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
Gillan (band) to the UK to appear on Top of the Pops. Tormé was replaced by White Spirit guitarist Janick Gers (who would later join Iron Maiden) and this line-up released the live/studio double album "Double Trouble" at the end of 1981. In August 1982, the final album "Magic" followed. By this time, tension over money had reached fever pitch and Ian Gillan needed time to have nodes removed from his vocal cords. After the "Magic" tour, the band performed a final show at the Wembley Arena on 17 December, and then Ian Gillan dissolved the group while he underwent surgery. He