Purple fans look forward to Friday 13th

Wednesday 4th February 2009, 10:49AM GMT.

Ian Gillan and Steve Morse of Deep PurpleFriday the 13th of November is set to be a lucky date for Midland fans of Deep Purple, when the legendary rockers play at the LG Arena in Birmingham.

The classic five-piece play Birmingham NEC as part of a four-date UK tour.

Tickets, which cost £38 plus booking and transaction fees, go on sale at 9am this Friday, February 6.

Deep Purple are singer Ian Gillan, guitarist Steve Morse, bassist Roger Glover, keyboard player Don Airey, and drummer Ian Paice, the only remaining original member.

Last year the band marked its 40th anniversary – although there was only one British gig, in London – on their seemingly never-ending tour to promote their most recent album, 2005′s Rapture of The Deep.

Deep Purple have sold well over 100 million albums worldwide, and gone through no fewer than eight different line-ups, with past members including fiery guitarist Richie Blackmore, Whitesnake singer David Coverdale, bassist Glenn Hughes from Cannock and keyboard player Jon Lord.

Since 1968 they have produced a string of classic albums including Deep Purple In Rock, Fireball and Stormbringer, and songs including the classics Smoke On The Water, Strange Kind Of Woman and Black Night.

Former Kansas guitarist Morse joined Deep Purple following Blackmore’s final departure in 1993 and has recorded four albums with the band, Purpendicular, Abandon, Bananas and Rapture Of The Deep.

The current line-up is regarded as one of the hardest touring bands in the world, clocking up thousands of miles playing on all five continents and largely concentrating on the early Gillan-era years and more recent Morse-era material.



Free e-Supplements

TWITTER

Shropshire Star on Twitter Shropshire Star on Twitter

Keep updated with the latest breaking news and content on our Twitter feed.

Lifestyle

Interactive Dining Out map Interactive Dining Out map

Hundreds of reviews by the Shropshire Star and Express & Star's teams to help you decide where to eat.

Entertainment

All the film reviews All the film reviews

Before you plan a trip to the pictures, get our critics' verdicts on all the latest movie releases.

OUR NEW APP

Get the new Shropshire Star app Get the new Shropshire Star app

Download the Shropshire Star’s new app to your iPad or iPhone to get one week of access to our digital newspapers absolutely FREE.