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| photo: Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame / Facebook |
Deep Purple were inducted into the 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame during an April 8 ceremony at New York’s Barclays Center.
The band were honored at the event alongside fellow inductees Cheap Trick, Steve Miller, Chicago and N.W.A.
The ceremony inducted most of Deep Purple's first three lineups into the Hall, including Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Ritchie Blackmore, Rod Evans, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.
As expected, Blackmore did not attend the ceremony following word that the present day lineup of the group refused to perform with former members at the event.
Metallica drummer and hardcore fan Lars Ulrich delivered the induction speech, recalling his discovery of the group in 1973 at the age of 9 while offering praise to each of the group’s 8 inductees and 14 members overall.
“With almost no exceptions,” said Ulrich, “every hard rock band in the last 40 years, including mine, traces its lineage directly back to Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple.”
Frontman Ian Gillan began the acceptance speeches by giving a shout out to every member in the band’s history, adding, “You know, this is not really for us. I think this award is very much for families and business connections, our crew and our friends who have been absolutely amazing, watching for over 50 years.”
Drummer Ian Paice thanked fans, friends and family as the lone surviving original member of Deep Purple since their formation in 1968.
“I'm the guy who has been there from the beginning,” said Paice. “I've seen it all. And when I say I've seen it all, I mean it. The good, the bad, the crazy, the stuff where we go, ‘How the hell did we get into that situation?’
“Bands are a weird conglomeration of people. You can work together, and you can create wonderful things, and then you find that you can't deal with each other. You can see a way out, you just can't get there. You look back, and you wonder how you can be so stupid. But you come again, so there's nothing better.”
The present day lineup of Deep Purple – including non-inductees Steve Morse and Don Airey – performed a mini-set featuring “Highway Star”, a snippet of Booker T. & the M.G.'s “Green Onions”, their Billy Joe Royal cover of “Hush”, and “Smoke On The Water.”
Glover, Coverdale and Hughes joined the all-star jam at the end of the evening following the night’s final inductees Cheap Trick.
Deep Purple will perform a Japanese tour next month before playing dates in Russia in June and across Europe over the summer.
See also:
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Ritchie Blackmore releases new photo of 2016 Rainbow lineup
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