![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse1.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey2.jpg)
Steve is taking a hiatus
The following message have been posted today on the band’s official site:
Today, Deep Purple announce that due to a family matter, Steve Morse will be taking a temporary hiatus from Deep Purple live shows but remains a full member of the band.
Steve’s replacement for the upcoming live shows in May, June and July 2022 will be guitarist Simon McBride, who has previously toured with both Ian Gillan and Don Airey amongst others.
Statement from Steve Morse:
Hello, everybody. I’ve just done a few gigs with the band, after years (!?) of not playing live. It’s a bittersweet, wonderful time to get together.
However, my dear wife Janine is currently battling cancer. At this point, there are so many possible complications and unknowns, that whatever time we have left in our lives, I simply must be there with her.
I am not leaving the band – I hope that after she gets a clean bill of health, I can re-join the tour. However, I am not seeing any likely situation which would allow me to do overseas touring in the immediate future. I continue to be privileged to be a part of the Purple family tree, and also to get to feel the amazing support of so many loyal fans and the rest of the band.
There’s a certified world class guitarist ready to take over for the live shows whom everybody will surely be happy to hear.
I appreciate all your sincere prayers for Janine and thank you all.
Steve Morse
Statement from the rest of the band:
All of our thoughts are with Janine during her fight against cancer and also with Steve while he supports his wife at a very difficult time.
We hope that Steve will be able to join us back on the road later this year.
Ian, Roger, Ian and Don
Statement from Simon McBride:
I’m deeply honoured to be asked to stand-in for Steve and play for such an iconic rock band like Deep Purple. They are amazing musicians and amazing people… I’m very excited to get out and play all those iconic songs and rock the stage with such legends. My thoughts are with Steve and Janine and their family.
There will be no further comment and we kindly ask to respect the family’s privacy and keep them in your prayers at this time.
Simon McBride with Ian Gillan and Don Airey:
Simon McBride with Don Airey & Friends:
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Get well Janine and strength & endurance to the Morse family! What bitter news. Right and extremely commendable decision to get off the Purple tour juggernaut for the time being.
For those of you who haven’t seen/heard Simon yet (I have twice with Don, he also played along Laurie Wisefield on the second Snakecharmer album), he’s flashy and gung-ho, there is even a a touch of Gary Moor’esque energy and intensity in him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he once listened to a lot of Gary Moore. He’s totally up to the job. (When I saw him at a Don Airey gig more recently, I even wondered to myself how his style would sound within DP.)
Simon will only be turning 43 next month – as such he will be the first DP (guest) guitarist to have grown up with the influence of EvH, Malmsteen, Moore, Sykes, Satriani, Vai etc – and you can hear that in his playing, he has the edge and the ferocity of a younger player. This will be, ignoring the sad circumstances, another interesting chapter in Purple’s journey – all aboard …
March 31st, 2022 at 13:47Here he is, anybody playing with the great Laurie Wisefield can be no slouch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIeNluYO5TY
Yeah, you guessed it: I’m a card-carrying Wishbone Ash nut as well.
Will there be backing vocals? ; – )
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKVneBqG1_M
And I told you about the Moore influence!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DZ9vtMH90c
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TwAAE52a5LY
March 31st, 2022 at 14:05My thoughts are with Steve and Janine, hope all goes well and God speed for a full recovery
March 31st, 2022 at 14:16Seen him numerous times with Don. Best man for the (hopefully part-time) job.
March 31st, 2022 at 14:24Of course, this is cruel news, especially for Steve. All the best to him, of course.
I’ve seen Simon McBride live with Don Airey several times – and to be honest, I was blown away. A crazy good guitarist. The second and third time I went to the concerts in Hamburg because of Don AND Simon.
March 31st, 2022 at 14:44As long as he is on the next album i’m okay for it. Maybe Ritchie can fill in for him. LOL!!!!😂🤣.
March 31st, 2022 at 15:41Thoughts and prayers to Janine and Steve! Hope she gets well real soon!
March 31st, 2022 at 16:09Sad news to hear. Steve did loose his mother recently as well. Let’s hope his wife will conquer this. Wish them all the best. And good luck to Simon!
March 31st, 2022 at 17:19Janine, be strong and you’ll win. I spent the same experience years ago and now I pray for you. You live to win! Ciao
March 31st, 2022 at 18:58Simon McBride is a great hard rocker.
March 31st, 2022 at 19:03I like how he plays.
best of luck Janine and Steve, thoughts and prayers are with you!
March 31st, 2022 at 20:17L’Amore prima di tutto. Forza Janine e forza Steve.
March 31st, 2022 at 20:32He knows his classics.
March 31st, 2022 at 20:33Very sad to hear. Anyone who really knows what kind of person Steve is, should have compassion. Get well soon, Janine.
March 31st, 2022 at 20:55My prayers go to Janine and Steve. And how about bringing Steve Morris to sub for Steve Morse?
March 31st, 2022 at 21:03Prayers to Steve and his family. One of the most down to earth ‘rock stars’ ever. Did a bunch of meet and greets on the past few tours and couldn’t believe how gracious Steve was that we took the time to be a part of the DP fan base.
March 31st, 2022 at 22:15Jesus, please place your healing hand on Janine and your comforting hand on Steve.
April 1st, 2022 at 03:10Steve Morse is a true gentleman, one of the most decent and hard-working artists out there. What a sad turn of events.
April 1st, 2022 at 03:19Sincerely hope Janine gets well soon and Steve stays strong for her and the Family.
April 1st, 2022 at 08:31Hope all goes well, I wish the very best for you both and a successful return to good health for Janine.
April 1st, 2022 at 08:49The family is the priority in moments like this. I hope Janine will get well soon.
Regarding Simon McBride I can see him playing Blackmore material without any problem. I am curious how he handles Morse stuff. There are not many players out there that could cover that. I guess they will alter the show to a more traditional hard rock sound. Ian Thornley is one of the less known guys who I always though could pull that off.
April 1st, 2022 at 09:16Cheer up Janine and Steve with such a tough test. Everything will be fine. a lot of strength
April 1st, 2022 at 09:27Family First. God be with you!
April 1st, 2022 at 11:29Let’s welcome Simon to the Purple family tree.(Seems he’s already a member !
James S Gemmell@17,
Amen. Thank you for being a witness to Faith. :>
This stings in many ways. I lost my Dad 22 years ago to the evil disease. He was 67 years old. And many other family and friends over the years including very recent. I’ve liaised with Steve countless times over the past 40+ years. It feels like family. When this news came out, tears. And then more.
My best to all on the board! :>
Peace,
April 1st, 2022 at 12:35Ted
est-ce vraiment deep purple avec ou sans lui?
April 1st, 2022 at 13:15Flash thought and note to self: DP now have a touring member who’s 20 years younger than I am – gulp.
I really should have paid those guitar lessons in the mid-seventies more attention and not switch to bass early on. I would have had a head start!
Is Mk IX already an official term? : – )
April 1st, 2022 at 14:44Wishing Steve and Janine well.
April 1st, 2022 at 16:47Wishing Steve and Janine all the best and a full and speedy recovery.
I was lucky enough to see Simon in action at a PRS demo in Newcastle about 15 years ago and he is an excellent player.
April 1st, 2022 at 16:56Wishing Steve and his wife all the best for her treatment.
No problems accepting Simon standing in for Steve at this time. IMO Steve saved Purple “No Steve Morse, no Deep Purple’ is probably an accurate assessment. Don was a perfect keyboard player for the band too.
Steve is such a nice guy. He took time at the end of a gig, to aim a few of his guitar picks at the 10 year old standing next to me, with his dad. I managed to get one too. 🤩
April 1st, 2022 at 19:53HOPE JANINE GETS BETTER SOON STEVE TAKE CARE OF HER & I HOPE SHE GETS WELL SOON
April 1st, 2022 at 20:41Steve needs to stay strong for Jannice, who will need him. It will be tough. I hope she makes it through.
Don’s band is by far the better version of Rainbow out there, sorry Graham. Simon will do well.
News coming in, there is a third band playing Rainbow material. I suppose they could have asked the guitarist in that one, but maybe not. 🙂
April 1st, 2022 at 20:50Steve,
I think I speak for everyone when we say we hope and pray that your wife wins her battle with cancer. We will all miss you but I know we will see you again. Thanks for being a major part of this band for so many years. It would not have survived without you. God bless you and your family.
April 2nd, 2022 at 00:10Ánimo Steve. Tu fortaleza y la de tu esposa van a sacarla adelante y con bien. Eso es lo que en realidad importa.
April 2nd, 2022 at 05:14Steve is a great guy and all the best to his wife to recover from this soon.
I’m not sure about the new guy taking over but DP should hire someone alike from the style of the early rock culture type for a instance like Blackmorized guitarist Stuart smith he was once an RB student got that looks and he got that charisma.
Check out the video below
https://youtu.be/HM284Quo2_U
April 2nd, 2022 at 06:22I hope she will be clear of it and make good recovery.
April 2nd, 2022 at 10:56Did Ritchie submit his CV to get a chance.
Peace 🙂
This is such awful news.
April 2nd, 2022 at 11:01I met Steve’s wife in Phoenix, AZ, during the Perpendicular tour. She came backstage with a friend and introduced herself while we were chatting with Steve and Roger. She commented on how welcoming the band had been to Steve and, if I recall correctly, shared with us how at a prior show the band had surprised her by bringing out a birthday cake and singing happy birthday to her. She seemed super sweet and down to earth.
Wishing them all the best during these trying times. Goodspeed!
Strength and hope, fight the good fight.
@17 Amen James!!
April 2nd, 2022 at 11:46Sad news indeed–and I speak from experience. I wish Steve and Janine courage, whatever the future brings. In the meantime, let us hope for the best.
April 2nd, 2022 at 20:00God bless you, Janine and Steve…
April 3rd, 2022 at 17:58Steve, you are so loved worldwide and the millions you’ve touched with your music and your kind, genuine smile are sending wave after wave of healing energy right back at you for Janine. Love and warm wishes to you both.
April 3rd, 2022 at 22:02Sincerest, warmest wishes to Janine and Steve. Love.
April 4th, 2022 at 09:32On a lighter note, anyone notice that this will be the second time a person named McBride will have played with members of the Purple family tree?
/trainspotting mode on
Best wishes to Janine & Steve.
April 4th, 2022 at 15:36Awful news, praying for Janine & Steve. May God in Christ heal Janine & comfort both of them.
I hate to be that guy but McBride is a jazz oriented blues guitarist. I love Gary Moore & I really don’t hear the influence that much. Adrian Smith was heavily influenced by Moore & Blackmore & McBride does not sound like that. McBride is a fine guitarist but he is not the right fit or sound for Purple. The reality is Purple needs a legacy guitarist & shredder or some unknown kid who can shred on Purple tunes because Morse will be gone awhile for the future.
April 12th, 2022 at 22:05Purple have never replaced any singer or instrumentalist with someone who even sounds remotely similar. That is for me a huge part of their appeal.
Jon —> Don
Nick —> Roger —> Glenn
Ritchie —> Tommy —> Joe —> Steve —> Simon
Rod —> Ian —> David/Glenn —> Joe L.
Purple live is not so much about recreating their various studio sounds of the past, but creating an atmosphere of improvisation. They hire gifted people with an individual style to replace other gifted people with a different individual style.
A Purple line-up with some guy slavishly copying Ritchie’s riffs, licks and solos would be a nightmare for me. Hence I’m looking forward how Simon will turn out, much as I will miss Steve’s style which for me has become an integral part of the trademark sound of DP.
April 13th, 2022 at 14:46“It might sound something of a contradiction to say Ritchie,” says Lord.
“But I think if anyone is identifiable with what drives Purple along, it is him.
Ironic to some people perhaps because they are always reading about him leaving or ‘growing out of the band’, but he says things like that on impulse and changes his mind next day.”
https://geirmykl.wordpress.com/2022/04/07/article-about-jon-lord-deep-purple-from-new-musical-express-march-17-1973/
April 15th, 2022 at 11:56Best of luck to Janine and Steve again! Thoughts and prayers are with you, hoping for a speedy recovery and Steve’s return to the band.
April 19th, 2022 at 13:29I have been listening to to Simon McBrides’s work and I really look forward to seeing his style meld with Purple, for the short term👍
I’m listening to Mc Bride’s “Rich Man Falling” album as I write this and you know what? It doesn’t take too much imagination to picture most of his songs as played by Deep Purple. There is a lot of Robin Trower as well as Free/Bad Company in his music. And when he gets jazzy, even a little Tommy Bolin.
Those of you who think that Steve is just a little too Prog & American for Purple should be very pleased with the Blues infusion our old warhorse is getting now.
And he really is a very fluid lead and rhythm guitarist, but retains a certain earthiness – darn, he just sounded like Tommy Bolin again!
April 26th, 2022 at 19:27