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
Ian Gillan Band at Roger Glover's Butterfly Ball live show at the Royal Albert Hall, London, on 16 October 1975 (he sang "Sitting in a Dream" as a substitute for Ronnie James Dio, who was banned by Ritchie Blackmore to take part in it) prompted him to resume a singing career and form a new band. Initially called Shand Grenade, a combination of Shangri-la and Grenade, Gillan was persuaded by the management to change the band's name to the Ian Gillan Band. He recruited guitarist Ray Fenwick, bass player John Gustafson, keyboard player Mike Moran and Elf percussionist Mark Nauseef on drums. Using