Album · 55 years old this year
Fireball
Fireball is Deep Purple's fifth studio album, released in September 1971 on Harvest. It was the second record from the Mark II line-up of Jon Lord, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice, Roger Glover and Ian Gillan, following Deep Purple in Rock. The sessions were spread across nine months, from September 1970 to June 1971, fitted around the band's other commitments.
In the UK it became the first of the band's three number one albums, though it spent less time on the charts than its predecessor. It has sold more than a million copies there, even without an official certification. Sitting between Deep Purple in Rock and Machine Head, it catches this line-up in the middle of its most productive stretch, and it is well worth hearing for hard rock fans who want to follow the story beyond the more famous records on either side.
Fireball: tracklist, credits and charts
7 tracks · 40:20Tracklist
- 1FireballBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice3:23
- 2No No NoBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice6:54
- 3Demon’s EyeBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice5:18
- 4Anyone’s DaughterBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice4:42
- 5The MuleBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice5:21
- 6FoolsBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice8:18
- 7No One CameBlackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice6:24
- Produced by
- Deep Purple
- Recorded at
- De Lane Lea and Olympic, London, The Hermitage, Welcombe, North Devon
- Recorded
- September 1970 – June 1971
- Engineered by
- Louis Austin, Martin Birch, Alan O’Duffy
- Photography
- Tony Burrett
- Labels
- Harvest, Warner Bros. (US & Canada)
- Length
- 40:20
Line-up
- Ritchie Blackmore · electric guitar
- Roger Glover · electric bass guitar
- Jon Lord · Hammond organ
- Ian Paice · drums (drum set)
- Ian Gillan · lead vocals
Singles
- “Strange Kind of Woman” · 12 February 1971
- “Fireball” · 29 October 1971
Peak chart positions
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart · 1971–1972 | 1 |
| US Billboard 200 · 1971–1972 | 32 |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria) · 1971–1972 | 1 |
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia) · 1971–1972 | 1 |
| Danish Albums (Hitlisten) · 1971–1972 | 1 |
| German Albums · 1971–1972 | 1 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan) · 1971–1972 | 1 |
| Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts) · 1971–1972 | 2 |
| Norwegian Albums · 1971–1972 | 2 |
| Dutch Albums · 1971–1972 | 3 |
All 15 charts
| French Albums (SNEP) · 1971–1972 | 3 |
| Italian Albums (Musica e Dischi) · 1971–1972 | 3 |
| Australian Albums (ARIA) · 1971–1972 | 5 |
| Canadian Albums (RPM) · 1971–1972 | 24 |
| Japanese Albums (Oricon) · 1971–1972 | 66 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification |
|---|---|
| Germany | Gold |
| Netherlands · 2002 | Gold |
| Sweden | Gold |
| United Kingdom · 2026 | Silver |
| United States · 2001 | Gold |
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
79.8
Popularity (0–100, vs the whole vault)
3.5k
ListenBrainz listeners
122k
Wikipedia views, last 12 months
12k
Deezer fans (all editions)
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Full discography →
Murmullo – Hush
1968
Shades of Deep Purple
1968
Shades of Deep Purple
1968
The Book of Taliesyn
1968
Deep Purple
1969
Deep Purple
1969
Concerto for Group and Orchestra
1969
The Bird Has Flown
1970
Black Night
1970
Deep Purple in Rock
1970
Hits
1972
Never Before
1972
Stereo Pop Special‐12
1972
Machine Head
1972
Purple Passages
1972
Made in Japan
1972
Abril
1973
Space Truckin’
1973
Who Do We Think We Are
1973
Mark I&II
1973
Black Night
1974
Deep Purple in Rock
1974
Вокально-Инструментальные Ансамбли
1974
Burn
1974
Stormbringer
1974
Lay Down Stay Down
1975
Child in Time
1975
24 Carat Purple
1975
Come Taste the Band
1975
Made in Europe
1976
Come With Me / Smoke on the Water / Woman From Tokyo
1977
2 + 2, Vol. 43
1977
Smoke on the Water
1977
Last Concert in Japan
1977
New Live & Rare
1977
Powerhouse
1977
The Deep Purple Singles A’s & B’s
1978
When We Rock, We Rock and When We Roll, We Roll
1978
New Live & Rare: Vol. 3
1980
Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple
1980
In Concert
1980
Live in London
1982
Perfect Strangers
1984
Smoke on the Water
1985
Lady Double
1985
Smoke on My Mega‐Mix
1985
The House of Blue Light
1987
Bad Attitude
1987
Perfect Strangers
1988
Nobody’s Perfect
1988
Live in Stockholm
1988
Scandinavian Nights
1988
Slaves and Masters
1990
In the Absence of Pink: Knebworth 85
1991
Knocking at Your Back Door: The Best of Deep Purple in the 80’s
1991
Smoke on the Water
1993
The Gemini Suite
1993
The Battle Rages On…
1993
Smoke on the Water: The Best of
1994
Come Hell or High Water
1994
On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat: Live in California 1976
1995
Purpendicular
1996
California Jamming
1996
Deep Purple Mk III: The Final Concerts
1996
Live at the Olympia ’96
1997
Smoke on the Water
1998
Abandon
1998
30: Very Best Of
1998
Shades 1968–1998
1999
Friends & Relatives
1999
Total Abandon: Australia ’99
1999
Days May Come and Days May Go: The California Rehearsals, June 1975
2000
The Very Best of Deep Purple
2000
Smoke on the Water & Other Hits
2001
This Time Around Live in Tokyo 75
2001
Deep Purple The Soundboard Series 2001
The Soundboard Series
2001
Live at the Rotterdam Ahoy
2001
Live at Inglewood 1968
2002
Listen, Learn, Read On
2002
Deep Purple The Best of Deep Purple: Live in Europe 2003
The Best of Deep Purple: Live in Europe
2003
Bananas
2003
The Early Years
2004
Deep Purple The Platinum Collection Sampler 2005
The Platinum Collection Sampler
2005
The Platinum Collection
2005
Rapture of the Deep
2005
Live at Montreux 1996
2006
Kneel & Pray
2006
Deep Purple Original and Remixed Hits 2007
Original and Remixed Hits
2007
Live in Concert at the 2006 Montreux Festival
2007
Phoenix Rising
2011
Live at Montreux 2011
2011
All the Time in the World
2013
Now What?!
2013
Above and Beyond
2013
Live in Verona
2014
Deep Purple Out of Hand 2015
Out of Hand
2015
Long Beach 1976
2016
Time for Bedlam
2017
All I Got Is You
2017
Infinite
2017
Johnny’s Band
2017
Throw My Bones
2020
Whoosh!
2020
Turning to Crime
2021
Lazy Sod
2024
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2024
Things I Never Said
2025
SPLAT!
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The best of 1971
All of 1971 →![[Led Zeppelin IV] by Led Zeppelin, album cover](/img/2e61da88-39e9-3473-81d2-c964cb394952/300)
[Led Zeppelin IV]
Led Zeppelin · 1971
Sticky Fingers
The Rolling Stones · 1971
Hunky Dory
David Bowie · 1971
Meddle
Pink Floyd · 1971
Satisfacción
The Rolling Stones · 1971
You Better Move On / Poison Ivy / By Bye Johnny / Money
The Rolling Stones · 1971
Jumpin' Jack Flash
The Rolling Stones · 1971
Street Fighting Man
The Rolling Stones · 1971
If You Need Me / Empty Heart / Confessin’ the Blues / Around and Around
The Rolling Stones · 1971
Azucar Morena
The Rolling Stones · 1971
Who’s Next
The Who · 1971
The Rolling Stones
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Atom Heart Mother
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Obscured by Clouds
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A Nice Pair
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Pink Floyd · 1981
Releases and pressings
How we know the release date musicbrainz 1971-09-15 vs wikidata 1971-07-09
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 15 September 1971 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | July 1971 (US) | |
| Wikidata | 9 July 1971 | |
| US release | 1971 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 15 September 1971 | earliest UK or European date |
32 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | US | Warner Records | 081227991302 | other |
| — | FR | Parlophone | 724385371127 | deluxe |
| — | US | Warner Bros. Records | 081227991302 | other |
| — | XE | Fame | 5099915756213 | other |
| 1971 | DK | Harvest | other | |
| 1971 | NL | Fame | 5099915756244 | other |
| 1971 | US | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1971 | IT | Harvest | other | |
| August 1971 | DE | — | original | |
| September 1971 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 15 September 1971 | GB | Harvest | other | |
| 1974 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | other | |
| 1984 | PT | Harvest | other | |
| 1984 | DE | Fame | 5099915756213 | other |
| 1989 | IT | EMI | 077774624022 | other |
| 1989 | GB | EMI | other | |
| 1989 | GB | EMI | 077774624022 | other |
| 1989 | XE | EMI | 077774624022 | other |
| 1989 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4988014726047 | other |
| 1989 | DE | EMI | 077774624022 | other |
| 1990 | US | Warner Bros. Records | 075992725422 | other |
| 10 October 1996 | XE | EMI | 724385371127 | deluxe |
| 15 April 1998 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674156528 | other |
| 24 February 1999 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674002351 | deluxe |
| 6 June 2000 | US | Rhino | 081227565121 | deluxe |
| 17 September 2008 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674083213 | other |
| 2010 | US | Audio Fidelity | 780014209827 | other |
| 9 February 2010 | US | Friday Music | 829421256427 | other |
| 24 June 2015 | JP | Warner Bros. Records | 4943674211432 | other |
| 2016 | XW | Rhino | 0825646032976 | other |
| — | — | — | deluxe | |
| — | — | Parlophone | 0724385371158 | deluxe |
Cover art sources
deezer · upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25)
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| deezer ✓ | 1200×1200 | upscaled: major: best source 1200x1200, upscaled to 1500 (x1.25) |
| coverartarchive | 1024×1017 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |