British-born singer Rod Evans played in a few bands during the 1960s before hitting the big time with Deep Purple, singing for the group from their inception in 1968 until Ian Gillan replaced him. He recorded three studio albums with the group: Shades of Deep Purple, The Book of Taliesyn, and Deep Purple. When Captain Beyond formed in 1972, he was their lead singer and performed on their self-titled album and the follow-up, Sufficiently Breathless. After leaving the group, he became inactive as a musician for several years, until a management team asked him to tour with a group of unknown session musicians as a reunited lineup of Deep Purple. They performed several concerts throughout North America, many of which ended in riots. The real Deep Purple's management sued Evans for damages, which caused him to no longer receive royalties from the band's first three albums. He then dropped out of the music business for good. ~ Gary Hill, Rovi