Deep Purple are in their seventh decade. They've sold 120 million albums. And they still have things to say. "There was no joy, no happiness on stage. I don't blame any one person for it, but Ithink we know who we're talking about"

Deep Purple seated at a cards table.

There’s the snatch of a moment tacked on at the close of Diablo, the rolling and tumbling second track on Deep Purple’s new studio album Splat!, that’s as good a summation as any of the general air surrounding the record. As the song ends, the studio tape is left rolling and we hear Ian Gillan laugh out loud and then shout: “I love that!”

In a split second, it’s the sound of a band quite simply revelling in the act of playing together. In the case of this one track, it’s along with guesting second guitarist Keith Urban, the country superstar and new owner of Purple’s favoured studio of late, The Sound on Nashville’s storied Music Row.