Rare Record Collector

Deep Purple had been signed to EMI since their debut release “Shades Of Deep Purple” on Parlophone in 1968 and subsequently moved to the more appropriate new progressive Harvest offshoot in 1969 for “Book Of Taliesyn”. By 1971 Deep Purple’s members were consistently writing and creating their own side projects as well as working with and ‘discovering’ other artists whose music they liked and admired. Consequently, Deep Purple’s management team suggested they create their own label for these projects and negotiated a distribution deal with EMI.

Initial releases on the Purple label in 1971 featured diverse acts such as Curtiss/Maldoon, Rupert Hine and Buddy Bohn as well as Jon Lord’s own debut solo recording of the ‘Gemini Suite’. Deep Purple’s first group release on their own label was “Machine Head” in 1972. The label would continue to release Deep Purple recordings as well as other artists and even the occasional ‘eccentric’ recording (e.g. “Colditz”) until the band’s demise in 1976. Subsequently, a few compilation/live albums and the first David Coverdale solo albums would be the final releases until the label was finally shelved in 1979.

As with the Harvest label, EMI printed its legal entity as “The Gramophone Co. Ltd” on Purple Records labels and sleeves until the latter part of 1973, subsequently changing this to “EMI Records Ltd.” in 1974.

2 basic formats were used for the majority of releases on Purple Records:

TPS 35– was used to denote a single sleeve or non-gatefold LP

(although “Made In Japan” carries this version of the numbering system despite being a 2LP, gatefold release…)

TPSA 75– was used to denote a gatefold sleeve

3 exceptions exist to the above system, “Colditz” was given a TPSM 2001 catalogue number, “24 Carat Purple” was given TPSM 2002, and the 1973 ‘label sampler’ “Purple People” was given TPSS-1.

All sleeves were printed by Garrod & Lofthouse and nearly all carry the printers date code: e.g. GL7111, meaning that the sleeve was printed in November 1971 – a useful secondary measure of determining the approximate chronological release dates along with the catalogue number.

Purple Records discography (click the links to go to each album’s page):

• TPS 3501 Curtiss/Maldoon
• TPSA 7501 Jon Lord
• TPSA 7502 Rupert Hine/David Maciver
• TPSA 7503 Buddy Bohn
• TPSA 7504 Deep Purple
• Q4TPSA 7504 Deep Purple
• TPSA 7505 Hard Stuff
• TPSP 351 Deep Purple
• TPS 3502 Maldoon
• TPSA 7506 Silverhead
• TPSA 7507 Hard Stuff
• TPSA 7508 Deep Purple
• TPSA 7509 Rupert Hine
• TPSA 7510 Tucky Buzzard
• TPSA 7511 Silverhead
• TPSA 7512 Tucky Buzzard
• TPS 3503 Carol Hunter
• TPS 3504 Yvonne Elliman
• TPSS 1 – Various
• TPSM 2001 – Colditz
• TPS 3505 Deep Purple
• TPS 3506 Elf
• TPS 3507 Ashton & Lord
• TPSA 7513 Jon Lord
• TPS 3508 Deep Purple
• TPSM 2002 Deep Purple
• TPSA 7514 Roger Glover
• TPSA 7515 Deep Purple
• TPSA 7516 Jon Lord
• TPSA 7517 Deep Purple
• TPS 3509 David Coverdale
• TPS 3510 Deep Purple
• TPS 3513 David Coverdale

‘missing’ numbers from above discography:

TPS 3511 – Deep Purple “Made In Japan” record 1, part of TPS351

TPS 3512 – Deep Purple “Made In Japan” record 2, part of TPS351