Seven Decades of Deep Purple: An Unofficial History

by Martin Popoff

Seven Decades of Deep Purple tells the electrifying story of one of the most iconic bands in rock history. From the band’s explosive formation in 1968 to the classic Mk. II lineup—Gillan, Blackmore, Glover, Lord, and Paice—and through all the iterations to the present day, this book delves deep into the band that brought the world unforgettable hits like “Hush,” “Speed King,” “Smoke on the Water,” “Highway Star,” and “Perfect Strangers.” Through nearly 50 interviews by the author with Purple alumni, plus dozens more with others who are part of this story, readers will journey through the group’s formation, lineup changes, album sessions, and live performances. Album by album, it’s Deep Purple’s music that gives this book its solid-rock foundation. Starting with 1968’s Shades of Deep Purple, the book discusses all their genre-defining albums, including In Rock, Fireball, Machine Head, Burn, Purpendicular, and 2024’s =1. Whether you’re a lifelong fan or new to their music, this book is a must-read for anyone wanting to explore the legacy of one of rock’s most enduring and relentlessly vital and creative forces. 

640 pages, Hardcover

Published October 28, 2025

About the author

At approximately 7900 (with over 7000 appearing in his books), Martin has unofficially written more record reviews than anybody in the history of music writing across all genres. Additionally, Martin has penned approximately 85 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock and record collecting. He was Editor-In-Chief of the now retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Canada’s foremost metal publication for 14 years, and has also contributed to Revolver, Guitar World, Goldmine, Record Collector, bravewords.com, lollipop.com and hardradio.com, with many record label band bios and liner notes to his credit as well. Additionally, Martin has been a regular contractor to Banger Films, having worked for two years as researcher on the award-winning documentary Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, on the writing and research team for the 11-episode Metal Evolution and on the ten-episode Rock Icons, both for VH1 Classic. Additionally, Martin is the writer of the original metal genre chart used in Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey and throughout the Metal Evolution episodes. Martin currently resides in Toronto and can be reached through martinp@inforamp.net or www.martinpopoff.com.

Reviews

[Chris Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a mighty tome. It's over 600 pages long and weighs a ton. It is beautifully presented and is full of quality photography. The book is also packed full of fascinating facts and insights. There is a problem though. It is badly over-written and in dire need of editing. Martin's prose style can be torturous. How about: 'I mean, not only is Purpendicular sufficiently electrically charged, but riffs and rhythms and melodies...many of these are not unlike what one could expect out of a Deep Purple record with Ritchie Blackmore, albeit a Blackmore in more of a universal and rock 'n' rollsy mood and not fully moat rocking to the minstrel gallery' for a cracker of a sentence?

There are lots of interviews with band members and breakdowns of each album, but very little in the way of background information or biographical details on the band members. Roger Glover's sacking from the band is mentioned in passing only, as is Jon Lord's death really. So there's quite a lot of flaws in the book. At over £40, I would say this would be a great purchase for a real fan of the band but it's probably not for the casual admirer of the group.