| TO emulate two of the greatest rock bands of all time, you might expect to have to live a fairly rock \'n\' roll lifestyle yourself.
But far from boozing or smashing up hotel rooms, John Barnett, lead singer of Purple Zeppelin, is more likely to be found relaxing with his cat George or keeping fit through karate or jiu jitsu.
Performing the legendary vocals and guitar riffs of Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple in one show, the band prefers to steer clear of the sort of wild parties that Zeppelin used to have when they owned Hammerwood Park, in East Grinstead.
While John admits they are the "least rock \'n\' roll band in the world" off stage, their onstage antics contain all the energy, musicality and showmanship which made their heroes the greats they are.
Speaking ahead of Purple Zeppelin\'s show at The Hawth next Thursday, John said: "I like to keep fit and martial arts keeps me grounded.
"That took the place of drinking about 20 years ago. There is no way I could do what I do if I was smoking and drinking on stage every night, and audiences these days wouldn\'t stand for it."
John is joined onstage by lead guitarist Mark Dawson, bass guitarist Mike Harlow and drummer Pete O\'Connell.
The decision to merge the two bands in one show was based on two things.
Its members originally formed a Deep Purple tribute act in the early 2000s, but because fans can still see the legendary rockers, albeit without original guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, their own audiences were modest.
Fans of Led Zeppelin don\'t have that same opportunity so by bringing them together, they could attract fans of both bands.
The second reason was simple – two members of the four-piece band are huge Deep Purple fans while the other two are Led Zeppelin devotees.
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While musical differences are often cited as the reason for rock bands splitting up, Purple Zeppelin\'s disagreements are actually one of the things which hold them together.
John, who sits very much in the Deep Purple camp, explained: "Every rehearsal we have, after about two hours I turn to [guitarist] Mark and say \'Ritchie Blackmore is better than Jimmy Page\' and that sets us off for 20 minutes, where we\'ll debate that. It\'s all very good natured.
"My brother played me Deep Purple when I was six and I was just amazed by Ian Gillan\'s voice."
Another reason combining the two bands works well is that both Gillan and Zeppelin\'s Robert Plant hit high notes, albeit that Plant\'s mid-range starts much higher than Gillan\'s.
It presents a vocal challenge for John but one he feels he is built for.
He joked: "My voice is tremendously high. A man of my age shouldn\'t be able to make a noise like that.
"All you can see when I sing is dogs covering their ears and bats flying into things."
For a man who sings some of the most famous and epic rock songs of all time, John took an unusual route in musical terms before settling on his current vocation.
His first performance was in Jesus Christ Superstar, in Gibraltar, where he grew up after moving there from Manchester.
He was later asked to DJ for British reggae group Aswad when they performed in Gibraltar, playing a drum \'n\' bass and ragga set - a world away from Smoke On The Water or Stairway To Heaven.
John said: "On stage and in the car it\'s all about rock music. But if I\'ve had a stressful day, I will do some deck therapy and get on the ones and twos (turntables)."
There certainly won\'t be any drum \'n\' bass when Purple Zeppelin perform and fans of both bands will get the full package without watching carbon copies of them.
"We don\'t pretend that we are Deep Purple or Led Zeppelin but we dress with a very strong suggestion of that era," added John.
"You will see Jimmy Page\'s dragon suit; you will see Jimmy Page\'s twin neck guitar; we have a very special violin bow solo which involves a lightsaber. We\'re in theatre. It\'s not a gig, it\'s a show."
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