Written by Classic rock icons Deep Purple, who announced details of their 24th studio album, Splat!, last week, have launched the first single from the album. Arrogant Boy, described by drummer Ian Paice as “a Highway Star-style rock’n’roll tune”, features lyrics that’ll leave fans scrambling to figure out who they’re referring to.
“This is the story of Billy, who couldn’t read or write,” says frontman Ian Gillan, with a smile. “He is unhappy with things, so he speaks up, and finds a way of irritating, one way or another, the elite. And I can’t think of anything more fun than irritating the elite. It would be a joyous exercise for me every morning after coffee.”
“It’s a lovely story,” says Paice. “You could use your imagination about who it could be about.”
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“It’s amazing,” adds bassist Roger Glover. “What started off as a dubious thought becomes my favourite track on the album.”
Splat!, which was produced by longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, will be released in a wallet-emptying array of formats, including double black vinyl, double transparent yellow vinyl, double purple vinyl and CD.
Also available is a limited edition box set including the double album and CD, three 10-inch vinyl discs of recordings made during Purple’s 2024 tour, and a 7″ single featuring the non-album track Guinnesis. The album is available to pre-order now. Full tracklist below.
Deep Purple’s European tour begins in June, with North American shows scheduled for August and September. Further European dates follow, climaxing in a run of UK shows in November.
Deep Purple: Splat! vinyl tracklist
Side A
Arrogant Boy
Diablo
The Rider
The Lunatic
Side B
The Only Horse In Town
Sacred Land
The Beating Of Wings
Side C
Guilt Trippin’
Scriblin’ Gib’rish
Jessica’s Bra
Side D
Third Call
My New Movie
Splat!
Deep Purple tour dates
Jun 11: Espoo Metro Arena, Finland
Jun 12: Tampere Nokia Arena, Finland
Jun 14: Kristiansand Dirty Old Town Live, Norway
Jun 18: Clisson Hellfest, France
Jun 20: Meppen Emsland Open Air, Germany
Jun 24: Mönchengladbach SparkassenPark, Germany
Jun 27: Coburg Open Air, Germany
Jun 28: Ulm Klosterhof Wiblingen, Germany
Jul 04: Gredos Músicos en la Naturaleza, Spain
Jul 05: Pamplona Navarra Arena, Spain
Jul 09: Málaga Starlite, Spain
Jul 10: Cádiz Tío Pepe, Spain
Jul 16: Pisa Summer Knights, Italy
Jul 17: Este Music Festival, Italy
Jul 19: München Tollwood Festival, Germany
Aug 04: Raleigh Red Hat Amphitheater, NC
Aug 08: Clearwater The BayCare Sound, FL
Aug 09: Hollywood Hard Rock Casino, FL
Aug 12: Wantagh Jones Beach Theater, NY
Aug 13: Mansfield Xfinity Center, MA
Aug 15: Halifax Scotiabank Centre, NS
Aug 17: Laval Place Bell, QC
Aug 18: Toronto RBC Amphitheatre, ON
Aug 19: Ottawa Canadian Tire Center, ON
Aug 21: Detroit Pine Knob, MI
Aug 22: Salamanca Seneca Allegany Casino, NY
Aug 24: Indianapolis Everwise Amphitheatre, IN
Aug 25: Highland Park Ravinia, IL
Aug 27: Prior Lake Mystic Lake Casino, MN
Aug 29: Winnipeg Canada Life Centre, MB
Aug 31: Calgary Scotiabank Saddledome, AB
Sep 02: Abbotsford Abbotsford Centre, BC
Sep 04: Lincoln Thunder Valley, CA
Sep 05: Mountain View Shoreline Amphitheatre, CA
Sep 06: Highland Yaamava Theatre, CA
Sep 08: Chula Vista North Island Credit Union Amp, CA
Sep 10: Las Vegas Planet Hollywood, NV
Sep 11: Long Beach Long Beach Amphitheater, CA
Sep 12: Sparks Nugget Event Center, NV
Sep 29: Sofia 8888 Arena, Bulgaria
Oct 01: Cluj BT Arena, Romania
Oct 02: Budapest Laszlo Papp Arena, Hungary
Oct 04: Bratislava Tipos Arena, Slovakia
Oct 05: Vienna Stadthalle, Austria
Oct 07: Prague O2 Arena, Czechia
Oct 08: Lodz Atlas Arena, Poland
Oct 10: Belgrade Stark Arena, Serbia
Oct 11: Skopje Boris Trajkovski Arena, Macedonia
Oct 13: Athens Telekom Centre Arena, Greece
Oct 16: Zurich Hallenstadion, Switzerland
Oct 17: Milan Unipol Forum, Italy
Oct 19: Barcelona Sant Jordi Club, Spain
Oct 22: Paris Adidas Arena, France
Oct 23: Antwerp Lotto Arena, Belgium
Oct 25: Copenhagen Royal Arena, Denmark
Oct 26: Stockholm Avicii Arena, Sweden
Oct 28: Oslo Spektrum Arena, Norway
Oct 29: Gothenburg Scandinavium, Sweden
Oct 31: Leipzig QI Arena, Germany
Nov 01: Hamburg Sporthalle, Germany
Nov 03: Dortmund Westfalenhalle, Germany
Nov 04: Berlin Uber Arena, Germany
Nov 06: Frankfurt Festhalle, Germany
Nov 07: Nuremberg Arena, Germany
Nov 09: Amsterdam Ziggodome, Netherlands
Nov 10: Strasbourg Zenith, France
Nov 12: Bordeaux Arkéa Arena, France
Nov 13: Nantes Zenith, France
Nov 15: Lyon LDLC Arena, France
Nov 18: Newcastle Utilita Arena, UK
Nov 19: Glasgow OVO Hydro, UK
Nov 21: Birmingham BP Pulse Arena, UK
Nov 22: Manchester AO Arena, UK
Nov 24: London Eventim Apollo, UK
Nov 25: London Royal Albert Hall, UK
