And although the idea didn't come to fruition, it may have informed Coverdale's decision to record an album of his Purple-era tracks with Whitesnake.

The singer - who fronted the MkIII and IV version of Purple from 1973 to 1976 - confirmed the launch of The Purple Album yesterday, describing it as "a huge thank you from me to Deep Purple for the opportunity I was given over 40 years ago."

Coverdale says in the latest edition of Classic Rock, on sale now: "The tragic loss of Jon made me finally realise that life is too f***ing short to hold animosity, bitterness and resentments.

"So I decided to reach out to Ritchie to share the sense of grief and loss of Jon with him, and to express my gratitude to him for bringing me on board Deep Purple. During the conversation we did discuss the idea of getting back together in some way, which was Jon's wish."