The sketchbook pages on RGs official website have been updated with new items.

Glenn Hughes will be bringing his Classic Deep Purple Live set to the United States in late August / early September this year. He will play a total of 17 dates, mostly in the North East, starting with Westbury, Long Island, on August 25th, and wrapping up in Tarrytown, NY, on September 22nd. Tickets for many of the shows go on sale later this week.

Further details in our calendar.

The latest issue of Guitar Interactive magazine (#55) features an extensive interview with Steve Morse recorded last November in Stockholm. There does not appear to be a way for us to show it here, so head over to their website to watch it.
Continue Reading »

German magazine Eclipsed is celebrating 50th anniversary of the band in style. The current April 2018 issue has a historical picture of Mark 2 on the cover and 18 pages dedicated to the band inside. This includes the roadmap for the rest of the year, a career retrospective, timeline from February 1968 to the present day, a 2-page spread on Ritchie Blackmore, and reproduction of a 1970 Jon Lord interview. Later issues of the magazine will include:

• May 2018: profiles of guitar players — Blackmore/Bolin/Satriani/Morse, guest guitar players, plus pictures and interviews;
• June 2018: profiles of singers — Evans/Gillan/Coverdale/Hughes/Turner;
• July-August 2018: profiles of bass and keyboard players — Simper/Glover/Hughes and Lord/Airey, the drummer — the one and the only, and producers — Paice/Birch/Ezrin (Glover and Bradford are not mentioned for some reason);
• September 2018: Deep Purple as a live band;
• October 2018: 50 greatest songs.

Even those of us who do not understand the language, can appreciate the scale of the undertaking.

Customers from select EU countries can purchase issues of the magazine online through Eclipsed shop. The rest of the world is kind of out of luck.

Thanks to Deep Purple Tour Pages for the info.

Don Airey will release his new solo album One of a Kind on May 25, 2018 via earMusic. The album is touted as a “true classic hard rock gem with melodies, great riffs and solos” and features members of Don’s solo band Carl Sentance, Laurence Cottle, Jon Finnigan, and Simon McBride. It will be released in 2CD (including a bonus live CD), vinyl and digital formats.

Track list:

CD1 One of a Kind

1. Respect
2. All Out Of Line
3. One Of A Kind
4. Everytime I See Your Face
5. Victim Of Pain
6. Running Free
7. Lost Boys
8. Need You So Bad
9. Children Of The Sun
10. Remember To Call
11. Stay The Night

CD2 recorded live at Fabrik, Hamburg on March 14, 2017.

1. Pictures of Home (originally by Deep Purple)
2. Since You’ve Been Gone (originally by Rainbow)
3. I Surrender (originally by Rainbow)
4. Still Got The Blues (originally by Gary Moore)

Just to give you an idea what to expect, here’s Don Airey Band performing Victim of Pain, song from the new album, at the Bounty Rock Cafe in Olomouc, Czech Republic, on March 12:

Thanks to earMusic for the info, to Martin Dybala for the video, and to Yvonne for the heads up on all this.

There are 8 dates in Germany announced towards the ends of this year for an outfit called Pete York’s Rock and Blues Circus doing a Ticklin´da´Groove tour. Said circus consists of Pete York himself, our own Roger Glover, plus Miller Anderson, Zoot Money, and Albie Donnelly.
Continue Reading »

Rock Candy magazine has a 4-page spread on Deep Purple Mark 4 in their February-March 2018 issue.

DEEP PURPLE’S MK IV LINE-UP CRASHED AND BURNED IN SPECTACULAR FASHION IN 1976 AND MANY FANS THOUGHT IT WAS ABOUT TIME. BUT WHY DID THE BAND FALL APART SO PUBLICLY? WHAT PART DID IT PLAY IN THE DEATH OF GUITARIST TOMMY BOLIN? AND IS IT TIME THE BAND’S WORK DURING THIS PERIOD WAS RE-EVALUATED? ROCK CANDY INVESTIGATES THE DEMISE OF THIS VERSION OF PURPLE, BRINGS YOU AN EYE-WITNESS ACCOUNT OF THEIR ILL-FATED LAST TOUR OF THE UK AND TAKES ANOTHER LOOK AT THE BAND’S OFTEN MALIGNED ALBUM, ‘COME TASTE THE BAND’…

The full article is available online as a PDF file or you can purchase the issue in question.

Thanks to Benny Holmström for the info.

Somebody stole my guitar….(Literally)

At some point during the reunited Dixie Dregs set up for the show at the Lincoln Theatre, Washington D.C. a one off acoustic/electric guitar was stolen.
Having owned the guitar for over 30 years Steve is obviously eager to get it back, and so is offering a reward for its safe return.

It goes without saying that if anyone has any information on this matter please pass it on, and lets get Steve reunited with his guitar.

The same people responsible for the restoration and re-release of the Butterfly Ball video last year are now working on the remaster of the original album. The 3CD box set is due to be release on April 27 via Cherry Red Records and can be preordered via their website.

DISC ONE
Roger Glover And Friends The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast

1. Dawn
2. Get Ready (featuring Glenn Hughes)
3. Saffron Dormouse And Lizzy Bee (featuring Helen Chappelle & Barry St. John)
4. Harlequin Hare (featuring Neil Lancaster)
5. Old Blind Mole (featuring John Goodison)
6. Magician Moth
7. No Solution (featuring Mickey Lee Soule)
8. Behind The Smile (featuring David Coverdale)
9. Fly Away (featuring Liza Strike)
10. Aranea (featuring Judi Kuhl)
11. Sitting In A Dream (featuring Ronnie James Dio)
12. Waiting (featuring Jimmy Helms)
13. Sir Maximus Mouse (featuring Eddie Hardin)
14. Dreams Of Sir Bedivere
15. Together Again (featuring Tony Ashton)
16. Watch Out For The Bat (featuring John Gustafson)
17. Little Chalk Blue (featuring John Lawton)
18. The Feast
19. Love Is All (featuring Ronnie James Dio)
20. Homeward (featuring Ronnie James Dio)

All songs written by Roger Glover, except Little Chalk Blue, Love Is All & Homeward written by Roger Glover and Eddie Hardin; Harlequin Hare & Together Again written by Roger Glover, Ronnie James Dio and Mickey Lee Soule.

DISC TWO
Bonus Tracks

1. Love Is All [Demo Version]
2. Dawn [Alternative Mix]
3. Magician Moth [Alternative Mix]
4. Harlequin Hare [Alternative Mix]
5. Magician Moth [Alternative Mix]
6. No Solution [Alternative Mix]
7. Waiting [Alternative Mix]
8. Fly Away [Alternative Mix]
9. Aranea [Alternative Mix]

The Roger Glover Butterfly Ball Radio Special [1974]

10. Band 1
11. Music: Old Blind Mole
12. Magic Moth
13. Band 2
14. Music: Aranea
15. Band 3
16. Music: Sitting In A Dream
17. Band 1
18. Music: Watch Out For The Bat
19. Band 2
20. Music: Love Is All

DISC THREE
Roger Glover And Guests: Love Is All EP [PUR 125 – Released: 8th Nov 1974]

1. Love Is All (featuring Ronnie James Dio)
2. Old Blind Mole (featuring John Goodison)
3. Magician Moth (featuring Roger Glover)

Thanks to Benny Holmström for the info.

This post has been updated March 13 with corrected track listing.

Joe Bonamassa, Kevin Shirley, Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Derek Sherinian do a Q&A session during the Keeping the Blues Alive cruise earlier this year.
Continue Reading »