Geir Myklebust continues posting vintage Purple articles with a review of a gig at the Rainbow Astoria in London originally published by New Musical Express on July 8, 1972. The gig in question then would be one of the two concerts the band gave there on June 30 and July 1. Deep Purple had just returned from the arena tour of the USA and used the same arena-sized PA system at the theatre in London. Result: sound pressure level at one point peaked at 117 dB (120 dB is generally accepted to be pain threshold), Guinness book of records people were at hand to witness it, you know the rest…

Front row reviews

Deep Purple by Tony Norman

THE RAINBOW came back to life on Friday night with a snarl, a cheer and a smile. The near-capacity crowd had come to see Deep Purple and they got value for money. The most enthusiastic of them crowded down to the front, clapping, shouting, dancing and throwing peace signs towards the stage.

Many of them were too young to care about being “cool”. They just went straight ahead and had themselves a ball.

As soon as Purple walked into the stage lights they knew they were in complete control. This was their audience. Young, keen and lively. The rolls and roars of applause that were to wash through the theatre after every number were totally predictable.

They could have played “Three Blind Mice” and it would have worked. But they didn’t take things too much for granted. They worked and sweated and made sure it was a good show.

Continue reading in Geir’s blog (and thank you, Geir for your kind words).

There was a gig in April 1972 when Ritchie fell ill and Randy California was called upon to save the day. A bootleg recording of When a blind man cries from that gig (April 6, 1972 in Quebec City) has been posted on Youtube. The quality is about what you’d expect from an audience recording of that era, so don’t complain. Continue Reading »

A wonderfully weird and eccentric cover of Perfect Strangers from our favourite Finnish hillbillies Steve’n’Seagulls. Continue Reading »

Glenn Hughes is on the cover of the Bass Player UK magazine issue number 404. Apparently it is out since early December and probably marked as January 2021 due to the ongoing “calendar inflation” in magazine business. The inside story contains an interview that eventually should show up on Magzter.

By the way, Roger Glover was the cover story for the September 2020 issue of the magazine. That issue is already available.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

A new book about Stormbringer is being prepared for publication in March 2021. The author of is Laura Shenton, whose Purple family credentials include a Cozy Powell biography and a Tommy Bolin one.

The publisher’s blurb reads:

In 1974, Stormbringer was a pivotal album for Deep Purple. The second one made by the Mk3 lineup of Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Glenn Hughes and David Coverdale, it was ultimately the album that would see Blackmore call it a day with Deep Purple until the Mk2 lineup reformed in 1984.

Blending a range of styles across heavy rock, funk and soul, Stormbringer is a very unique Deep Purple album and there is a lot to be said about the story behind it. In this book, music author Laura Shenton MA LLCM DipRSL [that’s a lot of letters! — ed.] offers an in-depth perspective on Deep Purple’s ninth album from a range of angles including how it came to be, how it was presented and received at the time (live as well as on record), and what it means in terms of Deep Purple’s legacy today.

As the author explains: “Basically, the book covers how the album was made, what was going on with the music in terms of the artist’s intentions, how it did musically and commercially and what happened next.”

The narrative is essentially driven by contemporary interviews with the artists with small bits of music theory where relevant… in some cases they delve into the structure / key signatures / time signatures, based on the original sheet music without straying away from being an engaging read for non musicians.

What: Deep Purple Stormbringer – In-depth by Laura Shenton
When: March 12. 2021
Where: Wymer Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-912782-60-4
Price: £14.99
Format: Paperback, 216 x 138 mm, 184 pages, including an 8 page colour plate section

The book can be preordered from the publisher.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

RG posted a new message on his website:

The Christmas season is perpetually tied to the turning of the year, and have little to do with each other other than proximity. But the greetings of the season will always instruct us to have both a “Merry Christmas” (or holiday) and a “Happy New Year”. My desire is that all the love, joy, and warmth of the former carries over into the latter.

…

Head over to rogerglover.com to read ROCKDOWN

A new installment of tall tales from Paicey’s bar. Prost! Continue Reading »

One Peter Carter, who was a professional musician since the 60s, tells the stories of how he crossed paths way back then with a virtuoso guitar player called Ritchie Blackmore. Continue Reading »

Glenn Hughes and Doug Aldrich were interviewed for eonmusic promoting the new Dead Daisies album. Of course, the conversation just couldn’t steer completely off the Purple connection.

Doug, you’ve previously worked with David Coverdale in Whitesnake; what’s it like come from one unrighteous brother to another?
DA: That’s a funny thing that these guys have had forever! They’re both great guys. It’s such a small world, and when you think about it, there’s so many bands under the umbrella of Richie Blackmore. And to work with two of Richie’s singers and band members – actually, three! There was also Ronnie [James Dio] – it’s crazy! But, I’ve learned a lot. I learned so much from David. We spent so many years together, writing and recording, and now the same with Glenn, and I love it! When we were working on the songs after the initial recording sessions that we had at Sunset Sound [studios], Glenn said; “I’ve got these other songs that I want to present to the band”, and I said; “cool, well, I could come down and help out, make some proper demos”, and I just came down and Glenn had these things, so I just recorded him, and really just tried to get his vision down, and it was amazing because his playing is undefinable; it’s just something from where he grew up, I guess. We’d refer back to it, and figure out the nuance that made it special, and that’s part of the reason that this record is so special.

On another subject, I wanted to ask you Glenn about your own experience of being inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, because on speaking to David Coverdale, he eluded to some tension with the current band.
GH: Well, you’ve seen it. It was a little difficult because of; let’s call it ‘personality problems’. It was David and I holding hands, and the other guys, unfortunately! We just don’t get along with the other guys, at all. So, we kept ourselves to ourselves; David and Glenn, with our wives, and it was great. David and I, what a great time! And we closed the show with Cheap Trick and Sheryl Crow, and our friends in Chicago. You know, it’s a touchy subject. It was not an easy night for us. If you look at the body language, it’s pretty obvious, you know? But again, David and I have been thick and thin for so long, I just dearly love him. Regarding Deep Purple, I have no idea what they’re doing, and I don’t really care.

Read more in eonmusic.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Jon Lord’s press conference on September 13, 2003 outside of the Hell train station in Norway, prior to his performance at the Hell Blues Festival, and at the Nidaros Cathedral in Trondheim the next day. Some of you may have seen it (some may have been there), others not. Continue Reading »