10 Hard Rock Bands That Had To Fire Major Members

Not many other acts on the '70s hard rock scene had quite the pedigree as Deep Purple. Instead of just your typical blues or metal outfit, the finesse of players like Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore could play circles around their counterparts, oftentimes stretching their songs into mixes of blues, classical, and jazzy jam sessions. Though the clash between Blackmore and vocalist Ian Gillan has been well documented, no one could have imagined that it was a package deal.

Ever since the making of Fireball, there was always a bit of creative tension between Blackmore and Gillan, who never really saw eye to eye from the very beginning. After the tour for Who Do You Think We Are left everyone weather-beaten, Gillan was so fed up that he ended up quitting Deep Purple in protest. Blackmore wasn't too far behind him, but his decision to stay came with a few rules.

In what has to be one of the more diva moves of his career, Blackmore said that he would decide to stay in the group on the condition that bassist Roger Glover leave as well, since he had been Gillan's partner in the group's early days. Though Purple eventually saw a new life with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, the sting of being asked to leave in favor of someone else isn't something you recover from all that quickly.