In the midst of summer and the rock festival season, Deep Purple has released ‘Lazy Sod’, the third song from their upcoming album ‘=1’. Alongside the single release, the official music video for ‘Lazy Sod’ is now live on Deep Purple’s YouTube channel.

Asked about the song’s inspiration, frontman Ian Gillan explained in an interview:

“Recently, a young journalist asked me how many songs I had written in my life. I replied that the last time my assistant counted, twenty years ago, it was over 500. I felt quite accomplished until she pointed out Dolly Parton’s 5,000 songs, calling me a lazy sod. I couldn’t help but agree and wrote down the exchange in my notebook.” (ROCKS magazine, June 2024)

Produced once again by iconic Bob Ezrin, the new album ‘=1’ captures the purest classic Deep Purple sound, without relying on nostalgia.

Two weeks before its global release on July 19th, acclaim is mounting for ‘=1’. Critics are already hailing it as a Deep Purple ‘classic’ (ROCKS, Germany), giving the album a perfect 10/10 rating, describing it as ‘highly recommended'(Fireworks, UK), and celebrating ‘=1’ as ‘their finest moment this century’ (Classic Rock, UK).

The enigmatic new Deep Purple album title ‘=1’ encapsulates the band’s philosophy of unity amidst complexity, promising an album that resonates deeply with their five decades spanning hard rock legacy. Produced once again by iconic Bob Ezrin, ‘=1’ captures the purest classic Deep Purple sound, without relying on nostalgia.

The band are credited as one of the key originators of heavy rock and have constantly progressed their boundaries of music. They are fronted by the legendary Ian Gillan, whose vocals have defined generations, accompanied by the masterful bassist Roger Glover, powerhouse drummer Ian Paice, and the maestro on keyboards Don Airey. This is the band’s first album with sensational guitarist Simon McBride, who seamlessly slotted in when longtime member Steve Morse left due to personal circumstances. Since 2022, Simon has already played to Deep Purple audiences totaling more than half a million people.

In celebration of the new album, Deep Purple will perform more than 60 concerts worldwide this year during their ‘=1 MORE TIME’ Tour.

With three consecutive #1 albums in their back pocket and a resurgent new energy powering them forward, this is Deep Purple at their pinnacle. ‘Now WHAT?!’ (2013), inFinite’ (2017), and ‘Whoosh!’ (2020) have sold over one million copies worldwide, making Deep Purple one of the most successful rock bands that remains currently active. The previous studio album, “Whoosh!”, reached #1 on the album charts in 7 countries and charted in the Top 10 in another 12.

‘=1’ will be released on July 19th via earMUSIC as a limited-edition CD+DVD (Digipak), CD (Jewelcase), 2LP Gatefold (black, 180g), Ltd. Purple 2LP Gatefold (180g), Ltd. Crystal Clear 2LP (180g) and Ltd. Box Set (CD+DVD Digipak, 2LP black Gatefold, 3x exclusive 10” vinyl editions feat. live recordings from Deep Purple’s 2022 tour, exclusive Collector’s T-shirt, 2x exclusive guitar picks, 1x exclusive art print, 1x exclusive lanyard, and the chance to win a ‘Golden Ticket’ giving access to every show on the Deep Purple ‘=1 MORE TIME’ tour).

There simply aren’t enough superlatives to properly acknowledge the contribution Deep Purple has made to rock music. Having sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for decades, the band were presented the ‘Legend Award’ at the 2008 World Music Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. Deep Purple truly are ‘rock royalty’.