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Seven Decades of Deep Purple: An Unofficial History
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.
- GenresMusic
640 pages, Hardcover
Published October 28, 2025
About the author
Martin Popoff
190 books272 followersAt 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.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
February 1, 2026
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.
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.
June 4, 2026
Deep Purple were one of the biggest bands of the 1970s - and have been touring and recording constantly since their reunion back in 1984, and yet the number of books dedicated to them is minimal - but then Purple were a band who were never in fashion, or even remotely fashionable - so to see this HUGE book that covers their entire (recorded) career is a joy.
'Seven Decades of Deep Purple' as a title pretty much sums up what you can expect to find within its 640 pages (yes, 640 pages!) - although it should be pointed out that the book is as much about the music, rather than the soap opera shenanigans of the band members during both their 1970s heyday and post 1984. This is not a bad thing, and the likely target audience for the book would already know the reasons for there being 4 different line ups from 1968 - 1976 - and a further 5 since then - or more if you include the gigs with substitute guitarists at various times over the years!
The book basically has a chapter for each official album release, which includes an enormous number of good illustrations of artwork, single sleeves, (some) concert photographs, flyers and period magazine clippings. The text gives basic background information about the LP under discussion, along with the authors personal thoughts about the music - and this is where it gets fun... or possibly annoying if you don't happen to share his opinion.
As with any collection of 'top ten' type lists, it's all so personal that it is borderline pointless, but that is what makes fan/obsession writing so enjoyable! And the author is 100% a fan!
I've been listening to Deep Purple for almost 50 years and although my own favourite studio LPs don't match the general opinion poll results, I am however in total agreement that their 1972 live album 'Made in Japan' contains THE best versions of the songs from the studio LP 'Machine Head'. I think that Martin Popoff is the ONLY person on the planet who thinks that the studio versions are superior!
He also dismisses the first lineup of Deep Purple as more or less a waste of time without acknowledging the importance of both the first single and LP from the band - but maybe I'm being too harsh!
One thing I especially liked is that many period interviews are quoted at length, which gives a more accurate taste of the time. However there are some parts later on in the 'story' where a bit more editing would benefit the reader - Joe Lynn Turner is quoted from several different interviews about the same topics, and he tells more or less the same story - given this happens on the same pages in the book, this does grate a bit!
The print quality and binding are superb, with colour and detail spot on - something which is so important when it includes so much printed ephemera. The book is something of a heavyweight, but the tight binding means it's actually very easy to hold open without feeling like it will split and get damaged.
I consider myself a true fan of the 'original' Deep Purple (ie Mks I - IV), so needless to say it was those chapters that I was most interested in, but I genuinely enjoyed learning something about the recording backstories and touring anecdotes of the post Blackmore years (even if Steve Morse's playing still leaves me totally unmoved).
This is a fabulous book about a fabulous band - congratulations to both Martin Popoff and Schiffer publishing for a fabulous effort!
'Seven Decades of Deep Purple' as a title pretty much sums up what you can expect to find within its 640 pages (yes, 640 pages!) - although it should be pointed out that the book is as much about the music, rather than the soap opera shenanigans of the band members during both their 1970s heyday and post 1984. This is not a bad thing, and the likely target audience for the book would already know the reasons for there being 4 different line ups from 1968 - 1976 - and a further 5 since then - or more if you include the gigs with substitute guitarists at various times over the years!
The book basically has a chapter for each official album release, which includes an enormous number of good illustrations of artwork, single sleeves, (some) concert photographs, flyers and period magazine clippings. The text gives basic background information about the LP under discussion, along with the authors personal thoughts about the music - and this is where it gets fun... or possibly annoying if you don't happen to share his opinion.
As with any collection of 'top ten' type lists, it's all so personal that it is borderline pointless, but that is what makes fan/obsession writing so enjoyable! And the author is 100% a fan!
I've been listening to Deep Purple for almost 50 years and although my own favourite studio LPs don't match the general opinion poll results, I am however in total agreement that their 1972 live album 'Made in Japan' contains THE best versions of the songs from the studio LP 'Machine Head'. I think that Martin Popoff is the ONLY person on the planet who thinks that the studio versions are superior!
He also dismisses the first lineup of Deep Purple as more or less a waste of time without acknowledging the importance of both the first single and LP from the band - but maybe I'm being too harsh!
One thing I especially liked is that many period interviews are quoted at length, which gives a more accurate taste of the time. However there are some parts later on in the 'story' where a bit more editing would benefit the reader - Joe Lynn Turner is quoted from several different interviews about the same topics, and he tells more or less the same story - given this happens on the same pages in the book, this does grate a bit!
The print quality and binding are superb, with colour and detail spot on - something which is so important when it includes so much printed ephemera. The book is something of a heavyweight, but the tight binding means it's actually very easy to hold open without feeling like it will split and get damaged.
I consider myself a true fan of the 'original' Deep Purple (ie Mks I - IV), so needless to say it was those chapters that I was most interested in, but I genuinely enjoyed learning something about the recording backstories and touring anecdotes of the post Blackmore years (even if Steve Morse's playing still leaves me totally unmoved).
This is a fabulous book about a fabulous band - congratulations to both Martin Popoff and Schiffer publishing for a fabulous effort!
August 1, 2026
Fascinating but tedious
There are some great insights into the band’s creative process and the book doesn’t dwell too much on the band’s drama. However, in the later parts of the book, it follows the same formula of each album and each song on the album. It just gets tedious.
I have much more respect for what the band evolved into with Steve Morse and Don Ariey. It’s kind of an prog/blues jam band. And was big improvement over the previous version.
Ultimately, it’s a read that only the most committed fan of the band would enjoy. For me it was a bit of a slog to finish the book, but I did it.
There are some great insights into the band’s creative process and the book doesn’t dwell too much on the band’s drama. However, in the later parts of the book, it follows the same formula of each album and each song on the album. It just gets tedious.
I have much more respect for what the band evolved into with Steve Morse and Don Ariey. It’s kind of an prog/blues jam band. And was big improvement over the previous version.
Ultimately, it’s a read that only the most committed fan of the band would enjoy. For me it was a bit of a slog to finish the book, but I did it.
April 4, 2026
Big book about the many players that have been making music under the banner of Deep Purple. Interesting look at the people and music, renewed my interest in a band I really loved growing up.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews