Ian Paice an audition for Paice, with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore leading the charge. Stated Blackmore in interviews years later, "I had looked for Ian Paice for about a year after seeing him perform in Hamburg. He's an incredible drummer. And he was the motor of the band" Paice has remained a member of Deep Purple through every formation of the band, including up to the present day. During this time, Paice was also involved in doing sessions for producer Derek Lawrence. After Deep Purple split, Paice went on to form a new group, Paice Ashton Lord in 1976. The band, also comprising
Paice Ashton Lord Lord organised a testimonial concert for Tony Ashton at London's Abbey Road Studios to mark Ashton's apparent recovery from illness, named the 'Endangered Species Awards 2000'. 300 guests were invited and Tony Ashton was backed by artists including Lord, Paice, Marsden, Whitesnake's Neil Murray, Ringo Starr's son Zak Starkey and actor Ewan McGregor. A recording of 23 tracks from the event was released as 'Endangered Species' in 2009, featuring four Paice Ashton Lord songs. "Malice in Wonderland" was re-released on CD in 2001 by Purple Records, with an additional thirty minutes of songs intended for the unreleased second album. Paice