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All hail to the chief

Ian Paice enjoying Bluesfest; Ottawa, July 18 2015; photo © Nick Soveiko cc-by-nc-sa

There’s one member of the band that is truly irreplaceable. He has been in every lineup, on every record, and on every gig. His name is Ian Anderson Paice, and he was born on June 29, 1948. Which makes him 75 today. Happy birthday to The Boss!



31 Comments to “All hail to the chief”:

  1. 1
    Adel Faragalla says:

    Happy Birthday Ian
    Have a great day
    You always had the back seat but you have seen it all.
    You still the best of any of the rest at what you do.
    Peace āœŒļø

  2. 2
    Shmee says:

    Still the best! Fantastic drummer, wonderful guy! Thank you Ian for all the years!!

  3. 3
    MacGregor says:

    Blackmore to Evans; ‘have you still got that drummer? Evans: ‘Yes’; Blackmore “then bring him with you” Something like that and he is still hanging around, there should be a law against that, he he he. All the best Ian Paice, 55 years & still hanging around, who would have thought that? Oh & thanks for keeping those pesky bass guitarist in check ‘I lead, you follow’. The last thing this planet needs is bass players wandering about the place doing as they please’ Cheers.

  4. 4
    Christoph says:

    Happy Birthday Ian!
    Still remember your 37th birthday when you played in Mannheim…

  5. 5
    Leslie S Hedger says:

    Happy Birthday to the greatest drummer of all time!! Thank you for all the fantastic Music!!

  6. 6
    BreisHeim says:

    Ian Paice is the guy that got me into Deep Purple decades ago when I first heard Black Night.
    Heā€™s still my favorite drummer ever, and heā€™s left-footed, you know.
    Happy Birthday Ian!

  7. 7
    Gregster says:

    Happy Birthday Mr.Paice !!! And thanks for keeping a level-head, & the band-on-the-road !

    Peace !

  8. 8
    Jarek says:

    Amazing guy!! Wishing all the best.

  9. 9
    Kidpurple says:

    THE BEST- InTo the Fire!
    Happy B-day!

  10. 10
    Tony says:

    Happy birthday mister Paice.

    I saw him may be ……25 ….30 ….35 times with Deep Purple , or Perpendicular.
    I even met him 3 times. What a wonderful human being. A true gentlemen !

    It’s not so bad

    When he’s just a touch away

    Nothing much

    Is all I ask

    And it’s alright, oh yes

  11. 11
    Kidpurple says:

    Listening to In Rock – Living Wreck – the coolest drum intro!
    Ian Paice Rocks !
    Thereā€™s not a Volume 11 on my stereo !

  12. 12
    Buttockss says:

    Happy Birthday Ian šŸŽ‚šŸ§šŸ„§ĀÆ\_(惄)_/ĀÆšŸŽˆšŸ»šŸ„¢

  13. 13
    Andrew says:

    The best jazz/rock drummer of all time. Always worth listening to. Happy Birthday Ian!

  14. 14
    AndreA says:

    šŸ»

  15. 15
    mike whiteley says:

    I’ll give Burn & You Fool No One a spin today.
    Every good wish on your birthday, Ian !!

  16. 16
    Dave says:

    Happy Birthday, Ian!
    Thanks for all the years of playing and for being you.

  17. 17
    Krister Adolfsson says:

    Happy 75th birthday to our favourite drummer of all times.

    A real gem in hard rock music.

    We all love you and your drumming šŸ™‚

  18. 18
    Alessandro Veneziani says:

    Just got back from Macerata, IT where he just played awesome as usual. We all sang Happy BDay to him, he got out from the drums to mimic the walking of an elder with a stick…
    It’s absolutely incredible the energy he can put in his drumming when he is 76…
    God bless him.

  19. 19
    Allan Sutter says:

    Happy Birthday Ian! I have been a fan for over 50 years.

  20. 20
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Ian Paice – drummer ace! The reason why Purple in all incarnations never sounded heavy-handed and never will.

    Also one of the most fun and sympathetic drummers to play with if you are a bassist.

    Herzlichen GlĆ¼ckwunsch, long may you para that diddle!

  21. 21
    Uwe Hornung says:

    ā€œOh & thanks for keeping those pesky bass guitarist in check ā€˜I lead, you followā€™. The last thing this planet needs is bass players wandering about the place doing as they pleaseā€™ā€

    You darn island convict, I canā€™t let this stand! Yes, he said that, but itā€™s not how he plays. He has a very good, musical ear and actually communicates with any drummer he plays with. Simper, Glover, Hughes, Martinez, Murray – each one an individual player, each one could blossom alongside Paicey. Now tell me if you hear as vast a difference between Bain, Daisley, Glover, Chris Glen, Colin Hodgkinson + Neil Murray playing with Cozy? You canā€™t, he battered them all into submission.

    Little Ian is immediately recognizable in his playing and idiosyncratic, yet leaves room and does not obliterate. Heā€™s a consummate musician.

  22. 22
    Ivica says:

    Happy birthday Ian …Leo Messi (or Stephen Curry) from drummers !!!! ….I still live by the belief (that’s how I’ll die) that the best rock rhythm section is RnR Ian Paice- Neil Murray

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh7zW-q_zUE

  23. 23
    mike whiteley says:

    It’s been about 7 months since the last post on Ian’s DrumTribe YT channel.
    Too bad.
    I found it was quite entertaining & interesting.

  24. 24
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Ivica: Paice-Murray were incredibly creative and groovy. So were Paice-Martinez, with a funky edge, kind of like a refined Paice-Hughes.

  25. 25
    Jaffa says:

    @22 – I can remember playing Ready A Willing on my friends “posh” stereo for the first time…. listening to the grove of Fool For Your Loving through a high end system… Paice and Murray were a masterclass… perhaps too good for Whitesnake but it doesn’t matter because they absolutely elevated the band.

  26. 26
    Uwe Hornung says:

    Coverdale had the undeniable talent of going from one of hard rockā€™s best, grooviest and most original rhythm SECTIONs ever to two SEPARATE players – Cozy and Colin – who didnā€™t listen to each other and also had no idea what to do with one another. They never bridged the gulf between them. It brought me to tears, seeing Whitesnake live around that time. The two never gelled. Unlikeliest combination ever. Hodgkinson once described his stint with Whitesnake with a sigh as ā€œhard work I got paid well forā€. Him playing with WS was as incongruous as Alan Holdsworth auditioning with Status Quo to replace Rick Parfitt, Colin was totally out of his depth.

  27. 27
    Rock Voorne says:

    All these years ago, being a member of Over the Rainbow en zo , still done by Gerrit Tijhoff we were reminded of Ians 33rd birthday.

    I wish I was that young today but way back everyone above 30 seemed like an old geezer.

  28. 28
    Gareth Taylor says:

    LEGEND

  29. 29
    Uwe Hornung says:

    A bit belated as a birthday present, but I just thought I leave this piece of peer appreciation here:

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=krZYK65AtAA

  30. 30
    sidroman says:

    Happy birthday to Mr Paice.
    As far as being irreplaceable, he’s one of the greatest drummers, but knowing Deep Purple, if Ian decided to leave, I’m sure there would be a new drummer in the band. I just hope this never happens.

  31. 31
    Tommy H. says:

    In hindsight, I also wish Little Ian all the best on his semi-anniversary! I just arrived home from the Deep Purple concert in Vienna and got to say that Big Ian is and always will be one of my absolute heroes! He gives his all and that’s what everybody in the audience felt. It’s pure heart! The best singer I’ve ever seen!

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