Short answers, pulled from the story.
Deep Purple were formed in London in 1968. The band grew out of a project called Roundabout, conceived by former Searchers drummer Chris Curtis and financed by businessman Tony Edwards through his company HEC Enterprises.
"Smoke on the Water" is Deep Purple's most famous song. It was recorded under unusual circumstances in Montreux, Switzerland in late 1971, after a fire burned down the casino where they had planned to record, and it appears on the 1972 album Machine Head.
Deep Purple have sold over 100 million records worldwide. They were also listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as the loudest band on the planet, based on a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre.
Deep Purple were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on the 8th of April 2016. They had been eligible since 1993 but were not nominated until 2012, and the induction came after three separate nominations and sustained public pressure from fans and fellow musicians.
The classic Mark II line-up consists of Ian Gillan on vocals, Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Roger Glover on bass, Jon Lord on keyboards, and Ian Paice on drums. This line-up first formed in 1969 and reunited in 1984.
Deep Purple generated several significant spinoff bands, including Rainbow, formed by Ritchie Blackmore with Ronnie James Dio; Whitesnake, led by David Coverdale; and Gillan, fronted by Ian Gillan. Ian Gillan also joined Black Sabbath for a period in the early 1980s.