Glenn Hughes brings the Purple to Poughkeepsie
Glenn Hughes brought his incredible lung power and bass playing finesse to a small but very appreciative crowd at The Chance in downtown Poughkeepsie, New York last Tuesday September 11th, 2018.
Glenn opened the show with Stormbringer and then settled into a really groovy Might Just Take Your Life. Next up was Sail Away, followed by a great version of You Fool No One with a cameo shot of the Highball Shooter riff teased in near the end of the song.
A beautiful rendition of You Keep on Moving was followed by a really funky Getting Tighter (with a little Dance to the Rock & Roll sprinkled in) which Glenn dedicated to Tommy Bolin. Next up was Mistreated – one of the finest versions I have seen and heard Glenn perform – really nice tasty interplay between he on bass and guitarist Jeff Kolman; and of course Glenn’s amazing, stratospheric vocals as usual.
As this was a Deep Purple-flavoured show, albeit mostly Mark III; Glenn closed with Smoke on the Water and added his own twist to it – “Georgia…”. For the first encore one of the roadies strapped on Glenn’s bass while Glenn came out to do the vocal duties on Highway Star. Even though HS is an Ian Gillan signature song, Glenn did fine justice to it with his amazing vocal range. The final song of the evening was a blazing version of Burn.

Altogether about an hour and 45 minute show of very high energy, extremely well performed classic Deep Purple Mark III music. I have seen both the current Deep Purple line-up and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow in concert this past year, and though both shows were very nicely done and well played; I have to say that Glenn Hughes’ Purple show was the rawest, most energetic, and most passionate of the three.
Looking forward to catching Glenn again on his next swing through the USA in the upcoming year. It is well worth making a special trip to see him play.
Gary Halverson, Canada – Sept. 2018

Bruce Dickinson is currently doing a series of spoken word Q&A appearances promoting his autobiography. During his September 8 gig at DR Koncerthuset in Copenhagen he was asked about his relationship with Jon Lord:

Jon Lord was a wonderful gentleman, and we were close friends. And he sadly died of… He had pancreatic cancer, but he survived for a year and a half — much against what everybody had said would happen. And actually, at the end, he didn’t die of pancreatic cancer — he died, unfortunately, of some terrible blood collapse that happened with him, possibly as a result of treatment. But we had all kinds of crazy plans, including me going out on tour with him, singing Deep Purple songs with an orchestra, which he was planning to do; that was one of the things we were planning to do. But it all got interrupted and canceled, and [it was] obviously very sad. He was a wonderful man.

For those of you who are into Maiden, you can see his talk on youtube, but in 3 parts and with 40+ minutes total, we’ll spare the rest.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

Glenn Hughes did an interview with Metal Express promoting the upcoming UK leg of his Classic Deep Purple Live tour.

When you joined Deep Purple back in 1973, was it always on the basis that you were to be the bassist and also as an occasional singer or did you expect to do more lead vocals?

When they asked me to come to New York they asked me if I’d sing with Paul Rodgers and when they asked if I’d play bass, I said no, I was a singer. When Paul Rodgers was mentioned I said that I’d take it because I loved his voice so much. Of course, Paul wasn’t available and that’s when they auditioned David Coverdale so I was always going to be second singer. I was happy with that.

How did you view David Coverdale at that time seeing as you all had a lot of recording and performing experience and David had hardly any?

David didn’t really have any recording experience at the time so I took him and eased him in and made him feel comfortable. I actually loved sharing the microphone with David and love singing with other people. I share vocals with Joe Bonamassa in Black Country Communion and you can see how graceful we are together, we have a real rapport. I actually try to get Joe to sing more but he wants me to sing and he wants to play guitar more.

He also mentioned that a documentary will be filmed during this tour and a couple of shows will be recorded with the prospect of a “proper” live release as well.

Read more in Metal Express.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Perfect Strangers of Finland will hold their Purple Night 2018 convention on Saturday, October 6, at the Kulttuuriareena Gloria in Helsinki. This year event celebrates both the 50th anniversary of the band and the 20th anniversary of PSOF. The list of performers will include Jukka Lewis, Rafael Castillo, Andrea Brosio, Peter James Goodman, Anssi Stenberg and Johan Mattjus on vocals, supported by the house band; as well as a cover band Rainbow Shakers from Oulu (they performed with JLT at Lankafest in 2016).

What: Purple Night 2018;
When: Saturday, October 6, 2018, 19:00-03:00; showtime approx. 19:45;
Where: Gloria, Pieni Roobertinkatu 12, 00120 Helsinki, Finland;
Tickets: €20 @ tikketi.fi;
More info: in English, På svenska, Suomeksi, facebook event.

Thanks to Jari Kaikkonen (that’s him in the picture above, posing with some blokes from down at the pub).

Several members of the Purple family paid tribute to the late Gary Moore by taking part in recording of Moore Blues for Gary – A Tribute To Gary Moore album due out on October 26 via Edel/earMUSIC. This tribute album is a brainchild of Bob Daisley, who had played bass with Gary since the early eighties and was the one who suggested Gary to do a blues album.

Don Airey, Steve Morse, Glenn Hughes, and Joe Lynn Turner are among the guests, as well as Doug Aldrich, Gary’s sons Jack and Gus, Tim Gaze and Rob Grosser from the Hooche Coochie Men, and many others.

Track listing and personnel:

1. That’s Why I Play The Blues

   Vocals – Jon C. Butler
   Guitars – Tim Gaze
   Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Drums – Rob Grosser
   Keyboards – Clayton Doley

2. The Blues Just Got Sadder

   Vocals – Joe Lynn Turner
   Lead Guitar – Steve Lukather
   Rhythm Guitar And Slide Guitar – Tim Gaze
   Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Drums – Rob Grosser
   Keyboards – Clayton Doley

3. Empty Rooms

   Lead Vocal, Keyboards – Neil Carter
   Bass Guitar, Harmonica, Backing Vocals – Bob Daisley
   Drums – Rob Grosser
   Guitars – Illya Szwec
   Backing Vocals – Rosanna Daisley

4. Still Got The Blues (For You)

   Vocals – Danny Bowes
   Guitars – John Sykes
   Keyboards – Don Airey
   Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Drums – Rob Grosser

5. Texas Strut

   Vocals – Brush Shiels
   Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Guitars – Tim Gaze
   Drums – Rob Grosser

6. Nothing’s The Same

   Vocals – Glenn Hughes
   Fretless Acoustic Bass – Bob Daisley
   Cello – Ana Lenchantin
   Guitars – Luis Maldonado

7. The Loner

   Guitars – Doug Aldrich
   Drums – Eric Singer
   Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Keyboards – Don Airey

8. Torn Inside

   Vocals, Lead Guitar – Stan Webb
   Bass Guitar, Riff Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Drums – Darrin Mooney
   Keyboards – Lachlan Doley

9. Don’t Believe A Word

   Vocals, Lead Guitar – Damon Johnson
   Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
   Drums – Rob Grosser
   Rhythm Guitar – Illya Szwec

10. Story Of The Blues

    Lead Vocal – Jon C. Butler
    Bass Guitar, Riff Guitar, Backing Vocals – Bob Daisley
    Lead And Rhythm Guitar – Tim Gaze
    Drums – Rob Grosser
    Keyboards – Lachlan Doley
    Backing Vocals – Rosanna Daisley

11. This One’s For You

    Vocals – Gus Moore
    Lead Guitar – Jack Moore
    Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
    Drums – Rob Grosser
    Rhythm Guitar – Illya Szwec

12. Power Of The Blues

    Vocals – Joe Lynn Turner
    Lead Guitar – Jeff Watson
    Bass Guitar, Riff Guitar – Bob Daisley
    Drums – Darrin Mooney
    Rhythm Guitar – Illya Szwec

13. Parisienne Walkways

    Guitars – Steve Morse
    Vocals – Ricky Warwick
    Bass Guitar – Bob Daisley
    Drums – Rob Grosser
    Keyboards – Clayton Doley

The album can be preordered via this link (will offer you stores for your region).

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

There is another book due out in Japan, and this volume aims to cover a comprehensive history of Deep Purple from Mark 1 to the present day. It is titled Deep Purple in Book and will be published on October 3 by Shinko Music Mook, ostensibly to tie in with the upcoming Japanese tour.

Besides the history of the band, the 376 pages include:

• previously unreleased photos from 1972 Japan tour and 1985 Oceania/Japan tour;
• an exclusive interview with Ian Paice, as the only original member;
• review of the most recent The Long Goodbye tour leg in Europe;
• biographies of all past and present members of the band;
• reviews of all band’s albums and videos, studio and live.

Thanks to Alex Kononow and Akemi Ono for the info.

Deep Purple live at Bell Centre (Montreal, Canada 2018-08-29)

At 3pm in Montreal, a vicious storm flew in. Something I can only interpret as the spirit of late Deep Purple founding member and organist Jon Lord, coming to conduct from the heavens the music he made with this legendary group.
Purple, comprised of 5 key members: Ian Gillan on Vocals Roger Glover on Bass Ian Paice on Drums Steve Morse on Guitar and Don Airey on Keys delivered a blistering hour and a half master-class set kicking off in classic Made In Japan fashion, Highway Star leading into another Machine Head classic Pictures Of Home. School was only beginning when the massive riff of Bloodsucker rang through the venue. A thought occurred to me during Strange Kind Of Woman, only this band could make 6000 people sing in unison about falling in love with a hooker! One after another, Deep Purple unleashed classic after classic. Every song a massive influence to what we know as Heavy Metal.
Though the heavy riffs were handed out in mass quantities, Purple slowed it down with Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming and Uncommon Man, the latter of which was dedicated to Jon Lord igniting the entire building to erupt in applause as if the man walked out on stage himself. Continuing the setlist with even more archetypal pieces of music Lazy, Knocking At Your Back Door, Perfect Strangers, Space Truckin’, Smoke On The Water and the encore Hush. Deep Purple’s very first hit single.

All in all, tonight was a music lovers dream. An absolute intensive course in original heavy metal. Judas Priest performed Delivering The Goods for the first time since 1980 and Glenn Tipton, despite suffering from Parkinsons Disease graced the stage for 4 songs. I believe, if there was a night fitting enough to start calling the Bell Center a legendary venue, it would have been tonight.

review by Brandon Benwell

The boys stormed into to town last night literally on the heels of a huge summer thunderstorm that knocked out power to some 100K households on the island of Montreal. To complicate things further, the insane construction in and around the city prevented easy parking and therefore I missed the opening act; hope it it was good!

Judas Priest lumbered their way on the stage with a walloping wall of sound. Not being a Priest fan, Ill leave my review thus; the fans that knew Priest, thoroughly enjoyed Priest, `nuff said.

I have seen every Deep Purple show in Montreal ( and Toronto, Ottawa and Boston) since the great reunion of 84. My expectation is always the same; to see absolute professionals at their best. Was I disappointed in the set list? Yes. I definitely could do without Strange Kind of Woman but was thrilled when the played Sometimes I feel like Screaming!. Drop Uncommon Man ( yes I know who its dedicated to, and he will always be missed but it may be time to move forward a bit), and replace it with Time for Bedlam. That would have made the greatest hits show that much better. and in my option a great show opener after Priest. Don`s intro to Perfect Strangers tossed a little nugget by exquisitly playing Leonard Cohen`s Hallelujah( Montreal’s son). Overall, I left the show content, and maybe just maybe we`ll all get that long good by show again with a few changes to the list..

The Set list;
Highway Star
Pictures of Home
Bloodsucker
Strange Kind of Woman
Sometimes I feel Like screaming
Uncommon Man
Lazy
Knocking at your Back Door
Perfect Stranger
Smoke on the water
encore
Hush

Gary from Montreal

Deep Purple opened their 2018 North American tour with Judas Priest on August 21st at Riverbend in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Temperance Movement opened the night with a solid set and then gave way to the mighty Judas Priest. Priest played a combination of a few new songs along with their classics. Overall it was a great set and a great performance.

The crowd generally seemed to be there to see Judas Priest and I overheard more than a few guys stating that they were going to leave after Priest played. Even I wondered how the crowd would react to Deep Purple before they took the stage and I’ll admit that the combination of Priest and Purple seemed an odd one.

Purple hit the stage with Highway Star and never looked back however as they ripped through their set for roughly one hour and 20 minutes. The band itself was tight and Ian’s voice was in fine form. They were energetic and of course the crowd was sending out some “great vibes.”

From my perspective, the crowd really was sending out some great vibes. This was my 9th Purple show and I don’t recall ever seeing a crowd react the way this one did. The crowd really got into the show and I was amazed to hear everyone singing along to Perfect Strangers and Knocking at Your Back Door at the midway point of the set.

While I’m sure that some of the fans left after Priest, it didn’t appear that many did and it seemed that the crowd really enjoyed both bands. I still think it’s an odd pairing, but that night, the combination worked really well.

My only disappointment of the night was the stagnate set list. Perhaps because the band was touring with Priest, the set list, other than the inclusion of Uncommon Man, was more or less a greatest hits evening. In no order other than beginning and end, they played Highway Star, Space Truckin’, Perfect Strangers, Knocking at Your Back Door, Uncommon Man, Strange Kind of Woman, Hard Lovin’ Man, Smoke and Hush.

I would have liked to hear a few deeper cuts or something off of Infinite, but I understand the shorter set due to co-headlining or perhaps feeling that they needed to play a greatest hits set list due to the pairing. Either way, it was a great show and I was thankful that I got to see them play again before they call it a day. If this was it, I walked away happy (thanks for the pick Roger!) and I think they might have earned a few new fans as well that night.

Thanks,

Scott McNay

There is a new book on Glenn Hughes out in Japan from the Young Guitar magazine, The life and music of the best funky R&R player Glenn Hughes. It features the “Glenn Hughes Story” and discography of his 163 pieces of work (including guest appearances), with song titles, performing artists for his major works, and a review (long and short) for all of them, as well as a detailed analysis of his equipment from his Trapeze and Deep Purple days. The book is 271 pages long, and is, naturally, in Japanese. Albeit we’re being told that there are a lot of nice pictures in there too.

Thanks to Akemi Ono for the info.