GLENN HUGHES and DAVID COVERDALE are considering reuniting next year to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Deep Purple MkIII.

They’d been working on a full reunion with keyboardist Jon Lord until his sudden death earlier this year. But that wasn’t the only hurdle facing them.

Hughes tells CBS:

“Jon, David and I were trying to get it together. We couldn’t get hold of Ritchie Blackmore. We sent carrier pigeons and the Pony Express – but nobody at Castle Blackmore answered the door. It wasn’t meant to be.”

With the additional issue of drummer Ian Paice’s commitment to the current Purple lineup, Hughes says he and Whitesnake mainman Coverdale have given up on that approach.

But he adds: “David and I have talked about it weekly since Jon died – how we can do something to keep the flame burning.

“We don’t want to hinder the heritage of the band. Some bands get back together and sound bloody awful.

“It’s the 40th anniversary of Burn next year. I’m not giving you a hint to something that’s going to happen, but you just never know.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we did something, David and I. Something might pop its head in the next two years.”

Hughes contributed two tracks to Re-Machined, the official tribute album to Purple’s iconic Machine Head album.

The singer and bassist recently revealed that Black Country Communion’s upcoming album, Afterglow, could be their last because guitarist Joe Bonamassa can’t commit to touring.