Mark II was formed

Deep Purple Mark II was formed in Hanwell Community Centre in West London in the summer of 1969. In search of a new vocalist, Blackmore set his own sights on 19-year-old singer Terry Reid . Though he found the offer “flattering”, Reid was still bound by an exclusive recording contract with his producer Mickie Most and more interested in his solo career. Blackmore had to look elsewhere. The band sought out singer Ian Gillan from Episode Six , a band that had released several singles in the UK without achieving any great commercial success. Six’s drummer Mick Underwood – an old comrade of Blackmore’s from his days in the Outlaws – introduced the band to Gillan and bassist Roger Glover . According to Nick Simper, “Gillan would join only with Roger Glover.” This effectively killed Episode Six, which gave Underwood a persistent feeling of guilt that lasted nearly a decade, until Gillan recruited him for his new post-Purple band in the late 1970s. According to Blackmore, Deep Purple was only interested in Gillan and not Glover, but Glover was retained on the advice of Ian Paice.