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Regent Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
April 24, 2004

by Mick Harris

A friend invited me out the other night. He wanted me to go check out this band he had been admiring for awhile. They don't get much press or radio airplay, but they were touring Australia again for the third time in five years. They have a new album out, and were going to play some tracks from it. He mentioned they would also manage to drop in a couple of what he called 'classic' songs. Songs he said have become anthems to those few who love what this band has and is achieving.
So with this I say what the hell, I'm up for something new, and something tried and true that can stand the test of time. So with this we made or way to a place called the Regent Theatre. A place where stage plays are performed, but a venue that is able to give you an 'up close and personal' perspective of this show. So we go for tea and meet up with these legions of fans. Fanatics I call them. They have t-shirts, CDs, books, posters, memorabilia, and stories to tell. Each one there knows something about the mystique, the grandeur, and what appeals to them about this band. I call it a 'cult', but don't dare so it out loud.
So I ask, “this band, Deep Purple, are they good, or are you fans the only ones going to be there? And what's this I hear about a new CD, how new are these blokes?” I am told of reviews from abroad of a new energy, a new vibrancy, a new level of admiration and respect for these four chaps from the UK and one from the USA. The new album has been a success, bringing yet another change in line up. I wonder how many changes can they have for them to be relevant today. A punter who has travelled abroad and returned said they are like a new band hitting the music scene for the first time. Members are giving the opportunity to show how they are individually superb, technically amazing, and yet collective as tight and cohesive as they ever have been.
So we eat, drink and I listen to tales of days gone by, of epic travels, of what they have done for wounded souls, and what impact they have on each one of these fanatics' life. So as we walk to the venue, you can feel the excitement, the anticipation is noticeable as you walk and you know the disciples know that they will be delivered another memorable event.
The crowd is ready and restless at 9.15 as the stage is being set. Sitting three rows from the front, I could feel the excitement from those around me. Not much is said, the eyes tell the story of what is about to unfold. The lights dim, the hairs on the back of my neck stand up, I feel my heart beat harder through my clothes, I sit forward in my seat as I am minutes from an explosion of sight and sound that is guaranteed to send me in raptures.
But before it begins I ask one of the seasoned punters, what is this hype about, what type of show am I about to experience.

The story begins…
Once upon a time, five blokes who loved playing music, got together, formed a band, named it after the guitarists grandmothers favourite song and hence Deep Purple was known. Trouble though seemed to be common during their history, with each member having a SILVER TONGUE. They had the chance to travel far and wide, month after month, year after year, getting better but sometimes falling apart. In the land of the rising sun, they met a “WOMAN FROM TOKYO” who helped an album gain what is a benchmark for live performances. The requests kept rolling in, but they had to knock some back, merely stating “I'VE GOT YOUR NUMBER” because we are simply meeting a “STRANGE KIND OF WOMAN” in each town and port we stop, and we would have to be “BANANA”S to play there.
Promoters too, kept trying to bring them to town, but the band played it the only way they knew, loud, fast, with passion and flare, and the utmost respect for the crowds. But people kept “KNOCKING AT YOUR BACKDOOR” because “CONTACT LOST” had occurred for 10 years. The pressure and tension saw them change their appearance up to 8 times. But accolades kept rolling in time, and the band found a “WELL DRESSED GUITAR' player each time to help keep the disciples happy.
The rumblings within many times over the years have seen friends become “PERFECT STRANGERS”. But with each mark, they produced a new freshness, despite the doubters saying they won't be as good as they were in the past. But the disciples didn't care; they kept buying the albums, videos, DVDs and going to their concerts.
They seemed never to tire, travelling to town after town being a “HIGHWAY STAR” Each time a new injection occurred, new excitement, a new level of vibrancy happens that keeps the fans hungry for more ensuring the never become “LAZY”
With so many tours, trips, interviews, backstage appearances, much has been seen and heard by what has been described as the “pioneers of rock”. They had even ventured into space but tragically events occurred that “WHEN A BLIND MAN CRIES” their hopes of being the first “SPACE TRUCKIN' supergroup in the universe where every naut would dance and sway in the solar system was no more.
So they kept the vibe alive, by playing, and tearing it up in Japan, Singapore, South Korea, China, and Australia and beyond, as they don't want to stop. And I am told why stop when you are this good live, maybe the best they have been in years. They have played at the best place around, and while the “SMOKE ON THE WATER' never clears, a theatre of 2500 would debate the merits of each version they have formed. But no one will “HUSH” on this debate but sure as a “BLACK NIGHT' appears in the horizon, people will come from miles and miles to listen the phenomenon called DEEP PURPLE.
Note: it was the fourth time this writer saw Deep Purple live in Australia