Deep Purple “Fireball” Cover Photo Session, 1971 – Design You Trust

Deep Purple “Fireball” Cover Photo Session, 1971

1

Fireball is the fifth album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1971. It was recorded at various times between September 1970 and June 1971. It became the first of the band’s three UK No. 1 albums, though it did not stay on the charts as long as its predecessor, Deep Purple in Rock. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there.

The album was the first one Deep Purple worked on after establishing their career with In Rock, which had been a critical and commercial success, staying on the charts for over a year. Because of this, the group were in continual demand for live concerts, which began to affect band members’ health. Keyboardist Jon Lord suffered back problems, and bassist Roger Glover had stomach problems which prevented him from performing live on several occasions.

h/t: vintag.es

2

Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore felt he had been vindicated by the decision to concentrate on hard rock, and believed the group’s success was largely because of him. This led to increasing conflict with singer Ian Gillan and the relationship between the two began to become strained.

3

Most of the band do not consider the album a classic, although it is one of Ian Gillan’s favorites. He stated in a 1974 interview: “The reason I liked that so much was because I thought, from a writing point of view, it was really the beginning of tremendous possibilities of expression. And some of the tracks on that album are really, really inventive.” However, Gillan also said that the inclusion of “Anyone’s Daughter” on the album was “a good bit of fun, but a mistake.”

4

Ritchie Blackmore, in particular, stated publicly that he was not overly pleased with Fireball. He said of the production: “That was a bit of a disaster, because it was thrown together in the studio. Managerial pressure, we had no time. ‘You gotta play here, here, there, then you’ve got to make an LP.’ I told them, ‘if you want an LP, you’ve got to give us time.’ But they wouldn’t. I just threw ideas to the group that I thought up on the spur of the moment.”

5

Jon Lord stated that Fireball “wanders slightly” and “goes to places that the band wasn’t expecting it to go to.” Lord did praise several songs on the album, including “No No No” and “Fools”, and particularly singled out Ian Paice’s drumming on the title track.

If you want more awesome content, subscribe to 'Oh, Design You Trust,' our brand new Facebook page! Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

More Inspiring Stories

"In The Midnight": Denny Busyet Creates Dreamlike Artwork Inspired by 80s and 90s Aesthetic Nostalgia Fuelled by Synthwave
Provocative Images of Young Men in Blue Jeans in Post-War Switzerland
Guy Builds A VHS ‘Store’ In His Basement And It Might Give You Nostalgia
Little Girl and Her Best Friend Elephant, ca. 1980s
Rare Hand-Colored Photographs of Japan on The Brink of Modernity in 1870s
King Of Wasp Discovered In Indonesia
Science Fiction & Fantasy Costume Contestants Posing At The 24th World Science Fiction Convention In Cleveland, 1966
Vintage Photographs of Women Flaunting the Inflatable Bras to Look Like Marilyn Monroe in 1952
The Most Polluted River in the World
See Inside a 1926 Rolls-Royce Phantom, the Most Expensive Rolls-Royce Ever Made
Artist Colorizes 50 Old Photos, And It Might Change The Way You Perceive History
Romanian Artist Colorized Black And White Photos To Bring Memories To Vivid Reality
The Aftermath of a Music Festival
Project David: Family Photos From the Future Past
In 1996, Vogue Italia Featured a Photograph of Carla Bruni Taken by Javier Vallhonrat
Vintage Postcards Capture Shopping Malls of the U.S. in the Mid-20th Century
Theater of The Bauhaus: An Illustrated Guide to Total Art from 1925
London Zoo Staff Conduct Their Annual Weigh In For the Animals
Grotesque Medieval Music Sheets From Chansonnier of Zeghere van Male from 1542
The Spectacular World's Fair Exposition Universelle in Rare Pictures, 1899
The BMX Daredevils of the 70s and 80s: Flying High and Jumping Low
R-100 Airship: Inside a British “Flying Hotel”, 1929-1930
Stunning Color Photography in the 1950s by Saul Leiter
A McDonald's in New Zealand Lets Diners Eat Inside a Decommissioned Airplane