Far from it.

The Welsh bassist, songwriter and producer tends to downplay the band's "legend" status with a healthy dose of dry wit.

"If I started thinking about all that, I wouldn't be able to think straight. I'm just going about my daily life," he tells Weekender from his home in Zurich, Switzerland.

"It doesn't actually mean anything emotionally to me. I can acknowledge it, but it doesn't feel ... I don't feel special.

"I live in a village where very few people know who I am and what I do and I like it like that. I'm treated like another citizen, and that's important to me."

He pauses for a moment before continuing.

"Really famous people can have terribly imprisoned lives, which is why some have to lock themselves away from the public, and I don't think that's a good thing," he says.

"Purple has survived partly because we've all led fairly normal lives, despite the fact that we all go away on a plane and do things on a stage. Everyone is very grounded, I have to say."

Glover is a case in point. I ask him what he's doing to prepare for the Pandemonium tour of Australia in April and he replies: "Oh I don't know, just life ... taking out the garbage, going shopping, putting the kids to bed [laughs].

"Last year was a very busy year for us. We were away almost 200 days of the year.

"We've been recording, and I'm in the process of finding out what this bit of wood hanging around my neck is for, you know, the one with four strings.

"Paicey [drummer Ian Paice] goes on the road with cover bands so he keeps his chops up, which is admirable."

As for album anniversaries and other milestones, they're simply not a priority for the band.

"We were all sitting on a bus once and I said to Ian 'Do you know we've been together now for 40 years' and he said 'Oh, better have a drink then'," Glover says, laughing at the memory.

Deep Purple this week released an official video clip - for the first time - for what is arguably their most well-known song, Smoke on the Water. The animated clip uses the 2024 remix of Smoke on the Water by Dweezil Zappa and is a nod to the story of the song's origin.

Smoke on the Water was written about a fire which broke out at Montreux Casino on December 4, 1971, while Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention were performing on stage. Deep Purple were in town to record their sixth studio album (Machine Head) and watched the blaze from their hotel room.

The song's title has been attributed to Glover, referencing the smoke from the fire which covered Lake Geneva.

A deluxe edition of Machine Head is being released on March 29.

Deep Purple has sold more than 100 million albums and filled global arenas for five decades. The band received the Legend Award at the 2008 World Music Awards and were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016. I ask Glover if he is at all surprised about the band's enduring popularity.

"I think I am in a constant state of surprise," he replies, laughing.

"Joining a band in the '60s, you didn't expect to last more than three or four years, even if you had a hit. To find myself with a band that has got this kind of life in it is just unbelievable."

Deep Purple's band members all have side projects and solo pursuits. Has this aided the band's longevity?

"Absolutely," says Glover. "We are all creative people and we all have our side projects. I write songs that Purple would never cover, they're not Purple songs. There's a big distinction between what I do as an individual and what I do as a band member."

He's looking forward to returning to Australia and touring with "old friend" Alice Cooper.

"Playing live is still a buzz, absolutely. It's not a job really, it's a dream job," Glover says.

"It does involve hard work and a lot of travel but boy it pays off. We've been through a few up and downs, of course, but the band is in a very good social place at the moment and can't wait to hit the road again."