Album Number Three Hundred Twenty Four. - “Fireball” is the fifth album by Deep Purple, released in 1971 and the second with the Mk II line-up. It was recorded at various times between Sept. 1970 and June 1971. It became the first of the band's three UK No. 1 albums, though it did not stay on the charts as long as its predecessor, #deeppurpleinrock. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there. My copy is a gatefold on #warnerbrosrecords - BS 2564 (I wasn’t one to buy used albums in my day, but I picked up a couple from an old Gunnery Sergeant cleaning out his garage in the mid-80s) The album was the first one #deeppurple worked on after establishing their career with ‘In Rock’, which had been a critical and commercial success, staying on the charts for over a year. Because of this, the group were in continual demand for live concerts, which began to affect band members' health. Keyboardist #jonlord suffered back problems (dating back to his days in The Artwoods when he had to transport a Hammond organ to gigs without the assistance of a road crew), and bassist #rogerglover had stomach problems which prevented him from performing live on several occasions. Guitarist #ritchieblackmore felt he had been vindicated by the decision to concentrate on hard rock, and believed the group's success was largely because of him. This led to increasing conflict with singer #iangillan and the relationship between the two began to become strained. #ianpaice #rockandroll #theseventies #hardrock. https://www.instagram.com/p/Cc-aNMYuMfp/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=