Deep Purple has been suggesting for years that retirement might be right around the corner, but the band hasn't quite had the motivation yet to hang it up.
Deep Purple hinted at the end of the road with its 'Long Goodbye' tour, which launched in 2017. But the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers only felt stronger and more inspired as the tour went along. In 2018, they began writing a new studio album, Whoosh! — the band's 21st overall — which arrived earlier this August.
After spending several months in lockdown, drummer Ian Paice tells Ultimate Classic Rock that he's not even sure Whoosh! will be Deep Purple's final studio effort.
Paice, the only member of Deep Purple to appear on every one of the band's albums, says his mates are only appreciating what they have together more and more as time goes on.
"It's about having fun. There's enough crap out there messing our lives up," he said. "Music is one of the things that should give us pleasure. It should be fun, because when you start playing as a kid, you start playing for fun. You don't ever think about it being your career or being your livelihood. You find a bunch of other kids and you have fun."
The career aspect makes music more serious, but it "can still be fun," Paice added.
He said the wonder of working with producer Bob Ezrin is that making albums has been a new source of joy for the band.
Deep Purple was supposed to be on tour right now, supporting Whoosh! But with touring off-limits until further notice, the five members have the itch to do something.
"...I know there's little mutterings going on — that we might get together towards the end of this year and see if we can write some more stuff," Paice said. "If we can, if we've got some ideas that we like, then there's no reason at all why there shouldn't be another record."
Ironically, Deep Purple's youngest member, guitarist Steve Morse, is the one most keen on retirement.
He said in 2018 that 'The Long Goodbye' was going to be his last ride. By the next year, he had two new albums recorded — one with Deep Purple and one with his other band Flying Colors.
Morse joked to Q104.3 New York's QN'A earlier this month that Deep Purple is only just getting started.
"I have since discovered that the other band members of Deep Purple are actually from an alien civilization and they took human form," he says. "They have a lifespan of 300 years or so, so they're not even middle-aged yet (Laughs)."
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