Jon Lord Jon Lord John Douglas Lord (9 June 194116 July 2012) was an English composer, pianist, and Hammond organ player known for his pioneering work in fusing rock with classical or baroque forms, especially with Deep Purple, as well as Whitesnake, Paice Ashton Lord, The Artwoods, and The Flower Pot Men. In 1968, Lord co-founded Deep Purple, a hard rock band of which he was regarded as the leader until 1970. Together with the other members, he collaborated on most of his band's most popular songs. He and drummer Ian Paice were the only continuous presence in the band during the
Jill Paice the Palace Theatre, London. Lloyd Webber was required to hire two "unknown American actors" in order to satisfy Actors Equity union rules for the future transfer of the production to Broadway to include the British actors Michael Crawford and Maria Friedman. Paice reprised her role in the Broadway production in 2005 at the Marquis Theatre in New York. She received good notices, but the show closed after only 109 performances on Broadway. Off-Broadway, Paice appeared in the York Theatre Company productions of "Weird Romance" (2004)and "The Gig" (2006). In 2006 she originated the role of Nikki Harris in "Curtains" in