= 1 is the twenty-third studio album by English rock band Deep Purple, released on 19 July 2024 by earMUSIC/Edel AG. It is their first album with guitarist Simon McBride, who replaced Steve Morse in 2022. It is also the band's fifth collaboration with producer Bob Ezrin, who has produced every Deep Purple album since 2013's Now What?!. The album has been described as having a loose concept around "(symbolising) the idea that in a world growing ever more complex, everything eventually simplifies down to a single, unified essence. Everything equals one". Music writer John Aizlewood described singer Ian Gillan's voice as "richer than it’s sounded in years".
Vocalist Ian Gillan, together with Robert Plant, Ozzy Osbourne and a few others, is considered one of the legendary voices that shaped hard rock. Despite his commitment to Deep Purple, the singer has built an impressive solo career. “Contractual Obligation” is a collection of performances during a recent tour through Eastern Europe, which contains three shows which will be released on different formats via earMUSIC on July 26, 2019:…