2024 was an incredible year for Deep Purple. It was the year that would see the band release their latest album =1 which would go on to top the charts in 20 countries, and also see the band play a colossal 75 shows, with the final one having taken place at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on 10th November. It’s also wonderful to know that the success the band enjoyed was supported and enjoyed by new guitarist Simon McBride. With 2025 now upon us, we take the opportunity to chat to Simon about what an amazing year 2024 really was. But importantly we also want to talk about what 2025 has in store for Simon, the immediate focus being the forthcoming UK and European tour to support his latest solo album The Fighter. We catch up with Simon at home in Ireland on what is probably the coldest day of the winter so far, but as you would expect we are given the warmest of welcomes. He is understandably still on a high following the Deep Purple Tour, and we hope we can be forgiven for being just a tad jealous as he shares news of his recent sun-drenched holiday in the Canary Islands. With our hoodies pulled tight, we make ourselves comfortable and our conversation begins…

The 2025 Simon McBride calendar is already looking really exciting, but before we talk about this year, I would love to reflect on what an incredible year 2024 was for you, of course with Deep Purple. And I’d like to start with the music and the absolutely incredible album =1 which was released back in May. This was an album you co-wrote, and the first thing I want to ask you is on joining Deep Purple how important was it for you that the band continued to write new music that you would be a part of creating?

Well, I think a band like Deep Purple, if you look at their whole career, it’s always been about writing music and playing. So the format wouldn’t change and I didn’t expect it to change. But to be honest, when I first joined I knew there was a new album already being started with Steve (Morse), so I knew it had to be done. I didn’t really think too much about it to be honest because I knew from day one there was an album that had started, and obviously Steve’s wife got sick and that’s why he couldn’t really do it. She got sick literally at the very start of the writing session which became =1. This was back in 2022 when I first joine, and for me working on a new album was expected. I think the public were a little bit curious about whether we would do another album or whether we were just going to tour. Some bands do just tour on the stuff that they’ve done in the past, but as I said at the start, if you look at the history of Purple they’ve constantly been writing music from day one and we have no intention of stopping.

As a solo artist, you are completely in control. You aren’t just the guitarist but you are also an incredible singer and the frontman too. You are clearly the leader and you are fulfilling your vision. The writing of a Deep Purple album must have been a very different dynamic. What sort of brief, parameters and guidance did you give yourself – or receive from the band – when preparing to write a Deep Purple album?

I’ve done stuff with Don (Airey) before, and guys from that period of time, they all write the same way and I knew exactly the way they wrote. For me at the very start, when I started writing with Don, it was quite strange because it’s a case of they write all the music first and then they give it to the singer, and I was like “So we don’t write the song or the music with the singer all at once?”. So for me at the start, that was strange but now the more I do it, I understand the beauty of it. When I do my own stuff it’s different because, as you said, I sing - and thank you for the compliment on my singing – nobody ever compliments me on my singing (laughs!). I class myself as a guitarist who sings a little bit! But as a songwriter, I’m always thinking about the whole picture of the song, you know: the guitar, the vocal melodies, and the lyrics all at once. So when I go in to do a Deep Purple thing, it’s like ‘Okay, I don’t need to worry about singing, I just play guitar’ – that’s my job! We all have our jobs: Paicey plays drums, Roger plays bass, Don plays keys and Gillan sings. So I’m going “This is great! I just get to focus on doing this and not worry about any of the other stuff”, you know? That’s the way they do it – it’s very old school and regimented. There’s no real jumping in and going “I think you should play this”. Everyone is open to ideas but it’s just like ‘you do your thing’. It’s like that old phrase ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’. You’ve got to be your own master – master your own thing first before stepping into other people’s shoes. With a Deep Purple record, I just went in with the guys and everything was very natural, with just the five of us sat in a room and we just started chatting and playing, and that’s how the album came about. And then Gillan, he’s there the whole time and he’s writing nothing but lyrics and words and melodies and he sings little bits here and there. It’s always a surprise to hear what Ian does on the vocals because what he does is genius. He is a genius! It’s a very natural process, we just go in and we all start playing and that’s it really!

It’s interesting to hear what you say about jamming and playing because as a solo artist, everything in terms of the musical output is down to you - and it’s incredible! But one of the wonderful things about the latest Deep Purple album is hearing the amazing interplay between you as the guitarist and Don Airey as the keyboard player. The trading of licks on tracks such as Show Me and Now You’re Talking is absolutely outstanding and it makes for just the most infectious experience for the listener. How much do you enjoy this aspect of being in Deep Purple, that whole band experience?

The thing is with being in Deep Purple, and especially with Don, because Don is such a legend, genius and lovely guy, the interplay thing was more like me saying “Well, I’m not playing a solo after you!” (Laughs!) and vice versa! So we were just kind of like “Okay, let’s just mix it up a bit”. Some guys just go in and go “Here’s the solo – done!” whereas Don and I were both thinking “You do a bit, I do a bit”, – that sort of thing. It’s a little bit more interesting to the listeners’ ears. There are certain songs on the album where there is just a guitar solo or there is a keyboard solo, but you have to mix it up a little bit. There’s no rules in Deep Purple. If we want to do it, we’ll do it!

To say the album was warmly received is a huge understatement because it went to number one in over 20 countries, and you also had the joy of knocking Taylor Swift off the top spot too. How did it make you feel to see such enormous success with =1?

I was very happy and very proud that he went and did so well. I didn’t know what to expect. Releasing any album these days, no matter who it is, you don’t know how it’s going to do. For me it was a bit more nervous because it’s obviously Deep Purple and it’s my first record with them and I’m just very lucky that people liked it and it did so well. Yeah, it’s been number one in a lot of places and yeah, the Taylor Swift thing, I think we knocked her off for a day! (Laughs!) I’m extremely proud of the album and everybody works so hard: the band, Bob Ezrin… We all worked really hard and we all brought it to what it is now. It’s not just one person or two people in the band that does it, it’s everybody and that’s the way Deep Purple works.

The Deep Purple Tour concluded in the UK in November after what was 75 shows? As you exited the stage after that last show, that was the conclusion of so many things. What sort of thoughts were going through your mind?

The thought going through my mind at that time was ‘God, I need a break!’ (laughs!) Well, I didn’t really think about it for the first few days afterwards. You start thinking about things weeks after because in your head everything is still buzzing and everything still happening. It’s only really now when I think about it that I go ‘Okay, last year was a very successful year, we did very well and we did a lot of great shows’. This year is a bit quieter which is fine but we are still planning a lot of stuff for the end of this year and next year. To be honest, I don’t think too much about things. I just keep going, you know? I came off the last Deep Purple thing and I was thinking ‘Right, we’re not busy next year, I need to do some of my own stuff’, you know? I’m the sort of person who can’t sit on my arse – I need to keep moving and keep doing stuff. I had my own solo career before Deep Purple and I want to keep that going to a certain extent in between whatever we do with the live shows for Deep Purple.

Well let’s come on to that now because moving on to 2025 what I really want to talk about is your solo tour. The Fighter Tour commences on 23rd March at the Stereo in Glasgow before heading to Manchester, London, Paris, 3 dates in Germany and also Belgium. The Fighter is of course the title of your latest solo album which was released in 2022, just before you started working with Deep Purple. This is an absolutely outstanding album and because of your other commitments I’m guessing the opportunity to tour and promote it has been limited. To what extent is this tour primarily about ensuring The Fighter realises its full potential?

To be honest, that record was released in 2022 but it was ready to go pre-Covid. So that album was sitting around for a long time. So if I had spoke to myself three or four years ago, knowing what I know now, I would probably have said ‘Don’t release it in 2022, let’s wait until Purple’. But at that stage I was going ‘This has been sitting here for three or four years and I need to get this record out in 2022’. It was not ideal timing to release a record, especially if you go and join Deep Purple and you can’t get a chance to tour it. Not that I’m complaining! It’s been an amazing two years! I just thought ‘Let’s get out and play a lot of the songs off it’. And there’s a lot of other stuff out there. I’ve got singles and sort of EPs coming out this year as well as a physical product. It’s a lot of cover stuff and some ‘live stuff from within the studio’. I know it sounds weird saying that - live in the studio – but we played it all live and in just one take. I’m excited to get out and play my own stuff again. It’s going to be a lot different – I have to go back to lifting my own gear and stuff like that which I’m not used to anymore… and changing my own strings (laughs!) but that’s fine. That’s the hard part. No more private jets! It will just be a tour bus!

I think one of the amazing things about this tour is that you’re going to be joined by two incredible musicians: Dave Marks on bass, who’s worked with people like Robert Plant, Paul Gilbert, Justin Hawkins, and Marty McCloskey on drums, a longtime collaborator of yours. The chemistry that exists between the three of you is so wonderful to see. Not only are you all great musicians but that sheer sense of fun is just so infectious. What does it mean to have Dave and Marty with you on this tour and sharing the stage?

Well, as you said, they are great musicians and there’s no one better really, and the other great thing about it is that we’re all really best friends. We all have the best of fun outside of playing music. So what we do is we take that fun and we bring it on the stage as well. Sometimes it’s a bit too much! (Laughs!) We forget that we’re on stage in this professional situation and we can’t be slagging each other off, you know? I’m very lucky to have those two guys to be honest. Any time I have stuff coming up of my own they are the first two people I call, every time, just because I know them, I feel 100% comfortable with them, we all get on well and when we’re playing on stage, that comes across well. I know Marty and how he’s going to play, I know Dave and how he’s going to play, and they both know how I’m going to play. So we all know each other and know exactly what we’re going to play musically. I love playing with those two guys. They’re brilliant! It’s a bit like how it now feels in Deep Purple. It’s weird because when I first joined purple, I knew them but I’d never played with them. Not that it was strange or uncomfortable, it was just everybody was sussing each other out. I think more from their point of view because they had 20 years with Steve and then this new guy comes in. But after two days that comfortable thing just crept in a little bit more and now I just walk on stage and we just have a laugh. That’s it. I know the way Paicey is going to play, I know Roger and Don. So we all know each other now and it’s become like a family, if you want to call it, on stage.

In the UK you are playing some amazing venues. The stereo in Glasgow and The Def Institute in Manchester are just the most gorgeous venues run by the most passionate of rock fans, and the 100 Club in London is simply legendary. How much are you looking forward to playing these venues?

I’ve never played those venues before. So for me, it’s new and I always love playing in the UK. I love the UK audiences because it’s a similar sort of sense of humour to the Irish a little bit. I love the fact that sometimes when I go on stage, it’s probably more Glasgow where they do this – they shout abuse at me – in a good way! (Laughs!) I love all that! I always look forward to doing that because with my own shows, it’s not on a big scale. It’s not the arenas that we do with Purple. It’s just the places like the Stereo clubs and stuff like that where there’s a bit more interaction with the people which I love too. I’m looking forward to doing it and as I said, it’s always great to play the UK.

Of course, the last couple of years have been a whirlwind for you. How has being in Deep Purple impacted you as a solo artist from a creativity and performance perspective? Has it shaped what you will do next?

Yes, of course! Everything you do in life is a learning experience so what I’ve done with Deep Purple in the last 2 to 3 years, and what I will continue to do, will always mould and craft the way I play guitar and write music. It may happen unknowingly. I believe you’ve just got to be like a sponge in a way. You’ve gotta suck up every little bit of information that you can no matter whether it’s music or books or whatever. It’s a case of you’ve just got to learn from everything because that’s what makes you the person that you are. In regards to the Purple stuff and how it’s crafted what I will do for my own solo stuff, I guess everybody will find out and I will find out too what I do! But I believe I’m probably a different player now than what I was two or three years ago… just a little bit!

Finally, and I feel very greedy saying this, especially when you’ve talked about picking up activities with Deep Purple later in the year and also the potential for more solo music, but what else can fans expect from Simon McBride in 2025?

Well, there’s lots of music coming out this year, believe it or not, with different things that I’ve done in the past, some of which I can’t mention just yet because the record company will shoot me! (Laughs!) I know of three or four things which are coming out this year with me on it. I have an instrumental album which isn’t yet finished so it might not be out this year, probably more likely to be next year or the year after, I don’t know. But I’ve always got lots of stuff going on. So who knows, there may be Deep Purple stuff too. We’ll see!