Purple Pro

DEEP PURPLE GUITARIST SIMON McBRIDE ON THE BAND’S NEW ALBUM, TAKING THE REINS FROM STEVE MORSE AND HOW HE PLAYS “SMOKE ON THE WATER”

- Joe Bosso

IN 1972, DEEP Purple earned the distinction as the “globe’s loudest band” by the Guinness Book of World Records when their concert at London’s Rainbow Theatre was clocked at 117 decibels.

“They’re still loud — very loud,” says Simon McBride, who took over guitar duties for the veteran hard rock outfit in 2022 after longtime member Steve Morse left to care for his ailing wife. “I have to wear ear protection, because if I didn’t, I’d be deaf. It’s old school. It’s basically ‘turn everything up and let’s play.’”

At 45, the Irish guitarist is a generation younger than his Deep Purple bandmates, all of whom are in their mid to late seventies, and fittingly he brings a youthful energy to his first album with the group, the enigmatically titled = 1. Produced by legendary rock specialist Bob Ezrin, the record is one of those rarities in that it captures the band’s purity, but it’s no nostalgiafest; everything sounds fresh and vital.

“I think sometimes, if a band is getting a little set in their ways, all it takes is one person to come in and shake things up,” McBride says. “I wasn’t trying to make the band something they aren’t — I was just being me. But I could tell right away that everybody was having a great time and they liked what I played. The band still has a lot to say, and I’m thrilled to be part of it.”

Prior to joining Deep Purple, you had experience playing with a couple of the guys. Did that enable you to forego the audition process?

Yeah, I played with [keyboardist] Don Airey for eight years, and I did a tour with [