Roger Glover claims Deep Purple might reject an invitation to join the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Calling the band “kind of ambivalent” about this “American institution”, the bassist said they are “up in the air” about whether they would even accept the hall’s attentions.
“We might just say, ‘You know, forget it. Too late,’” Glover recently told the radio show Noize in the Attic. “If they do [try to induct us], they’re at least 20 years too late as far as I’m concerned. They should have done it when Jon Lord was still alive when it probably would have had a bit more meaning.”
Lord, who preceded even Glover’s entry into the group, died in 2012. That was already 19 years after Deep Purple became eligible for the hall, which requires that a quarter-century has passed since an act’s first record. Deep Purple have subsequently been nominated for induction into the hall in 2013 and 2014, but didn’t make either ballot’s final selection. According to Glover, the problem is that Deep Purple aren’t “fashionable” enough. “One of the jurors was heard to say, ‘You know, Deep Purple, they’re just one-hit wonders.’ How can you deal with that kind of Philistinism, you know?”
In recent years, many other musicians have complained about Deep Purple’s omission from the hall’s rolls. In 2012, Rush’s Geddy Lee: “To be frank, I am disappointed that Deep Purple is not included.” In 2013, Kiss’s Gene Simmons: “I think it’s a crime that Deep Purple is not in.” Then, this past April, Metallica’s Lars Ulrich: “I got two words to say, ‘Deep Purple.’ That’s all I have to say: Deep Purple. Seriously, people, ‘Deep Purple,’ two simple words in the English language.”
If Deep Purple were to be invited to join the Hall of Fame in 2015, they would only do it “for the fans and family”, Glover said. Frontman Ian Gillan seems to share this perspective: during a recent discussion of the hall, he said that after spending “all my younger life trying to avoid institutionalisation as much as I could ... I realised that these sorts of things are for your family and fans”.
Only a few figures have ever boycotted an invitation to join the hall. In every case, they were inducted in absentia. Still, the list of no-shows includes Axl Rose, former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, and the Sex Pistols, who decried the institution as “a piss stain”.
If Deep Purple were to receive a 2015 nomination, and if they were to accept it, they would probably use the opportunity to reunite with former guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. “Steve Morse has been in the band for 20 years, but I think Ritchie Blackmore deserves to be there. The right thing, if we ever do it, would be to have both of them there,” he said. Still, not all living members could perform: “That would be a nightmare,” Glover claimed. “The reason we’re there is because of what happened in the early 70s. Just having everyone on stage is a bit of a mess.”
Founded in Hertford in 1968, Deep Purple released their 19th studio album last year.
