Top 10 Deep Purple Songs

When I look at the way my musical taste has changed over the decades, there are several bands that have remained and excelled. One of those bands is Deep Purple a band that has gone through many lineup changes but all of them seem to have preserved a certain style of music that I love. Not only that but many bands have been formed from ex-members of Deep Purple that I also love, such as Rainbow, Whitesnake and Gillan. 

Deep Purple, like Black Sabbath, are added to a group of bands who experts say are the founders of heavy metal. While some of their songs can be classed as heavy metal, I would suggest that they also have elements of classic hard rock and progressive rock scattered throughout their huge discography. 

They formed in 1968 and, despite the band splitting up in 1976 for eight years, they are still producing music. The line up changed a lot and the various incarnations have been labelled as Mark I to Mark IX as musicians and singers have come and gone. My favourite line up is the Mark II but all lineups have produced great songs. Most of the current and past members of the band have been my musical heroes since I was a teenager. Here are some of them:

Ian Paice – Current drummer - the only member who has been with all lineups of the band. He also played with Whitesnake when Deep Purple split up until the band reformed in 1984.

Roger Glover – Current Bass Guitar – has played with Rainbow as well and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left in 1973 to be replaced by Glenn Hughes but rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed. 

Ian Gillan – Current vocalist – formed his own band called Gillan and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left the band to be replaced by David Coverdale in 1973 and rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed. 

Jon Lord – Keyboards – also played with Whitesnake when the band split up and was part of the Mark II lineup. He was a constant member until he decided to retire in 2002. Sadly he passed away in 2012.

Ritchie Blackmore – Guitar – the legendary guitarist and one of my favourite guitarists of all time. He formed Rainbow and was a member of the Mark II lineup. He left in 1975 but rejoined in 1984 when the band reformed, leaving again in 1993. 

Don Airey – Keyboards – also played with Rainbow and many other bands I like. He replaced Jon Lord when he decided to retire in 2002. 

David Coverdale – Vocalist – joined after Ian Gillan left but formed Whitesnake when the band split up. 

Glenn Hughes – Singer/Bass Guitar player – has had a varied career since Deep Purple split up in 1976 and is still going strong. 

Steve Morse – Guitarist – had big shoes to fill replacing Ritchie Blackmore in 1993 but filled them very well. He left the band in 2022 to look after his wife who was ill. 

Deep Purple were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016 and honoured past members as well as the line up at the time. 

It has been difficult to list my top ten songs but I have managed it. If you ask me again this time next week it may be slightly different. 

10. Birds of Prey (from Infinite – 2016)

This is the newest song in the top ten and features the Mark VIII lineup. It is a slow burner, a kind of heavy blues song, a style I like a lot. However, what makes this special is Steve Morse’s guitar playing. The song reaches a crescendo at around the 4 minute mark where Morse takes over plays an amazing outro that lasts almost two minutes and demonstrates perfectly why he was a brilliant replacement for Ritchie Blackmore. 

9. Strange Kind of Woman (from Fireball – 1971)

Moving back in time, we have a song that is great but sounds much better live. This is from the legendary Mark II line up and when performed live features Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore trying to copy each other using the incredible voice of Gillan and Blackmore’s virtuoso guitar playing. You get an idea of what I mean at the 5 minute mark. And also listen to full power of Ian Gillan’s voice at the 8 minute 15 second mark.  I doubt he can do that now. 

8. Smoke on the Water (from Machine Head -1972)

This is the song from the Mark II lineup that everybody knows and loves and I am guessing that there are people asking me why this isn’t number one. It is an iconic and amazing song with a great back story but I have heard it so many times that putting it number one would be boring and a little lazy. I really honestly do prefer those higher in the list and I genuinely love the song. If you have been living under a rock since 1972, here it is in its full glory. 

7. Weirdistan – (from Now What?! – 2012)

This is a song from the Mark VIII line up and once more features Steve Morse on guitar. Like me, this is a little bit of a weird song (you may have guessed from the title). The bass guitar is quite prominent on this song and it also features some great keyboard work from Don Airey. It all comes together in a package that pushes the right buttons for me. 

6. Woman from Tokyo (from Who Do We Think We Are – 1973)

This is another classic from the Mark II lineup. It may seem like a typical Deep Purple song yet there is mellow interlude that makes my spine tingle a little bit and occurs around the 2 minute mark. I just love it.

5. Burn (from Burn – 1973)

This is from the Mark III lineup and I posted it in my favourite David Coverdale songs, where it settled at a lofty Number 2. It’s a great song and, as I said in that post, I love Ritchie Blackmore’s guitarwork. 

4. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming (from Purpendicular – 1996)

I used to go to site a lot when I worked, which meant taking trips abroad, sometimes alone. And sometimes I was away for three or four weeks and on occasion in the middle of nowhere where there wasn’t much to do other than work hard during the day and return to a hotel in a place where there wasn’t much to do. And sometimes it was quite lonely. 

This song from the Mark VII lineup is a sad but beautiful expression of that lonely frustration. It features superlative guitar playing from Steve Morse who really used this song to state that he was a worthy replacement for Ritchie Blackmore. 

3. Perfect Strangers (from Perfect Strangers – 1984)

In 1984 I was astounded and delighted to learn that Deep Purple were reforming with the classic Mark II line up and the result of that was the album Perfect Strangers. The title track is a perfect example of how I think the Mark II line up would have evolved if they had stayed together. The live version of this song is also very special complete with lasers. 

2. Highway Star (from Machine Head – 1972)

Highway Star from the classic Mark II lineup is a great driving song. I remember driving a car in the US and it was a boring and long journey with not a lot to see when I was stunned to hear this song appear on the radio. And this transformed the journey for me. I suddenly felt really good and the music make the journey far more interesting at least for five minutes. It features great interplay between Jon Lord’s keyboards and Ritchie Blackmore’s amazing guitar, all rounded off with Ian Gillan’s incredible voice. 

1. Child In Time (from In Rock – 1970)

I love progressive rock and to a lot of people that means self-indulgent long songs. To me, a good long prog song is like a mini symphony with varied themes and a story. Child in Time, from the legendary Mark II line up, is, to me at least, a brilliant progressive rock song. Yes, there is a little self-indulgence from Jon Lord and Ritche Blackmore but so what? As for Ian Gillan, he displays his entire vocal range brilliantly on this song and shows what an incredible singer he is. 

No Laughing In Heaven

Let me take you back to 1981.

I was in my final year at school and A-Levels were approaching like a speeding train. I had mad hair, so mad in fact that my form teacher, a certain Mr N, decided to humiliate me in class by saying the following in front of a bunch of 17 and 18 year olds:

“Mr Mancunian...” – actually he had no idea that I was going to end up in Manchester – but just go with it.

“Mr Mancunian. Before you come to school please, in the name of God, stick your head in a bucket of water.”

After the inevitable riotous laughter had died down (it took about 20 minutes). He continued:

“Do you know, Mr Mancunian, you remind me of a boy at my old school. He had copious amounts of unmanageable hair. Do you know what we used to call him?”

This was like comedy gold to each and every member of my class – apart from me.

“They used to call him The Boy with the Chrysanthemum Head.”

I think that some kids in my class are still laughing even now.

What on earth was he thinking?

Anyway, that’s just setting the scene.

Back in 1981, we were typical 17 year old lads with all of the pitfalls associated with that particular point in life. I was a mad-haired, rebellious, arrogant, hormone-enraged arse, surrounded by similar people with varying degrees of self-importance and mane madness (it was just a little past the 1970’s after all).

I went to a grammar school and it was, kind of, meant to be for the brightest boys in Walsall. In the sixth form, conversations veered between total immature, hormone-driven stupidity and all manner of intellectual subject matter, embracing just about everything else in between.

One such topic for discussion was religion.

In 1980, I noticed an alarming explosion in the number of born again Christians in my school year and as more of my friends succumbed, I found myself having to defend myself for being a Roman Catholic.

One particularly arrogant mate of mine said:

“I told my pastor that you aren’t a true Christian because you are Catholic. He told me I shouldn’t try to ridicule you; I should try to convert you.”

The fact that I was a lapsed Catholic and had given up going to church two years earlier was irrelevant. My rebellious streak urged me – no – ordered  me to fight my corner.

And then Ian Gillan released a song. This song actually made it into the UK charts. And it stirred up a hornet’s nest, causing several major arguments and several friends to fall out with each other.

It’s called No Laughing In Heaven and, to a born again Christian, the lyrics are totally offensive. I, and many others, found the lyrics amusing.

Here it is – with lyrics. You may not like the song – but stick with it.




 Did we argue about the lyrical content of the song? Of course.

Did we fall out about the song? Absolutely.

I think I started the ball rolling with:

“Surely you find it funny. A man changes his lifestyle so that he can go to Heaven and spend eternity partying, only to find that Heaven is like a perpetual church service and that Hell is the place where the party is. Don’t you understand irony?”

And my final pièce de résistance:

“Hasn’t God got a sense of humour?”

You can imagine the reaction. Those who liked the song or couldn’t see anything wrong with it were lambasted mercilessly.

“You really WILL spend the remainder of your existence burning in Hell,” they said.

And of course I reacted with:

“I’m Catholic – I’ll spend some time in Purgatory and then get my pass from St Peter.”

Since my schooldays, I’ve mellowed a lot though I am still curious about religion and why a born again Christian would regard me as heathen, despite my being a Catholic and despite having spent the first sixteen years of my life praying in church, confessing my sins to a priest and taking communion.

One of the problems is that you simply cannot argue with some of these people. I enjoy having a discussion with anybody, particularly if I am curious about the subject. I find it difficult to talk to evangelical Christians because their argument is always something along the lines of:

 “It’s God’s will.”

And the discussion terminates at that point.

I watched a comedy routine from Reginald D. Hunter and he pointed out this exact thing. He said something along the lines of:

“When a Christian says “It’s God’s Will” that really means “I’m done thinking”.”

There’s many a true word spoken in jest, so the saying goes.

If you are a born again Christian, dear reader, please be aware that I am not here to mock you or your beliefs. I am genuinely interested in why you have the views you have and will gladly and willingly have a chat about it and why you think I am going to be Satan’s plaything for eternity just for trying to have an open mind about these things.

I have a scientific mind and I would dearly love to see proof that God really does exist and that he has a sense of humour – and probably most importantly, if he can divulge what will happen to me when I shuffle off this mortal coil:

(a) Spend eternity in a vast empty void of emptiness … or

(b) Be condemned to eternity in Hell for writing this post and laughing at “No Laughing In Heaven” …or

(c) Be punished in Purgatory, alongside Ian Gillan.

Knowing my luck, it will be (b) – and I will be chained to Piers Morgan and forced to eat rhubarb while listening to opera and Shakespeare for the rest of time.