Deep Purple experienced a significant change in their lineup last year, with guitarist Steve Morse announcing his temporary hiatus due to personal reasons, which turned into his permanent departure last summer. In a recent interview with El Expreso del Rock, Simon McBride, who was chosen to replace Morse for the live shows last May, shared his thoughts on joining the band and why he believes he was the natural fit for the position.
Steve Morse has been a fixture of Deep Purple since 1994, when he took over from Joe Satriani, who had replaced founding member and guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Throughout his tenure with the band, Morse contributed to numerous successful albums and solo projects. However, with his wife Janine battling cancer, Steve made the difficult decision to step back from performing to be with her.
McBride recently opened up about replacing Morse in Deep Purple, which he thought was a natural fit as he had played with the guys on tour previously. He explained that learning the band’s songs had been relatively easy, given their straightforward nature and standard layout. Some solos required more practice, but Simon McBride was up for the challenge.
Simon’s words about being a natural fit for Deep Purple follow:
“I played with them all but never at the same time, but so yeah, and I get on very well, I know, you know, unfortunate circumstances, but I think I was kind of the natural fit for the band because, as you know I know Don [Airey] and played with him and played with [Ian] Gillan, and I know the rest of the guys so we all get on very well and but yeah it was still when I got a call to do it I was like it it’s just a bizarre feeling I’ve never you know I was I think I was jumping for joy.”
Simon McBride took the stage with Deep Purple in May for ‘The Long Goodbye Tour’ last year in Tel Aviv and toured around Europe. After Morse’s temporary hiatus turned into his official departure, Simon has done everything to give his best for the band. While Steve Morse’s presence will be missed, the support and understanding of the Deep Purple community undoubtedly helped both Morse and McBride as they navigated the transition.
