Ian Gillan Purple. By 1969, after having released nine singles, none of which charted in the UK, and finding their style of music too restrictive for him, he decided to leave Episode Six. By spring 1969, Deep Purple had had a top 5 US hit with "Hush", but the band, particularly Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and Ian Paice, decided their future lay in hard rock, rather than the psychedelic pop sound of the early band. In June 1969, Blackmore, Lord and Paice went to see Episode Six perform at a pub gig and subsequently offered Gillan the job as new lead singer,
Ian Hill Ian Hill Ian Frank Hill (born 20 January 1951) is an English musician, best known as the bassist of the heavy metal band Judas Priest. Hill learned how to play the double bass from his father, a bass player for local jazz acts. His father died when he was fifteen. In 1969, together with schoolmate K. K. Downing, Hill formed heavy metal band Judas Priest. He has been playing bass with the band ever since, and is the only original member continuously in the band from the beginning, following Downing's departure in 2011.. During the early years of the band,