Deep Purple's Mk 5 incarnation is one few expected when the Mk 2 band reformed in 1984. The wisdom of the move divided opinion at the time and continues to draw comment to this day. In short, Ian Gillan was sacked from the band in 1989, replaced with ex-Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, and then in 1992 asked back when the band's new AOR album failed to set the charts on fire.
Joe Lynn Turner was brought on board in late 1989, at the end of a six month struggle to find a replacement for Ian Gillan. After a successful jam on 'Hey Joe' at his audition, the band were relieved to find someone they felt they could work with (and in Blackmore and Glover's cases, already had).
The new studio album was recorded in early 1990, working up new and existing material (some of which Gillan had done demos for) from a series of relaxed studio jams. The result was 'Slaves And Masters' (named after studio recording equipment), released in October 1990. Compared to its predecessor 'House Of Blue Light' it sounded a lot less forced, but also a lot less demanding. Bad reviews in the press were few, but so were unreservedly enthusiastic ones. The band toured the album between February and August 1991, finishing off with two shows in Israel. They were to be the line-up's final live performances. The tour met with a generally loyal reaction from fans. The shows featured a high percentage of Mk 2 material alongside 'Slaves And Masters' songs; some of which the band enthusiastically expanded, and others which were performed in a disappointingly loose fashion. Mk 5 had only just begun to establish themselves when, towards the end of recording their all-important second album in 1992, Glover, Lord and Paice's dissatisfaction with the material brought proceedings to a halt and, with the band's 25th anniversary looming, record label pressure for Gillan's return increased. He was invited back, agreed, and Joe Lynn Turner was told that his services were no longer required. Jon Lord : "We had realised there was only one singer for us, and that was Ian Gillan." In August 1992, after having toured the world to promote his solo album, Ian Gillan was on the verge of launching a new band 'Repo Depo', but felt unable to turn down the offer of a return to Deep Purple. Within a month he had met up with the rest of Deep Purple to begin work on a new album in 1993, this time singing on material some of which Turner had done demos for. The result was aptly titled The Battle Rages On.
.... Deep Purple Mk 5 Discography ....
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