A Deep Purple Mk III reunion? Lars is up for it!

The February edition of Classic Rock (issue No.128) features… wait for it… Deep Purple on the cover.

Our epic 20-page article covers all aspects of the Purps, from the Mk I line-up in the late 1960s to the current Mk VIII roster.

We thought you might be interested in this advance missive about Purple Mk III, which includes contributions from a certain drummer by the name of Lars Ulrich…

Words: Peter Makowski

With such a rapid rise and demise, the Deep Purple Mk III saga has always had an air of unfinished business about it.

There have constantly been rumours regarding a reunion backed up with insanely lucrative offers from promoters, especially in Japan where this particular line-up never made an appearance.

In separate interviews David Coverdale, Glenn Hughes and Jon Lord have all intimated they would be up for it, and all parties have recently been in contact with Ritchie Blackmore.

In fact the only block to the band re-forming, surprisingly enough, could be Ian Paice who as a member of the current Purple would probably find it difficult and uncomfortable to get involved.

But there is a solution in the form of Metallica’s suave sticksman, Lars Ulrich, who would be more than happy to ‘do a Grohl’ and deputise on drums for a one-off event.

A hard-core Purple fan, Ulrich was fortunate enough to see Purple Mk III at their first show, at the KB Hallen in Copenhagen in 1973.

“That was the famous gig where in a newspaper article the day after, Coverdale was talking about puking in the toilets backstage before the show, he was so fired up with nerves,” Lars recalled, laughing at the memory.

“I remember they played a lot of new songs, I was all of nine years old.”

Lars even admits to being a big fan of Stormbringer, Purple Mk III’s second and final studio album: “I think that Soldier Of Fortune and The Gypsy stand out and have aged well compared to the rest of the record.

“I hope that one day Metallica will do a version of one of those songs; James Hetfield could sing Soldier Of Fortune beautifully.”

And as for the reunion?

Ulrich: “I know there’s talk about the fact that if they got Coverdale, Hughes, Lord and Blackmore together they would have four members who aren’t in the current Deep Purple – then they just need a drummer, I’ll volunteer myself for that [laughs].

“If they need a drummer, David Coverdale has my number.”

* The February edition of Classic Rock goes on sale on Wednesday, January 7. A re-mastered version of Stormbringer with bonus tracks is released on February 23.