David Coverdale last show by Lord and Ian Paice (the last remaining original members), who had not told anyone else. The break-up was finally made public in July 1976. Said Coverdale in an interview: "I was frightened to leave the band. Purple was my life, Purple gave me my break, but all the same I wanted out." After the demise of Deep Purple, Coverdale embarked on a solo career. He released his first album in February 1977, titled "White Snake". All songs were written by Coverdale and guitarist Micky Moody. As his first solo effort, Coverdale later admitted: "It's very difficult to
Ian Gillan due to the smaller workload the band had compared to his own. However, the pair did jam together for three nights at Marquee Club – the first time the two men had shared a stage since 1973. Gillan continued, releasing "Glory Road" in 1980, which resulted in the band making the first of several appearances on "Top of the Pops". He considered the album to be his best work since "Machine Head" nearly a decade earlier. Following subsequent album "Future Shock", Torme was fired after missing an appearance on "Top of the Pops", and was replaced by Janick Gers. Gers