Category:
Richest Celebrities › Singers
Net Worth:
$40 Million
Birthdate:
Jun 29, 1948 (76 years old)
Birthplace:
Nottingham
Gender:
Male
Profession:
Drummer, Musician, Songwriter, Record producer, Film Score Composer
Nationality:
United Kingdom
Ian Paice is an English drummer who has a net worth of $40 million. Ian Paice is best known for being a founding member of the rock band Deep Purple. The band has continued to perform to this day, though it has gone through multiple line-up changes, with the exception of Paice. The group also took an eight-year break. Deep Purple has sold over 100 million albums worldwide and are considered one of three groups that pioneered the British hard rock sound. With Deep Purple, Ian has released more than 20 studio albums, including “Fireball” (1971), “Machine Head” (1972), “Who Do We Think We Are” (1973), “Burn” (1974), “The House of Blue Light” (1987), “Abandon” (1998), “Now What?!” (2013), and “=1” (2024). The band is known for singles like “Hush,” “Black Night,” “Strange Kind of Woman,” “Fireball,” and “Smoke on the Water.” Paice also performed with Whitesnake from 1979 to 1982 and served as the drummer on four of their albums. He has performed with artists such as Paul McCartney, George Harrison, and the Velvet Underground as well. In 2016, Ian and his Deep Purple bandmates were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Ian Paice was born Ian Anderson Paice on June 29, 1948, in Nottingham, England. At the age of 15, Ian received his first drum kit. In the early 1960s, he played drums in his father’s dance band. Paice’s first band was called Georgie & the Rave-Ons, which later came to be known as the Shindigs. The band released a single when Ian was 17 years old. In 1966, he joined the club band MI5, which later changed its name to Maze. The band released several singles, which were primarily recorded in France and Italy.
In 1968, Paice formed Deep Purple with vocalist Rod Evans (his Maze bandmate), guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, bassist Nick Simper, and keyboardist Jon Lord. As of this writing, the band has released 23 studio albums and 43 live albums, and Ian is the only original member still in the group. Of the band’s studio albums, 13 were certified Gold or higher, and 11 reached #1 on the charts in at least one country. Their most famous single is probably 1973’s “Smoke on the Water,” which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2017. “Rolling Stone” ranked “Smoke on the Water” #434 on its 2004 list of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time.” The band had top 10 hits on the UK singles chart with 1970’s “Black Night” (#2) and 1971’s “Strange Kind of Woman” (#8), and “Black Night” reached #1 in Belgium and Switzerland. The group was ranked #22 on VH1’s “Greatest Artists of Hard Rock” in 2012, and a 2013 poll on the Planet Rock radio station ranked them #5 on its list of the “Most Influential Bands Ever.” At the 2008 World Music Awards, Deep Purple was honored with the Legend Award.
While Deep Purple was on hiatus from 1976 to 1984, Ian formed the band Paice Ashton Lord, which released the album “Malice in Wonderland.” The band split up in 1977 during the recording of their second album. In 1979, Paice joined Whitesnake when the band was touring Japan in support of the album “Lovehunter,” and he ended up staying with them for three years. He played on the 1980 Whitesnake albums “Ready an’ Willing” and “Live…in the Heart of the City,” followed by “Come an’ Get It” in 1981 and “Saints & Sinners” in 1982. Ian left Whitesnake in early 1982, and he performed on the Gary Moore album “Corridors of Power” later that year. Moore’s manager suggested that the two form a band, and they went on to release two studio albums, an EP, and a live album as the Gary Moore Band. He left the band when Deep Purple reunited in 1984. Paice performed on the 1973 Velvet Underground album “Squeeze,” and in 1989, he played drums on the George Harrison songs “Cockamamie Business,” “Cheer Down,” and “Poor Little Girl,” which were included on the compilation album “Best of Dark Horse 1976-1989.” A decade later, he teamed up with another Beatle, Paul McCartney, for the album “Run Devil Run,” which was recorded at Abbey Road Studios. Ian also performed live with McCartney at three concerts later that year. In 2011, Paice performed on William Shatner’s album “Seeking Major Tom,” playing drums on Shatner’s cover of the Deep Purple song “Space Truckin’.”
Ian and his wife, Jacky, have welcomed three children, Calli, James, and Emmy, together. Jacky is the twin sister of his late Deep Purple bandmate Jon Lord’s widow, Vicky. Paice is missing part of the lower lobe in his left lung as a result of a childhood case of pneumonia that developed into tuberculosis. Ian is a fan of England rugby, and his son previously played the sport. In June 2016, Ian suffered a mini stroke, which led to the cancellation of two Deep Purple concerts. He stated that he had “no serious or permanent damage,” and he returned to the stage two weeks later.
At the 2007 Classic Rock Awards, Ian and Jacky were presented with the ChildLine award to honor their charity work with the SunflowerJam, which raised money to help children with cancer. In 2012, Paice received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the London Palladium’s Buddy Rich 25th Anniversary Memorial Concert. In 2015, Ian was inducted into “Modern Drummer” magazine’s Hall of Fame. In 2016, “Rolling Stone” ranked him #21 on its “100 Greatest Drummers of All Time” list.
