Ian Gillan Purple. By 1969, after having released nine singles, none of which charted in the UK, and finding their style of music too restrictive for him, he decided to leave Episode Six. By spring 1969, Deep Purple had had a top 5 US hit with "Hush", but the band, particularly Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, decided their future lay in hard rock, rather than the psychedelic pop sound of the early band. In June 1969, Blackmore, Lord and Paice went to see Episode Six perform at a pub gig and subsequently offered Gillan the job as new lead singer,
David DeFeis He is also influenced by rock singers like Freddie Mercury, Robert Plant, David Coverdale, Ronnie James Dio and Ian Gillan. The major part of the lyrics DeFeis writes are mythological, dealing with subjects from especially Greek mythology, Sumerian mythology and Christian religion. All of them are based on real life in some form or another. DeFeis comes from a theatrical family: his father is a Shakespearian actor who runs the theatre company "The Arena Players Theatre" while his sister Doreen is a gifted opera singer who performs all over Europe. A big fan of European classical music, at 9–10 years