Michael Schenker is on the cover of the current (#18) issue of the Rock Candy Magazine. In the cover story interview, he spoke about his abortive collaboration with David Coverdale.

Back in the early ’80s when I had the Michael Schenker Group my manager at the time, Peter Mensch, believed we needed a new singer to replace Gary Barden. I’d picked Gary for a reason, but Peter wanted to take the band to the next level and he wanted David Coverdale to work with me.

Coverdale probably asked Mensch to get me and Cozy Powell and [bassist] Chris Glen over to Whitesnake to replace Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody and whoever else was in that band at the time. I think that was the idea, but I didn’t want to let go of MSG. I said, ‘No, you ask Coverdale to join us.’

You know that song ‘Dancer’ from the MSG Assault Attack album? I actually jammed that song with Coverdale. I already had the music and he sung it differently, with some different words. So we tried something, but I didn’t really want to do it.

Coverdale/Schenker collaboration didn’t work out and the MSG job eventually went to another Purple family alumni — Graham Bonnet. Here he is performing the Dancer with Michael Schenker Fest in 2017:

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Don Airey is interviewed in the latest issue (01/2020) of Sweden Rock Magazine.

On Jon’s gear:

As soon as I joined [Deep Purple] officially, I started using my own gear. In the beginning I toured with the band because Jon was ill. I used Jon’s equipment then and realised it wasn’t in good shape. Everything was pretty worn down, the nuts were rusty and stuck to the cabinet and that sort of stuff, so I brought in my own equipment. Which introduced some problems. The keyboard tech asked, “What should I do with all my equipment?” I told him, “My advice would be to throw it in the river.” I would have wanted to keep the Hammond organ but it was in an woeful state. I had it repaired but it never got any good so I brought in my own A-100.

Where is Jon’s old Hammond now?
It’s in a warehouse waiting to be restored. Then Jon’s widow … I don’t know what she wants to do with it but she wants to do something. Maybe put it in a museum or something. What happened to the organ was that it fell to it’s death from a loading bay in Russia, ha ha! It was a six meter fall and that was pretty much the end for it.

On Ritchie:

Ritchie is probably the person I have met who is the most unsure of his own capacity. That is so strange. I read a biography about Woody Allen. The man is a brilliant comedian, a brilliant director, but he never gives himself a second of relief. He always tried to outshine himself, changing things in the last minute. Those thoughts gnaw on you all the time. The last thing on your mind is that you are good.

On “difficult” musicians:

The other day someone asked me what is the worst about the music business and I reply, “What do you think?” He said, “Travelling, getting along?” I said, “No, the hardest thing about the music business is music.” If you want to be in the music business, you have to create music and that can be very hard, and very demanding. If you then are surrounded by people who don’t have that ability, but you still have to be around, you can become a bit difficult. That is something people don’t talk about. If you are in the rehearsal room with Ritchie Blackmore you better be alert, have your chops ready and be prepared to just go along. Same thing with Gary Moore. They don’t suffer fools gladly, as the saying goes.

On Abba:

I remember doing a soundcheck [with Rainbow] in Gothenburg. It was only me and Cozy and we played “All my love” by Led Zeppelin. In front of a Russian ice dancing team! It was their day off but they all came to listen, everyone in their big fur hats. There they were and we played for them. Then, all of a sudden, Agnetha Fältskog walks into the arena. We stopped playing and the Russians stood like they were frozen. Her beauty was astounding. I think she was there for a meeting about a solo album she were about to do and she wanted Ritchie to play on it. But I don’t think that ever happened.

Whitesnake will embark on another extensive tour of the US, this time on a double bill with Sammy Hagar. Night Ranger will be opening on all dates. The itinerary is strategically arranged in 3 legs of 10 shows each — one per July, August, and September 2020 respectively. All venues will be big corporate sheds owned by the Live Nation/Ticketmaster behemoth and bearing such poetic names as iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre and Jiffy Lube Live.

Sammy Hagar’s band will include fellow Van Halen alumni Michael Anthony on bass, Jason Bonham on drums, and Vic Johnson on gutar. Whitesnake lineup has not changed: Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra on guitars, Tommy Aldridge on drums, Michael Devin on bass, and Michele Luppi on keyboards.

Tickets go on sale to the general public beginning this Friday, January 31st at 10 AM, local time. Presales start Wednesday, January 29th at 10am, presale password is fleshandblood.

Full details in our calendar.

German city of Bonn is celebrating the 250th birthday of their son Ludwig van Beethoven in 2020. In the occasion, gallerist Peter Wierny has initiated a tribute project with national and international artists contributing objets d’art and memorabilia. Roger Glover has contributed a painting (see above). When Ian Paice played in Bonn last November, he made his own slightly cheeky drummer’s tribute to Ludwig:

The exhibition will open some time later this year.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

This is a rather unusual cover even by our standards. Child in Time performed on a church organ at the funeral of German actor and Deep Purple fan Jan Fedder, who succumbed to cancer on December 30, 2019, aged 64. To the wider audience outside Germany Jan might be known for his role of Petty Officer Pilgrim in 1981 miniseries and movie Das Boot.

Vocals: Jessy Martens
Organ: Manuel Gera

Jan was friends with Jon Lord. Here is Jon wishing him a happy birthday in 2005 and sending him tickets for his gig in Hamburg:

At the gig, Jon asked if Jan was in the audience and wished him a belated happy birthday.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.

A new book by Simon Robinson, called Fire In The Sky, is tentatively due to be published on March 28 via Easy on the Eye Books. The book tells the story of making Machine Head, and is a follow up to Wait for the Ricochet from the same author. (By the by, the latter is now in second print and back in stock.)

And while Simon is not exactly famous for meeting the deadlines (the book was originally announced in 2016, to be published in 2017), the result is always top notch. Just check out the previews: page 1, page 2 and flip-through the mock-up layout.

What: Simon Robinson and Stephen Clare Deep Purple: Fire in the Sky, The story of Machine Head and Smoke on the Water
When: March 28 June 28 December 28, 2020
Where: Easy on the Eyes Books (online store)
ISBN: 9780956143990

Thanks to our editor emeritus Benny Holmström for the info.

Glenn Hughes also was at the NAMM 2020, where he spoke to Eric Blair about Dead Daisies, Purple, Ronnie James Dio, staying in touch with DC, working with Tony Iommi, the late Neil Peart, and many other things.
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Steve Morse was a special guest of the Ernie Ball stand an the NAMM 2020 expo held last week. The Little Wing jam with Paul Gilbert was nothing short of spectacular.

Thanks to Jeff Burdick and Ernie Ball for the videos and to BraveWords for the heads up.

Welcome to the new installment of our semi-irregular trainspotting column. It’s been a while, eh?

Netflix soap opera The Crown is based on the real events from the life of the British royal family during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. Season 3 episode 6 (wait for it) deals with the investiture of Prince Charles as Prince of Wales. Prior to the ceremony, he is sent to the University of Wales to learn the language and local customs, where he is put up in a dorm with other students. His next door neighbours are smoking some weed and playing some loud music, so he knocks on their door to turn it down. The music they are playing is Hallelujah by our own Deep Purple. As you all know, this was the first track recorded by the brand new Mark 2 lineup after recruiting Ian Gillan and Roger Glover from their band Episode 6.

The Expanse is an American sci-fi space opera taking place in the 24th century. In season 3 episode 7 there’s a space cowboy trying to break speed records to impress his girlfriend. She is impressed, but he gets killed in a very graphic manner by an alien force that apparently doesn’t like speed. The soundtrack to the race is a cover of Highway Star sung in a fictional Belter creole language.

The cover in its entirety also appears on the series soundtrack album:

And finally, German Schlager singer-songwriter Matthias Reim’s latest track is called Deep Purple und Led Zeppelin. The chorus doesn’t really need much translation:

Deep Purple und Led Zeppelin
Black Sabbath und die frühen Queen
Oh-o, oh-o
Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top, Alice Cooper, Killer Rock
Uriah Heep und Status Quo
Journey, Kansas und The Who

Thanks to Gary Poronovich and Catrin Thul for the info.

Don Airey & Friends UK tour in February 2020 appears to have been cancelled. It was supposed to be a double bill with Brian Downey’s Alive and Dangerous, and the following appears on the latter’s website:

Shows Cancelled

January 17, 2020

ANNOUNCEMENT: The following dates have been cancelled due to unforeseen circumstances. Apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

All 6 UK dates are listed as cancelled, including the London gig without Brian Downey. At the time of this writing there is no acknowledgement of cancellations from Don’s camp. Promoters of the tour Eventim UK so far list only Hull on February 23 and Manchester on the 24th as cancelled, albeit we are being informed that people who booked tickets for Norwich on the 22nd and Exeter on the 27th are also receiving email notices of cancellation and refund.

To the best of our knowledge, Don is alive and well (as just witnessed by thousands of people on the two Uriah Heep gigs), so the cancellation may as well be due to something happening on Downey’s side.

Thanks to Jim Corrigan for the heads up.