Jon Lord
1941 - present
Jon Lord has been an actor, rock musician and classical composer.
Life and Music
- Jon Lord made his name as the keyboard player in the band Deep Purple, which he co-founded in 1968. Between 1968 and 1976 it was one of the world’s most popular and creative bands.
- Lord’s first experience of music was in his piano lessons, which he began at a young age. It wasn’t until he was a teenager that he became involved in jazz and rhythm and blues and he gained his first electric organ in his early 20s.
- Lord might have ended up an actor rather than a musician – at 19 he received a grant to study at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
- He began his musical career playing pub gigs to supplement his income from small acting roles.
- In between Deep Purple albums and tours, Lord released albums of music of a more classical nature including The Gemini Suite and Boom of the Tingling Strings.
- Lord’s Durham Concerto was commissioned by Durham University for its 175th anniversary celebrations in 2007. The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performed the premiere in Durham Cathedral.
- Jon Lord’s latest album To Notice Such Things, released in March 2010, was premiered on Classic FM on 28 February 2010.
Did you know?
Malcolm Arnold conducted the premiere of Lord's Concerto for Group and Orchestra, featuring Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, in September 1969.
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Jon Lord diagnosed with cancerThe Deep Purple keyboardist-turned classical composer has announced he’s fighting cancer.
