Rock legends Deep Purple releasing new LP in July and playing in Scotland in November

Titled =1, it’s their first set of original material since 2020’s Whoosh! and it’s out on Friday, July 19, via EarMusic.

It’s also their first LP with new guitarist Simon McBride, recruited following his predecessot Steve Morse’s departure in 2022.

The 13 tracks making up =1 were produced by Bob Ezrin, like the four albums before it – 2021 covers set Turning to Crime, a No 28 hit; Whoosh!, a No 4; 2017’s Infinite, a No 6; and Now What?!, a No 19 in 2013.

Ian Gillan – their vocalist from 1969 to 1973, 1984 to 1989 and since 1992 – fronts the current line-up of the band, formed in London in 1968, and he’s accompanied by original drummer Ian Paice, Roger Glover, their bassist from 1969 to 1973 and since 1984, and Don Airey, on keyboards since 2002.

They’ve notched up two chart-topping albums in their time, 1971’s Fireball and the year after’s Machine Head, along with the 1980 compilation Deepest Purple, and they’ve hit the singles chart’s top ten twice, with Black Night, a No 2 in 1970, and Strange Kind of Woman, a No 8 the year after.

Purple’s November UK tour includes one Scottish date, at Glasgow’s Ovo Arena on Sunday the 10th and one a three-hour drive south of the border at Leeds’ First Direct Arena on Thursday the 7th.

Tickets to see them in Glasgow cost from £61.30 and for Leeds they’re from £61.95.

For details, go to https://www.ovohydro.com/events/detail/deep-purple-2024 or https://www.firstdirectarena.com/events/detail/deep-purple-1

They last played in Glasgow and Leeds in 2022.

Reef will be supporting this time round.