Deep Purple announce ‘Splat!’ and a sprawling 2026 world tour

Deep Purple have lined up a new studio album and a major run of shows to go with it. The band will release ‘Splat!’, their 24th studio record and first follow-up to 2024’s ‘=1’, on July 3 through earMUSIC.

The album reunites the group with producer Bob Ezrin, whose credits include KISS, Pink Floyd and Lou Reed. According to the band, the record is among their heaviest in years, and the songs were cut live in the studio, which should give fans a pretty good idea of the kind of snap and tension they were after.

Ian Gillan has framed this version of Deep Purple as something distinctly present-tense. “Where we are now with this incarnation of Deep Purple feels very much like a very ‘now’ version of Deep Purple as it was in the seventies,” he said.

“I have to say, now we are very much back in with material that is compatible with ‘Highway Star’, ‘Smoke on the Water’, ‘Lazy’ – the dynamics, the balance, and the fun of the music we made from ‘69 to ‘73. Deep Purple is in a great place right now.”

The release itself is being packaged with the sort of detail long-time fans tend to notice. ‘Splat!’ will arrive as a 2LP gatefold 180g boxset with a 12-page booklet, a CD digisleeve, three exclusive 10-inch vinyl records featuring live recordings from the band’s 2024 tour, and an exclusive 7-inch containing the bonus track ‘GUINNESIS’. You can pre-order or pre-save the album here.

The tracklist runs:

‘Arrogant Boy’
‘Diablo’
‘The Rider’
‘The Lunatic’
‘The Only Horse In Town’
‘Sacred Land’
‘The Beating Of Wings’
‘Guilt Trippin’
‘Scriblin’ Gib’rish’
‘Jessica’s Bra’
‘Third Call’
‘My New Movie’
‘Splat!’

That new album will land just as the band heads out on an extensive 86-date world tour later this year. The itinerary includes a major stop at London’s Royal Albert Hall on November 25, with tickets on sale now for the UK and Europe here and for North America here.

The run starts in June in Finland and moves through festival dates, European arenas, North America, and then back across Europe before finishing in South America and Mexico in December. Dates include Hellfest in Clisson, Montreux Jazz Festival, and stops in cities such as New York-area Wantagh, Toronto, Milan, Barcelona, Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin, Glasgow, Manchester, and London.

Deep Purple’s touring schedule reads:

JUNE
11 – Espoo, Finland – Espoo Metro Arena
12 – Tampere, Finland – Nokia Arena
14 – Kristiansand, Norway – Dirty Old Town Live – Odderoya Amfi
18 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
20 – Meppen, Germany – Emsland Open Air
24 – Mönchengladbach, Germany – SparkassenPark
27 – Coburg, Germany – HUK Coburg Open Air, Schlossplatz
28 – Ulm, Germany – Klosterhof Wiblingen

JULY
02 – Vigo, Spain – Conciertos de Castrelos, Auditorio Castrelos
04 – Gredos, Ávila, Spain – Músicos en la Naturaleza
05 – Pamplona, Spain – Navarra Arena
07 – Valencia, Spain – Jardines de Viveros
09 – Marbella, Spain – Starlite
10 – Cádiz, Spain – Tío Pepe
13 – Montreux, Switzerland – Montreux Jazz Festival
16 – Pisa, Italy – Pisa Summer Knights – Piazza Dei Cavalieri
17 – Este, Italy – Este Music Festival – Castello Carrarese
19 – Munich, Germany – Tollwood Festival

AUGUST
04 – Raleigh, NC – Red Hat Amphitheater
06 – Memphis, TN – Memphis Botanic Garden
08 – Clearwater, FL – The BayCare Sound
09 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Casino
12 – Wantagh, NY – Jones Beach Theater
13 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
15 – Halifax, NS – Scotiabank Centre
17 – Laval, QC – Place Bell
18 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
19 – Ottawa, ON – Canadian Tire Centre
21 – Detroit, MI – Pine Knob
22 – Salamanca, NY – Seneca Allegany Casino
24 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheatre
25 – Highland Park, IL – Ravinia
27 – Prior Lake, MN – Mystic Lake Casino
29 – Winnipeg, MB – Canada Life Centre
31 – Calgary, AB – Scotiabank Saddledome

SEPTEMBER
02 – Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Centre
04 – Lincoln, CA – Thunder Valley
05 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
06 – Highland, CA – Yaamava Theatre
08 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
10 – Las Vegas, NV – Planet Hollywood
11 – Long Beach, CA – Long Beach Amphitheater
12 – Sparks, NV – Nugget Event Center
29 – Sofia, Bulgaria – 8888 Arena

OCTOBER
01 – Cluj, Romania – BT Arena
02 – Budapest, Hungary – Laszlo Papp Arena
04 – Bratislava, Slovakia – Tipos Arena
05 – Vienna, Austria – Stadthalle
07 – Prague, Czechia – O2 Arena
08 – Lodz, Poland – Atlas Arena
10 – Belgrade, Serbia – Stark Arena
11 – Skopje, North Macedonia – Boris Trajkovski Arena
13 – Athens, Greece – Telekom Centre Arena
16 – Zurich, Switzerland – Hallenstadion
17 – Milan, Italy – Unipol Forum
19 – Barcelona, Spain – Sant Jordi Club
20 – Madrid, Spain – Movistar Arena
22 – Paris, France – Adidas Arena
23 – Antwerp, Belgium – Lotto Arena
25 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Royal Arena
26 – Stockholm, Sweden – Avicii Arena
28 – Oslo, Norway – Spektrum Arena
29 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Scandinavium
31 – Leipzig, Germany – QI Arena

NOVEMBER
01 – Hamburg, Germany – Sporthalle
03 – Dortmund, Germany – Westfalenhalle
04 – Berlin, Germany – Uber Arena
06 – Frankfurt, Germany – Festhalle
07 – Nuremberg, Germany – Arena
09 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Ziggo Dome
10 – Strasbourg, France – Zénith
12 – Bordeaux, France – Arkéa Arena
13 – Nantes, France – Zénith
15 – Lyon, France – LDLC Arena
18 – Newcastle, UK – Utilita Arena
19 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
21 – Birmingham, UK – BP Pulse Arena
22 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
24 – London, UK – Eventim Apollo
25 – London, UK – Royal Albert Hall

DECEMBER
05 – São Paulo, Brazil – Suhai Hall
08 – Santiago, Chile – Movistar Arena
10 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Movistar Arena
13 – Monterrey, MX – Arena Monterrey
16 – Guadalajara, MX – Arena Guadalajara
19 – Mexico City, MX – Estadio Fray Nano

Gillan’s health has also been part of the conversation around the band’s future. Last year, he said he was losing his eyesight and suggested retirement was “not far off”. “It’s one of those things. I’ve only got 30 per cent vision,” he said. “That won’t get better. It makes life mysterious. The hardest thing is working on my laptop. I can’t see anything on the screen unless I use my peripheral vision – I pick up a line by looking at it sideways. But you find a way. You adapt.”