Fireball is the fifth album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in 1971 and the second with the Mk II line-up. It was recorded at various times between September 1970 and June 1971. It became the first of the band's three UK No. 1 albums, though it did not stay on the charts as long as its predecessor, Deep Purple in Rock. Even though the album has sold over a million copies in the UK, it has never received a certification there. Background The album was the first one Deep Purple worked on after establishing their career with In Rock, which had been a critical and commercial success, staying on the charts for over a year. Because of this, the group were in continual demand for live concerts, which began to affect band members' health. Keyboardist Jon Lord suffered back problems (dating back to his days in The Artwoods when he had to transport a Hammond organ to gigs without the assistance of a road crew), and bassist Roger Glover had stomach problems which prevented him from performing live on several occasions. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore felt he had been vindicated by the decision to concentrate on hard rock, and believed the group's success was largely because of him. This led to increasing conflict with singer Ian Gillan and the relationship between the two began to become strained. Material for the album was rehearsed in Welcombe Manor, Devonshire in December 1970. The band cancelled several live performances in order to put together material that could serve as a follow-up to In Rock. "Strange Kind of Woman" was written during these sessions, and the track, along with "The Mule" was recorded in January 1971. Another song, "Freedom" was written at Welcombe and recorded during these sessions, but didn't make the final track listing. Other material was recorded in-between gigs through to March. "Strange Kind of Woman" was added to the group's live set at the end of January, quickly developing into a showpiece for Gillan to sing back Blackmore's guitar riffs in a call and response manner. The last song to be recorded was "Demon's Eye" in June. Chart performance Fireball reached the No. 1 position on the UK albums chart, while also hitting No. 1 in several other European countries like Germany, Austria or Sweden. In North America, it outperformed its predecessor, In Rock, reaching No. 32 in the US