Mk III: The Final Concerts
Mk III: The Final Concerts is a Deep Purple live double album released on 5 August 1996. It was recorded during the band’s 1975 European tour supporting Stormbringer, mainly from Paris on 7 April 1975 and a couple of Graz, Austria shows on 3–4 April. This release captures the last performances with guitarist Ritchie Blackmore before he left to form Rainbow with Ronnie James Dio.
At the time of recording, the rest of the band didn’t know Blackmore planned to leave at the tour’s end. Managers taped the final three shows to have material in case the group split. After the tour, plans for a double live release were discussed but ultimately scrapped when the band continued.
In 1976, the single-disc Made in Europe appeared, using some Saarbrücken material, but not from this release, and it drew mixed reactions for energy and heavy studio editing. On Mk III: The Final Concerts, there are clear signs of tension, including Blackmore losing his way on the intro to Mistreated and seeming surprised by Jon Lord’s solo on Lady Double Dealer.
Disc two includes alternate takes of Mistreated and You Fool No One from Graz instead of Paris, despite notes about Paris having “technical problems.” During You Fool No One’s intro, Blackmore even riffs lines from Rainbow songs, foreshadowing his upcoming departure.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 08:15 (CET).