We did a sweep of European festivals in the summer, and when we got back to the States in August, Deep Purple joined us for a month. It was fantastic. They were a band I had always idolised, but now, as well as heroes, they felt like kindred spirits. Purple had been through the ringer in so many of the same ways as us, from addiction issues and band fall-outs to line-up changes, yet, just like us, the integrity of the band and the music remained intact. We had been living the same lifestyle, in studios and on the road, forever. Ian Gillan sounded as colossal as always. I stood at the side of
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