Ian Paice of Deep Purple has a rich history of collaborations, playing with a variety of notable artists, one of whom was George Harrison. His recent conversation with Rhythm Magazine disclosed how this association with Harrison acted as a bridge, leading to a fruitful alliance with another Beatle, Paul McCartney, who he mentioned with praise.
McCartney’s 1999 album, ‘Run Devil Run,’ was one of the projects to which Paice contributed his drumming skills. During the recent interview, he recounted the series of events that led him to work on this album, subtly attributing it to his previous connection with the late guitarist.
Providing an insight into his experience, the musician detailed:
“Paul and David Gilmour were friends from the past. George Harrison and I were great pals – he lived just a couple of miles down the road, and our kids grew up together. I’d met Ringo [Starr] but never McCartney.
So I got the call: would you like to do the date at Abbey Road? What do you say? I went in on the Monday morning knowing full well that if it was crap, I wouldn’t be there on Tuesday. And the whole thing was done in five days like The Beatles did their early stuff – 10 am til 5.30 pm, one o’clock stop for lunch.”
He went on to express his admiration for McCartney’s skill as a bass player, stating:
“Everybody thinks of him as a singer/composer but boy, what a bass player! It’s not that he plays a lot, but what he does play is in exactly the right place. You listen to every Beatles record – he and Ringo, it feels great. That is not luck; that is God-given talent. He was so easy to play with.”
Once the recording process was wrapped up, Paice found himself accompanying the former Beatles member in live performances to promote the album. A show at the Cavern Club was one of the three arranged in support of ‘Run Devil Run,’ which was released as ‘Live At The Cavern Club’ in 2000.
