Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night were interviewed for the European edition of Newsweek. This being a very mainstream publication, the interview may sound a bit superficial to a trained ear (we all could probably do without yet another retelling of the gambling house burning down story). There are still interesting bits and pieces, nevertheless.

When you reformed Rainbow for the shows last June, were you disappointed that you weren’t able to invite original singer Ronnie James Dio, who died in 2010?
I hate to say it, but no, I wasn’t. I’d finished with Ronnie a long time ago, and we kept in touch now and again but I went on to other things and he was in other things. We kept it very convivial and that, but I think neither one of us really wanted to get back together. He’s a strong alpha male, and so am I; he wanted to go one way, I wanted to go the other.

Speaking of burning something, you set an amp on fire while performing with Deep Purple at the California Jam in 1974.
That’s right. That was part of our more-musical moments.

What was it like performing to nearly 300,000 people?
The obvious thing was it was nice for the ego. We had to get flown in by helicopter because there was traffic jams all over California to get there. But I’m always weary of doing outside venues with other big bands because there’s a lot of sabotage, believe it or not. It was an old trick to sabotage the other band by taking out half the P.A., but invariably it was the road crew, not the band. We had it done to us so many times, I would always go up the side of the stage and actually listen to each speaker to make sure we had a sound coming out.

Deep Purple co-headlined Cal Jam with Emerson, Lake and Palmer. What do you remember about the late Keith Emerson?
I always loved watching Keith perform. I was a big fan of the Nice [the group Emerson was in before joining ELP]. We used to play the rounds together back in ’68, ’69. To me, he was one of the best showmen and players. A very nice guy. I always liked watching him. Some of the favorite frontmen would be Freddie Mercury [of Queen], Ian Anderson [of Jethro Tull], obviously Jimi Hendrix and Keith Emerson. People like that were so good at doing the show as well as playing the music.

You can read more in Newsweek.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Glenn Hughes recently spoke to Hawaii Public Radio. The interview is half an hour long, and understandably covered a lot of topics.

I’m the only child of Bill and Sheila Hughes, named after Glenn Miller. I grew up listening to — you’re going to love this story — Frank Sinatra was played in my home seven days a week until I left when I was 21. It just so happened that I became friends with Frank in 1981, and it just so happens I got to introduce my parents to Frank. Frank gave my father some of his clothing, and it was, like, you just never know where it’s going to take you. Remember, this is the guy who was all jacked up on blow and Jack Daniel’s in the ’70s who never would have met Frank Sinatra under those circumstances. When I started to get my life in order and realized how things have to change… I’m kind of a guy who always likes to change. It’s simple for me: I got to keep changing, I got to keep thinking differently and keep growing. I’m never going to stop until the end. I’m not an artist that’s going to say, ‘Hey, I’ve done it. I’ve created it. I’ve done it. I’ve arrived.’ No, I’m still working at it, I’m still working, chopping away. I’m going to be chopping away until the very end. I never want to be that comfortable. I just want to be able to mix myself around people, and watch people, and learn. I love to check out what everyone else is doing. So I like to be silent. I like to walk around, let nobody know I’m there. That’s the kind of person I am. I want to be a student.

From the purely Purple perspective, there are mildly interesting bits towards the end of the interview with Glenn reminiscing about California Jam and the first Mk4 gig in Hawaii.

Bonus feature: Graham Bonnett appeared on the same show a day earlier

Thanks to Blabbermouth an Hawaii Public Radio for the info.

And the new year is shaping up to be a busy one.

Glenn Hughes will kick of the touring on January 20 in the UK, which will be followed by a month long European tour. And right now he is in the studio recording the fourth Black Country Communion album, which we also might expect some time later in the year.

The NAMM convention is going to be held on January 19-22 this year, so Glenn would probably have to miss it, but Steve Morse usually makes an appearance there as well. In December Steve also took part in the Flying Colors writing sessions for their third album. Fingers crossed this will bear fruit in 2017.

Ian Paice has a handful of dates booked in January through March, appearing with Purpendicular and Forever Deep tribute bands across Europe.

Nick Simper continues playing low key gigs with the Good Old Boys in clubs and pubs around London, and also has a couple of dates booked in Austria in March with Nasty Habits.

Don Airey will embark on a short European tour with his band in March (which threatens to become an annual event by now).

Which all brings us to the main dish: the new Deep Purple album inFinite is scheduled to be released on April 7. And if past is any indication, it will be followed by a heavy media blitz until the band starts the massive European tour some time in May (the earliest surfaced date so far is Bucharest, Romania, on May 13). It will continue well into July and will be followed with a UK tour in November. No other dates have been publicized so far, but the word on the street is … uhm, that i should shut up at this point 😉

In June Ritchie Blackmore will play four dates in UK with his latest incarnation of Rainbow. The customary Blackmore’s Night summer tour of German castles may or may not follow.

Glenn Hughes reports via his Twitter that Joe Bonamassa, Jason Bonham, Derek Sherinian, and himself are back in the studio and recording a new Black Country Communion album, with Kevin Shirley producing.
Continue Reading »

Further details continue to trickle down on the new Deep Purple album inFinite. The track list has surfaced on Amazon:

1. Time for bedlam
2. Hip boots
3. All I’ve got is you
4. One night in Vegas
5. Get me outta here
6. The surprising
7. Johnny’s band
8. On top of the world
9. Birds of prey
10. Roadhouse blues

By perusing various online retailers one can also deduce that the album will be available as a standalone CD, limited edition CD+DVD, 2LP+DVD, “small” box set (1CD + 1DVD), and a “large” a.k.a. “fan” box set (2LPs, 3 10″ singles, CD, DVD, t-shirt, poster, photo prints, and a sticker). And, of course, the ever so intangible downloads.

Release date is still set for April 7.

Thanks to Lutz Reinert for the info.

While doing his tour with Don Airey Band and the local orchestras earlier this year, Ian Gillan appeared on a talk show in Serbia (recorded November 6, broadcasted November 11). There were few (if any) “Mr. Gillian” moments during an hour long show, as the host apparently did his homework pretty well. And don’t be too quickly put off by the language barriers — the bulk of the show is actually in English.

This post was brought to you by our better-late-then-never department.

…And their producer:

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov for the info.

Don Airey was a guest on Rick Wakeman’s Key to Keys this Wednesday, December 21, which aired on BBC Radio 2.

In this first show Rick also chats to fellow rock pianist Don Airey. Keyboard player with Deep Purple since 2002 he has also written and played keyboards for artists like Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow and Andrew Lloyd Webber. Rick and Don chat about how he started his career playing on a cruise ship before being spotted playing live in a London club and being invited to play with Cozy Powell. Don also treats us to a live version of one of his own compositions on the Elton John piano.

Lots of hilarious anecdotage in this one, from the story of Jon Lord meeting Brian Wilson, to the 5-minute audition for Purple, to “I surrender, I surrender, livin’ down the road from our Brenda”.

The show is also available via BBC iPlayer (and will be available there until January 20th). Don’s interview starts at approximately 32 minutes into the show, right after Hush.

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info and the clip.

Roger Glover has posted his customary end-of-the year message to the world:

A hale and hearty December to all. I need to start by thanking those who made the effort to attend a concert or two this year, by DP or any other band – without you it would be a far lonelier place all round. Music is a gift. And live, it’s a celebration.

If you sent me birthday greetings, I was touched by the warm wishes, and I read them all. Amazing – not that I read them all but that I received so many. I’m only sorry that I couldn’t reply to everyone individually but I take this opportunity to tell you that I am most grateful.

2016 is fast disappearing in the mist. Apart from some great tours, DP recorded inFinite with top man Bob Ezrin. Back in January, I had expected it to be released before the year was out but for various reasons it didn’t happen that way. As someone once said, “You shouldn’t spoil the fruit by picking it before it’s ripe.” Anyway, time being what it is, spring will drop by in a few weeks and it will be yours to love or loathe, or both.

Continue reading on RogerGlover.com

British company Team Rock Ltd, publisher of the Classic Rock, Prog and Metal Hammer magazines, as well as TeamRock.com and associated internet radio station, has gone into administration (called bankruptcy/liquidation in other parts of the world). They have acquired the magazines from Future Publishing in 2013, but apparently never managed to make them profitable. 73 employees have lost their jobs with just 7 remaining to assist in liquidating the business. Team Rock generated sales of £6.5 million in 2015, down from £7.5 million in 2014 and administrative expenses ballooned to £12.4 million, up from £9.3 million in 2014.

The brands that it owned, including Classic Rock, are expected be sold to the highest bidder.

The announcement posted on the still running (so far) Team Rock website reads:

The administrators are assessing the position regarding publication of magazines. If you are a subscriber to the Company’s publications the administrators can be contacted via email at teamrock.subscribers@frpadvisory.com.

Thanks to BraveWords and Daily Record for the info.