Rod Evans

In August 1985 my family was visiting London, England, staying in an apartment we swapped with another US Dept of Commerce family who lived in southwest London, nearest the Baron’s Court Underground station.   Although I haven’t been back since then, if you dropped me off there, I could probably find my way to the “flat” by memory.  I could probably do the same with Michel-Ange Molitor in Paris to our apartment in Rue Van Loo, despite not having been there since January 1979, but enough irrelevant boasting.

Fortunately there was a record player in the flat which we used to listen to three new LPs:  Van Halen 5150, Judas Priest Turbo, and Deep Purple Book of Taliesyn.  This was their second album, released in October 1968, from the now-forgotten Mark I lineup:  Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboards, Ian Paice on drums – the core of Mark II and III – plus vocalist Rod Evans and bassist Nick Simper.  I knew of this lineup from a book on Deep Purple.  Did I buy it from WH Smith in Paris, or the Stars & Stripes at SHAPE in Belgium?  I can’t remember.  Anyhow.

Deep Purple Mark I.  This was NOT Mark II:  “Smoke on the Water”, “Highway Star”, etc.  This was…different.  Ritchie’s guitar and Jon’s keyboards were there, but the songs and voice…  Very different.  At this time (1968) Deep Purple was making an odd attempt at being a commercial band.  And they did have one hit, “Hush”, which even the current Mark VII lineup still plays in encores even if Ian Paice is the only common band member.  This lineup released three albums:  Shades of Deep Purple (7/68), Book of Taliesyn (10/68), and (self-titled) Deep Purple (6/69).  They were popular in the US and toured there, opening for Cream and Vanilla Fudge, and even featured on “Playboy After Dark”.  Back in the UK, album sales were dismal and audiences hated them, believing them to be a bubble gum pop American band.  I have a recent live release recorded on their US tour, opening for Cream (Live at Inglewood 1968). 

Back then I had to buy the vinyl, which I still have, in addition to later deluxe digitally remastered CDs with extra tracks.  Of the original three, Book of Taliesyn is one I regularly listen to, most often, out of sheer pleasure, though the others aren’t bad.  For the rest of you circa 2015, you’re in luck: all three Mark I albums are on Spotify. 

In summer 1969 the other three gave Rod Evans and Nick Simper the boot in favor of Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, and Mark II was born.   Gillan and Glover had actually been their preference a year earlier, but at that time their band Episode Six was still on its way up, and the pair felt an obligation to push it as far as it would go.  By summer 1969, however, Episode Six had run out of steam.

Simper wasn’t very happy with his departure.  Later he formed a band called Warhorse, which to date I’ve never heard.   To my knowledge he’s still alive and active, his latest band being Nasty Habits, with a new album, De La Frog Conspiracy.   Check out his website (www.nicksimper.com).   He’s obviously not forgotten that he used to be in Deep Purple.

Captain Beyond.  Rod Evans initially retired from music, married, and moved to the US.   But later he joined a band called Captain Beyond, with some castoffs from Iron Butterfly.  Captain Beyond recorded two albums (plus a recently released live album) with Evans, Captain Beyond and Sufficiently Breathless.  They’re still around, though without Evans and without Larry “Rhino” Reinhardt, the lead guitarist, who died recently.  This music is excellent 70s’ psychedelic rock, in the vein of Bloodrock, Sir Lord Baltimore, Dust, Budgie, and those obscure bands guys like me listen to but no one else does. 

However, Evans quit Captain Beyond after those two albums.   So far as I can tell, he was unhappy as a musician and never recovered from being sacked by Deep Purple, however sanguine he might have been about the departure when it actually happened.  But he wasn’t done yet….

Deep Purple 1980.   The last lineup, Mark IV, split up in 1976, and guitarist Tommy Bolin died of a heroin overdose a few months later.  By 1980 the former members were either in Whitesnake with Mark III/IV vocalist David Coverdale, Rainbow with Ritchie Blackmore, or minding their own business.  Ian Gillan had his own band, but I’m not aware of any ex-DP who ever served in his solo band.  Since DP was dormant, some sleazy promoters put together an ersatz Deep Purple to tour around.  Nick Simper refused to be part of it (to his credit) but Evans showed poorer judgment and agreed.  The other band members - Tony Flynn (guitar), Tom de Rivera (bass), Geoff Emery (keyboards), and Dick Jurgens (drums) - shared nothing in common with Deep Purple.  DP’s former managers couldn’t enjoin the farce, but they did put out ads in in the local papers warning that no member of Mark II or III would be present on the tour, which lasted May to September 1980 in Mexico, the US, and Canada; some footage of the Mexican shows is up on Youtube.   When fans realized it was a hoax, the scene got ugly.   Mind you, these guys weren’t claiming to be a NEW lineup, they were claiming to actually be Deep Purple, and playing Mark II and III material as if it was their own.  DP’s management eventually secured a substantial judgment (US $672,000) against Rod Evans, which has effectively killed what was left of his musical career; any subsequent earnings would be levied upon to satisfy the unpaid judgment. 

A website devoted to this band, somewhat complimentary (oddly enough) is here: http://www.cream-revival-band.com/Bogus_Deep_Purple_1980.html.

To date, his whereabouts remain unknown, and given the circumstances I’m sure Evans wants to keep a low profile.   Some people on the DP website asked about that, and one person replied, “leave the poor guy alone.”

Voice.  What does he SOUND like?  Well, he has a rich, deep, voice, well suited for sensitive ballads, a little less so for hard rock or heavy metal.  This was the reason given for Deep Purple’s dismissal of him in favor of Ian Gillan, whose shrieking ability is well known by now (even if he shrieks less often these days and his hair is short).  However, he did a fine job in Captain Beyond, and guitarist Larry “Rhino” Rheinhardt (RIP) noted that while Evans was very insecure about his vocal ability, the band thought he was great; he’s competitive with the other singers of that era and tops Burke Shelley of Budgie.  Clearly the two CB albums are worth checking out, but I’d start with Book of Taliesyn.