The firecracking antics at the California Jam were to the great amusement of a great many people, and to not-so-great amusement of the local authorities. Here is a reproduction of a letter sent by the City of Ontario Fire Chief to the ABC Entertainment in the aftermath of the event Continue Reading »

This is the Blackmore’s interview that he gave in September 1993 to a Swedish show called Metal Magazinet. You may have heard bits and pieces from it over the years, but here it looks like it is in its entirety and unedited. That’s the one from which the sensationalist clip of Ritchie going to beat up Big Ian was taken. And when put into the context it is plainly obvious that it was just Blackmore taking the piss out of his audience (or as they call it these days, trolling). Switching back to serious mode, he actually has quite a few kind things to say about Ian Gillan.

Thanks to Blackwood Richmore for the heads up and to Alexander Pronyakin for posting it.

Many a fan who got the chance to meet members of our favourite band made a remark to the extent of how nice and down to earth gentlemen they turned out to be. Here is a story of a lad from Edinburgh who through his work connections to Gillan’s manager Phil Banfield ended up in the studio when the band were working on Purpendicular.

I sat in for about two hours and all that was being recorded was Ian Paice’s 10 second drum break between two of the verses.

‘He’s a real perfectionist’ whispered Roger Glover to me after about 12 takes, and only then did I realise how important a 10 second drum break could be (think of In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins with its iconic drum break which was immortalised by the Cadbury’s gorilla and you’ll get the gist.)

After two hours Paicey still wasn’t happy and left the studios frowning.

‘He’ll worry about that all night’ remarked Roger.

Afterwards I adjourned with Mr Gillan to a nearby bar along with some of the band members and road crew in the expectation of hearing lurid tour-related stories concerning naked groupies, outrageous imbibing of alcohol, excessive intake of Class A drugs and the old rock’n’roll favourite, destruction of hotel rooms.

Nothing could have been further from the truth. All were respectable married men in their 50s with kids and grandkids and as such the bar room banter circled around families, schools, gardens, finances, football and the other staple conversation topics of middle aged men sharing a beer after work.

Read the whole story in Once Upon a Time in The ’70s.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

There are people on youtube with thousands of dollars worth of rig. And then there’s this dude. Continue Reading »

Ian Paice was recently interviewed by an outfit called Raised On Radio. Oblivious to a hit, the steamy Knebworth, a comedy act that made no money, getting caught by the labour of love, and importance of brand names — it’s all here. Continue Reading »

Another clip from Blackmore’s Night new album — a cover of Sarah Brightman’s Second Element. Mmmm, the Strat… Continue Reading »

As part of the press surrounding the release of their new album, Nature’s Light, Blackmore’s Night did a short interview segment for CNN. Among other things, we learn about their fascination with Renaissance fairs and couture, and how they approach writing songs for the group. He even has kind words for Ian Gillan.

Watch the interview here

Thanks to Rick Damigella for the information

Remember that first time when you’ve heard Child in Time and it left you speechless? Here is one of ’em reaction videos, and while the girls are about as coherent as could be expected from giggling teenagers, their sheer youthful exuberance is kind of endearing. Continue Reading »

A year ago, on March 14, 2020, Deep Purple played in Mexico City what turned out to be their last concert before the world has shut down. Jordan Rudess stood in for Don Airey at that gig, and here he reminisces about it (he puts the date on March 13, but our records show otherwise), among many other things, not the least of them was how his first exposure to Jon Lord playing that Hammond changed his life. Continue Reading »

Guitar Player has a nice writeup on the history of the early Deep Purple and making of In Rock. Nothing particularly new here (at least not to any of our regulars), but it’s well written, and it’s a slow news day 😉

Deep Purple in Rock is many things, but subtle is not one of them. Within literally seconds of listening to it, you’re blasted by Ian Paice’s frantic, slippery drums, Jon Lord’s braying organ, and, of course, Ritchie Blackmore’s indelible guitar riffing and loopy tremolo flourishes.

Along the way, singer Ian Gillan references and rearranges rock’s DNA (“‘Good golly!’ said little Miss Molly/When she was rocking in the house of blue light!”), punctuating his Little Richard and Elvis Presley–inspired lyrics with ridiculously piercing and forceful shrieks and wails. For that matter, the frenzied rhythm, developed by bassist Roger Glover, emulates Jimi Hendrix’s “Fire.”

From there, we’re through two verses and choruses and on to bearing witness to a classic Lord–Blackmore organ-guitar battle. And we’re only a minute into the record. The song we’re listening to is called “Speed King,” and it’s a wild and breathless launch to In Rock.

It’s also completely in line with what ensues over the next 40 minutes or so. From the snaky, metallized grind of “Bloodsucker” to the breakneck gallop of “Flight of the Rat,” the monolithic guitar-organ groove of “Into the Fire,” and the thundering “Hard Lovin’ Man,” the album is a relentless sonic juggernaut, its massive and over-the-top sound reflected in both the album title and the Mount Rushmore–aping cover art.

Continue reading in Guitar Player.

Ultimate Classic Rock has a short piece in which Joe Satriani is retelling a familiar story of how he got to fill the big shoes left empty in the middle of a tour:

When Joe Satriani got a phone call from his manager in 1993 offering a chance to replace Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple, the response was swift.

“I was offended that he would ask me that, because I was such a fan of Richie Blackmore,” Satriani explains to UCR. “Nobody can replace Ritchie Blackmore.” The guitarist remembers saying “don’t call me again,” before aggressively hanging up the phone. “Back in the pre-cellphone days. You know, just click, slam the phone down.”

Still, the thought marinated in his mind, and it didn’t take Satriani long to change his decision: “Of course, 30 minutes later I called [his manager] back and said, ‘Hey, did you tell those guys no yet?’ And he said, ‘No, I knew you’d change your mind.’”

Read more in Ultimate Classic Rock.

Thanks to Vladimir Drybushchak and Gary Poronovich for the info.