Ian Gillan, in his own whimsically cryptic way, confirms that the band has finished the new album to be released probably some time in spring 2020 and followed by a tour:

[…] now we gird our lions (yes, I know, but I’m in Africa) for a year of febrile activity into which a rare amount of planning has been invested; obviously not by us.

I sense the grinding of campaign wheels, the oiling of creaky roadies, rumours of itineraries and ripples of creativity in Hamburg. Quite plainly something is in the air; but I have no idea what it could be.

Perhaps, after another brief hibernation, all will become clear, in the spring of 2020.

More of his cryptic whimsies on the official site.

The tour in question keeps materializing from the thin air, with another batch of European dates posted today. These run in late September through late October, and include Sweden, UK, Luxembourg, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, France, and Netherlands. Tickets go on sale in the coming days. Check our calendar for further details.

Thanks to Lutz Reinert for the info.

An outfit called Sonicbond Publishing has a new-ish book in their ‘every album, every song’ series — Deep Purple & Rainbow 1968–1979 – Every album, every song. It came out in June 2019, but slipped completely under our radar. Now there’s even a Czech language edition available. An Amazon review by Short person (yeah, right) reads:

This song-by-song guide is unusual in that it crosses bands, from the inception of Deep Purple mk.1 in 1968, through to Rainbow’s 1979 album Down To Earth. Author Steve Pilkington, a music journalist and rock magazine editor, includes content from actual conversations he has had with members of the bands about incidents and anecdotes recorded in the book, as well as historical facts gleaned from extensive research. Each chapter features a section on the album’s background and a paragraph about the sleeve design, followed by a description and analysis of every track. If there are any known B-sides or other associated material that didn’t make the album cut, these are also given attention, all handled with light-hearted humour, making it an easy read and giving rise to several genuine laugh-out-loud moments! Any book of this nature inevitably includes a fair whack of personal opinion of course, but as it happens I found myself agreeing with most of it. There is an in-depth description of the dramatic background to Smoke On The Water and a stonking section on Highway Star, in which the author has done a good job of capturing the breathless excitement of the track itself. He’s obviously a fan but is candidly honest about the lowlights as well as the highlights. I really enjoyed this book! Go on, you know you want to …

The book is available from your nearest Amazon outlet, or from Book Depository with free worldwide delivery. ISBN: 9781789520026.

Bernie Marsden’s book Where’s My Guitar? that was financed via pledgemusic.com a couple of years ago, has now been released by a “proper” publisher. Publicity blitz ensued, with excerpts being published by GQ and Mirror. The GQ story deals with recording of Come and Get It at the Tittenhurst Park, a stately house and studio at one time owned by John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

There were still light switches embossed with “John” and “Yoko”, among a fair few other little touches that had been retained by Ringo Starr, who had not lived much in the house since he bought it in 1973. As I explored, I found what I called the “Imagine” room, which had featured in the video of the song and retained the famous white piano and a jukebox. It looked just as it had on screen, with its lovely bay windows and shutters. I felt a tremendous vibe and I had to pinch myself a couple of times. I came back and sat down at the piano one afternoon, attempting a version of “Let It Be”. Jon Lord walked in to find me ham-fistedly attempting to play the legendary instrument. Finding myself on the end of an appraising stare, I slowly removed my hands from the hallowed keys.

“Get away from that piano, Mr M.”

“Yes, sir, sorry, Mr Lord, sir,” I replied. I knew my place.

You could walk for 40 minutes or more in the gardens, alongside gigantic trees and exotic flowerbeds to a man-made lake – the man being John Lennon. I took out the same boat that you can see John and Yoko in Gimme Some Truth. Moody, who couldn’t swim, refused my offer to row him, even though the water was less than a metre deep. He missed his chance to be my Yoko. There was a two-seater wooden bench by the lake and we used Moody’s penknife to carve “J loves Y” in one of the arms. BBC Radio 1 DJ at the time, Nicky Horne spotted the graffiti when he interviewed David by the lake for Newsbeat and the discovery of John and Yoko’s simple love token was much discussed live on the air. Oops. Micky also half-buried an old coffee mug that he inscribed with “John”, hoping it would be unearthed years hence as an object of great reverence.

Read more at GQ.

The Mirror story focuses on Bernie being recruited circa 1989 to ‘harden up’ Cliff Richard’s sound.

The book is available from your nearest Amazon, with the UK store currently listing it as #1 bestseller in ‘Musical Philosophy & Social Aspects’ and ‘Guitars’ categories, and #5 in (i kid you not) ‘Philosopher Biographies’:

Thanks to Viktor Steinbach and BraveWords for the info.

Glenn Hughes is on the cover of the latest (December 2019/January 2020) issue of British magazine Candy Rock. Inside is a 14-page article based around an interview with the man. BraveWords has quotes of him praising Gary Moore:

I’ve played with the greatest guitar players of them all – people like Tony Iommi, Ritchie Blackmore, Joe Bonamassa, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Brian May – the list is endless. But for me Gary Moore was the jewel in the crown. To sit next to him on my couch and to see him play with those insane fingers and come up with those insane melodies, well it was out of this world. I’ve sat with a lot of guitar players, but this man spoke to me directly.

What’s a shame is that Gary was close to me in the ’80s when I wasn’t at my best. I worked with him on his Run For Cover album in 1985, but he had to let me go.

Gary was Gary. When he decided he was going to do something then he did it. He was compassionate and sensitive, but at the same time you didn’t want to mess with him. But what I never, ever heard Gary say was, ‘I’m so much better than that guy’ or ‘I’m the best.’

Individual issues of the magazine are available for purchase online.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Raised On Radio youtube channel has a 1993 BBC interview with Ian Gillan discussing his youthful naiveté, his comings and goings, and the Spinal Tap moments, among other things. This was done before the start of the tour, when things were still looking up.

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

A Cozy Powell biography is being prepared for publication by Wymer. It is called Dance With The Devil – The Cozy Powell Story and is scheduled for March 20, 2020. The book is authored by Laura Shenton, who has a Masters degree in “Music Since 1900” from Liverpool Hope University.

What: Dance With The Devil – The Cozy Powell Story
When: March 20, 2020
Where: Wymer Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-912782-33-8
Price: £14.99
Format: soft cover, 224 pages, 8 page photo section

The book can be preordered from the publisher.

Concerto for Group and Orchestra got a rare North American performance yesterday, November 21, at Palais Montcalm in Québec City. Paul Mann was on hand to conduct l’Orchestre symphonique de Québec, with Paul DesLauriers Band, and Bruce Dickinson handling the vocals. Concerto was followed by Sarabande and Bouré, and a set of Deep Purple covers that included When a Blind Man Cries, Hush, Perfect Strangers, and Smoke on the Water.

ICI Québec uploaded the video you see above, and Le Journal de Québec and Le Soleil carry reviews of the show en français (both quite positive). The latter gives credit for organizing this rather unique event to the programming director of the mostly classical music venue Nicolas Houle, who is apparently a huge Purple fan.

There will be a second performance tonight, November 22. Both shows were sold out very quickly.

Thanks to Gary Poronovich for the heads up.

Edel is releasing a complete 2013 show from Rome, Italy, July 22, 2013. Titled Live In Rome 2013, and with the now familiar from the Soundboard Series re-release minimalistic artwork, it is scheduled to hit the stores on December 6.

Track list:

CD1

1. Intro
2. Fireball
3. Into The Fire
4. Hard Lovin’ Man
5. Vincent Price
6. Strange Kind Of Woman
7. Contact Lost
8. Guitar Solo
9. All The Time In The World
10. The Well-Dressed Guitar
11. The Mule
12. Bodyline
13. Lazy

CD2

14. Above And Beyond
15. No One Came
16. Key Solo
17. Perfect Strangers
18. Space Truckin’
19. Smoke On The Water
20. Hush
21. Bass Solo
22. Black Night

Strange Kind Of Woman, Bodyline, Black Night, and Smoke from this show have previously appeared on the Now What?! tour edition and The Now What?! Live Tapes standalone compilation.

The album will be available as a limited edition digipak 2CD, coloured 3LP, and digital. It can be preordered through an outlet near you.

Thanks to Blabbermouth and Gary Poronovich for the info.

Israeli English language newspaper Jerusalem Post has an interview with Joe Lynn Turner on the occasion of him playing a couple of gigs in the country as part of the Rock the Opera project.

He recall his audition for Rainbow in the early 1980s:

We were robbed at ChicagoFest along with Billy Joel and Jethro Tull of $80,000 of equipment – it took the wind out of our sails. I really needed a new gig, and out of the blue, I got a mysterious phone call from this guy asking me if I liked Deep Purple and Rainbow.

DEEP PURPLE is my all-time favorite band, and it turned out that the person calling was Blackmore’s personal assistant. I thought somebody was pulling my leg when he said ‘Ritchie wants to talk to you.’ Even when the next person said ‘ello mate’ in a British accent, I didn’t believe it.

I took a train out to this studio in Syosset in Long Island, walked in, and saw Blackmore and John Lord sitting there, and realized it was the real deal. At that moment, I may have been slightly intimidated, because you’re meeting your idols, but I really needed the gig so I was pretty calm.

Read more in the Jerusalem Post.

Now, the big question is what Jon Lord was doing at a Rainbow audition?

Thanks to Gary Poronovich for the info.

Graham Bonnet and Joe Satriani will be inducted into the Metal Hall of Fame at the ceremony to take place on Wednesday, January 15, 2020 at the Marriott Delta Garden Grove in Anaheim, California. Other inductees include Geoff Tate, Don Dokken, and Stephen Pearcy. Graham is expected to perform at the gala, with additional inductions and performances to be announced over the next few weeks. The event will be hosted by Eddie Trunk and Whiskey A GoGo Ultimate Jam Night / Almost Fama Show host Jes Fama.

Tickets are available for $35.00 in advance / $45.00 at the door. Proceeds from the gala go to the non-profit organization D.A.D. (Drums and Disabilities).

Previous inductees of the Purple family to the Metal Hall of Fame included Don Airey, Bob Daisley, Ronnie James Dio, Mike Portnoy, and Rainbow Bar & Grill.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Glenn Hughes is in the studio right now with the Dead Daisies. They have started publishing a recording diary with photos of making music, cooking and doing the dishes.

As November starts to kick in, so does the new era for The Dead Daisies. Over the first weekend of the month, Doug, David, Deen and Glenn arrived in the South of France from various ports to begin the creative process which will lead to a brand new collection of future classics.

While the majority of Europe start to prepare for winter, as the leaves fall off the trees, this part of France (Saint-Rémy de Provence) still draws a little warmth from the sun. The location of La Fabrique studios, an amazing residential recording studio in an old, 19th century farm will be home for the band over the coming days.

The studio is right in the middle of one of the most impressive classical music collections in the world with over 200,000 vinyls, 30,000 films and thousands of books, so there is an abundance of material to inspire the band as they make their creative journey in the coming weeks.

Continue reading at TheDeadDaisies.com

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.