International Achievement - Deep Purple

It was the riff that heavy metal was built on. Deep Purple’s Smoke On The Water, released in 1972 on the Machine Head album, is one of hard rock’s cornerstones, a song so heavy-hitting an entire genre grew up around it.

If Deep Purple had done nothing else, Smoke On The Water — still the first riff any budding guitarist learns upon picking up the instrument — would have secured their place in rock history. But the Mark II incarnation of the band — which comprised singer Ian Gillan, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Roger Glover, drummer Ian Paice and late, great keyboard player Jon Lord (who sadly passed away in 2012) — did much, much more than that.

Shrugging off the psychedelic and orchestral trappings of Deep Purple Mark I, the band forged something much heavier and their 1970 In Rock became a stone cold classic, home to such ubiquitous rock anthems as Speed King and Child In Time.

The band had already been popular in America, but In Rock made them gigantic around the world and hugely influential on the emerging louder school of rock. Not that Deep Purple had too much time to think about that: during their early ‘70s, um, purple patch, they also released the barnstorming Fireball, Machine Head and Who Do We Think We Are albums, while the Made In Japan recording showcased their truly global popularity and became one of the biggest-selling live albums in history.

Deep Purple Mark II sadly went their separate ways in 1973, although they have reformed several times since, and Gillan, Glover and Paice remain members of the band today. Whatever the line-up, the band remains hugely popular all around the world, over 50 years after they first formed. But, however much time passes, you can bet those Deep Purple Mark II riffs and songs will stay with us.