“When I played the Purple songs and took it out, some of them – a certain percentage of them – just hated me”: Steve Morse on the challenges of putting his own stamp on Deep Purple’s material

Steve Morse and Ritchie Blackmore.

Ritchie Blackmore has previously heaped praise on Steve Morse, but the man who took his place in Deep Purple had a difficult job of impressing the group’s fans as he tried to put his spin on their material.

Morse joined in 1994 after Blackmore stepped away from the band for a second time. He spent 28 years with the band, producing eight studio albums, and even embarking on a tour shortly after breaking his wrist.