Ian Gillan been sung by Rod Evans). Gillan later remarked that the album was "the embodiment of all the things wrong with Purple." In contrast to his experiences with Deep Purple in the 1970s, Gillan felt frustrated that the band were no longer working "enough". To fulfill his contract with Virgin, he formed a side project with Glover, writing and recording songs which didn't fit Purple's established hard rock style, which resulted in the album "Accidentally on Purpose". By 1989, tensions between Gillan and Blackmore had resurfaced, due to the former's greater enthusiasm for touring and differences over the music – the
Ian Gillan and Barnacle were quickly replaced by Bernie Tormé and by former Episode Six bandmate Mick Underwood, after Gillan saw Torme playing with his punk trio. This band had a more high-powered hard rock sound, and the release of "Mr. Universe" in October 1979 saw Ian Gillan back in the UK charts, although the independent record company the album came out on – Acrobat Records – folded soon after the album was released, prompting a contract with Richard Branson's Virgin Records. In Christmas 1979, Gillan was visited by Blackmore, who offered him the position of lead vocalist in Rainbow. Gillan declined