Glenn Hughes recently opened up about his time in Deep Purple. He revealed complex feelings about sharing lead vocal duties with David Coverdale in an interview with Louder Sound.<\/p>\n
When asked about how drugs entered his life during his Deep Purple years, Hughes provided candid insights into both his substance abuse and his underlying dissatisfaction with his role in the band.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen anyone has success, there will be people around offering them stuff \u2013 jewellery, watches girls, drugs,\u201d Hughes said. \u201cWhen I joined Purple I was given all kinds of drugs, pills, things like that. I\u2019d flush them down the toilet or just leave them in my pocket and not do anything with them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes explained how his cocaine use began gradually after initially resisting temptation.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter about six months in Purple, I started to go: \u2018What is this stuff about, cocaine?\u2019 One night, I found something in my pocket. I was alone in my room, and I sniffed some of it,\u201d he recalled. \u201cI went: \u2018Oh, this is fun. This is making me happy.\u2019 Slowly but surely I started becoming addicted. I thought: \u2018I\u2019m young, isn\u2019t everybody snorting cocaine off of strippers\u2019 bums?’\u201d<\/p>\n
However, Hughes revealed that deeper issues were at play beyond the glamorous rock lifestyle.<\/p>\n
\u201cPart of it for me was that maybe I wasn\u2019t that happy. It was glamorous in Deep Purple, everything I ever wanted was there, yes, but I just wasn\u2019t as happy as I should have been,\u201d he admitted. \u201cWith respect to David (Coverdale), I was a lead singer when I joined the band, and now I was basically known as the second singer. I loved singing with David, we sang brilliantly together, we had a great friendship and camaraderie, but all along I was thinking: \u2018I shouldn\u2019t have joined the band, because I really need to be singing.’\u201d<\/p>\n
Hughes\u2019 candid admission sheds light on a pivotal period in Deep Purple\u2019s history that produced some of the band\u2019s most adventurous music while taking a personal toll on the bassist and vocalist.<\/p>\n
Metal Radio reported that Hughes joined Deep Purple in late 1973 as part of the Mark III lineup, fresh from leading the band Trapeze. He found it unusual that he was joining as both bassist and singer but not as the sole frontman. Once Coverdale arrived, the two quickly formed a dynamic vocal partnership, sharing lead and backing vocals on songs like \u201cBurn,\u201d \u201cMistreated,\u201d and \u201cYou Keep on Moving.\u201d<\/p>\n
Their collaboration defined Deep Purple\u2019s sound during the Burn and Stormbringer albums. It blended Coverdale\u2019s bluesy, soulful delivery with Hughes\u2019 funk, soul, and R&B influences. The partnership continued through Come Taste the Band in 1975, with Hughes co-writing much of the material after Ritchie Blackmore\u2019s departure.<\/p>\n
Despite the musical chemistry, the relationship between the Mark III members and the classic Mark II lineup has remained strained. Louder Sound noted that Hughes described Deep Purple\u2019s 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction as \u201cdifficult because of, let\u2019s call it \u2018personality problems.’\u201d He observed that \u201cIt was David and I holding hands, and the other guys, unfortunately! We just don\u2019t get along with the other guys, at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
After Deep Purple, both vocalists pursued successful careers. Coverdale founded Whitesnake, one of the most successful hard rock bands of the 1980s. Hughes pursued a solo career and joined various supergroups including Black Country Communion, California Breed, and The Dead Daisies. The two have occasionally reunited on stage, such as Hughes joining Coverdale during a Whitesnake concert in 2015. However, Blabbermouth revealed that plans for a full reunion have remained elusive due to busy schedules and Coverdale\u2019s possible retirement from major touring.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he said to me tomorrow, \u2018Let\u2019s get together and maybe do something,\u2019 I would find the time, but I don\u2019t wait for that opportunity,\u201d Hughes said in 2023. He noted that \u201cthe window of opportunity is closing\u201d on a possible new collaboration with his former bandmate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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