By Mike Eriksson, Deep Purple forever! (Swedish DP club)
I just blew a whole week in what seemed like five minutes to me. So I must have spent most of it in the twilight zone or something! Here's what actually happened!
June 25. Payday. "Deep Purple Forever!" issue 14 arrives from the printers and I manage to mail these with a prayer.
June 26. Eight hour drive to Stockholm for the DPF Deep Purple party at the Bald Eagle pub. We stop and place leaflets from EMI in record stores (concerning "California Jamming" and the club) in a couple of towns on the way. Deep Purple are to play nearby and posters are to be seen everywhere. Then, the party.
June 27. Word reaches us that Steve Morse is going to have a guitar clinic at the Estrad Music Shop at five o'clock. We find the place and is treated with what can only be described as a musicians stand up comedy show! The guy is very funny!!! Among many interesting things, Steve tells us that he has a small guitar that he plays while driving his car and while flying an aeroplane! Later at the Deep Purple show it is easy to see that practice makes perfect! Not a great show, but pretty good anyway. Steve is the hero of the day. Roger Glover agrees to meet the club backstage and this in turn evolves into a 20 minute meeting at the hotel later. At midnight the band leaves for Umea by bus (we are talking ten hours here!).
June 28. Home to base.
June 29. Two hour drive to the town of Timra. Deep Purple have 6000 people or so go completely nuts! This was a highlight in my life as a Deep Purple fan. My sister bring her oldest children along (11 year old girl Cecilia and 14 year old boy Christian) and it is quite a moment for them. Cecilia is right up front for a while (under heavy protection) and Ian Gillan smiled when he spotted this little girl with the very big eyes as he strolled on to the stage. Possibly the best Deep Purple gig I ever saw.
June 30. Lennart from the Glenn Hughes "Coast To Coast" internet mailing-list head for DPF-headquarters in order to join us for the next trip.
July 1. We travel to Uppsala which is a six hour drive. We arrive just in time for another DPF Deep Purple party at Rackis pub. New Glenn guitarist Joakim Marsh shows up.
July 2. Two concerts to handle, Deep Purple *and* Glenn Hughes. Glenn talks to us for 90 minutes or so in the afternoon and as always the mane is a pleasure to meet. The Deep Purple show is a goodie. Steve Morse tease us with the "Burn" riff in the "Speed King" solo (as often Ritchie did) but when Ian Paice joined him, Steve was already heading for something new. Plenty of jamming going down. I spotted a camera team from TV4 before the show so footage from this show should exist (perhaps the first three songs or something). After Purple we rushed over to the Glenn gig. Asked two women in possibly their mid-40s for direction and they were rushing from the Deep Purple themselves to check Glenn out! On this trip I have come to realise that most of the fans are over 30! Glenn presents a set of oldies. It is very loud indeed! After Purple, a bit *too* loud! but very enjoyable. "You Fool No One" was pretty good. That one will probably appear on the upcoming Glenn Hughes live album that is to be recorded in Japan later. I am looking forward to that!
July 3. Travel home, No rock music allowed in the car! Lots of mail waiting. So the leaflets seem to have been a good idea.
I would like to thank especially Glenn Hughes, Roger Glover, Jenny Larsson (BMG), Lennart Hedenstrom and Staffan Eriksson for all the support and goodwill during this busy week! Now I am off working on DPF issue 15. You've just read a short version of some of the contents of that magazine.
Thanks to Deep Purple for doing the Swedish tour! You are building up a new reputation! We all appreciate your hard work and wish you all the best!
Mike.
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