![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/glover6.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/paice2.jpg)
The song called Higway Star, this one
A music video for the Highway Star from Tokyo, August 17, 1972, has been released in anticipation of the Made in Japan remix due out in August.
Shot from the front row by Mr Masafumi Kato, the original handheld cine footage catches all the moments of MKII’s breathtaking performance and has now been rescanned in HDR 4k definition, adding greater resolution and clarity.
The footage has been set to the new audio mix by Richard Digby Smith, taken from the upcoming Made In Japan Super Deluxe boxsets. The original cine reels contained many small gaps as the camera reframes and a large gap over Ritchie’s guitar solo, where the cameraman changes reels, which have been filled with graphics and animation depicting a fast and furious car racing to the Budokan venue.
Directed by: Dan Gibling & Corin Schencks
Production Company: Chiba FilmProduced by: Dan Gibling
Illustrator: Valeriia Proskurina
Animator: Robin Andrews
Visual Technician: Lawrence Wheeler
Edited by: Corin Schencks
Additional Graphics: Ethan Schencks
8mm Footage filmed by: Masafumi KatoThanks to: Masaki Tanaka, Matt Clark, Moritz Trapp, Universal Music Group, Warners Music Group
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I watched it… twice. Waited for over 50 years for something like this and it did not disappoint me in the least. Not gonna complain about the quality of the film as this (for me) is the equivalent of finding the Holy Grail. Sounds great and clearly shows why Deep Purple are THE Titans of music; not just rock but all genres. Little Ian looks like he’s having the time of his life. It’s a shame Kato-San ran out of film at the beginning of Ritchie’s solo but the animated sequence fits nicely. The segue from and back to the live footage is tastefully done.
Gonna go and watch it again now…
July 10th, 2025 at 00:37Oh wow, an artifact from a time when Purplus Saurus (or should I say Purpzilla?) roamed and ruled the Earth. I love it in all its druggy blurriness, very cool, well-done!
So Ritchie already took his Strat to task in the first song of the set!
July 10th, 2025 at 02:14Well, well, well 😍
I. LOVE. IT!
WOAH 😄
Have always have Highway Star as a favourite!
July 10th, 2025 at 04:32But oh man! It’s even better now 🤩
If the original album features a song by Osaka, why include the one by Tokyo? Mystery of Faith
July 10th, 2025 at 05:34..for me this is the best Rock´n´Roll performance ever, thanx for the video
July 10th, 2025 at 08:24Wow!
Russ 775 nailed it.
The band sounds great (as we knew), the amount of energy and genuine joy is touchable by hand.
Little Ian is on fire. Really enjoyable to see him play so amazingly fast, but precisely.
…and what about the showmanship by Ritchie ! (Underrated as he has always been.)
The solo by Jon is powerful and musically fantastic and Roger sets the foundation for others to shine.
Big Ian sings better than ever.
This really is a Holy Grail as Russ 775 put it.
Thank You very much for this. And thanks, Uwe !
…I don´t really need this new box set, maybe I check the 1993 box set next month, the very days of the recordings.
The sun is shining again here, as it did in Japan 1972 !
Kippis !
July 10th, 2025 at 08:51Every time I listen Highway live I get goosebumps,
crazy, incredible, masterful, flawless,
the Osaka stage was on fire!
There are never enough words to describe what Purple created and achieved on that live show in Japan!
July 10th, 2025 at 08:57It’s fantastic! The remix even sounds good on this .
I think Ritchie sabotaged the part where his solo begins…..cus that’s what Ritchie does !
Seriously, imagine if the whole show was available…we could all die happy then !
July 10th, 2025 at 10:31Awesome!!
July 10th, 2025 at 11:20In a time when guitar solos and guitarists weren’t in the forefront of filming.
July 10th, 2025 at 12:06We should name this site after this killer song!
I’m so happy they did not use AI to embellish the found footage to something that looks unrealistic in the end (they might still have used AI for some of the effects, but I don’t know enough about this stuff).
July 10th, 2025 at 12:09@4 Maybe because the Osaka concert has not been filmed ?
July 10th, 2025 at 14:19@4: because whatever video exists is from the Tokyo gig?
For those familiar with the 2014 mixes, how does this compare to them?
July 10th, 2025 at 14:26Because the found footage is from Tokyo, AndreA – duh! Audio and video have now for the first time re-entwined like a pair of romantic lovers devouring each other in deep passion after aeons of separation.
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1220549552i/944790.jpg
Karin, did I put that nicely? My romantic strain is often overlooked.
July 10th, 2025 at 14:28Ah que le “deep purple” d’avant était bon….maintenant cela se résume à mauvaises reprises sur mauvaises reprises…..Mais bon on ne peut pas être et avoir été!!!
July 10th, 2025 at 15:16Yawn
July 10th, 2025 at 17:00Fantastic, and won’t be bettered unless time travel becomes possible. Love the way Gillan flicks his hair back just in time to sing.
July 10th, 2025 at 18:57ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC! This song and MIJ will stay my favorite forever…………
July 11th, 2025 at 10:06@ 12 13 14
July 11th, 2025 at 14:24“A music video has been released for “Highway Star,” a
track from Tokyo’s August 17, 1972 album, in anticipation of the Made in Japan remix, scheduled for release in August.” Which, however, has nothing to do with the original album, except that it’s Japan-only.
always if we want to talk about MinJ obviously ..
Henrik will soon have Karin’s Nordic curse upon himself, tsk, tsk, tsk …
He probably likes Elvis too.
July 11th, 2025 at 14:39@14
MiJ waiting for the cine footage to arrive
July 11th, 2025 at 14:46https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/88/Rembrandt_Harmensz._van_Rijn_026.jpg
@14
“Karin, did I put that nicely?”
– mais oui Monsieur, c’est parfait 👍🏼
(These pics always make me wanna answer in, oh what is it? Polish?)
July 11th, 2025 at 15:09@21 & 14
So interesting how a butch song as Highway Star make you gentlemen all romantic 😄
July 11th, 2025 at 15:14@21: Sigh, another romantic!
https://64.media.tumblr.com/def82c61cec96327fd472959f928e6ab/3dd6a5c68df9a56e-e3/s640x960/015166d319ddebda299dc3d28c9bdaed9da6b64e.gifv
July 11th, 2025 at 18:13@23:
Highway Star may have been butch in 1972, but by 2025 standards it’s about as butch as Mozart and Vivaldi.
this is butch:
July 11th, 2025 at 20:29https://youtu.be/SQNtGoM3FVU?feature=shared&t=59
Nichts Menschliches ist mir fremd, but I think I’d be scared to receive oral sex from that lead vocalist the way she “sings” up to 01:58, just sayin’.
Highway Star compares wimmin’ and cars, now who has ever heard of such a thing I cry?!
https://youtu.be/R_NrLU4qGmI
https://youtu.be/qT5LtXp1Kpw
July 12th, 2025 at 00:20#25 Nick
hahahahaha this is a fundamental band for the history of music!
July 12th, 2025 at 08:05I was left 20 years ago with Angela Gossow who was perhaps the first, if one of the first to burp while singing….
men, but especially women who burp while singing are more than masculine, they are as anti-musical as a trap singer!
@14 It’s not the first time the footage and audio have been entwined. This and the other snippets, including a complete Smoke on the Water, and six minutes of Space Truckin’ were released in 2014
July 12th, 2025 at 09:44To speak with GILLAN, Rubber H Are you sure? Wasn‘t that the Copenhagen footage matched to the Japanese audio?
https://youtu.be/7zKAS7XOWaQ
I don‘t remember the Strat mistreatment we can now see from what was released back then and Ian is obviously wearing something else in Tokyo plus the logo backdrop …
July 12th, 2025 at 13:19@29
July 12th, 2025 at 15:22That video is Copenhagen
The video in this article is not new but rather an elaboration of one that was already released years ago.
July 12th, 2025 at 15:39“Montage realized exclusively from footages of the 17 August 1972 concert extracted from the 2014 BBC documentary. I did my best to preserve the quality of the original video” which was already low.
https://youtu.be/uzLVZuYkGpk?si=DkvjypVkfKoBV9cF
@29
“Wasn‘t that the Copenhagen”
July 12th, 2025 at 16:14– Copenhagen is were the most is happening! Randers is the place where everything is happening 😅
I had no idea that Japanese footage was already accessible for a while!
July 13th, 2025 at 00:31#29 for sure. I remember showing it to my late father and he was suitably unimpressed by Ritchie…. “too much showing off”
Here’s a compilation from 2020 someone put together https://youtu.be/aogpf4RHqaA?si=OFrWqpZfk5Th8avb
July 13th, 2025 at 06:50Oh wow, there is even more of that footage, I had no idea! Danke for posting, I somehow missed out on that when it came out originally.
Roger recording with a Rickenbacker 4001 for the first time on Machine Head and then playing it live on the ensuing 1972 and 73 tours made all the difference. It was the last piece missing in the Mk II sound puzzle. He also looked best with a Ric just like Ritchie does with a Strat.
July 13th, 2025 at 13:52Brilliant this is my all time favourite live album and always will be
July 16th, 2025 at 09:55@25
“Highway Star may have been butch in 1972, but by 2025 standards it’s about as butch as Mozart and Vivaldi.”
– 🤣🤣🤣
Well, at least we live in a semi free world where one is allowed to have one’s own opinion (how many times can a person write ‘one’ in just 1 sentence 😄)
Nick, in my very humble opinion Highway Star is still rather butch!
Being a female, with all that goes with being that, the link you present is not as masculine as Highway Star, sorry, but that’s how it is, at least in Denmark! 😄
And I may be wrong here but I guess Uwe agrees with me?!
July 29th, 2025 at 17:12Agree with what? I find Highway Star harmless, it’s a song about fast cars and fast women, what’s not to like? Not nearly as obnoxious as Rainbow’s All Night Long. When DC began singing about “she’s got big fat knockers” rather than tires in Mk III‘s rendition of the song, the lyrics did become a bit crass though.
July 29th, 2025 at 22:46@37
These guys are Butch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bSUrqiU8Azo 🧐
July 30th, 2025 at 06:06Karin det skulle jo have været: “how many times can one write “one” in one sentence”, one wonders
July 30th, 2025 at 06:31@37
But of course you can call it butch, Karin. It’s a word with different meanings depending on who uses it.
BTW: It always amuses me how the humour in Highway Star escapes so many people.
July 30th, 2025 at 07:25@39
Oohhh my 😁😄😂
Then I need to present this for you dear gentlemen:
https://youtu.be/ZmInkxbvlCs?si=VrVm_mts__vBCs4w
You see, in the northern hemisphere that is indeed butch!
July 30th, 2025 at 11:53@40
Du har fuldstændig ret Jan, men ville så nødig forvirre Uwe og co for meget 😉
And here I translate it for you who cannot speak Danish:
You are so right Jan, but you see Uwe and Co are so very clever and brilliant that I cannot be too discreet!
😅
July 30th, 2025 at 11:56@41
Ohh but dear Max, then please enlighten me: how can one use the word ‘butch’
😂
(And btw: how many times can one use the word ‘one’ in one sentence?)
“BTW: It always amuses me how the humour in Highway Star escapes so many people.”
July 30th, 2025 at 12:00– and here I am in my own little dreary world believing that almost everything in here is deadly serious 🤓
@44
Karin, I use it the way you do.
And I did mean the SONG Highway Star, not this site…
July 30th, 2025 at 17:07@42
It’s rare to find a gal who appreciates Monty Python… and while we’re on the subject of cutting off body-parts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4v8BVKlAfM
July 30th, 2025 at 20:10@45
“And I did mean the SONG Highway Star, not this site…”
– thank you ☺️
July 31st, 2025 at 14:55@46
Well Russ, I adore Monty Python!
Have all the dvds that excist!
Cannot explain why really, but just seeing their faces, before they start talking, and I start to giggle.
Unfortunately René doesn’t appreciate that kind of humour, so I usually see the dvds when I’m home alone!
But they are indeed FUNNY!
Think about it: they were the first who made this kind of crazy humour, and those guys together just had amazing chemistry 🤩
A bit like Marx Brothers I guess. Groucho and Co were just from this much older period of time where it can be a bit hard to fully appreciate the innuendos.
July 31st, 2025 at 15:02But re Monty Python, their kind of humour is timeless.
@45
You did make me curious Max, so I checked out the word ‘butch’, and apparently lesbians use it when they describe the woman in the relationship who takes on the more ‘masculine’ part.
I didn’t know that!
I have to say, using the word ‘butch’ I do mean like this young woman says about her boyfriend 😁 (well she is a bit disappointed when she says this, but who can blame her! 🤣)
https://youtu.be/FshU58nI0Ts?si=iq8awSR77vP41C8L
And to be frank, not all lumberjacks wear women’s underwear!
July 31st, 2025 at 16:48@46
“and while we’re on the subject of cutting off body-parts:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k4v8BVKlAfM
– 😂🤣 Russ, you are a very unscrupulous guy!
July 31st, 2025 at 17:08But it was funny! 😅
I always thought these guys were butch in a hunk sort of way …
https://external-preview.redd.it/p5lT57vYRLaaYJVDmdH5c0qHQY5Le7eOabvfKrPZM_E.jpg?auto=webp&s=a6b7865ca75e40e4d3f8ac17a324dac8eaa30695
While Joanie and Skin are butch in the androgynous-queer sense …
https://youtu.be/E2qasCd4Brs
https://youtu.be/eISV3_ivZRs
Honestly, Highway Star (the song) is neither to me, it’s playfully and not quite seriously macho, a little on the good-naturedly dumb side.
I thought both the lyrically very aggressive Hard-Lovin’ Man and the lyrically spiteful Living Wreck were a whole lot more misogynistic and sexist than IG frolicking about the ecstatic joys of fast cars and sex in Highway Star.
July 31st, 2025 at 20:33“You did make me curious Max, so I checked out the word ‘butch’, and apparently lesbians use it when they describe the woman in the relationship who takes on the more ‘masculine’ part.
I didn’t know that!”
I’m happy you’ve lived such a sheltered life, Karin! 🫣
https://youtu.be/DdNC7j91QoY
I like butch lesbians, they tend to have a robust humor and can take a joke. I never forget how at one interview when I was still doing recruitment at our firm one butch female candidate almost broke my hand shaking it 😂 (I prefer that to the meek handshake you get from a lot of straight women). She made no bones about it, short hair, two piece business suit, zero makeup and a very male way of moving about, but she was at the same time boyishly handsome, affable and smart. We did make her an offer, but she unfortunately went somewhere else.
People like her, I don’t think they have a choice. Between very feminine and very masculine there has always been a wide range and some people just lean into “the other half”. Being the caustic guy I am, I of course made low pc jokes about diversity programs in the past, but for chrissakes I never felt threatened by them! Now that the tide seems to be turning and some people are actually starting witch hunts against others who live their LGBTQ identity in an open manner, I am aghast that we have been thrown back so much. Are people really so insecure in their own identity that LGBTQ identities unsettle them? The social circle of my first wife consists and has consisted for a long time of mostly male gay couples, we’d spend time with them all the time, our children grew up socializing with them. I don’t think it has made them worse people nor – in case anyone should be worried – did they turn out gay, they are just totally relaxed around gay people.
July 31st, 2025 at 22:43@51
“I always thought these guys were butch in a hunk sort of way …”
July 31st, 2025 at 23:46– 😂😝 well, never have I been so grateful that taste can’t be discussed, neither pulled down over one’s head!
@48
“Unfortunately René doesn’t appreciate that kind of humour…”
How the hell are you guys still married? I applaud both of you for eschewing traditional gender-based roles in your marriage.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaLmc9cCJQw
August 1st, 2025 at 06:59@ 52 – “We did make her an offer, but she unfortunately went somewhere else.” I am holding back from commenting big time. In a jesting way of course. The more you described that situation Uwe, the more it has me in two minds, he he he. Cheers.
August 1st, 2025 at 08:19