Gig during typhoon in Korea made heroes of rockers Deep Purple

DEEP PURPLE have weathered some storms in their lengthy career.

But bass player Roger Glover has told how a real-life storm led to one of their most perilous moments.

“We played a gig in a typhoon in Seoul, South Korea,” Roger, now 71, told iN10.

“We had horizontal rain hitting us but we carried right on until the guitars packed up. Every time Ian Paice hit the drums there was a huge splash. And Jon Lord was having to wipe his eyes so much he couldn’t even see the Hammond organ.

“We were determined to finish because there were about 100,000 people there and we needed to get it done and get out.

“It made us a bit of a legend. We went back about six months later and were treated like heroes because we’d braved it.

“Ian Gillan has always had a thing that if the audience are getting wet, so should we. He’s even taken a bucket of water on stage and thrown it over himself to prove we’re one of them.”

Next year is a memorable milestone for the English rockers. They were formed in 1968 – Roger joined the following year – so they’ll be celebrating their 50th anniversary.

That’s a longevity Roger admits he couldn’t possibly have contemplated.

“Back in the ’60s the perceived wisdom was that if you had a hit then you might last a year,” he reveals.

“If you had two or three more hits and got to five years then you were doing really well. You were always only as good as your last success, be it a tour, single or album.

“We were in our twenties then and we couldn’t imagine being in our thirties, let alone 40 or 50. So I certainly couldn’t imagine still doing this.

“Looking back, I’m amazed at that and that I still love it. It’s taught me not to be quick to judge and not to assume anything.”

Smoke On The Water, Child In Time and Highway Star are just a few of the classics from the Deep Purple back catalogue.

But they are far from resting on their laurels, with new album inFinite out last Friday. There’s also a documentary showing how it was put together, from the writing to the recording.

And Roger says that process hasn’t changed over the decades, with ideas mulled over and then tucked away when they go on the road.

“Gradually we’ll filter them down to what we want to work on,” he explains.

“Then we’ll have a week-long session in Nashville to knock them into shape and by the time we go into the studio they’re pretty much ready to go instrumentally.

“The vocals are always the last thing that Ian and I turn our hand to and complete the thing.

“The big danger of having a past like we have is that you become a parody of yourself. That’s why we don’t plan the kind of album we’re going to make, we just go in and let it happen.

“It’s only afterwards we look and see how it’s turned out. It’s as much a surprise to us as anyone else.”

One of the claims to fame over the years was making the Guinness Book of Records in 1975 as “the globe’s loudest band”.

Many veteran stars like Pete Townshend, Ozzy Osbourne and Phil Collins have revealed they’ve been left with hearing problems because of their musical past.

But Roger reckons he’s got off pretty lightly.

“I do have a bit of hearing loss, some is down to age but the band hasn’t helped either.

“I don’t use earplugs on stage as it doesn’t feel right. I do sometimes come off with my ears ringing, though.”

Unlike other bands that make sporadic appearances, Deep Purple have always been a touring band, with six trips to America and a big tour of Japan in 1972 alone.

But their new tour, which takes in a date at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on November 22, has been called the Long Goodbye Tour. How long that is has yet to be determined.

“We’re closer to the end than the beginning, that’s for sure,” adds Roger. “There are a lot of places we’d still like to go, a lot of places we’d like to say goodbye to.

“I’m not looking forward to the pressure and emotion that’ll go into that last appearance.”

The band’s new album inFinite is out now.