![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/gillan3.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey2.jpg)
The obvious impression is often misleading
Simon McBride gave an interview to the German site laut.de (in the midst of an interview marathon with 9 other engagements). Yep, reverse translation again. As such, take it with a grain of salt.
It’s a lengthy read. Simon talks about his influences, joining the band, the songwriting process, lengths of the songs on =1, his gear, and some other things. Enjoy!
You have known some Purple members for a while. You have played with Gillan and Don Airey in the past. Can you describe your feelings when you got the call in 2022 to join the band, first for the live area and then also in the studio.
It goes back to the end of 2021, when the first request came in asking if I could imagine being Steve Morse’s replacement for some shows in the USA. Then in May 2022, a few shows came up that Steve couldn’t play because his wife wasn’t well. For my part, I approached the matter very naively and was happy to play a few shows for Deep Purple, and that was that. I’m going home and Steve is taking over the reins again. For me, he was still the guitarist for Purple at that time.
So there was no disappointment. Instead, I approached the matter very professionally. When Steve’s wife’s condition continued to deteriorate, and it became clear that he was not returning, the topic of further touring came up. At the time, it was July or August 2022, we were on a European tour. At some point, I had an email from the manager in my inbox. It was bizarre, he asked me if I would be interested in becoming a permanent member. My first impulse was to write back and ask why he even wanted to ask me that.
Later that day we were in a bar and Gillan asked me in his direct way: Are you in the fucking band or not? And I said, of course I am, raised my glass to him and that was the end of it. It took a few days to really realise this. Plus, the four other guys have been on this journey together for so long, and I’ve only just joined. I felt comfortable from day one. The chemistry is right, I’m treated without restrictions and can let my playing flow freely.
Read more on laut.de in German or via Google Translate in other languages.
Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the heads-up.
Photo: Stefan Brending, cc-by-sa-3.0 de
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Nice and funny interview. Oh my God, what a wait for this album. I feel like I’m in the 80s!
July 17th, 2024 at 21:56Bleeding Obvious riff remind to me by Gillan’s Dirty Dog ♡ 👊
July 18th, 2024 at 06:00Indeed AndreA, I hear you and feel the same! It hasn’t been that exciting for quite a while, as for me! And I’m loving it. To quote our Minstrels: “Always good to be a fan again” 😅😉
July 18th, 2024 at 06:53There is another interview with Simon McBride and and Ian Paice in a german newspaper today:
https://www.waz.de/kultur/article406816419/deep-purple-wir-sind-eine-demokratische-band.html
July 18th, 2024 at 12:37I have to wait 16 hours to buy it, as soon as I get off work…
July 18th, 2024 at 21:22Buying? Spotify is open all the time….
July 19th, 2024 at 11:01