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
Prelude (band) the band in 1985. Irene and Brian Hume continued as a duo until 1987, when they were joined by Jim Hornsby (guitar, dobro and vocals), Tony Hornsby (bass and vocals) and Ian Tait (drums and percussion). By 1993, Hornsby had left and Prelude continued as a duo once more. They still wrote and performed on the circuit, along with Chris Ringer (bass/vocals). In 2008, they were rejoined by original member Ian Vardy, and performed as a four-piece. In 2010, Chris Ringer departed and Prelude were joined by Paul Hooper on drums and percussion, (who had recently left The Fortunes), and