[hand] [face]
The Original Deep Purple Web Pages
The Highway Star

Running in and out

The desk of useless facts in our trainspotting department reports that at some point in time the stretch of the central street in Monteux called Grand Rue was renamed Avenue Claude-Nobs. Such that the building known as Le Petit Palais, that was the venue of the first Machine Head session — y’know, the one that […]

Blog | read more »


On the cheap

Live Nation Canada will be holding a ticket sale during the week of April 29 – May 5. Tickets to selected venues and shows will be offered for $30 (that includes fess, but taxes are extra), and according to Toronto Sun, Deep Purple are among the artists that will be offered during the promo week. […]

News | read more »


It’s what not to play

Some time earlier this year, before Deep Purple departed for Japan, Simon McBride sat down for a chat with dopeYEAH talk. What does it take to step into one of the most legendary bands in rock history — and make it your own? 🎸🔥 In this episode, Rob Cass sits down with Simon McBride, the […]

News | read more »


That allergy to major sevenths

Ritchie Blackmore continues his 2026 birthday celebration livestream at an “interesting hour in the morning”. And it may even be not the last instalment!

News | read more »


An unrusted, seasoned performance

The Chosun Daily reviews in a most positive way the Deep Purple gig in South Korea from April 18, 2026. At 7 p.m. on the 18th, the Culture Park inside the Paradise City Resort in Incheon. The band Deep Purple opened their performance with their signature song *Highway Star*. The knuckles of the members were […]

News, Tour Reviews | read more »


And they went their own merry ways

Back from the loo, Ritchie Blackmore continues his 2026 birthday livestream at (apparently) 4 o’clock in the morning.

News | read more »


If a tree falls in a forest…

A philosophical question: is it still a tribute album when you have six former members of the band on it? The album in question is Ride ​The Rainbow, it is a tribute to you-know-what, and features Bob Daisley, Graham Bonnet, Don Airey, Joe Lynn Turner, Doogie White and Ronnie Romero, among other people. [Updated Apr 23 with sample track]

News | read more »


A very gentle, satisfying evening

Part 2 of Ritchie Blackmore’s 2026 birthday livestream continues from his in-house bar.

News | read more »


Tears to his eyes

Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night have appeared on April 14, 2026, on SiriusXM’s show Ozzy’s Boneyard. The interview is available to SiriusXM subscribers only (apparently there’s a free trial, if you’re inclined), but BraveWords has a quote from Ritchie about late Jon Lord: I said to Jon Lord of Deep Purple, when we got together, […]

News | read more »


Theoretically possible, but hasn’t happened yet

Some time ago (posted March 5, 2026) Steve Morse spoke to a gentleman called Jordi Pinyol. Steve talks about his writing process, work ethics, reminisces about rubbing shoulders with the likes of Pat Metheny and Narada Michael Walden, surfing with Jaco Pastorius, and how being in Kansas was different from being in Deep Purple.

News | read more »


Get a lawyer, immediately!

Ritchie Blackmore does a livestream on his 81st birthday.

News | read more »


Mr. Airey, what went wrong with your gear?

While being in Japan, Don Airey sat down to chat with Roppongi Rocks. Caveat: the host seemed to be more interested in Don’s stints with Ozzy and everybody else rather than Deep Purple.

News | read more »


Can’t happen here

More details have surfaced on the William Shatner’s upcoming “metal” album, and it sounds like Blackmore will not be appearing on it after all. AntiMusic reports: Cleopatra Records shared a new update on William Shatner’s forthcoming metal album and revealed that the Star Trek icon reached out to Deep Purple legend Ritchie Blackmore to record […]

News | read more »


Once upon a time in Budokan

After a year-long hiatus of 2025, Deep Purple have started their massive world tour on April 11 at the place that helped them to get propelled into the superstardom — Tokyo Budokan. Potential spoilers ahead.

News | read more »


That woman from Tokyo

Deep Purple are about to start this year’s massive tour. The first dates are in Japan, where they met with the positively giddy Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (who is a huge fan and plays drums herself).

News | read more »


There will be hell to pay

A Deep Purple vinyl release is joining the roster for the 2026 Record Store Day. It is a reissue of The Infinite B-Sides And Bonus Songs on vinyl with different artwork.

News | read more »


Cold spirits of ice

Here’s a bit of the trainspotting boogaloo. The property known as the Horizons in Stowe, Vermont, has been renovated into a posh second home and was a subject of an extended exposé in the Stowe Magazine, issue Winter-Spring 2025/2026. For all your interior decorating tips of the historic venue, kindly proceed to the online version […]

Blog | read more »


A mountain burned down…

In the last couple of weeks Ritchie Blackmore’s official YT channel has posted several short clips of Jon Lord reminiscing about Deep Purple’s selected albums and tracks. Most (all?) of these had been available before in one form or another. Here they are as a playlist, albeit in reverse chronological order — starting with Stormbringer […]

Blog | read more »


Speakeasy 1974

Ritchie Blackmore’s official YT channel presents Jon Lord, Ozzy Osbourne, and Ian Hunter in conversation with Chip Monck in 1974. Ritchie Blackmore has opened up his tape archive and found a great interview following Deep Purple’s triumphant California Jam show in April 1974. Chip Monck hosted the 1974 rock talk show Speakeasy, which featured an […]

News | read more »


The hatchet was still there

In this video interview to Swedish Metall Magazinet, dated September 1993, Ritchie Blackmore speaks at length about many things, current and not, with his tongue firmly planted in cheek most of the time.

News | read more »


||||Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
© 1993-2026 The Highway Star and contributors
Posts, Calendar and Comments RSS feeds for The Highway Star