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Les Binks R.I.P.
Drummer Les Binks has passed away at the age of 73. He played on Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball and Eddie Hardin’s Wizard’s Convention. Later on, he joined Judas Priest on Roger’s recommendation and appeared on two of their albums Stained Class and Killing Machine (a.k.a. Hell Bent For Leather), both released in 1978, and the live album Unleashed in the East (1979).
His last public performance was with Judas Priest at the 2022 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the heads-up, and to Uwe for correction of a brainfart.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Lieber Nick, I’m sure Les won’t mind and appreciates being mentioned here, and I as the resident Priest fan of course rejoice, but for historical accuracy: His last name is Binks, not Brinks.
Roger recommended him because Priest needed a drummer to replicate Simon Phillips’ complex parts from Sin After Sin (produced by Roger Glover), Simon had to refuse an offer to join Priest because he was already committed to a tour with the Jack Bruce Band in 1977. (He has said in later interviews that otherwise he might very likely have taken up the JP offer because the recording was good fun and he liked them as people because they were so dedicated to their craft.)
Binks’ drumming was much adored by fans of vintage Priest. You can hear him here in his heyday:
https://youtu.be/i2IKnAKwqsw
And he wrote one of Priest’s best-loved songs: Beyond The Realms Of Death:
https://youtu.be/BJJFgbU2JlM
How so? Les could play guitar and was a leftie (but I think he drummed rightie). During the sessions to Stained Class, he turned to everyone’s surprise one of the rightie guitars in the studio leftie and commenced to play a chord progression in a way that sounded totally unusual because the strings were now the other way round for him. Glenn Tipton and KK Downing immediately liked what they heard, copied Les’ leftie approach in rightie and Rob Halford wrote lyrics to it. Priest still play it today.
https://youtu.be/t710WSa01N8
We can’t talk about Les without mentioning his 1974 surprise hit with Fancy (which also featured Ray Fenwick and Mo Foster), a, uhum, sultry cover of the Trogg’s Wild Thing sung/moaned by Miss UK 1971 runner-up & former PENTHOUSE (an interview magazine with some pictorial content, liebe Karin) PET Helen Caunt (please, no juvenile-puerile name jokes here!)
https://images-cdn.bridgemanimages.com/api/1.0/image/600wm.XXX.56021150.7055475/5108886.jpg
which went fully erect to a stiff #14 in the US Billboard Hot 100:
https://youtu.be/FcuIBmooE9s
It will likely have escaped most male viewers here that Les IS NOT drumming in that vid (nor does Ray Fenwick play guitar), but they were the session cracks to record it, the drummer and guitarist you see (if you can take your eyes of Helen for a moment that is, and are not too distracted by her sighs, breathers and sensual moans) are just stand-ins for the performance.
Paradiddle in peace, Les, and I’m happy you still saw the introduction into the RnRHoF. Rock forever, you took on the world under the evening star!
https://youtu.be/37Ycn03HOVA
https://youtu.be/VK3NhVr0PV8
https://youtu.be/8cGdd0myLck
April 17th, 2025 at 04:58Awww Auntie Roberta 😃
I played it loudly, at 7 am and my sweetheart immediately demanded some peace 🤣🤣 (and he mumbled something about old dudes trying to act like hard rockers, but that’s ok, I dragged him outside this night to watch spectacular Notthern Lights, so he is moody and tired…🤭)
Sad to hear about Les Binks 😞
April 17th, 2025 at 05:48Vale Les. Some good drumming throughout his career in rock music. RIP
April 17th, 2025 at 06:28I just wanted to save you from the, uhum, brinks of embarrassment, Nick! 😇
Les had his own JP tribute band: Les Binks’ Priesthood:
https://youtu.be/5FRZUMOZ-Wk
https://youtu.be/a__hMCzzxUw
Herr MacGregor and Svante are better to judge this, but to my mind he was a very technical and ornamental/intricate drummer (which is not to say that he lacked groove).
But if truth be told, his departure from Priest wasn’t entirely based on the conflict about royalties from Unleashed In The East. 70s Priest were basically a heavy metal prog band, their music was relatively complex and Les was a great drummer for it.
All that was about to change in the late 70s though: They toured as openers for AC/DC and KISS and the primalness and immediacy of these two very successful bands rubbed off on them. Priest’s breakthrough album in 1980, British Steel, was almost punkish in the simplicity of its songs and part of that concept also advocated by their new producer Tom Allom (who would subsequently continue to produce all their 80s albums) was a very simplified rhythm section, which meant that bassist Ian Hill went from being a relatively intricate player to being purely foundational with hardly a bass run ever, and that Les’ playing was deemed too busy. In came Dave Holland from Trapeze instead who hadn’t been simplistic with them, but who was prepared to restrict himself to playing in an almost drum computer-reduced fashion for his new employers. Les Binks would have been quickly bored with a track like this:
https://youtu.be/zBJ8D_cjy28
Tellingly, all three songs Les played alongside current Priest drummer Scott Travis at the RnRHOF stem from the Dave Holland era and are prototype simplistic headbangers, i.e. Les didn’t record the studio version of any of them. Though my hunch is that the choice of Breaking The Law, Living After Midnight and You’ve Got Another Thing Coming was also determined by Glenn Tipton’s (= in effect JP’s musical director throughout the decades) affliction with Parkinson’s disease, he can no longer play the more complex parts or solo with the fluid technical prowess he once had.
True fact: When Ritchie left Purple in 1993, it was my hope that Glenn Tipton would get his job, no joke. At that point in time, Priest were Halford-less in the doldrums and Glenn wasn’t doing much other than recording poor-selling solo albums (with inter alia Cozy Powell and Don Airey), he would have been available for any offer. And before anybody cries now “But he was a heavy metal axeman!”, Tipton was an extremely versatile and prolific writer who dedicated himself to being a part of the Judas Priest twin lead guitar attack by choice, but could have no sweat adapted to a more Purple sound. The only issue would have been that he is a perfectionist who likes to work things out note for note beforehand (JP have live almost zilch improvisation), so he would have had learned to jam more with Purple (but that is something Steve Morse by his own account had to adapt to too).
Yes, there you have it, Uwe was selfishly hoping for a Deep Priest or Judas Purple, don’t oust me! Seriously: You can hear quite a bit of Blackmore in Tipton’s style, certainly more than Jimmy Page or Tony Iommi. That was always very apparent to me and likely explains why I like both bands so much. There are obvious parallels in the way both Purple and Priest streamline and stylize their trademark sounds, there is a “clever engineering” approach in both bands’ work.
It’s not that Purple would have ruled out any guitarist with a heavy metal background: At the time of Ritchie’s departure, Gary Moore, Michael Schenker (who was even approached, but said no) and Yngwie J. Malmsteen were all considered to follow him, so Glenn Tipton (whom Roger Glover knew from producing Sin After Sin) wouldn’t have been such an outlandish choice in principle.
April 17th, 2025 at 14:00Great performance from Priest but you can feel the tension. When Halford close to KK there is no eye contact at all.
April 17th, 2025 at 14:13Yes, but unlike Purple they at least managed to do it and have every one together on stage – ex-members (Les Binks), warring ex-members (KK Downing), ailing pro forma “still-members” (Glenn Tipton) and young guns not even introduced to the RRHoF (Richie Faulkner, the younger spitting image of KK Downing). That was a feat.
Of the two drummers on stage, neither was part of the original recording line-up of the three songs they played, that was the late great Dave Holland.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ndFcrF1osY
A man who has been described by Glenn Hughes as “one of the funkiest drummers from the British Isles” – not that you heard much of that with JP … 🤣
April 17th, 2025 at 17:13There is a bit more interaction between KK and Rob here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J4DGhJCwXoI
In any case there is not so much bad blood between Rob and KK as there is between KK and Glenn/Ian. Priest have the unfortunate tendency to treat anyone who dares to leave the band as a traitor to the cause. During Halford’s years in the wilderness it was pretty much the same.
That said, KK too keeps busy with Ripper:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJn8P2cCo2k
(The mix of the omnipresent bass drums is atrocious on this live recording.)
I really like KK, but after 60 years of playing hard rock lead guitar he still can’t solo fluidly all across the fret board (like Ritchie or for that matter Glenn Tipton used to before he fell ill or Richie Faulkner), but plays in ‘scale boxes’ either low down the neck or – 12 frets higher – the octave. KK, there are notes that fit IN BETWEEN too, you just have to find them!!! 😂
Personally, I think KK’s Priest are a bit on the dumb side
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b1/4b/51/b14b519bbe11f6fd844e9e8a413aa650.gif
but they have their fans.
April 17th, 2025 at 19:30Wild Thing, you make my ………………….first thing in the morning too. At least my coffee enjoyed that………….. Regarding the music and the Glenn Tipton thoughts from Uwe. He isn’t someone who I thought of at that time for a possible replacement guitarist in Deep Purple. However I sort of know what you mean. He always impressed me in JP way back in the 70’s & early 80’s Priest music. Before they ‘dumbed’ things down and became cliched in everything they did. It would have been interesting to say the least, as he was into the song as a guitar player and also as a writer no doubt. Now back to that Wild Thing…………. I had just woken and was still bleary eyed, not for long though………..and my coffee definitely did NOT curdle. At least Uwe gave a little warning as such……………Cheers.
April 17th, 2025 at 23:09I’m somewhat surprised why Karin hasn’t chipped in yet and asked her standard David Coverdale question re Ms Helen Caunt’s
https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/uy4AAOSwuh9kuT3X/s-l1600.webp
performance on Wild Thing: “Why is she breathing so hard & does she know that there are homeopathic treatments available for this?!” 😁
We will likely have to explain things to her again.
https://i.discogs.com/d7Z4ch8J3KkX_FIkBwSdzxBp7f-7pnWU3E6mZo0w4mE/rs:fit/g:sm/q:40/h:300/w:300/czM6Ly9kaXNjb2dz/LWRhdGFiYXNlLWlt/YWdlcy9SLTU0OTEx/NzktMTQzMTA3MDg5/Ny0yMjk4LmpwZWc.jpeg
Interestingly and likely having to do with his dexterous tactile talents (drummers even have specific terms for this: “traditional grip” versus “matched grip”), the late Les pretty soon assumed the role of the “babe cradler” in Fancy’s promo shots.
https://music.metason.net/image?fn=A-314683.jpeg&sc=734
(with Mo Foster on the left and Ray Fenwick on the right)
https://c8.alamy.com/compde/2wwx4xd/rock-group-fancy-pop-band-der-fruhen-970er-jahre-session-musiker-produziert-von-mike-hurst-sie-hatten-1974-eine-us-hit-single-mit-einer-version-des-klassikers-wild-thing-der-von-penthouse-pet-helen-caunt-gespielt-wurde-ray-fenwick-von-der-spencer-davis-group-spielte-leadgitarre-mo-foster-am-bass-les-binks-am-schlagzeug-2wwx4xd.jpg
But that isn’t Helen anymore in the second shot (I’m not sure about the first), her undeniable heavy breathing talents were deemed too limiting (not just in a respiratory sense) as the band progressed to record an album and she was replaced by former Jesus Christ Superstar London cast member Annie Kavanagh.
And Annie could actually both breathe AND sing:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uKGM4JQWUY
(this TV appearance actually features Les plus Ray Fenwick and Mo Foster on double-neck bass/guitar)
Lest we forget: Centerfolds and musicians from the Purple family are nothing uniquely confined to Les Binks/Ray Fenwick and Helen Caunt, may I remind you of this guy
https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSAAiKCYfuadcBkrdo63gJgxwz6fmEXVrbUbZtsfDmx80h8smg5mA0e-X-UjLj8Q6_erkk&usqp=CAU
and Mr Hugh Hefner’s erstwhile companion
https://www.hollywoodshow.com/pub/media/catalog/product/cache/207e23213cf636ccdef205098cf3c8a3/0/1/012_1_3.jpg
https://rarehistoricalphotos.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/barbi-benton.jpg
Ms Barbi Benton?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED9wkABemBo
Audibly, Roger updated her mid 70s hit …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7N6nK-_lnMk
and our ubiquitous Scandinavian members (to the extent that they were old enough) will attest to the fact that Roger’s version even became a major hit in Sweden, ex-Sweden (aka Norway) and ex-Russia (aka Finland) in 1977.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ain%27t_That_Just_the_Way
April 18th, 2025 at 16:06A hell of a drummer, my favorite one in Priest and the perfect replacement for Simon Phillips.
April 18th, 2025 at 19:03By the way, Nino Tempo has also passed away, if that is from interest. At least a bit of a connection to the purple family.
@9
“I’m somewhat surprised why Karin hasn’t chipped in yet and asked her standard…“Why is she breathing so hard & does she know that there are homeopathic treatments available for this?!” 😁”
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Uwe, you are one of the most funny members of the human race!
I thank you for knowing me so well already 😂😂
April 18th, 2025 at 19:14And now I have to spend my sacred free time this evening listening and watching all the links you’re presenting, but that’s ok Uwe, because as you know, I’m here to learn 😆
@9
Re Barbie Benton, a couple of my older brothers were very much into her type!
April 18th, 2025 at 19:21She did have a beautiful voice – and if I may add: breathes almost normal 😂
From sending a link to The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady tv series to looking at all this………………luckily my first morning coffee was already consumed. Regarding the traditional and or matched grip for innocent drummers, I have noticed either can work, depending on the situation at the time………….you know what music can be like, all those different rhythms etc. Regarding Hugh Hefner, I do laugh at Jon Lord’s take on that when Purple were over there in the late 1960’s. Ritchie had to show Hefner how to hold the guitar etc for that video shoot, ha ha ha. Well told by Jon, very amusing with that ‘American accent’ of his. All good fun, now back to some of these images and videos………….bummer, I forgot to turn my sound system on and I missed all that heavy breathing……. Cheers.
April 18th, 2025 at 22:48Karin, please, now all we know you don´t like Coverdale… can you just stop those embarassing invectives? Thank you.
April 19th, 2025 at 12:53Barbi could sing, no doubt. I’ve been looking for a CD version of that Glover-produced album (and it has that typical latish 70s Glover production sound) for decades. He also plays on the album (not bass though) and co-wrote a number for her with David Coverdale. As did Bob Young and Micky Moody who also played the guitars on the album.
The credits read like a who’s who of people associated with Roger and the latish 70s UK session scene:
Arranged By, Conductor – Graham Preskett
Backing Vocals – Claire Torry*, Doreen Chanter, Irene Chanter, Jill Mackintosh, John Perry (7), Kay Garner, Tony Rivers, Vicky Brown*
Bass – Graham Preskett, Mo Foster
Drums – Barry De Sousa*, Dave Potts, Simon Phillips
Engineer – Bill Price
Flute – Ray Worley
Guitar – Mick Moody*
Harp – Fiona Hibbert
Keyboards – Mike Moran, Tony Hymas
Leader [Martyn Ford Orchestra] – Gavyn Wright
Orchestra – Martyn Ford Orchestra*
Percussion – Ray Jones, Roger Glover
Producer – Roger Glover
Steel Guitar – John Bidasio
Given that the album was a considerable hit in Scandinavia (in other regions it wasn’t even released for whatever reason), it’s strange it hasn’t seen a CD release yet. It’s generally perceived as a curio, but given the quality of Barbi’s voice (which Roger has attested to, also what a nice and easygoing person she was) and the musicians involved, I think the centerfold/Hefner GF stamp has detracted from the music. Yet there is no rule that having sported a set of staples in your belly button region at one time keeps you from performing well on an album.
April 19th, 2025 at 13:26@14
😆🤣
Hello dear!
I am not sure what you mean, but I can assure you this:
I LOVE the voice of Ian Gillan!
April 19th, 2025 at 13:43Alas!, this site and its many schisms … Gillan-doubters, Hughes-haters, Coverdale-insulters, Bolin-despisers, Ritchie-heretics, Joe-Lynn-Turner-dismissers, Morse-heathens, Airey-dislikers and McBride-belittlers …
Am I the only truly catholic (= all-encompassing) here?
We should hold a poll who has the least detractors in the band: Roger, Jon or Little Ian?
Coverdian has a point though: Nothing Gillan has done is elevated by putting DC down, may he let it swing forever!
https://media4.giphy.com/media/v1.Y2lkPTc5MGI3NjExdjRxcGxvNDhzbWJuYmtjdXg0bTM3M3N5Y2x1c3N4ZjhrY3Q5NXV1ZSZlcD12MV9pbnRlcm5hbF9naWZfYnlfaWQmY3Q9Zw/l2JhzCyPWrGPrx6eY/giphy.gif
April 19th, 2025 at 16:25@17
Uwe, I was a bit surprised, because in this thread I did not insult anyone ☺️
And if you can remember another thread where I admitted, not forced but completely of my own free will, that DC does actually have a very nice voice! (It was just his breathing I was a bit worried about, but never mind that! Apparently lots of ladies find it alluring 😄)
And if I may set the record straight here: I will never, and have never, put anyone down to elevate Ian!
April 19th, 2025 at 19:26Ian is a phenomenon and what other singers do og don’t do has nothing whatsoever to do with my favorite vocalist’s amazing endeavour 😉
Just as long as we don’t forget that any Purple musician and any line-up can mean something to someone, all is good.
April 19th, 2025 at 22:23@17 – This could sound like a put down of ole Cov’s, or even a ‘moan’, but he should leave that all that microphone swinging to good ole Roger, Daltrey that is. Cheers.
April 19th, 2025 at 22:24Karin, (sometimes not so) dear… twas me reaction on “she breathes normally”, i found that as laughing invective against DC, but maybe I am wrong.
April 20th, 2025 at 08:09You´re on the Deep Purple forum, for chrissake, not Zepp´s. Anyone who cannot see his breathing in early DP and Whitesnake years as his (maybe accidentally, I admit) trademark and still loves the band(s) is kind of fool, sorry. Burn, Stormbringer, (even) Made In Europe and Come Taste The Band are GREAT albums, take it or leave it. And … btw… mighty Ian Gillan is in second place in my own singers poll.
1 Coverdale
2 Gillan
3 Dio
4 Tony Martin
5 Mercury
6 John Lawton
7 Hughes
8 Bonnet
9 Doogie White
10 Ray Gillen
@21
Awww ok, Coverdian, allow me to first: sorry, I’ve never meant to hurt anyone’s feelings 😊
Most of the things I’ve said in here has actually been bantering between Uwe and myself!
Secondly: I have absolutely no clue whatsoever regarding other vocalists and their abilities to perform.
If you find David C great, fine by me 😍
As I have mentioned in here before, I have this thing going on in my head, where I see colours whenever I hear music, singing, read letters and numbers (all numbers with ‘5’ are blue, all eleven numbers are red, all odd ones are black and so on and so forth) (the same when I hear people’s names ☺️)(I draw pencil drawings, just for fun, and you should see me being in distress when I choose colours 😄)(not always easy to make flowers beautiful when you have a distinct problem with reddish and green colours together 🫣)
It can be very entertaining but at the same time some performers are a nuisance in my head.
As I’ve said over and over to Uwe, I’m here to learn, and I’ve tried and succeeded to incorporate other singers, among them David C! (Still struggling with Elvis Presley though 😖)
Sweetie, it’s completely fine by me that you find DV to be better than Ian ☺️
But to me Ian is the best! Plain and simple 🥰🤩 (and you should see the colours he draws in my head!)
Last: let us not quarrel 🤗
There are happening so many awful things right now all over the world.
At least in here let us live and have a good time ☺️
I am truly sorry if I have hurt your feelings, but as I said, most of my comments have been meant to bend Uwe out of shape (a bit 😉)(and Max actually asked me once if I am a bot or a real human being 😄)
And if you saw my face when I’m writing in here, you would find a big happy smile, also when I read all you dear people’s thoughts 😃
I promise to be more considering, except when Uwe are asking for a little tongue-lash 😂
Regarding Barbie Benton, I find her singing nice and way (WAAAAAY) better than I ever could! Regarding the breathing, it was mentioned with a glint in the eye, not meant too serious 😊
Can we, if not be friends (even though I like to be friends) at least accept each other?
Have a lovely day 😊
April 20th, 2025 at 10:05Not Paul Rodgers, Coverdian? I’m just asking out of curiosity because liking DC often indicates sympathies for Rodgers too.
I actually knew both Stormbringer and Burn before I had heard anything by Bad Co – they weren’t such a big thing in Germany, certainly not compared to their status in the US and the UK. But the similarities in vocal approach between Paul and David were pretty obvious.
To the defense of Karin, yes, heavy breathing while singing was DC’s stylistic shtick and mannerism (and I never minded it, took it as an homage to his black RnB idols), but now at his ripe old age he has been suffering from severe respiratory tract issues for years that will likely prevent him from ever singing again so who knows whether our resident homeopath heard something there already at a younger age. I wouldn’t rule it out.
April 20th, 2025 at 13:14Just thought of it: DC did after all have a badly deviated septum that caused him issues in the 80s and had to be operated. The long term breathing problems a deviated septum can cause are not great for a singer who has to rely on breathing technique.
We’ll have to ask Cindy how David’s snoring is doing, most wives are aural detection experts on this. ☝️😂
April 20th, 2025 at 13:40“… but he should leave that all that microphone swinging to good ole Roger, Daltrey that is …”
I disagree. When Daltrey did it, it was like a circus artist showing off a supple stunt, when Coverdale did it, he was metaphorically swinging his dick, the ole animal. 😁
I actually liked DC’s Mk IV look, he was a touch overweight, but came across as this really hulking figure fronting the band. Could have joined Molly Hatchet anytime! 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zjH6EU_UpcE
I’m not one of those people who thinks that Glenn ever upstaged him. Glenn is hyperactive and a committed showman, but has none of Coverdale’s calm dude-authority. Glenn, though the same age as DC (he’s only a month older), was always the little brother trying to get a word in too.
Visually, DC & GH worked well together as a front duo. It’s one of the aspects I really liked about Mk III live. Ian was more of a thinking (wo)man’s front man, but David & Glenn had something glamorous street gang-like to them. That appealed to me as a teenager.
April 20th, 2025 at 15:09@23
“who knows whether our resident homeopath heard something there already at a younger age. I wouldn’t rule it out.”
– I did actually exactly that Uwe!
And just to make everything crystal clear: I had not any idea DC (sorry Coverdian, I made an error writing DV, of course I meant DC ☺️) suffered officially from respiratory problems, but man could I hear it very LOUD, also when he was younger!
But Uwe, as I also said to you days (weeks?) ago, I really like his voice! You send a link, ‘Is this love”, acoustic performance, and it was NEAT 🥰 (found myself humming it the other day, René was almost alarmed 😄)
I still struggle with what’s-his-name, Elvis something, (again: being, or at least trying to be funny 🤣) I can’t have all that butter in my ears!
My very own sweetheart has taught me to like some new bands, I’m not quite ready to tap my toes and fingers to the rythm, but I’m getting there 😄
But this one is LOVELY:
https://youtu.be/qxNSEAJmGsg?si=rVgTVOSPbnZjMAPR
Hope for all of you that your spring time is warmer than here in Denmark! I am FREEZING big time! But no way am I wearing my winter clothes, rather catch pneumonia instead of that 🤭
April 20th, 2025 at 16:45@24
“how David’s snoring is doing”
I have been told by a very reliable source that some women find snoring a nuisance!
This I don’t get 😊
Not that René never snores, he has indeed a very intriguing way of sleeping, but I heard this lovely old lady saying, years ago, just after her beloved husband was dead:
“Yes, he snored, but you don’t know how much I wish I still could hear him snore” – have to admit I shed a tear (ok several tears, I am a girl after all 😉) so all in all, ladies (should there still be any ladies left in here) or you gentlemen, if your better half is snoring (yes, women tend to snore too! Maybe not as explosive as men, but never the less…) don’t get annoyed about such a little thing, one day you might be left alone, whishing from the bottom of your heart that you still could hear a snore 😍😍
And gentlemen, that was the heartfelt message from Denmark today 😃😘
April 20th, 2025 at 16:57@25
“Ian was more of a thinking (wo)man’s front man,”
Indeed he is Uwe!
His intellect is glowing from him! And ain’t that just adorable 🥰🥰
(Hey, why did you put it in past tense? He is still very intelligent)
April 20th, 2025 at 17:00And I just have to say this:
https://youtu.be/u2VhwVLkQjY?si=u_zXS9U7vxevYSHd
That is actually phenomenal! Not only DC’s singing, but the whole set-up 🤩
(How come it’s always sad songs, about heartbreaks, that are the most beautiful? I would like a happy-go-lucky song, maybe about yummy coffee, that could have the same explosion, but that ain’t likely to happen!)
April 20th, 2025 at 19:22It’s beyond me how making a bit of fun about some musician or just disliking one or another can offend an adult. This forum is for discussing all things Purple as far as I know and opinions differ – that’s the fun in it.
April 20th, 2025 at 22:06“And I just have to say this:
https://youtu.be/u2VhwVLkQjY?si=u_zXS9U7vxevYSHd
That is actually phenomenal! Not only DC’s singing, but the whole set-up …”
That specific “live recording” is more doctored in the aftermath than Kim Kardashian’s butt + Kylie & Kendall Jenner’s faces put together. Horrible. Compared to it, Purple’s Made In Japan is in terms of authenticity a caveman drawing found under hundreds of millennia of thawed permafrost for the first time.
I saw Whitesnake around that time. I know how they sounded. Nothing like this.
April 21st, 2025 at 00:42@30
Aww Max, so by now you know I’m not a bot 😉
April 21st, 2025 at 04:53@31
Really Uwe!??
Woah I couldn’t tell!
But he talks a few times, that is him, right?
April 21st, 2025 at 09:43All criticism of Glenn the Anointed (Hughes) is herewith strictly VERBOTEN. Non-observance will trigger the customary German reprisal actions, JAWOHL!!!
April 21st, 2025 at 14:22Karin @33, yes of course there might be an announcement or even a vocal line here and there that actually stems from the night of the performance, but overall it sound re-recorded in the studio and not like a band sounds really live. Coverdale has an incriminating record of “tweaking” live recordings in the aftermath, he’s a perfectionist. And Whitesnake used tapes live, I’ve seen and heard it myself. Joe (Lynn Turner) was right.
Off stage keyboarders, synth basses on recordings, guitarists miming with violin bows where what you hear is a synth, fake Marshall stacks when all the guitar sound is in fact coming from a small digital modeling tool hidden behind them, canned vocal and backing vocal tracks plus extensive studio re-recording of live performances – Whitesnake live is not exactly an epitome of authenticity, but more Hollywood dream factory. To Coverdale’s defense, he’s not the only culprit, other bands do it too. And the majority of audiences neither notice nor really care.
April 21st, 2025 at 19:09@35
Hmmm, well at least Ian is singing for real ☺️
(And if you now produce a trillion examples of Ian singing like DC, with tapes and what not, then I am going to do not much about it 😄)
April 22nd, 2025 at 05:29Sad but true, Uwe. I admired the man’s music for decades but last time I saw him in Köln on the Flesh & Blood tour I could tell he used tapes. Given that his vocals still sounded very strained. A pity. Still they put on a great show and for ole times sake… DC has his merits, loads of – but time hasn’t been good to his voice. BTW: I hate to admit but even Live…in the Heart of the City had redone vocals in places to make it flawless. I own a bootleg to prove it. But he really COULD and DID deliver back in the day.
April 22nd, 2025 at 11:22Nope, I won’t, Karin, no worries. There is indeed a difference insofar between the two, Ian dropped the song most identified with his voice and range – Child in Time – from the set decades ago because he felt he couldn’t do it credit anymore while DC performed the likewise vocally tasking “In The Still Of The Night” at every Whitesnake gig since 1988 – right up to the last gig (how much of his vocals were live by then was up to debate).
If Ian shared DC’s attitude, we’d still be hearing CIT, albeit augmented with backing tracks for the parts Ian can no longer do. I’d even go as far as to say that a sizable amount of people here would accept that on one signature song and if I’m really, really honest I might be among them just for the sake of hearing him sing the verses again, who gives a damn where the high falsetto parts come from? But it’s hard, no actually impossible to imagine that Ian would feign singing live to it like DC has done in live concerts with Still Of The Night.
But really, if Ian asked for the performance of CIT a guest vocalist on stage, introduced her (she’d likely have to be a woman) and let her sing the ascending parts, does anybody here believe that people would leave the gig in droves because they’d feel cheated? I don’t. It would be a perfectly legitimate and transparent thing to do. And he has long reached an elder statesman of rock status where he could actually sell that off with charm.
April 22nd, 2025 at 11:47Live In The Heart Of The City, the second album of the double album, i.e. with Little Ian instead of Dave ‘Duck’ Dowle drumming, already showed strains in DC’s voice – and those were the parts he likely left un’corrected’. I don’t know how much “Live At Hammersmith” is doctored, but he sounds great and much better on that.
I always wondered why Hairsnake never released a live album during their late 80s heyday, it might have been that the live performances did not reach a level where DC would have wanted them released. It would have made absolute commercial sense to follow 1987 with a live album, thus introducing how the new line-up sounded playing John Sykes songs and also use it to get fresh versions of old WS songs such as “Ain’t No Love” on the US market with a contemporary sound. But it didn’t happen and to this day there is no official live recording of the line-up featuring Vivian Campbell which I find very strange.
This is not a knock on DC, I remember gigs where he was vocally brilliant and held the audience in rapt attention. The old WS wall of sound with a great twin guitar team, Moody’s rootsiness, Marsden’s melodicism, a brilliant, nuanced rhythm section and Jon giving it all a majestic halo engulfed you with warmth in a way neither Rainbow (always a bit stiff) nor GILLAN (always a bit frantic-abrasive and noisy) ever could. On a good night, late 70s/early 80s Whitesnake was untouchable by those other two bands and slithered to sonic victory.
April 22nd, 2025 at 15:06@38
First: sorry Coverdian, please cover your eyes and don’t read the next sentences ☺️
Second: well Uwe, that shows integrity! That shows honesty in a man! Ohh forgot the quote, wait a minute: “If Ian shared DC’s attitude, we’d still be hearing CIT, albeit augmented with backing tracks for the parts Ian can no longer do.” – EXACTLY! And here we have the deeper reason to the fact why Ian is THE best singer ever! He adapts to the situation and his age, he still sings like a dream (at least in my head) and he doesn’t pretend!
Had he still been trying to live up to old times glory without being able to actually do it, I would feel cheated and violated 😞
Coverdian, now you can open your eyes again 😉
I have to admit that DC had a nice voice, he really did! But I loose the admiration a bit when he tries too hard to pretend that everything is as it used to be!
We know it isn’t!
We all get older!
We cannot do the things today we could for 30 years ago!
That’s life people 😳
“And he has long reached an elder statesman of rock status where he could actually sell that off with charm.” – and Uwe let me tell you why Ian actually can sell everything off with charm: because he is honest!
You know, I know, that Ian is an honest man! What you see is what you get!
But again that does not take away that pretty voice DC had when he was younger, not at all 😊
I have the exact same feeling when I see an older actress, who is well over her last sale date, so to speak! She may be held up with clothespins and is nipped and tucked everywhere, oh I get a little tired in my head.
April 22nd, 2025 at 16:09How refreshing it is to see an older actress admitting that this is how she looks now! (Here I am thinking of the late and GREAT English actress Maggie Smith)
Well that’s a whole different discussion, not fitted for these pages perhaps, but most people wanna see youth, are attracted to youth!
But how refreshing with honesty 🤩
I agree that “aging gracefully” is something Ian does exceedingly well while DC could apparently never find the encyclopedia entry for it. How ironic that these days he seems to be in worse physical shape than IG who is six years older than him (DC was never reckless with his body, but perhaps so with his vocal cords).
More than ten years ago, I read an interview by Reb Beach and it somehow turned to aging and grey hair and Reb quipped laughingly: “No chance of grey hair in WS, David just wouldn’t allow it, not a streak!” And I thought to myself: “Would I want to play in a band where I am required to dye my hair once it turns its natural grey?” Especially with a band like WS whose audience was already beginning to grey a quarter of a century ago.
Jon Lord said it felt liberating once he stopped dying his grey hair blond around the end of Mk V. I liked his subsequent grey pony tail.
April 22nd, 2025 at 19:04“I have to admit that DC had a nice voice, he really did!”
“But again that does not take away that pretty voice DC had when he was younger, not at all …”
😨 😨 😨 😨 😨
I’m so worried.
I really am.
Is there human trafficking in Denmark? There must be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g2WK4kMoM0U
I fear someone has hijacked Karin’s account. This ain’t right.
April 22nd, 2025 at 19:15@ 38- “If Ian shared DC’s attitude, we’d still be hearing CIT, albeit augmented with backing tracks for the parts Ian can no longer do. I’d even go as far as to say that a sizeable amount of people here would accept that on one signature song and if I’m really, really honest I might be among them just for the sake of hearing him sing the verses again, who gives a damn where the high falsetto parts come from?” What a load of bollocks Uwe. The fraud of certain musicians using non real live vocals at concerts (and also on ‘live’ recordings) is just that, FRAUD. “But it’s hard, no actually impossible to imagine that Ian would feign singing live to it like DC has done in live concerts with Still Of The Night.” Yes indeed.
April 22nd, 2025 at 22:20“But really, if Ian asked for the performance of CIT a guest vocalist on stage, introduced her (she’d likely have to be a woman) and let her sing the ascending parts, does anybody here believe that people would leave the gig in droves because they’d feel cheated? I don’t. It would be a perfectly legitimate and transparent thing to do. And he has long reached an elder statesman of rock status where he could actually sell that off with charm.” My oh my, how things have been watered down over the years. Time gentlemen. Cheers.
@42
😆 it really is me Uwe!
I just let myself grow and mature
(But I still don’t like the butter tenor 😝)
April 22nd, 2025 at 22:49@ 41- it is that rather familiar Faust situation Uwe, in regards to ole Cov’s ‘selling his soul’ for anything just to be a rock ‘star’. There is always a price to pay and he was warned. Ian Gillan on the other hand didn’t (it appears) sell his soul to the devil and he did sing, there is NO laughing in Heaven. Cheers.
April 23rd, 2025 at 00:48@41
“Jon Lord said it felt liberating once he stopped dying his grey hair blond around the end of Mk V. I liked his subsequent grey pony tail.“
Yeah, me too!
It’s not like letting yourself go just because you’re aging!
“And I thought to myself: “Would I want to play in a band where I am required to dye my hair once it turns its natural grey?” Especially with a band like WS whose audience was already beginning to grey a quarter of a century ago.”
– and Uwe, here comes a question from that part of the population who are not able to grow a beard, are you ready?
Ok, what do men do when their beard is going grey, if they’re not ready to admit they dye their hair? Because it’s quite obvious if you have the most beautiful black hair, but a white beard! Can a man actually dye his beard?
April 23rd, 2025 at 05:12And if it can be dyed, isn’t it necessary to dye it every day? 🤔
Someone in the Royaume de Danemark had ruined, eventually stolen, or maybe borrowed – without mentioning anything to me – my TBRO cd, and I was devastated!
But today, in the mail came a new copy of this neat album 🤩
I haven’t unwrapped it, because it is a collector’s item to me ☺️
Just wanted to mention that there still happens nice things in the mail 😄
April 23rd, 2025 at 15:10I’ve never dyed my beard, but my dad did for a while (we’re both very dark-haired or at least used to be!). I have fond memories of ridiculing him as teenager while my mom applied the dye to his beard, I thought it hilarious.
I’ve never used dye anywhere (head, beard, pubic). My dark-brown/blackish hair showed the first greys in my early 40s, I thought that was perfectly ok, by then I had been a father for 10 years, it’s ok to turn grey once you have kids, in most cases they are to blame in any case! 😁 I’m still not completely grey (my sides are though) and my beard is peppered (but more white by now). I never felt an inclination to change something about that, what’s wrong with turning grey, in other cultures it’s perceived as a sign of wisdom?
A couple of my colleagues at work started dying their hair as they turned grey (sometimes a younger second wife might have triggered this a little), I always pulled their leg about it. Perhaps because we’re accustomed to it less, dyed hair on men looks faker. Never got over Coverdale’s fake blond look either, in my mind he always remained a dark-haired man.
Edith stopped dying her hair to her original blonde years ago (she turned greyish early), I welcomed that move and the grey looks great on her.
Neither could I wear hair augmentation like Ritchie has sported since he was a comparatively young man (32, he started with it in 1977, I first saw him with the new US-implanted fringe at the legendary Munich Rainbow gig, I preferred it when he still looked like Lee van Cleef on guitar …
https://i.pinimg.com/736x/78/61/b8/7861b84a61e5f5a18e23f60cad595fdb.jpg ),
I’m not really balding (but I already had a widow’s peak as a child, it runs in the family), but if I had, I would have gone Robert Halford rather than Ritchie Blackmore. That musketeer big hair hasn’t aged well, but apparently Ritchie, a conservative man, can’t picture himself without it. Or as a South German proverb goes: “An acquired taste” said the ape after he had bitten into a bar of soap. (“Geschmackssach, hott de Aff gesacht als er in die Saaf gebisse hott.”)
April 23rd, 2025 at 15:58@48
Thank you Uwe, you always answer any of our questions with wit, brightness and humour, I highly appreciate that 😊
I do have some follow-up questions, if you don’t mind:
“dye anywhere (head, beard, pubic)” – pubic?? Really?
I would’ve imagined that area to be quite dangerous? I mean, it’s a quite sensitive area, with mucous membranes quite nearby!
“Edith stopped dying her hair to her original blonde years ago (she turned greyish early), I welcomed that move and the grey looks great on her.” – awwww Uwe, always warms my heart when men expresses admiration for their ladies 🥰
I have to add: it’s always easier for women with blond hair to transform it into grey!
Much harder if a woman’s hair is very dark, black even, because every strain of grey hair is like a lighthouse, signalling the sad loss of the coveted status of being young.
I often see older women with darker than black hair, (‘darker than black’ because they over dye the hair, also the hair that already has been dyed several times) (Nick and Svante: don’t worry, I will eventually mention Ian in a moment 😄)
“Neither could I wear hair augmentation like Ritchie has sported since he was a comparatively young man (32, he started with it in 1977” –
Yes, I read about it in here not so long ago, that Ritchie had have hair augmentation.
I know this man, when he was 35 he had a VERY wide middle parting, and he was so inhibited by his looks, (he was – and still is – the friendliest man, caring and always considerate towards those who are near and dear to him) and to be honest I had never thought twice about his hair issue. Well never mind, he did, and he had several hair plugs. And it was very expensive!
Today – 10 years after – he is still more hairy than before and it looks very natural, so I guess it depends on the quality and the ability of the person performing the hair job.
Well, personally I prefer the ‘organic’ look, you are what you are, you have the looks you were given, deal with that and be kind and friendly! Actually people don’t think twice about a less than fortunate look if the person is kind and sweet!
And this brings me to my Ian-mentioning of the day:
How nice he doesn’t pretend to be anyone else than he is!
At his Facebook page he has this proverb:
Be what you are, I tell myself, and myself tells me we can’t be anybody else…
True words!
And now to the next important quest: coffee!
April 24th, 2025 at 05:21May your coffee be warm and tasteful and may the birds sing over your head instead of, well you know…😄
I guess if Ritchie had done nothing about his hair, he would have at one point looked like this:
https://64.media.tumblr.com/b5ba456167dc5d5b11001add0d783b0b/be727b44c22ecc4d-7c/s540x810/1effdedf4f27f4e4d1c06e69314b2d93f66b138b.gifv
And wouldn’t that have been a cool look!
April 24th, 2025 at 16:41@ 49
“– pubic?? Really?
I would’ve imagined that area to be quite dangerous? I mean, it’s a quite sensitive area, with mucous membranes quite nearby!”
Agreed… I’ve found that these are a much better solution (of course, I don’t have to worry about mucous membranes): https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61e+nz8oxFL._SL1500_.jpg combined with: https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51hf9FfqZ7L._SL1080_.jpg 😈
April 25th, 2025 at 06:37Russ, you and and your adult movie star (“starring: Russ Rider”) recommendations! 🤣
I have thoroughly European values.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIP961nxobQ
April 25th, 2025 at 16:15@51
Well, ahem, thank you Russ! 😸
April 25th, 2025 at 16:18