Roger Glover and Deep Purple Announce 23rd Studio Album, “=1”

Deep Purple hit a burst of creativity about a decade ago when they began working with producer Bob Ezrin. The collaboration produced Now What?!, Infinite, Whoosh!, and the covers album, Turning to Crime. Now the iconic rock band has announced a new album with Ezrin again at the helm.

=1 will be released on July 19th and feature classic members Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, and Ian Paice alongside keyboardist Don Airey and newcomer Simon McBride. The guitarist joined the fold in 2022 following longtime member Steve Morse’s departure.

“The enigmatic title ‘=1’ symbolizes the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one,” the band explains in a press release. “Its full meaning will be revealed in the coming weeks, with the artwork also playing its part.”

Back in 2020, we got to interview Glover about Whoosh! He also told us why working with Ezrin is so special. “The last three albums that we’ve done with Bob Ezrin have been a late flowering in our career if you like,” he said. “I’m very happy about it. Bob brought out the songwriting part of us. When we first met him, he was very encouraging about the spontaneity and creativity of the band. He said, “Don’t try to write hits. Just be yourselves and stretch out.” I think we found a whole new vein of being able to write.”

=1 will be avaialble on CD, vinyl, digital, and limited box set editions. In addition to the album announcement, Deep Purple announced a North American tour to support the album. They’ll be kicking things off on August 14th in Hollywood, Florida before covering the eastern U.S. as well as stops in Toronto and Montreal.

=1 More Time Tour Dates: