David Coverdale to replace Ian Gillan. Coverdale had fronted a local group called The Government, which had played with Deep Purple on the same bill in 1969, so he and the band were familiar with one another, and after sending a tape and later auditioning, Coverdale was admitted into the band, with bassist Glenn Hughes adding his own vocals as well. In February 1974, Deep Purple released their first album with Coverdale and Hughes titled "Burn" which was certified Gold in the US on 20 March 1974 and in the UK on 1 July. In April 1974, Coverdale and Deep Purple performed
Ian Gillan with Mickey Lee Soule and then Colin Towns on keyboards, Mark Nauseef on drums and John Gustafson on bass. Their first album, "Child in Time", was released in July 1976, followed by "Clear Air Turbulence" in April 1977 and "Scarabus" in October. The sound of the band had a distinct jazz-rock aspect which, although interesting to Gillan, proved unpopular, particularly since punk rock was in vogue at that time. Gillan then formed a new band, simply called Gillan, retaining Towns (who would co-write most of the material), and adding guitarist Steve Byrd, bassist John McCoy and drummer Pete Barnacle. Byrd