Never Before (song)

"Never Before" is a song by English rock band Deep Purple, which appears on their 1972 album Machine Head. It was also released as a single and reached #35 in the UK on April 1, 1972^[2]

"Never Before"
Cover of the 1972 Italian single
Single by Deep Purple
from the album Machine Head
B-side	"When a Blind Man Cries"
Released	17 March 1972[1]
Recorded	6–21 December 1971 Montreux, Switzerland
Genre	Hard rock blues rock
Length	3:30 (Single version) 4:01 (Album version)
Label	EMI (UK) Warner Bros. Records (US)
Songwriter(s)	Ian Gillan, Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Ian Paice
Producer(s)	Deep Purple
Deep Purple singles chronology
"Fireball" (1971) "Never Before" (1972) "Smoke on the Water" (1973)

A promo video was made for the song in 1972. The single version of the song is an edit of the album version and lasts 3:30.

Live performances

"Never Before" has rarely been performed live. The only live recording of this song appears on Deep Purple in Concert, which was recorded at the time of the single release, a week or so before Machine Head was released.

Deep Purple performed "Never Before" on tour in 2004, when they played the whole Machine Head album.

Personnel

• Ian Gillan – vocals
• Ritchie Blackmore – guitars
• Roger Glover – bass guitar
• Jon Lord – keyboards
• Ian Paice – drums

Charts

Chart (1972)	Peak position
Australia (Kent Music Report)	80
Belgium (Ultratop 50 Wallonia)[3]	45
Italy (Musica e dischi)[4]	30
Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[3]	4
UK Singles (OCC)[2]	35
West Germany (Official German Charts)[3]	20