Don Airey will embark on tour with his band in March 2019. They will be playing the usual circuit of clubs around Central Europe that they’ve been playing every year around that time for several years in a row now. The tour starts on March 8 in Zoetermeer and wraps up on the 24th in Uden, both in Netherlands, in the mean time visiting Germany, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, and Switzerland.
A longer video from the press conference in Mexico City on November 16 (yep, the one with skulls and a gigantic guitar). The picture is potato quality, but hey, we all know what the gentlemen look like. The sound is good. In particular, check out Roger’s brilliant answer to the contentious question of would they ever play with Blackmore again (circa 16:12). Continue Reading »
The band gave an interview to the Mexican TV channel ETIC’S Live prior to the show in Monterrey on November 9. It’s an engaging chat that starts with Don Airey and Roger Glover, with both Ians joining later on for what appears a mini press conference. Continue Reading »
The latest issue (#8-2018) of the Swedish Rock’n’Roll magazine has a 12-page feature on Ian Gillan with lots of pictures.
Other juicy bits include:
Chuck Berry needed a backing band for a gig in 1970, for which Deep Purple helped him out. The band went on stage without knowing the setlist.
Gillan once had a chance to meet his hero Elvis Presley, but was so intimidated that he didn’t go. The rest of the band went, and apparently Elvis was very courteous. Big Ian regrets his decision to stay back to this day.
He also retells the “spaghetti incident” story.
The magazine can be purchased through their online shop (caveat, it’s naturally all in Swedish).
Speaking of spaghetti, issue #6 earlier this year had His Blackness on the cover with another feature inside.
Thanks to our editor emeritus Benny Holmström for the info.
The Ritchie Blackmore Story documentary will be shown on US cable/satellite channel AXS TV on Tuesday, October 23, between 10:00 and 11:15 pm EDT. It will be repeated several times throughout the week, check the schedule for full details. Continue Reading »
David Coverdale has recently appeared on the Ultimate Classic Rock Nights radio show recalling the first time he appeared on stage with Deep Purple. Copenhagen, December 9, 1973:
I walk onstage for the first time – where it came from, I don’t know, but I still do it – ‘Are you ready?’ I screamed into the microphone, and I’ve got a very powerful voice. So, like, everybody goes, ‘Oh my God!’ and there’s this roar from I don’t know how many thousands of people. And it was great.
Suddenly I’m singing, Ritchie’s smashing a guitar, dragging amp stacks over,” Coverdale recalled. “Paice is trashing his drums. And I’ve like become a member of the audience while I’m actually onstage. Lordy’s thrashing his organ, boys and girls, thrashing his organ every which way! And I’m going, ‘My God, I should do something, I should do something … ’ I’m going, ‘I can’t afford to smash anything!’
I had a ring on, which was like ten bucks, so I took it off with great drama, threw it on the floor and stamped on it. That was my contribution to the madness and mayhem!
![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/glover6.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/mcbride6.jpg)
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing