[% META title = 'The Rod Evans Discobiography' %]
Rod Evans...
was born on 19th January 1947 in Slough, Great Britain. (The info available on Rod Evans is very scarce, especially his post-purple days. Thus we would appreciate any effort from anyone to add info to this page.) |
Mid 1960s to 1966
The Horizons | |
People involved Rod Evans (vcl); together with whoever else. |
Sometime during 1966
The MI 5 | |
People involved Chris Banham (kbr); Rod Evans (vcl); Eric 'Jack' Keene (bss); Roger Lewis (gtr); Ian Paice (drm). Evans joined The MI 5, where he met Paice. They recorded one single - "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You".
Albums & singles
Material from above appears on... |
1966 to March 1968
The Maze | |
People involved Chris Banham (kbr); Rod Evans (vcl); Eric 'Jack' Keene (bss); Roger Lewis (gtr); Ian Paice (drm). The MI 5 became The Maze and released three singles as well as an EP recorded in Italy (released in France).
Albums & singles
Material from above appears on... |
March/April 1968
Roundabout | |
People involved Ritchie Blackmore (gtr); Rod Evans (vcl); Jon Lord (kbr); Nick Simper (bss); Ian Paice (drm). Rod Evans auditioned for the embryonic Deep Purple. He brought Ian Paice with him, and they both got jobs. Roundabout actually toured Scandinavia in April, whereafter they changed their name to Deep Purple. |
April 1968 to July 1969
Deep Purple Mk I | |
People involved Ritchie Blackmore (gtr); Rod Evans (vcl); Jon Lord (kbr); Ian Paice (drm); Nick Simper (bss). Evans sings lead on Deep Purple's pioneering albums, Shades of Deep Purple (1968), Book of Taliesyn (1968) and Deep Purple (1969). Even before the third album sees its release, both Evans and Simper are sacked.
Albums & singles |
July 1969 to 1972
It seems as if Evans did close to nothing for some years, music-wise that is. There's one promo single dating from this period. (There could be more.) He attented medical school somewhere in the states.
Albums & singles |
1972 to 1973
Captain Beyond | |
People involved Bobby Caldwell (drm/prc/kbr/bvc); Lee Dorman (bss); Rod Evans (vcl); Rhino [= Larry Rhinehart] (gtr). Captain Beyond's debut album had no title. It's often referred to simply as "Captain Beyond", or "First".
Albums & singles |
1973 to 1977?
Captain Beyond | |
People involved Lee Dorman (bss); Rod Evans (vcl); Guille Garcia (prc); Paul Hornsby (kbr); Larry Rhinehart (gtr); Marty Rodrigues (drm); Reese Wynans (pno).
Albums & singles |
Late 1970s
After some years with Captain Beyond, Evans wanted to get back to the "straight" world. Having studied medicine earlier, he now became a director of respiratory therapy at some West American hospital. There he stayed till someone suggested a Deep Purple reunion. |
During 1980
(Bogus) Deep Purple | |
People involved Geoff Emery (kbr); Rod Evans (vcl); Tony Flynn (gtr); Dick Jurgens (?); Tom De Rivera (?). Evans foolheartedly joined a fake Deep Purple reunion. They did a few gigs in the Americas. The reviews of these gigs haven't been nice. Nor were apparently the shows themselves. Pyrotechnics, glitter, chainsaws, poor sound, poor performance, complete slaughter. The fake Deep Purple was dragged into court by the original Deep Purple members/managers. Evans & Co lost. Read more about it in our special feature. |
Following the above incident, Evans (apparently) left the music business altogether, which is a pity, because he has a good voice. Rumours claim he's returned to the West Coast hospital he once worked at. Some say it's in California. Others say they don't know.