Ian Anderson Paice (born 29 June 1948) is an English musician who is the drummer and an original member of the rock band Deep Purple. He remains the only member of Deep Purple who has served in every line-up since the band's inception in 1968, as well as having played on every album and at every live appearance. He is considered one of the greatest rock drummers of all time, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple in 2016.
Deep Purple were broken up for eight years from 1976 to 1984, during which time Paice was a member of two bands that also involved other Deep Purple members, Paice Ashton Lord (also featuring Jon Lord) during 1976–1978, and Whitesnake (also featuring Jon Lord and David Coverdale) during 1979–1982. He was then Gary Moore's drummer from 1982 until Deep Purple's reformation in 1984. He has also played drums as a touring and/or session musician for other artists, including the Velvet Underground, George Harrison, and Paul McCartney.
Born in Nottingham, Paice's father was a civil servant and he spent his early years in Germany before moving back to live in Bicester, a town near Oxford, UK in early childhood. He got his first drum kit at 15 and began his professional career in the early 1960s playing drums in his father's dance band. The first band he was in was called Georgie & the Rave-Ons, which after being renamed the Shindigs released their first single featuring the 17-year-old Paice and George Adams.
In 1966 Paice joined the MI5, which soon changed its name to the Maze. Primarily a club band, the Maze produced a number of singles, recorded mainly in Italy and France.
The Maze featured vocalist Rod Evans, who alongside Paice was to form the original line-up of Deep Purple in March 1968. Evans had responded to an ad for a lead singer published by Deep Purple management, and showed up for his audition with Ian Paice in tow. Given that Deep Purple's first choice as drummer, Bobby Woodman, had expressed dislike for the band's musical direction, the group hastily arranged an audition for Paice, with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore leading the charge. Blackmore in interviews years later stated: "I had looked for Ian Paice for about a year after seeing him perform in Hamburg. He's an incredible drummer. And he was the motor of the band". Paice is the last remaining original Deep Purple member in the band in the present day.
Deep Purple split up in 1976 and eventually reformed in 1984. During the split, Paice formed a new group, Paice Ashton Lord in 1976. The band, also comprising singer/pianist Tony Ashton, Deep Purple organist Jon Lord, guitarist/vocalist Bernie Marsden and bassist Paul Martinez, recorded one album (Malice in Wonderland) and played only five live shows. Paice Ashton Lord were put on hold in 1977, halfway through recording the group's second album. They subsequently broke up, allegedly because Tony Ashton only felt at home playing live shows in little clubs.
In August 1979, Paice was asked by David Coverdale to join Whitesnake on the Japanese tour for the Lovehunter album. He stayed with the band for almost three years. He appeared on the Whitesnake albums Ready an' Willing (1980), Live...in the Heart of the City (1980), Come an' Get It (1981) and Saints & Sinners (1982).
This incarnation of Whitesnake featured David Coverdale and Jon Lord, which meant three members of the Mark III and IV line-ups of Deep Purple were in Whitesnake during this period. Following musical differences with David Coverdale, Paice left Whitesnake in January 1982.
In 1982, Paice joined Gary Moore for an album that turned into Corridors of Power. Moore's manager subsequently came up with the idea of Moore and Paice putting a band together under Moore's name, so that his management would take the business side of the project with Paice having a sizeable interest in the band. The collaboration turned out to be a successful one and produced a couple of albums and extensive tours. Paice left Moore's band in April 1984 when the reformed Deep Purple reconvened, and he remains in Deep Purple to the present day.
Paice played drums on the Velvet Underground's final album Squeeze, which was released in 1973. At that point, the band only consisted of singer and multi-instrumentalist Doug Yule (all of the other members, including Lou Reed, had either left or been fired by their manager), and the album was poorly received and quickly fell into obscurity.
In 1973, Paice was among English rock musicians invited by Eddie Harris, an American jazz player, to take part in the saxophonist's London sessions at Morgan Studios. Paice played on two songs: "He's Island Man" and "I've Tried Everything" along with Jeff Beck, Steve Winwood and Rick Grech. The album, called E.H. in the U.K. – The Eddie Harris London Sessions, produced by Geoffrey Haslam, was released the next year thru Atlantic Records.
In 1983, Paice took part in one of the first tribute recordings by symphonic orchestra paid to a rock band. Arrested – The Music of Police was a joint venture by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Don Airey and assembled rock musicians (other artists involved included Neil Murray, Graham Bonnet, Chris Thompson, Gary Moore, Roy Wood, Keth Airey and Raff Ravenscroft). The sessions took place mainly in London, primarily at Abbey Road Studios, but also in Los Angeles.
In July 1989, Paice took part in George Harrison's recording session at Friar Park, which resulted in three songs "Cheer Down", "Cockamamie Business" and "Poor Little Girl", which also featured Jeff Lynne, Jim Horn and Richard Tandy among others. The songs were recorded for the compilation album Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989, released in October the same year. The purpose of this album was to close Harrison's contractual obligations to Warner Brothers. "Cheer Down" was also released on the Lethal Weapon 2 (1989) soundtrack album.
In March 1999, Paice joined Paul McCartney at Abbey Road Studios for the recording of Run Devil Run, released in October that year. The line-up also featured Pink Floyd's David Gilmour and The Pirates' Mick Green. Paice also joined the album's line-up at three one-off performances in September and December 1999, including a show at the famous Cavern Club. Steve Morse said of Paice: "He's like a real heavy Ringo. He's just so good on the drums, but doesn't want to make a big deal about it."
In 2001, Paice guested on Jim Capaldi's album Living on the Outside. He played on a 1960s-style rock-and-roll song, "Anna Julia", and the guitar-driven "We're Not Alone". "Anna Julia", which was also released as a single and turned out a considerable hit, also features George Harrison and Paul Weller.
Paice has worked on numerous occasions with former Spencer Davis Group drummer, Pete York. In December 2001 the two played a low key club tour of Germany, playing two drums on one stage, supported by Colin Hodgkinson (bass) and Miller Anderson (guitar, vocals). Apart from the regular setlist consisting of songs from York's and Paice's back catalogue, the shows featured impromptu drumming demonstrations and Q&A sessions.
Paice often joins Italian guitarist Tolo Marton, with whom he has performed on many occasions over the last decade, on stage. Marton's live album Dal Vero features Paice on the Jimi Hendrix songs "Stone Free" and "Hey Joe". Since 2005, he has also been involved in Moonstone Project led by Italian guitarist Matteo Filippini. The band performs regularly, mainly in Italy; they have also released two studio albums on which Paice has guested. Time to Take a Stand, released in 2006, featured two songs featuring both Paice and Glenn Hughes, performing together for the first time since 1976.
The list of Paice's declared admirers includes Red Hot Chili Peppers' Chad Smith. On 21 June 2004 Smith and Paice joined forces at the launch of the London Drum Company. The next year they also played together at the Modern Drummer Festival at New Jersey Performing Arts Center. Both performances were released on DVD.