood R.I.P.

[Updated] A prominent member of the Purple family, Mick Underwood has died on July 28, 2024, at the age of 78. In the early 1960s he played drums in The Outlaws with Ritchie Blackmore, then went on to join Episode Six along Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.

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Duane Eddy R.I.P.

Early rock’n’roll guitar pioneer Duane Eddy has passed away: Duane Eddy, a pioneering guitar hero whose reverberating electric sound on instrumentals such as “Rebel Rouser” and “Peter Gunn” helped put the twang in early rock ‘n’ roll and influenced George Harrison, Bruce Springsteen and countless other musicians, has died at age 86. Eddy died of […]

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Rest in peace, rocking abbot

One of the more unusual members of the extended Purple family has passed away. The ‘rocking abbot’ Notker Wolf has died on April 2, 2024, at the age of 83. In 2008, he arranged for Deep Purple to play a gig in the picturesque abbey courtyard in Benediktbeuern, Germany, just south of Munich. His own […]

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Dave Hodgkinson — gone, but not forgotten

David Hodgkinson, who has died aged 58, was a technologist, programmer, and software engineer. Quite possibly, he will be remembered more for his huge footprint in the online fan community for veteran British hard rockers Deep Purple. This is certainly the case for most readers of this obituary, published as it is on the website […]

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