44 years ago Deep Purple released Deep Purple In Rock

Deep Purple in Rock (also known as In Rock) is the fourth studio album by English Rock band Deep Purple, released in June 1970. It was the first studio album recorded by the classic Mk II line-up. Rod Evans (vocals) and Nick Simper (bass) had been fired in June 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively.

Deep Purple in Rock was their breakthrough album in Europe and would peak at No. 4 in the UK, remaining in the charts for months. (The band's prior MK I albums had been much better received in North America than in their homeland.) The album was supported by the hugely successful In Rock World Tour which lasted 15 months.

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Although this was the first studio album to feature the MK II line-up of the band, it was this line-up that had earlier recorded the live Concerto for Group and Orchestra. The album was also preceded by two singles, the first studio recordings that Gillan made with Deep Purple. The first single, released in 1969, was a Greenaway-Cook composition called "Hallelujah", which flopped. The second single, "Black Night", fared much better as it rose all the way to No. 2 on the UK charts.

In 2005 the album won the Classic Rock and Roll of Honour Award (given by the British monthly magazine Classic Rock) in the category Classic Album. The award was presented to Ian Gillan, Ian Paice and Jon Lord.