Rod Evans
Birth name	Rodney Evans
Born	January 19 1947 (1947--) (age 60)
Origin	Slough, Berkshire, England
Genre(s)	Rock, pop, Progressive, Hard rock
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	1965 - 1973, 1980
Associated acts	Deep Purple, Captain Beyond, The Maze, The Horizons

Rod Evans (born 19 January, 1947 in Slough, Berkshire) is a former English singer and was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968. He provided vocals for the group's first three albums, including the hit single "Hush". He was replaced by Ian Gillan in 1969. After his departure, Deep Purple became a heavier outfit, as opposed to the more progressive and pop driven sound achieved with Evans.

Early career

Before joining Deep Purple, Evans played together with Ian Paice in The Maze, formerly MI5. He was also in a band called The Horizons in the mid 1960s.

Post Purple

After leaving Deep Purple, Rod went on to form Captain Beyond, along with former Johnny Winter drummer Bobby Caldwell, former Iron Butterfly bassist Lee Dorman and guitarist Rhino (Larry Reinhardt), who also was part of the last incarnation of the Butterfly. This band proved to be very influential, but sales never reflected their musical achievements. Someone also called them sci-fi rock, but anyway their first self-titled album became a rarity, because it was only distributed by Capricorn Records, a small label from Macon, Georgia, who also held the Allman Brothers Band at the time. Lack of commercial success ended the group after three albums.

Evans left Captain Beyond and the music business after their first two albums. He then became a director of respiratory therapy at a West American hospital until 1980.^{[citation needed]}

Reformation controversy

In 1980 he was approached by a management company which specialized in questionably reformed bands with big names, and began to tour under the Deep Purple name accompanied by unknown session musicians. The line up was Rod Evans (vocals), Tony Flynn (guitar), Tom de Rivera (bass), Geoff Emery (keyboards), and Dick Juergens (drums).

After several shows ended in near riots,^{[citation needed]} Evans was sued by the management of the real Deep Purple and they were awarded damages of $672,000. As a result of the lawsuit, Evans no longer receives royalties from the band's first three albums.^{[citation needed]}

Current whereabouts

Evans has not been seen in public since the end of the lawsuit in 1980. He has become one of the most reclusive ex-musicians in the world, rivalling that of the now deceased Syd Barrett of Pink Floyd.

External links

• The Highway Star - Information from a Deep Purple fansite.
• Additional information - Further reading.

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