Guide to British Music of the 1960s
Chris Curtis left the Searchers in mid-1966 and released a solo single called Aggravation before undertaking some record production and forming a group called Roundabout. By this time he had stopped playing drums and had moved to vocals. He brought in Jon Lord from The Artwoods and the Outlaws' Ritchie Blackmore as well as Curtis and Clark. Bobby Clark was soon seen to be wrong for the band and Ian Paice joined from the Maze.
However, the group did not last long. After a trip to Germany, Jon Lord reformed Roundabout with Blackmore and Paice. Rod Evans joined on vocals. H had been in Maze with Ian Paice. New bass player Nick Simper had been a member of Johnny Kidd & the Pirates and Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages. This line-up also existed briefly and undertook some live work in Denmark and some TV appearances. On return to England the band became Deep Purple.
Chris Curtis died after a long illness on 28 February 2005.