Earlier today, former Deep Purple keyboardist Jon Lord revealed that he was diagnosed with an unspecified form of cancer. He released the following statement on his blog:
“I would like all my friends, followers, fans and fellow travelers to know that I am fighting cancer and will therefore be taking a break from performing while getting the treatment and cure.
I shall of course be continuing to write music – in my world it just has to be part of the therapy – and I fully expect to be back in good shape next year.”
Lord was one of the founding members of Deep Purple, and also played in Whitesnake in its beginnings. Along with drummer Ian Piece, he was the only constant members of Deep Purple until retiring from the group in 2002. Lord is also an acclaimed composer, being a classically trained pianist. Most recently, Lord joined Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan’s new charity recording WHOCARES. We hope that Lord makes a speedy recovery.
