Ian Gillan is Happy with Deep Purple’s Newest Guitarist Simon McBride
Being the new person in the office is always difficult, but being the new addition to a band that has been together for over 50 years has got to be especially intimidating. That’s the situation that Simon McBride walked into in 2022 when he replaced long-standing guitarist Steve Morse in pioneering metal band Deep Purple after Morse left to care for his wife as she battles cancer. Thankfully, it seems that McBride is a natural fit for the metal legends.
In a recent interview with Qobuz (which was transcribed by Blabbermouth), Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan was asked about bringing McBride into the group in 2022:
“It was funny. He’d been with us for about a year, and we came out of a bar one night somewhere, and I said, ‘Are you in the band yet or what?’ He said, ‘I think so.’ I said, ‘Yeah, I guess.’ So, it was like that.”
Apparently the band felt comfortable with McBride on guitar well before announcing him as an official member, then, and Gillan had nothing but positive things to say about McBride:
“Simon’s been amazing. He’s taken over from Steve Morse, and he’s changed things quite a lot. He’s a catalyst in the sense that how human chemistry can be that one little thing can change everything else.
“I think we all feel very relaxed with Simon’s style of playing. It’s very compatible with the way we started — very straight ahead. The platforms are simple. The virtuosity is on top. So it’s not like the showing off comes first. That’s just beautiful playing. It’s very natural, second nature to him. And they put a lot of drive back into the rhythm section, because he’s also a great rhythm player. And so when he’s sat in there with Ian [Paice, DEEP PURPLE drummer] and Roger [Glover, DEEP PURPLE bassist] and they’re cranking away, boy, it’s exciting. It’s really great. He doesn’t fake anything. There’s no pretense. He actually plays every single note accurately and I think we need, we like that. That’s a hallmark, I think, of DEEP PURPLE guitar players. They’re right at the top of their tree. He’s very well respected in the guitar world.”
So, while the reasons for Morse leaving the band in 2022 are tragic, it’s good to know that the band have such an easy chemistry with McBride. It could have been really difficult for a new person to slot right into a band that’s been around since the ‘60s.
To check out that easy chemistry between McBride and his new bandmates, check them out at the rest of their tour dates for 2024:
Current European Tour:
Jul. 28 – Gignac En Quecy, France @ Festival Ecaussysteme
Jul. 30 – Orange, France @ Positiv Festival
Aug. 2 – Notodden, Norway @ Notodden Blues Festival
Aug. 3 – Bergen, Norway @ Bergen Calling
Aug. 5 – Furuvik, Sweden @ Furuvik Amusement Park
Aug. 6 – Stockholm, Sweeden @ Grona Lund Amusement Park
Aug. 8 – Skandeborg, Denmark @ Smukfest
Deep Purple and Yes 2024 Tour
Aug. 14 – Hollywood, FL @ Hard Rock Live
Aug. 15 – Tampa, FL @ Seminole Hard Rock Event Center
Aug. 17 – The Woodlands, TX @ Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
Aug. 18 – Durant, OK @ Choctaw Casino – Grand Theater **
Aug. 19 – Fort Worth, TX @ Dickies Arena
Aug. 21 – Cincinnati, OH @ PNC Pavilion at Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 22 – Sterling Heights, MI @ Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
Aug. 23 – Tinley Park, IL @ Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Aug. 25 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 27 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
Aug. 28 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion
Aug. 30 – Camden, NJ @ Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
Aug. 31 – Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Sept. 1 – Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Sept. 3 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater
Sept. 4 – Saratoga Springs, NY @ Broadview Stage at SPAC
Sept. 6 – Bethel, NY @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts
Sept. 7 – Bristow, VA @ Jiffy Lube Live
Sept. 8 – Scranton, PA @ The Pavilion at Montage Mountain
** Deep Purple only
=1 More Time Tour dates:
Oct. 17 – Katowice, Poland @ Spodek Arena
Oct. 19 – Berlin, Germany @ Max-Schmeling-Halle
Oct. 20 – Berlin, Germany @ Messehalle
Oct. 22 – Mannheim, Germany @ SAP Arena
Oct. 23 – Munich, Germany @ Olympiahalle
Oct. 25 – Essen, Germany @ Grugahalle
Oct. 26 – Lingen, Germany @ Emsland Arena
Oct. 28 – Brussels, Belgium @ Forest National
Oct. 29 – Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Ziggodome
Oct. 31 – Esch-sur-alzette, Luxembourg @ Rockhal
Nov. 01 – Paris, France @ Zenith
Nov. 04 – Birmingham, UK @ Resorts World Arena
Nov. 06 – London, UK @ 02
Nov. 07 – Leeds, UK @ FD Arena
Nov. 09 – Manchester, UK @ AO Arena
Nov. 10 – Glasgow, UK @ OVO Hydro
