Deep Purple skipped the formalities of an audience when they brought in Simon McBride to replace Steve Morse on lead guitar.
Morse was lead guitarist for Deep Purple from 1994 to 2022 and left the band to look after his ailing wife, who passed away in February this year.
Simon tells Noise11.com, “There was no real audition at all. In 2021 they hinted that they may need someone to replace Steve (Morse) for a couple of shows in February 2022 for the US tour. Steve did those shows. Then they asked me about possibly doing some more shows, if it was possible, and I said “whatever”. Then I ended up doing the shows in May for two weeks and they went great and it was great fun to do. Then they asked me a couple of months later in July, because Steve couldn’t commit because of his sick wife”.
With Steve caring full-time for Janine, Purple’s future touring plans were based on a replacement. “It just got to the stage where they had to come to a decision because Steve couldn’t commit to touring anymore. There was no real audition for me because I’d played with Ian Gillan before on a few tours and on a couple of live records with him. I’ve played with Don Airey for the last 16 years. For those two it was an easy choice because I knew them and they knew what I could play. Also, I get on with them which in a band is sometimes more important. Obviously if you are a good player it counts. I had met Roger before and Paicey as well but it was never all at the same time. It was an interesting journey into the band”.
Watch the full Noise11 interview with Simon McBride:
Simon McBride plays lead guitar and co-wrote all of the songs on the new Deep Purple album ‘=1’.
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