The Highway Star » News

A story of the great band that wasn’t making any money

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 20:13:06 +0000

Mickey Moody gave an interview to RockPages.gr. Not surprisingly, good three quarters of it revolves around his days in Whitesnake:

Rockpages.gr: Did you feel a full member of Whitesnake or just a player in David Coverdale’s band? Micky Moody: Full member, […]

Birmingham in the press

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:25:06 +0000

Birmingham show on November 13th received quite a favourable coverage in the local press. Debbie Bennett writes in the Express & Star:

...On the third night of the band’s UK tour, 64-year-old barefoot frontman Ian Gillan belted out hits and rarities […]

Love that burns brightly

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:51:35 +0000

In the anticipation of the Birmingham and London dates, Times Online has published a brilliantly eloquent piece on Deep Purple that surely will resonate in one a many hearts:

The exact date has long been wiped from the memory’s hard […]

Wasted Sunsets in Manchester

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:08:11 +0000

Deep Purple threw in a setlist surprise last night in Manchester on the first date of the 65,535th leg of their European tour: 1 Intro/Highway Star 2 Things I Never Said 3 Wrong Man 4 Strange Kind Of Woman 5 […]

Nothing from the industry

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 13:01:52 +0000

British newspaper Express & Star has published an interview with Ian Gillan where he takes potshots at showbiz in his home country:

We’d play almost anywhere. But the climate in the UK is not friendly. Nothing wrong with the fans, […]

Triple Trouble competition

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 20:24:54 +0000

Caramba gives you a chance to exercise your wit and win a signed copy of Triple Trouble:

Win a signed copy by answering the simple question: 'How many songs has ig written and why? Obsessive attention to detail not necessarily rewarded. […]

Gillan — Live: Triple Trouble

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:49:16 +0000

Demon Edsel is releasing a triple CD Gillan live set authorized by Big Ian himself. ~~No specific release date is available at this time.~~ The 3CD set will be released in the UK on November 9 and available in other countries as […]

Steve Morse in Classic Rock magazine

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:31:16 +0000

Steve Morse recently spoke to the Classic Rock magazine. His short interview appeared online:

We are in the sort of position where we don’t have any pressure on us. We’re not a pop act, so nobody these days expects us […]

Gillan remasters from MetalMind

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 23:23:13 +0000

Polish label Metal Mind is releasing remastered versions of the selected albums from Ian Gillan’s discography: Naked Thunder, Toolbox, Cherkazoo & Other Stories, Clear Air Turbulence, Scarabus and Accidentally on Purpose (Gillan/Glover). All albums will be released in a new digipak edition each […]

A Castle Full of Rascals, in hardcover

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 21:08:18 +0000

Martin Popoff has a follow-up volume to his book Gettin’ Tighter. A Castle Full Of Rascals: Deep Purple '83 - '09 follows the tradition of Gettin' Tighter and Rainbow: English Castle Magic by narrating the band's history "in their own words", through extensive […]

Blackmore interview on Fender.com

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 22:43:14 +0000

Promoting his band's US tour, Blackmore gave to Fender one of his rare interviews. He talked about his writing process these days, castles and ghosts (what else!), why he started to play guitar and not trumpet, ticket prices, and many […]

Doctoral dissertation on the music of Deep Purple

Svante Axbacke — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:32:24 +0000

Doctoral dissertation on the music of Deep Purple (Helsinki University, Finland): “Theory and Analysis of Classic Heavy Metal Harmony” by Esa Lilja. The thesis was published 17 October 2009. ABSTRACT: The study looks into heavy metal harmony from the point […]

Swedish promotor fined over Deep Purple sound levels

Svante Axbacke — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:58:32 +0000

A Swedish promotor in Gothenburg, Sweden, has been fined by the local authorities for not being able to keep sound levels at legal limits. One of the shows this summer that reached an illegal level was the Deep Purple show […]

New Turner and Rondinelli interviews

Svante Axbacke — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 12:46:08 +0000

Blackmore's Night Official Scandinavian Fan Club has posted two new exclusive interviews with Joe Lynn Turner and Bobby Rondinelli on their website. The questions for the interviews were sent in by fans.

Win your chance to be on stage

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 22:26:07 +0000

Planet Rock will be running a contest between October 12th and 26th:

How do you fancy seeing Deep Purple live? OK, how do you fancy watching the gig from the stage? Now, how do you fancy sitting next to Ian Paice's […]

Space Truckin’ Round The World

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 16:08:48 +0000

Classic Rock magazine reports that there is a new live compilation in the works by Purple Records. It will be released in November and will mark the 10th anniversary of the label. The double CD compilation will be called Space Truckin' […]

- You feel he has a lot of wisdom

Rasmus Heide — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 21:44:34 +0000

Scottish music students interviewed about rehearsing the Concerto for Group and Orchestra with Jon Lord on keyboards. This Monday October 5 they will perform the Concerto at Edinburgh's Usher Hall. Talking about their very first rehearsal with Jon Lord: - […]

Gillan and Blackmore decorated in Armenia

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 15:20:45 +0000

As we have reported previously, Armenia is honouring the 20th anniversary of the Rock Aid Armenia project. On October 1 Ian Gillan together with Tony Iommi, Geff Downes and the project organizer Jon Dee have arrived to Yerevan to take part in […]

2004 tour art at charity sale

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:46:35 +0000

Connecticut based graphic artist Ioannis has been working with Deep Purple (among other bands) for more than 10 years now. This time they have partnered to produce 25 copies of the 2004 North American "Machine Head" tour commemorative artwork. Each copy […]

Don Airey on Bruce Dickinson Show

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 14:12:27 +0000

BBC has announced that Don Airey will appear on the Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show on October 9. The show broadcasts between 21:00 and midnight on BBC Radio 6 and online, and will be available for online listening for 7 days after […]

Steve Morse in Birmingham Post

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 04:40:48 +0000

British newpaper Birmingham Post has published an interview they did with Steve Morse:

Any news of a new Deep Purple album? We’re always trying to get started, but these tours keep popping up. Recording is very nearly a volunteer endeavour, and […]

Live Encounters remastered

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 06:09:54 +0000

Back in 2004 a Polish label Metalmind made a deal with Purple's management to release a 1996 performance in Katovice with limited distribution in Eastern Europe. The album, titled Live Encounters (read our review) saw the light of the day on […]

Win tickets to Over the Rainbow

Svante Axbacke — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 21:34:06 +0000

Over the Rainbow is currently on tour and will hit Sweden for their first shows since Sweden Rock Festival this summer. If you can get to their Malmö show on October 13 you might be interested to know that the official […]

Bid for backstage passes

stephen — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 13:25:02 +0000

There are 2 tickets and backstage passes up for auction on ebay for the forthcoming uk tour. 100% of the money raised will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust. The tickets and passes have been kindly supplied by Roger Glover. […]

Don Airey: “You have to keep on going”

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 17:33:32 +0000

Don Airey recently gave an interview to Get Ready to Rock that covers a lot of his career, from the very first gig on a cruise ship to the recent (and now infamous) Oasis story.

What have been your highs and […]

“Rock seniors took the festival by storm”

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 02:20:00 +0000

German newspaper Suedkurier has an article going into further details of the fascinating story of quick thinking, snap decisions and triumph of open mind that resulted in Deep Purple headlining Rock am See festival in place of Oasis. Here is the […]

Germany, November 2010

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 19:04:53 +0000

It's not often that we get new tourdates this far in advance. German promoter KBK has announced a Deep Purple tour that won't happen for another 14 months (sic!). The tour of major arenas will start on November 13, 2010, in […]

the Oasis tour to continue?

stephen — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 07:53:38 +0000

Looks like Deep Purple will continue their sudden Oasis tour into Italy tonight, according to Indipendente Concerti Following OASIS' split and the cancellation of their headline appearence at the festival, DEEP PURPLE will replace them. Other bands scheduled to appear a […]

Calm in the Oasis

stephen — Sat, 29 Aug 2009 12:34:50 +0000

Deep Purple added to the bill at Rock Am See. "It's with some sadness and great relief to tell you that I quit Oasis tonight. People will write and say what they like, but simply could not go on working […]

Steve Morse Band to tour US

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 08:12:52 +0000

This October Steve Morse Band will tour the East Coast of the United States. We have 13 confirmed dates, starting on October 15 in Maryland and through October 31 in Atlanta. Check our Purple calendar for full listings.

Blackmore Sr. and OTR

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:38:28 +0000

JLT spoke to Classic Rock Magazine's Geoff Barton about Ritchie Blackmore's reaction to Over The Rainbow:

At first Ritchie was fine about it all. Then certain people – two of them – who are very close to him started to put […]

Don Airey: “I am sure there will be another album”

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 04:47:27 +0000

Rockpages.gr has published a recent interview they did with Don Airey. Quite an interesting reading it is, where Don touches upon many things past and present. On the mood in the band regarding recording a new album:

Rockpages.gr: “Rapture Of The […]

Nick Simper on the BBC

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 03:04:26 +0000

Nick Simper is scheduled to be interviewed by Roger Day on BBC Radio Kent at 19.30 GMT on Tuesday, September 1. The show is also syndicated to other local BBC stations; Solent, Surrey, Sussex, Oxford and Berkshire. It can be listened […]

Out Standing In Their Field

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 02:42:02 +0000

The new Steve Morse Band album called Out Standing In Their Field will get its international release on September 25 (October 12 in France) on Edel Records. Tracklist:

Name Dropping
Brink of the Edge
Here and Now and Then
Relentless Encroachment
John Deere Letter
More to […]

Blackmore’s Night and OTR announce new tours

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 23:50:40 +0000

Blackmore's Night management has announced a new United States tour. We have 4 confirmed dates in October with tickets being on sale since yesterday, August 13, and by all accounts going fast. More dates are being promised. On the other side […]

Doogie White to sing at Jon Lord concert

Rasmus Heide — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 22:59:42 +0000

Ex-Rainbow singer Doogie White will handle male vocal duties at Jon Lord's concert in Plovdiv, Bulgaria on September 1. JonLord.org confirms that Doogie White is standing in for Jon Lord's usual singer, Steve Balsamo, who is unavailable for this concert. Kasia […]

Whitesnake cancels US tour

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:47:00 +0000

Coverdale's management has issued the following statement to the media:

Unfortunately, last night at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, Denver, Whitesnake had to cut their performance short due to Mr Coverdale experiencing considerable pain in his vocal chords. He was immediately […]

Signed guitar auctioned by Planet Rock

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 23:41:14 +0000

To celebrate the Sunflower Jam 2009, British radio station Planet Rock will be auctioning off an Epiphone Les Paul Special II guitar signed by the crème de la crème of rock royalty. The eBay auction begins on 10th August and ends […]

The Good Old Boys — Live at the DP Convention

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:51:35 +0000

The Good Old Boys' live set performed at the Deep Purple convention in May 2008 is now out on CD, released on July 13 by Wymer Records. Axel Dauer shares his thoughts:

The long time overdue release
Dear Purple bunch, may […]

Gert the engineer speaks to Soundcraft

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 02:07:54 +0000

Current Deep Purple's front of the house soundman Gert Sanner gave a brief interview published by soundcraft.com. Among fairly technical things, he shares his memories of the recent Japanese tour:

Purple don’t use a set list, so I have to […]

Rock Aid Armenia: 20 years after

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 12:31:33 +0000

20 years ago, on July 8, 1989, a group of musicians gathered at the Metropolis Studios in Chiswick, London to make a benefit record to raise money for the 1988 earthquake relief in Armenia. In early October this year Ian Gillan, Tony Iommi and Geoff Downes will visit Armenia together with Jon Dee who organized the original Rock Aid Armenia project.

Audiophile In Rock is #2 on CD Universe chart

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 21:53:20 +0000

Audio Fidelity's In Rock achieved a surprising chart success in the top sellers list of an online retailer CD Universe. As of July 29, it reached #2 interrupting a bevy of Michael Jackson's albums. Meanwhile this release is only at #325 […]

In Rock gets audiophile treatment

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 06:20:35 +0000

Audiophile label Audio Fidelity has released on July 21 their own remastered version of In Rock on a limited edition 24 karat gold CD (yep, that's real 24 karat gold instead of aluminum; which has nothing to do with sound quality, just […]

Venue change in Madrid

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 19:28:59 +0000

The concert on September 15 in Madrid, Spain, has been moved from La Cubierta to Palacio Vistalegre. Both are big modern arenas of similar capacity (10-15,000), so it is likely it has something to do with e.g. hall availability, rather than […]

Jon Lord announces Russian concerts

Rasmus Heide — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 22:26:13 +0000

On his official website, JonLord.org, the maestro has confirmed three concerts for October. The dates and cities are: Oct 9 - Yekaterinburg, Russia - tickets Oct 12 - St. Petersburg, Russia - tickets Oct 15 - Moscow, Russia - tickets At the concerts […]

Deep Purple fined in Russia

stephen — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 08:35:48 +0000

A Russian court has fined Deep Purple for “illegally” performing their own songs, according to russiatoday.com. The concert in question took place on October 19, 2008 in Russia’s southern city of Rostov-on-Don. According to the court’s ruling, the musicians – […]

Steve Morse interviewed by Rocknation TV

Svante Axbacke — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 21:00:54 +0000

Blabbermouth reports that Steve Morse has been interviewed on Rocknation TV. The interview is featured in episode 46 and can be viewed online at www.rocknation.us/tv. Rocknation TV is a weekly 30-minute metal program featuring metal videos and interviews. It is available […]

Over the Rainbow announces new keyboard player

stephen — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:50:17 +0000

Keyboard player Tony Carey has left Over The Rainbow and has been replaced by Paul Morris. Here is Over The Rainbow's own press release: After he received a great reception from over 12,000 fans at the Sweden Rock Festival, Over […]

One Eye on KNAC.com

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:23:40 +0000

Another interview with Ian Gillan, this time at KNAC.com (Big Ian is certainly getting his money's worth from the PR agents). Amid the familiar by now story behind One Eye To Morocco, he made some interesting remarks, particularly about his […]

SPV declares bancruptcy

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 30 May 2009 20:15:32 +0000

German record company SPV has filed for bankruptcy protection on May 25 in the District Court of Hanover. On May 27 the court has appointed a provisional insolvency administrator. This does not mean that the company will cease operations immediately, but […]

Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll Story

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 30 May 2009 17:51:42 +0000

Jerry Bloom of More Black Than Purple fame has written a new book -- Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Story -- which covers history of the Rainbow album.

This book, the first in a planned series on ‘landmark’ rock albums focuses on […]

Jon Lord and Glenn Hughes on ChildLine live CD

Rasmus Heide — Wed, 27 May 2009 20:14:26 +0000

Monday night’s ChildLine Rocks charity show in London (June 1) is to be released on a socalled Instant Live CD. The 3CD set will feature Jon Lord, Glenn Hughes, Uriah Heep, Thunder and more on a limited edition release with […]

Coverdale inteviewed in Norway

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 26 May 2009 15:29:22 +0000

As the Whitesnake's 2009 tour kicked off in Norway, the local public broadcaster NRK has published an interview they did with David Coverdale:

OSE: On our weekly radio show «Radio Rock», the one song by Deep Purple people want to […]

Gillan on Classic Metal Show

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 23 May 2009 06:14:19 +0000

Ian Gillan will appear on the Classic Metal Show as a call-in guest tonight, May 23, at 9:40 pm EDT. He will talk about One Eye To Morocco as well as his history with Purple and Sabbath. Other call-in guests will […]

Steve Morse guitar clinics

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 22 May 2009 05:01:54 +0000

Steve Morse is doing a series of guitar clinics at the Gutar Center stores in the US. The clinics are sponsored by Ernie Ball / Music Man and are dedicated to their 25th anniversary. The first clinic is on May […]

Slip of the Tongue 20th Anniversary Edition

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 22 May 2009 04:31:06 +0000

EMI is releasing a 20th Anniversary Edition of Whitesnake's Slip of the Tongue album with audio and video bonuses. There's no word yet on whether anything is remastered. The release dates are set for: June 5th -- Germany June 8th -- […]

Jon Lord interview on TotalRock, May 20

Rasmus Heide — Mon, 18 May 2009 17:44:49 +0000

This Wednesday morning Jon Lord will talk to TotalRock radio in London in an interview with Malcolm Dome. You can listen online from anywhere. Jon Lord will appear on Malcolm Dome's Phantasmagoria between 10am and 12am, chatting about his music […]

Gillan unplugged

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 07 May 2009 22:16:20 +0000

Big Ian teamed up with Steve Morris some time ago and they have recorded an unplugged session for UK's Absolute Radio.

Steve Morse helps set new record

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 06 May 2009 17:13:54 +0000

Before the Purple gig on May 1 in Wroclaw, Steve Morse joined the croud of six thousand other guitar players to set the new world record at the Thanks Jimi Festival. The official tally was 6,346 people playing together Hey […]

Gillan on Metal File

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:00:31 +0000

Big Ian has appeared with an interview on the Montreal's CHOM-FM show The Metal File. Nothing really new was said there, but for the sake of completeness, here is the podcast.

Gillan at the Bruce Dickinson’s radio show

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 05 May 2009 14:56:07 +0000

Ian Gillan will appear on the Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show on Friday, May 22. The show airs each Friday on BBC 6 Music between 9 p.m. and midnight and is available online for a week after that. In other news, a new […]

Glenn Hughes joins Rhapsody in Rock

Svante Axbacke — Tue, 05 May 2009 12:30:58 +0000

Glenn Hughes has been confirmed as one of the guest artists on this summer's Rhapsody in Rock tour of Sweden. The tour will do seven shows in Sweden this summer. Other guest artist at the shows will be Albert Lee and LaGaylia […]

The Naked Truth

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 01 May 2009 19:11:27 +0000

Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited has done an interview with Gillan:

Jeb: Are you comfortable that your music makes up some of those deep roots? Ian: I have constantly said, with the greatest respect to everyone, that you only have […]

Montreux on German TV

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 21:50:17 +0000

German TV channel ZDFdokukanal is currently showing a documentary about Montreux Jazz Festival. From what we understand, the film includes an extensive interview with Claude Nobs and covers both the story of burning down the gambling house and the recent Deep Purple […]

Gillan and the human nature

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:08:05 +0000

On arrival for the brief visit to Moscow, an extremely tired and jetlagged Big Ian gave an interview on April 17 to Nevsky Express TV. Here are the excerpts from his stream of consciousness on his solo album, quantum theory, religion […]

Guitar World Record on German TV

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 18:44:34 +0000

A new attempt on the Guitar World Record will happen on the German TV show Fernsehgarten on May 10th. We have covered the previous two records, both set in 2007 and both featuring Smoke On The Water: 1,802 players in […]

Graham Bonnet interview

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 17:25:25 +0000

Rockpages.gr has a rather interesting interview with Graham Bonnet. While undoubtedly it was prompted by his resurrection of Alcatrazz, a good half of the interview is about the Rainbow days.

Jon Lord jam with Deep Purple in Tokyo - and Yngwie too

Rasmus Heide — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 00:56:33 +0000

Last night, on April 15, Deep Purple were joined onstage by original keyboard player Jon Lord and Swedish speed shredder Yngwie Malmsteen at the International Forum in Tokyo. Jon Lord played two songs with the band - Perfect Strangers and […]

Hughes: Mk3 reunion not happening

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 15:40:24 +0000

In case any of you had any doubts, now even Glenn Hughes says that he can't see a Mk3 reunion happening. In his April 11 interview to The Classic Metal Show he says:

You know, David (Coverdale) and I have been […]

“Hello, I used to be Jon Lord”

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:41:25 +0000

Back in February 2008 Jon Lord did two shows in Hagen, Germany. This interview was apparently recorded at around the same time. "The Older Statesman of Rock" talks about music.

Gillan off the record

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:34:17 +0000

Ian Gillan will appear on Off The Record with Joe Benson radio show tonight, April 12, at 11 p.m. Eastern Time. The show is syndicated and is carried by many radio stations across USA and Canada, some of which also broadcast online. […]

Member of the family and other stories

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 13:19:37 +0000

There's been a number of updates on Caramba!.

A new Caramba TV special, in which Gillan introduces a member of his family
A new wordography: Better Days from One Eye to Morocco

Italian tickets go on sale

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 15:41:35 +0000

TicketOne.it has announced five December dates in Italy: Dec 10: Palaonda, Bolzano Dec 12: PalaLottomatica, Rome Dec 14: PalaEvangelisti, Perugia Dec 15: Paladozza, Bologna Dec 16: Mediolanum Forum, Milan As far as we can understand the original announcement, tickets go […]

Metallica praises Deep Purple

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 05:07:56 +0000

In case you have not seen this in your morning newspaper, Metallica has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. James Hetfield started his acceptance speech with a list of bands which where important influences implying (to […]

Doing his thing

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:48:27 +0000

Ian Gillan appeared on Dutch Radio 2 to promote One Eye To Morocco. You can listen to the podcast at schiffers.fm (scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the audio player). The interview is about 16 minutes […]

One Eye in Gloucestershire

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 03:15:07 +0000

Ian Gillan did an interview with BBC Radio Gloucestershire where he talks about self-discipline in the studio, the bad old days in swinging London and the role of accountants in Deep Purple's history, among other things. The interview is 12 […]

One Eye on Dutch Belgian TV

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 03:11:01 +0000

Ian Gillan stopped in ~~The Netherlands~~ Belgium on his way to Dubai to appear on TV talk show. Watch his appearance to learn about adrenaline problems, who is Dan, and what do Japanese firemen have in common with Brazilian strippers.

One Eye in Houston Press

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:58:25 +0000

Bob Ruggiero of The Houston Press did an interview with Ian Gillan. There is some typically Gillan anecdotage besides the usual story behind his latest album:

The funniest thing was when we did the tour for House of Blue Light […]

Lord and Hughes at the ChildLine Rocks

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:48:39 +0000

Both Jon Lord and Glenn Hughes are confirmed to appear at the ChildLine Rocks 2009, which will be held on June 1 at the indigO₂ in London. Last year's Childline Rocks have seen the first appearance of Glenn Hughes and Ian Paice […]

Tommy Bolin radio specials

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 02 Apr 2009 23:05:09 +0000

There will be a couple of Tommy Bolin specials on the US college radio in the coming months. Saturday May 2nd, KUNM 89.1 FM in Santa Fe / Albuquerque, New Mexico, along with Dr. Rock & The Psychedelic Radio Head~Shoppe will […]

Riding on the moonpath - April Fools

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:01:31 +0000

This was kept under a tight lid for a while, but with the official announcement now imminent, we were given the green light. Remember, you've read it here first. Iron Maiden did a bold move with their Flight 666 project, […]

Snakes and sheds

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 21:10:21 +0000

The North American tour of corporate sheds on both coasts and open air festivals in the Midwest will start on June 26 and work it's way around the continent until August 11. Please note that the North American dates (nor the new Danish show) have not been confirmed on Whitesnake.com.

A mild-mannered chap

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 21:58:03 +0000

A classic Purple interview with Ritchie Blackmore, conducted by Chris Welch and originally published in Melody Maker on September 26, 1970:

When Deep Purple smashed up their equipment on a TV show recently, there were howls of protest throughout the land. […]

One Eye on Planet Rock

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:53:06 +0000

Gillan did another radio appearance on the weekend, this time on Planet Rock in the UK. We apologise that we have not been able to give you an advance notice. The show will be repeated on Tuesday, March 31, at 6 […]

One Eye on Ultimate Guitar

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:36:04 +0000

Ian Gillan did an interview with UltimateGuitar.com and by all accounts he was as baffled as we are that a guitar site wants to interview him. Besides the obligatory talk of his new album, some insights into Big Ian's reading […]

Rainbow in Wolfgang’s Vault

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 20:08:08 +0000

Wolfgang's Vault has posted an entire recording of the much bootlegged radio broadcast of the 1981 Rainbow show at the Orpheum Theater in Boston, Mass. We are not sure how long it will stay there as previously Wolfgang's Vault had to […]

OTR at Sweden Rock

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:58:08 +0000

One of the biggest and most prestigious rock festivals in Europe -- Sweden Rock Festival -- has booked Over The Rainbow to play at the festival this year. The exact date has not been released yet. Sweden Rock 2009 will […]

Blackmore’s Night in the studio

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 17:21:00 +0000

BraveWords report that Blackmore's Night are currently in the studio with producer Pat Regan. No further details are available at this point.

Jon Lord Face To Face with Rick Wakeman

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:54:27 +0000

No, they are not jamming together. Unfortunately. Rick has been pre-recording a new music talk show called Rick Wakeman - Face To Face. One of the episodes features an interview with Jon Lord.

Gillan’s interviews

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 21:52:02 +0000

Unfortunately, Wednesday Gillan's appearance on Rockline radio show didn't happen. Big Ian was supposed to appear on the show via a link between London and Los Angeles, but there appeared to be technical difficulties with the link. The host of the […]

More European dates confirmed

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:36:39 +0000

We have a whole lot of new and confirmed European tour dates. Deep Purple's itinerary now looks like this: end of August / Early September they play a couple of open air festivals in Switzerland, then Fête de l’Humanité near […]

T-shirt saga continues

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 22:57:46 +0000

Blackmore has issued a statement through his lawyers in reply to Gillan's interview to Rockpages.gr which was published in October:

In an interview he gave to a music website recently, Ian Gillan made a number of comments about Ritchie Blackmore that […]

Second night at Hammersmith

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:22:28 +0000

It appears that Ticketmaster is selling tickets for the second night at Hammersmith on November 15. The tickets quietly went on sale on Wednesday and are all seated this time.

One Eye on Rock Radio

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 15:01:43 +0000

Promotion for the Ian Gillan's album One Eye To Morocco goes into full swing. Tonight, Saturday, March 21, starting at 6pm he will appear in a 2 hour special on Rock Radio in Scotland:

Ian takes over the airwaves to celebrate […]

Sunstorm — House of Dreams

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 17:30:53 +0000

On April 17 Italian label Frontier Records is releasing the second Sunstorm album called House of Dreams with Joe Lynn Turner on vocals.

Un œil vers Maroc

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 05:50:19 +0000

Belgian radio station Classic 21 has a special for One Eye To Morocco. You can watch Gillan's interview undubbed, and our francophone readers will certainly appreciate the text. See and read it at classic21.be (you might need to scroll down the […]

Jedno oko na Maroko

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 21:09:46 +0000

In the latest issue of the Polish Teraz Rock magazine (March 2009) there is a very interesting three page interview. Ian Gillan and Wieslaw Weiss are talking about One Eye To Morocco and some other things. Plus a few fine photos. Thanks […]

Whitesnake on the highway

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 17 Mar 2009 15:51:18 +0000

Judas Priest have announced on their official website some North American tour dates, starting July 1st and going into the early August. They have also stated that they will be touring with Whitesnake for most of the dates, but not all […]

Sailing away in Västerås

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 22:23:16 +0000

Glenn Hughes did a very low key acoustic show in Sweden this Saturday. Just a guitar, some keyboards, Glenn singing, and a special guest to boot -- Coast To Coast was performed together with Nathalie Lorichs. Glenn saw the clip […]

Made In Japan visuals and more DVD details

Rasmus Heide — Sun, 15 Mar 2009 01:36:33 +0000

As previously reported exclusively by The Highway Star, seven rolls of 8mm film from Deep Purple's 1972 concerts in Japan have come to light. We also promised you a look at the film. Click on this photo to see a series […]

Gillan talks money

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:39:55 +0000

British newspaper The Telegraph interviewed Ian Gillan on an unusual topic -- money:

ARE YOU GOOD WITH MONEY OR IRRESPONSIBLE? I’m completely irresponsible, I’m afraid. I’m ignorant about money as a commodity – I have never really understood it. Years […]

That after gig moment

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:17:40 +0000

Ian Gillan's message to the fans recorded in his hotel room after the last gig in São Paulo. Kinda puts things into prospective, isn't it?

Less talk, more drumming

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 17:09:09 +0000

Russian web site DrumSpeech.com has posted more footage of Paicey's drum clinic in Moscow from February 7. Thanks to bloodsucker from the deep-purple.ru forum for the info.

Made In Japan film unearthed

Rasmus Heide — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 19:35:38 +0000

Deep Purple's Made In Japan concerts were filmed. At least in part. Seven reels of silent 8mm footage filmed at Deep Purple's famous August 1972 Japanese concerts have been found. Rumours of such film have persisted for years, and now […]

Kansas violin

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 23:04:30 +0000

Steve Morse was a special guest at the 35th anniversary gala for Kansas that took place on February 7 in Topeka, KS. Classic Rock Revisited has a full account of the evening:

Former Kansas guitarist, and current Deep Purple axe-slinger, Steve […]

Rare and unreleased: 1968-76 Deep Purple on new 2DVD

Rasmus Heide — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 01:54:54 +0000

DEEP PURPLE - ‘HISTORY, HITS & HIGHLIGHTS’ 2DVD Containing a wealth of historical 1960s and 1970s footage, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release the new Deep Purple 2DVD set “History, Hits & Highlights 1968-76” on June 1, 2009 [Cat No EREDV726]. […]

One Eye on Alta Tensao

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 05 Mar 2009 00:06:54 +0000

António Freitas, host of long-running daily show "Alta Tensao" on Portuguese radio station Antena 3 and a contributor to the magazine LOUD!, has posted an interview he conducted with Gillan. Big Ian talks about One Eye To Morocco. The interview […]

Stormbringer is #2 in the charts

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 23:38:56 +0000

A week after it's release, the remastered Stormbringer didn't make it all the way into the BBC Top 40, but landed at a quite respectable #2 on Top 40 Rock Albums UK chart, displacing Chinese Democracy by Guns n' Roses. Glenn Hughes […]

One Eye To Morocco

stephen — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 17:49:03 +0000

Ian Gillan's new solo album One Eye To Morocco will be released in Europe on March 6 and in the UK on March 23. "It all started in Cracow, Poland, late December 2005. In a café in where Oscar Schindler […]

The World As We Love It

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:47:04 +0000

Almost a year ago Russian band Pushking started working on their new album called The World As We Love It (working title: Pushking Duets). The goal of the project appears to be essentially similar to Gillan's Inn -- re-record an album […]

Moscow girls sing and shout

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:45:23 +0000

This April Deep Purple are going to make a stop in Moscow on the way from Japan to Poland. Today Russian promoters SAV Entertainment have confirmed that the band will play two gigs at the Club B1 Maximum on April […]

Airey: “Deep Purple are back where they belong”

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 02:27:30 +0000

Classic Rock Revisited has a recently published interview with Don Airey, done by Jeb Wright. Don talks about his solo album A Light In The Sky, his life, his illustrious career over the years, and the circumstances of replacing Jon Lord: […]

OTR ticket sales

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 01:55:23 +0000

Over The Rainbow management has issued a press release concerning ticket sales for the first 3 OTR shows in Belarus and Russia. It appears that out of the three shows one was oversold and the other two very nearly sold […]

Comin’ out of nowhere

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:33:22 +0000

Who would have thought that a mere re-release of one of the more controversial albums in the Purple history could have chart potential? Remastered 35th anniversary version of Stormbringer went on sale across Europe today, February 23. Usual disclaimers apply, but […]

Deep Purple Italia in Rolling Stone

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 22 Feb 2009 16:19:56 +0000

Italian Deep Purple official fanclub and online community Deep Purple Italia is one of the six Italian online fan clubs featured in the latest (February 2009) issue of Rolling Stone Magazine, an Italian monthly version of the popular US magazine. The special […]

Randall Bramblett on Roger Glover

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 12:15:44 +0000

Randal Bramblett in a recent interview with LivingLegendsMusic.com talks about Queen of England, Roger Glover, and the connection that brought them together.

One Eye on Rockline

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 21:33:07 +0000

Gillan will appear on the American radio show Rockline to promote his One Eye To Morocco solo album. The show will be on the air live on Wednesday, March 25 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to […]

More of Gillan on FaceCulture

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 08:19:19 +0000

Martin from FaceCulture emailed us that there's more of the Gillan's interview posted on their website. A lot more, actually.

FaceCulture spoke to Ian Gillan about his solo album One Eye To Morocco, travelling, first memories, Edwin Abott Abott, Flatland, God, […]

JLT: “Ritchie gave his blessings”

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 04:22:01 +0000

JLT in a recent interview with Spanish metal website rafabasa.com went on record that they've got Ritchie's approval to go on the road as Over The Rainbow:

This project is very real and if you don't see it, probably you couldn't […]

OTR in St.Petersburg

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 01:58:24 +0000

Russian Internet TV company Nevsky Express filmed interview with all five members of the band and bits of the live show from the February 16th Over The Rainbow gig in St.Petersburg. You can watch the video on their web site. […]

The right frame of mind

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:46:21 +0000

Dutch site FaceCulture has an interview with Ian Gillan (probably done during his media tour around Europe a couple of weeks ago). In conclusion, the subject of a new Purple album pops up:

FaceCulture: Are you thinking about the new album? IG: [...] […]

Blackmore the soccer player

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:47:21 +0000

Ritchie wearing a German national team jersey and being interviewed at a soccer game in Munich during The Battle Rages On tour.

Paicey in Moscow

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 21:38:21 +0000

Here's a video from the recent Paicey's visit to Moscow, where he held a drum clinic on Ferbuary 8. Sadly, the interview bits are overdubbed in Russian.

Over The Rainbow premieres live

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 15 Feb 2009 19:51:57 +0000

Setlist and a couple of short clips from Minsk, February 14 for your viewing pleasure.

South American tour confirmed

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 02:16:08 +0000

All South American dates that we had listed for a while now, have been officially confirmed by the Deep Purple management. The only additional date is March 5 in Florianopolis, Brazil. We still do not know anything about the venue in […]

Whitesnake at Castle Donington

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 23:31:47 +0000

Whitesnake will play this year at the Download festival in Castle Donington. The festival will run on the weekend of June 12-14 with Coverdale and his boys reportedly appearing on the 14th, just before headliners Def Leppard. Festival passes and […]

The effigy of Rainbow

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 22:46:57 +0000

Joe Lynn Turner has a couple of interviews out, dealing mostly with Over The Rainbow, with some old time Rainbow anecdotage thrown in for the good measure, and also the recent JLT's Live in Germany record. The first one is […]

Blackmore’s Night in Brescia and Trento

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 22:49:12 +0000

In Brescia and Trento the man in black was in the mood for some encores. Here are the setlists and a few video clips.

Love Is All in the charts

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 18:56:14 +0000

Roger Glover's Love Is All continues to pop up in different cartoons. This version by Florabelle et la Mushroom Family has been listed for 40 weeks in the France Singles Top 100. It entered the chart at number 65 in the […]

Rebel On The Run

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 22:11:49 +0000

The Moonstone Project has signed a deal with Swedish label Blistering Records to release their new album Rebel On The Run. Glenn Hughes contributed music and vocals on the track called Closer Than You Think. Moonstone's guitarist Matt Filippini recalls:

Closer Than […]

British tour goes on sale

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 19:00:53 +0000

We have 4 dates for the UK tour in November: Manchester, Glasgow, Birmingham and London Hammersmith. Tickets for these go on sale tomorrow, February 6, at 9 am. Please note that these dates are not yet confirmed by Purple management. […]

No encores in Milan

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:59:19 +0000

Blackmore's Night setlist from February 3 in Milan: God save the keg Locked within the crystal ball Queen for a day Under a violet moon Streets of London/The times they are a changin'/Soldier of fortune Durch den wald zum Bachaus […]

One Eye on Caramba

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:46:27 +0000

One Eye To Morocco is featured at Caramba! Amidst the stories that were already told on the Italian radio, Ian reveals that the album will be released in the following formats:

CD
Limited Edition CD
12'' Vinyl
gatefold 7'' Single (featuring two exclusive tracks as […]

Gillan Philharmonic at the City Of Steel

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 20:14:30 +0000

Ian Gillan will perform two shows with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra in early September in Germany under the Classics Play Rock monicker. The tickets are already on sale for both Gräfenhainichen and Magdeburg. Both shows are all reserved seating. There are […]

Dressing up for tea with Alice

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 21:08:10 +0000

Sharply looking Ian Gillan made the society page in Czech media after attending an Opera Ball in Prague last Saturday. Here are more pictures from the life of rich and famous.

Blackmore’s Night in the “Yes Man”

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 20:52:42 +0000

Blackmore's Night song Olde Mill Inn is featured in the new Jim Carrey comedy Yes Man, with Blackmore and Night names mentioned in the closing credits. I haven't seen the movie yet, but here's the proof. Olde Mill Inn is […]

Blackmore signature strat

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 01 Feb 2009 22:51:48 +0000

Fender is reintroducing the Ritchie Blackmore Signature Stratocaster model. The 2009 reincarnation of the guitar features alder body, maple neck, scalloped rosewood fingerboard, big headstock, two Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounder pickups (middle pickup is fake), vintage F-style tuners, and comes in […]

One Eye To Morocco radio premiere

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 09:38:39 +0000

Italian Capital Radio has posted online the Whatever show from January 26 that guested Gillan with what appears to be the world radio premiere of One Eye To Morocco. The show is 53 minutes long, with the interview itself starting […]

The other eye to Europe

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 17:03:32 +0000

Ian Gillan is doing a media blitz around Europe for his new solo album One Eye To Morocco. Tonight, January 26, he will appear on Capital Radio in Italy. You can listen to it online (if you're lucky that is, I […]

A Light In Zoetermeer

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:10:41 +0000

A review of the Don Airey's show in Zoetermeer on January 22 and a brief interview with the man himself apears on the Here Comes The Flood blog:

Any chance of Deep Purple recording one of your songs on a […]

Glenn Hughes at the NAMM

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:19:59 +0000

Glenn Hughes was interviewed by Eric Blair at the NAMM, which was held January 15-18, 2009 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Glenn talks about his plans, his life, the F.U.N.K album, and the much discussed here and […]

Ian Gillan’s Moroccan tracklist

Rasmus Heide — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 00:13:56 +0000

A 12-track list for Ian Gillan's forthcoming solo album One Eye To Morocco has been published on Amazon Germany with a release date of March 6. No cover is shown. 1. One Eye To Morocco 2. No Lotion For That […]

Tommy Bolin biography on US radio

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 22:02:17 +0000

Greg Prato continues promotion of his new book Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story. He will appear with an interview in the Electric Ballroom show on New Jersey radio station 95.9 WRAT FM this coming Sunday, January 25 at 10 am EST. […]

Deep Purple at the World skiing championship

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 21:23:41 +0000

Czech media reports that Deep Purple will play at the opening ceremony for the World Championship in Nordic skiing. The championship opens on February 18 at the Tipsport Arena in Liberec, Czech Republic. Deep Purple's appearance was announced by Kateřina […]

Return to Baalbeck

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 22:48:23 +0000

Back in 2006 Deep Purple were booked to play at the Baalbeck International Festival in Lebanon. The show had to be cancelled due to war that broke out in that country. The band were still committed to play up until […]

Second Purple Night in Finland

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 16:41:59 +0000

The Perfect Strangers of Finland is organizing a second Purple Night, which is now becoming a good tradition. A project called 10 Perfect Women will perform music from Deep Purple, Rainbow and Whitesnake. 10 Perfect Women includes singers Maria Hänninen, Lotta […]

Steve Morse to perform with Kansas

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 23:51:16 +0000

Kansas are celebrating their 35th anniversary this year with a gala performance at the White Concert Hall in Topeka, the eponymous state of Kansas. Both founding guitar player Kerry Livgren and Steve Morse are confirmed as special guests. Steve was […]

J.R.: “I always only wanted a normal Dad”

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 00:20:18 +0000

Jürgen "J.R." Blackmore talks about his career, his father and the Over The Rainbow project in a recent interview with Rockinform Magazine:

Your father is Ritchie Blackmore. How do you feel about it, that he's a legendary guitarist? Jürgen: - […]

Scandinavian dates confirmed

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 23:06:59 +0000

All the Scandinavian dates that we had listed in our tour dates calendar for a while now are also confirmed. One more date was added: Meri Päivät (Sea Days) Festival in Kotka, Finland on July 17. (I know, technically Finland is […]

Gillan and Hughes on Planet Rock

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 20:46:07 +0000

Ian Gillan and Glenn Hughes, along with Brian May and Bryan Adams will appear on Planet Rock in Tony Iommi's Guestlist show on Sunday, January 11, at 10 pm. Planet Rock broadcasts worldwide via the internet.

Japan and Eastern Europe confirmed

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 17:12:09 +0000

Two tour legs have been confirmed by Deep Purple management: 6 dates in Japan in April and 4 dates in Poland, Czech Republic and Slovakia in early May. Our tour dates calendar has the details. As usual, please mail us any corrections, […]

Jon Lord: Mark 3 reunion is ‘hot air and wild speculation’

Rasmus Heide — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 19:57:06 +0000

Jon Lord has posted a comment on his website to recent press rumours of an impending Deep Purple Mark 3 reunion with Lars Ulrich offering himself for the drum stool: 'It all seems like a lot of hot air and […]

Holiday issue of Cartouche

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:33:19 +0000

The wedding & Christmas special issue of the Blackmore online fanzine Cartouche is out. In this issue:

news from the marriage of Ritchie and Candice
retrospective reviews of Christmas Carols and Beyond The Sunset
interviews with Candice, Carole, members and entourage of […]

JLT on American radio

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 04:20:59 +0000

Joe Lynn Turner will be the featured guest on Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM on Friday, January 9. We have no idea what they will be talking about, but an educated guess would be […]

Purple and Black in the press

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 23:03:28 +0000

Classic Rock Magazine has made good on their promise to (finally!) put Deep Purple on the cover -- they appear on the February 2009 issue. Inside the issue there is a 20-page Purple feature with interviews from Gillan, Glover, Paicey and […]

Glenn Hughes NOT to support Whitesnake

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 21:01:20 +0000

Regarding the possibility of Glenn Hughes supporting Whitesnake in Norway in May, Glenn's webmaster says:

No, that isn't happening. The media have got it wrong again, Glenn will NOT be on the bill for this particular festival. There will be some appearances with […]

Tommy Bolin on the radio

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 21:12:57 +0000

Wednesday morning December 24th at 8:15 am (US Central Time), Greg Prato will be a special call in guest on KKMA KOOL 99.5 FM in Sioux City, Iowa with Big Daddy in The Morning. Greg will be joined in the studio […]

Roger’s tumulous and rapid year

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 00:45:20 +0000

Roger Glover has posted an end-of-the-year message on his website, plus some photographic moments from 2008 and a new batch of fan pictures from meet&greets around the world. Of particular note, he has been digging his tape archives in search of bonus material for […]

Stormbringer remaster

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 21 Dec 2008 23:57:33 +0000

EMI has pushed back to February release date for the Stormbringer remaster. The release was already announced for January 19 and is advertised so at online retailers. The new date that we have is February 23. There will be 3 […]

Merry Xmas from Caramba TV

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 18:26:45 +0000

A slightly squeezed Big Ian gives update on his solo album and wishes everybody Merry Christmas.

Glenn Hughes to support Whitesnake

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:04:51 +0000

Local media in Norway reports that Whitesnake is announced to play the Rock Fæst in Halden on May 22. What's more interesting, they will be supported by Glenn Hughes and the Come Taste The Band tribute band. A couple of weeks ago […]

Tommy Bolin biography

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 23:38:12 +0000

Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story is the new book written and published by Greg Prato.

To many, Tommy Bolin was the legitimate heir to Jimi Hendrix’s rock guitar throne. Stints with the James Gang and Deep Purple –- as […]

Olympic Studios on the chopping block

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 18:41:37 +0000

Music Week reports that EMI is seriously considering closing down it's Olympic Studios in London and to that effect entered into a "consultation process" with the staff of 11. It is understood that the studio is not profitable. This means that EMI […]

Paicey on Planet Rock

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 14:00:22 +0000

We have an unconfirmed report that Planet Rock radio aired an interview with Ian Paice on Saturday night, December 13, and it is supposed to be repeated again on Tuesday, December 16 at 6 pm (British time presumably). Planet Rock's schedule lists […]

Summer tour shaping up

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:04:28 +0000

Although there has been no word yet from Thames Talent, it looks like the summer Deep Purple tour is shaping up. New tour dates are being announced by the local media and are trickling in almost on a daily basis. […]

Coverdale’s press conference in Kiev

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 07:41:39 +0000

On the eve of the first ever Whitesnake concert in Ukraine, David Coverdale appeared at a press conference in Kiev. Here we present you with the complete video recording of the event (about 20 minutes long). There's quite a few […]

Drum clinic in Moscow

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:41:36 +0000

Russian promoters SAV Entertainment have announced that Ian Paice will visit Moscow to perform a drum clinic on February 8, 2009. The clinic will be at the Central House of Artists and tickets will be available via www.kassir.ru. Thanks to Dmitry […]

Big Noize cancel South American tour

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 22:15:57 +0000

Big Noize, featuring Joe Lynn Turner on vocals, together with bassist Phil Soussan (Ozzy Osbourne, Vince Neil), guitarist Carlos Cavazo (Quet Riot, Ratt) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, Dio), have cancelled their tour of South America, literally hours before the […]

Blackmore’s Night on French radio

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 04:11:32 +0000

French station Radio Mercure 93FM will air a 90-minute Blackmore's Night special on December 5 at 21:25 CET. Radio Mercure also broadcasts online in a variety of stream formats. Blackmore's Night have a string of European dates pencilled in for the late […]

Bolin special on US radio

Nick Soveiko — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 17:56:23 +0000

Monday December 1st, from 7:00-8:00 am (central time) Stormin' Norm from KKFI 90.1 FM in Kansas City will be having John Herdt and Johnnie Bolin as special call in guests. Norm will be discussing all things Bolin, from the new guitar […]

Headbanging New Year

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:44:19 +0000

"We Wish You a Metal Xmas...and a Headbanging New Year" is the title of a Christmas album released by Eagle Rock Records back in October.

The ghost of Ritchie Blackmore

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 18:08:42 +0000

Joe Satriani reflects on his Purple stint in a recent interview for Living Legends Music:

It was the easiest thing in the world to step into it. Because it's just like sitting on top of a perfect wave that keeps carrying you along and giving you a great ride...

Valentines and midnight sun

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:23:40 +0000

The proverbial Purple touring juggernaut shows no signs of slowing down. We have received two festival appearances for 2009. Neither of them have been confirmed by the band's management yet. Proceed at your own risk. ;) Valentine's Day will be […]

Jerusalem’s album remaster

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:51:06 +0000

Gillan's brief foray into producing other bands in the early 70-s is getting new attention. Jerusalem was an early 1970s British heavy rock five piece outfit. The band released one self-titled album worldwide in 1972 on Deram (UK catalogue number: […]

Blackmore to tour Over The Rainbow

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 19:29:41 +0000

It looks like the hotly debated Purple Rainbow story is getting an unexpected twist. A press release from Russian promoters Prestige Concert states that the new band will be called Over The Rainbow and will consist of: Joe Lynn Turner -- […]

One Eye To Morocco

Nick Soveiko — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 15:37:20 +0000

Ian Gillan's new solo album called One Eye To Morocco is mostly ready, apart from the track listing which is being finalized. DPAS reports a January release date, but we're being told by the man himself that it will be out […]

Gettin’ Tighter

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:17:30 +0000

Martin Popoff has a new book published -- Gettin' Tighter: Deep Purple '68 - '76. According to his press release, the book is 250 pages long and covers "every last recorded track throughout the band's celebrated albums from the '60s […]

Guitar clinic in Bamberg

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 06:20:40 +0000

There's another Steve Morse's guitar clinic on November 17. It will be held at the Musikhaus Thomann, Treppendorf 30, Burgebrach (near Bamberg). The clinic starts at 16:00. For further information please call +49 9546-9223-0. The clinic is once again sponsored […]

Signing session in Basel

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 23:31:35 +0000

Steve Morse will hold a signing session in Basel in the afternoon of November 18. The session is organized by Engl to promote their Steve Morse Signature E656 amplifier. Admission is free, but interested parties are required to register beforehand (click […]

Guitar clinic in Stuttgart

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 19:16:23 +0000

Steve Morse will hold a guitar clinic in Stuttgart, Germany this Saturday, November 8. The Clinic will be at the Liveclub Samba, Max-Eyth-Str. 54 (Industriegebiet Langes Gewand), Winnenden. Doors open at 15:00, clinic will start at 16:00. Free admission. The […]

Coverdale picks Best Album award

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 08:42:24 +0000

Whitesnake has won the Album Of The Year for the Good To Be Bad at this year's Classic Rock Roll Of Honour awards. Here's a picture of one very happy Mr. Coverdale collecting the prize. Other celebrated glitterati included Ozzy Osbourne […]

A tale of two tribes

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 19:23:37 +0000

Our very own undercover war correspondent reports with a despatch from the New Forest:

In the 11th century on boggy marshland near the south coast of England, King William 1 created The New Forest. It came as quite a shock […]

I’m the navigator

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 20:22:50 +0000

In the cockpit of a Tu-134, the "Russian GPS", playing gargantuan arenas and pondering finite moments of life -- read all about it in the latest installment of Steve Morse's Notes from the road.

From Russia with love

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 01:52:55 +0000

Here's something for you to dwell upon -- Gillan discussing everything from the current financial crisis to monogamy in a recent interview for the Russian Internet TV station Nevsky Express.

Another note from the road

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 03:23:17 +0000

Steve Morse sends another message from the road. Junkyard Wars, "ticofi", and in memoriam of Klaus "Pyro" Porzia -- read it on stevemorse.com.

Ukraine and Russia tour report

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 17:31:26 +0000

Deep Purple started it's tour of Ukraine and Russia. On October 12 in Dnepropetrovsk they were greeted at the local airport by two girls in traditional costumes, welcoming the band with an ornate loaf of bread and a capella folk songs. This […]

Notes from the road

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:14:06 +0000

In his latest installment of Notes from the road Steve Morse talks about his pet peeve -- air travel, reminisces on the last tour leg, and touches on the topic that stirred so much controversy in THS comments:

Afterward, I was […]

Gillan interview on Rockpages.gr

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 15:00:22 +0000

Crossword puzzles, Ritchie's mother in law, and the Big Bang theory -- what do they have in common? Read on. A very entertaining interview with Ian Gillan done by George Anasontzis.

See and read The Sunflower Jam

Rasmus Heide — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:09:44 +0000

Deep Purple's appearance at The Sunflower Jam turned into a very different show, high on improvisation and special guests. Introduced by Yes' Rick Wakeman, Deep Purple got under way with Pictures of Home and a pumping start. - That’s Johnny […]

Roger’s painting in charity auction

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:57:52 +0000

Roger Glover has contributed one of his paintings to Status Quo's 'Pictures' Auction, which is taking place on November 5th at Bonhams in London. Proceeds of the sale will go to British charity Prince's Trust. Entrance to the auction will […]

Man In Black ties the knot

Nick Soveiko — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 21:51:42 +0000

Richard Hugh and Candice Lauren were pronounced husband and wife at 4:48 pm on October 5, 2008, at a small gathering of friends and family. Update [Oct 15]: pictures from the wedding are available on Candice Night's website. More pictures here. […]

Nick Simper’s gigs cancelled

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 23:07:05 +0000

Peter Brkusic (drummer from Nasty Habits) writes:

I'm very sorry that I must inform you that the 3 shows from Nick Simper & Nasty Habits in November in Austria and Germany are cancelled. We are very sorry for all the fans who […]

Jon Lord and Deep Purple jammed at Sunflower

Rasmus Heide — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 22:13:40 +0000

Deep Purple were joined by Jon Lord for five songs at this year's Sunflower Jam on Thursday evening in London. Photo copyright: Rasmus Heide Long versions of Hush and Wring That Neck made sure fans of Jon Lord's Hammond style […]

Impromptu in Portugal

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 17:46:08 +0000

A quiet family dinner next to a charity event at a Portuguese resort Santa Barbara De Nexe turned into an impromptu performance for Gillan. The Portugal News Online reports (complete with mistakes and misspelling):

As diners dug deep in their pockets […]

Into the fire

Nick Soveiko — Sat, 20 Sep 2008 00:11:06 +0000

A new wordography is up at Caramba! -- if you ever wondered what the intricate English pub culture has to do with Into The Fire, read on.

Blackmore’s Night in the media

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:54:42 +0000

Blackmore's Night enjoys coverage not only in fanzines: Castles and Dreams DVD sold enough copies in Germany to achieve gold status. An award to that effect was presented to the band on September 3rd at the Aegi Theater in Hannover. […]

Second issue of Cartouche

Nick Soveiko — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 00:08:13 +0000

Second issue of Cartouche -- an online Blackmore fanzine -- is out, and it's a big one. 112 pages, no less, with everything from Blackmore's Night cover bands to the latest Deep Purple DVD. In this issue:

"The paranormal interview" with […]

We’re just musicians

Nick Soveiko — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 23:03:07 +0000

A very amusing and offbeat interview with Roger taken probably in the summer of 2007 when the band was touring North America and stopped in Chicago. Roger handles the reporter (who had one too many) with his usual class and […]

Through the camera eye

Nick Soveiko — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 16:52:48 +0000

Fin Costello did a lot of photograpy for the Purple family back in the 70s. He is now taking his work on the road for exhibition around Norway. Roy Hilmar Svendsen from NRK spoke to him and published an interesting […]

Watching The Sky

lonewolf — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 05:06:29 +0000

There’s a full-page interview with Don Airey in the September issue of BBC Sky at Night magazine. In the interview, Don talks about his passion for astronomy and how it inspired his solo album Light in the Sky. Interestingly, he […]