During 1967, Simper did session work, including playing for Screaming Lord Sutch, where he met Ritchie Blackmore. He then joined a touring version of The Flowerpot Men, a British "answer" to the West Coast sound. They had a hit with "Let's Go to San Francisco" in late summer of 1967, as the Summer of Love was nearing its end. Simper played bass in the touring lineup, but didn't record with them. Also in the band, on keyboards, was Jon Lord.
In early 1968, Lord and Simper joined Ritchie Blackmore to form the Roundabouts, with Bobby Woodman on drums. This didn't last for long; when searching for a vocalist, they hired Rod Evans, and Woodman was replaced by Ian Paice, who had played with Evans in The Maze.
The Roundabouts became Deep Purple, and they recorded three albums in 1968 and 1969, after which Evans and Simper were replaced by Episode Six members Ian Gillan and Roger Glover.
After Simper's dismissal from Purple, he joined the backup band for British vocalist Marsha Hunt. With him in this group were Ged Peck on guitar, Roger Pinah on drums, and Bobby Stignac on congas. This didn't last long; Ms. Hunt quit the music business to become a full-time mother. The rest of the band regrouped as Warhorse.
Warhorse formed from Marsha Hunt's backup band. Ashley Holt joined as lead vocalist, and Mac Poole replaced Roger Pinah on drums. Warhorse was compared with early Deep Purple and also with Black Sabbath, but was never as successful as either band. Peter Parks replaced Geo Peck on guitar, but Warhorse split in 1974, with Ashley Holt joining Yes keyboardist Rick Wakeman's band, and Poole joining Gong.
After several years of working as a session musician and songwriter, Simper once again temaed up with guitarist Peter Parks to form Nick Simper's Fandango in 1978. This band recorded two albums before disbanding in the early 1980's, and Simper and Parks also performed in a touring band called Flying Fox. In the mid-80's Flying Fox disbanded, and Simper and Parks formed The Good Ole Boys, an English club band specializing in 50's style rock and rhythm & blues.
