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Purple Blown away in Zaragoza
it seems the weather had other plans when Deep Purple were about to hit the stage in Zaragoza on the first night of the European tour this summer, here’s what Ian Gillan had to say about it:
Deep Purple – 11/07/08 Zaragoza
As we were about to hit the stage the gig here was blown out by a storm that arrived without notice.Did I say a storm? It was a tempest of biblical proportions.
Sorry we didn’t get to perform for you but the damage to stage and equipment was so bad that it was impossible.
Some of the crew (not ours) were injured and we’re waiting for reports.
I hope you are all ok!
We always try to get through these things, but for reasons of safety it was called off by the promoters.
Needless to say we look forward to seeing you again sometime in the future.
Cheers from all of the band, ig
and thinkSPAIN.com reports:
Violent storm wrecks rock fest
Last night’s Monsters of Rock festival was washed out by a violent fifteen-minute wind and hail storm that also disrupted the 2008 international exhibition cultural programme.
One spectator was hospitalised after being hit by a metal scaffolding plank, but was not seriously injured.
Around 7,000 heavy metal fans had been looking forward to a star-studded line-up, including the likes of Deep Purple, Thin Lizzy and Twisted Sister.
Organisers are assessing whether tonight’s concerts, including a performance by Iron Maiden, can be salvaged.
At the Expo site, the storm, which struck at around 10pm, forced the suspension of a joint concert by Estrella Morente and Dulce Pontes, also interrupting the Iceberg show.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Wow. Glad nobody was hurt really bad.
July 13th, 2008 at 01:11Stormbringer came down to see the show.
:((((((
OMG, I was expected this show to be shining…. But…
As I see, Deep Purple is a great band, but fortune never smiles to Deep Purple… Remember Knebworth festival in 1984, the rain reduced people’s attendance twice…
God don’t bless Deep Purple 🙁
July 13th, 2008 at 02:43Oh, George, were you there then? 🙁
July 13th, 2008 at 16:14Oh, He does sometimes… A few years ago, my wife and I saw Purple in an outdoor amphitheater. We came prepared with ponchos that protected us as the sky opened up and the rain continued all the way through Satriani and Thin Lizzy.
But the moment they went off and the roadies began changing the equipment, the clouds cleared, a rainbow appeared in the sky, and Deep Purple took the stage.
July 13th, 2008 at 18:13Can you imagine me and my mate flew in from Holland to see this show..? Looking forward to a great weekend but Deep Purple was the main reason to go. We had premium places just in front of the stage when all went on. First rain and wind, but later hail also joint the party. When I came out abt 15 minutes after it started I was hoping it would all go on, but to my surprise the whole site was a mess. I knew at the time it was bad, but I did not anticipate all was that bad. After walking outside for about 45 minutes it became clear that it would be a no-go for the rest of the night (removing instruments from the stage, etc). We were lucky to get a cab out back to our Zaragoza hotel. After taking a few in a local pub to drown our misery, a shower (it had been 40C all day) and a night’s sleep we went back to the Feria the next morning for the Metalway festival, only to find the cops telling us that the whole festival had been cancelled… After 24h I can tell you I am disappointed that we travelled all the way to Spain for nothing (not in any way dismissing the excellent performances by Pretty Maids, Rage, Candlemass, Thin Lizzy and Ted Nugent).
Anyway, quite a story but thanks for listening.
We’ll catch up with Deep Purple somewhere along this tour.
July 13th, 2008 at 20:03T…
July 15th, 2008 at 05:03Did a rainbow appear, or did Rainbow appear? 🙂
I have a pic of me dad in the deserthills of Zaragoza.
I could have told you that’s no place to give a show!
July 15th, 2008 at 23:28I have a pic of my Dad sitting on the sphinx’s foot
I can tell you thats no place to give a show. Sand get everywhere!!
July 16th, 2008 at 13:11I have a picture of my dad’s sphinkter too……. a few dingle berries, but no sand….
July 19th, 2008 at 16:56Ding Dang Doo
July 25th, 2008 at 13:32