Editing Deep Purple (section)

===Mark IV (1975–1976)===
[[File:Deep Purple (UK Tour 1976).JPG|thumb|right|Deep Purple Mark IV in 1976. Standing left to right: David Coverdale, Ian Paice; seated left to right: Glenn Hughes, [[Tommy Bolin]], Jon Lord]]
Following Blackmore's departure, the group considered disbanding but decided to continue and find another guitarist. [[Clem Clempson]] ([[Colosseum (band)|Colosseum]], [[Humble Pie]]), [[Zal Cleminson]] ([[The Sensational Alex Harvey Band]]), [[Mick Ronson]] ([[The Spiders From Mars]]) and [[Rory Gallagher]] were considered, and the final choice was American [[Tommy Bolin]].<ref>Thompson, Dave (2004). ''Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story'', pp.179–180.</ref> There are at least two versions of the Bolin recruitment story: Coverdale claims to have been the one who suggested auditioning Bolin.<ref>liner notes in the ''Deep Purple'' 4-CD boxed set:</ref> "He walked in, thin as a rake, his hair coloured green, yellow and blue with feathers in it. Slinking along beside him was this stunning Hawaiian girl in a crochet dress with nothing on underneath. He plugged into four [[Marshall Amplification|Marshall]] 100-watt stacks and...the job was his." But in an interview published by ''[[Melody Maker]]'' in June 1975, Bolin claimed that he came to the audition following a recommendation from Blackmore.<ref>{{cite web |author=Deep Purple Appreciation Society |url=http://www.deep-purple.net/interviews/tommy-bolin.htm |title=1975 Tommy Bolin interview |publisher=Deep-purple.net |date=28 June 1975 |access-date=7 November 2010}}</ref> Bolin had been a member of many late-1960s bands – Denny & The Triumphs, American Standard, and [[Zephyr (band)|Zephyr]], which released three albums from 1969 to 1972. Before he joined Deep Purple, Bolin's best-known recordings had been made as a session musician on [[Billy Cobham]]'s 1973 [[jazz fusion]] album ''[[Spectrum (Billy Cobham album)|Spectrum]]'', and as lead guitarist on two post-[[Joe Walsh]] [[James Gang]] albums: ''[[Bang (James Gang album)|Bang]]'' (1973) and ''[[Miami (James Gang album)|Miami]]'' (1974). He had also played with [[Dr. John]], [[Albert King]], [[the Good Rats]], [[Moxy (band)|Moxy]] and [[Alphonse Mouzon]], and was busy working on his first solo album, ''[[Teaser (Tommy Bolin album)|Teaser]]'', when he accepted the invitation to join Deep Purple.<ref name="Talevski"/>
[[File:Tommy Bolin with a Yamaha SX.jpg|thumb|left|Tommy Bolin in 1975.]]
The resulting album from Deep Purple Mark IV, ''[[Come Taste the Band]]'', was released in October 1975, one month before Bolin's ''Teaser'' album. Despite mixed reviews and middling sales (#19 in the UK and #43 in the US), the collection revitalised the band once again, bringing a new, extreme funk edge to their [[hard rock]] sound.<ref name=bbc>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/g8fd|title=BBC – Music – Review of Deep Purple – Come Taste the Band: 35th Anniversary Edition |first=Greg |last=Moffitt }}</ref> Bolin's influence was crucial, and with encouragement from Hughes and Coverdale, the guitarist developed much of the album's material. Despite Bolin's talents, his personal problems with hard drugs began to surface. During the ''Come Taste the Band'' tour many fans openly booed Bolin's inability to play solos like Ritchie Blackmore, not realising that Bolin was physically hampered by his addiction. At this same time, as he admitted in interviews years later, Hughes was suffering from cocaine addiction.<ref name=MkIV-story>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liGRWQECxZc | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170406074106/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=liGRWQECxZc| archive-date=6 April 2017|title=Gettin' Tighter: The Story Of Deep Purple Mk. IV |publisher=YouTube |access-date=8 March 2017}}</ref> ''[[Last Concert in Japan]]'', a live album of the last concert on the Japanese leg of the tour, was issued in 1977.

The last show on the tour was on 15 March 1976 at the [[Liverpool Empire Theatre]].<ref>Bloom, Jerry (2008) [https://books.google.com/books?id=1f53kihTyRMC&dq=deep+purple+liverpool+empire&pg=PA198 Black Knight: Ritchie Blackmore] p.198. Omnibus Press. Retrieved 23 October 2011</ref> The break-up was finally made public in July 1976, with then-manager Rob Cooksey issuing a statement: "the band will not record or perform together as Deep Purple again".<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=LzzCw6xs9roC&dq=deep+purple+liverpool+empire&pg=PA191 Smoke on the Water: The Deep Purple Story] p. 191. Retrieved 23 October 2011</ref> Bolin went on to record his second solo album, ''[[Private Eyes (Tommy Bolin album)|Private Eyes]]''. On 4 December 1976, after a show in Miami supporting [[Jeff Beck]], Bolin was found unconscious by his girlfriend and bandmates. Unable to wake him, she hurriedly called paramedics, but it was too late. The official cause of death was multiple-drug intoxication. Bolin was 25 years old.<ref name="Talevski">Nick Talevski (2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=DykffzkFALoC&dq=deep+purple+-+bolin+died&pg=PA43 Knocking on Heaven's Door: Rock Obituaries] p.42-43. Omnibus Press, 2006</ref>