BBC reports that Roger Glover has been made an honorary fellow of the South Wales University “in recognition of his contribution to music and the creative industries.”

Our warmest congratulations! Roger looks very learned in this outfit 😉

To watch presentation of the award and Roger’s acceptance speech, select Ceremony 5 from the menu on the right (maximize your browser if it’s not visible) and skip to 10:40. It lasts for about 10 minutes.

If the above does not work for some reason, head over to the USW UniLife and find December 2014 Treforest Ceremonies video.

Thanks to Elinor for the info and to Nigel Young for the video link.

Sunflower Jam and earMUSIC are going to release the 2012 show on CD and DVD on March 2, 2015. Titled Paice’s Sunflower Superjam – Live At The Royal Albert Hall 2012, it will be available in CD+DVD and DVD+CD editions. As far as we’ve been able to ascertain, both will include the same content, the only difference being in packaging.

This Sunflower Jam was held at the Royal Albert Hall on September 16, 2012. It was the second time the RAH hosted the event. Before 2011 “the Jam” was held at smaller venues in a semi-private manner (read: you had to buy an expensive seat at a dinner table).

This event was also held in the wake of Jon Lord’s passing, with the initial announcement made in March that year giving is a bit of hope about his treatment by billing his appearance at the event.

Much of the material has been released last year on The Sunflower Superjam DVD (*), the tree bonus tracks and addition of the CD being the main draw here.

Track listing

CD

1. Ain’t No Telling feat. The Temperance Movement *
2. This Wheel’s On Fire feat. Sandi Thom & Brian Auger *
3. The Sails of Charon feat. Uli Jon Roth *
4. Rock And Roll feat. Uli Jon Roth & Alfie Boe *
5. Pictured Within feat. Steve Balsamo & Brian Auger *
6. Something About You feat. Mark King & Brian Auger  *
7. Lessons In Love feat. Mark King & Brian Auger *
8. Emerald feat. Bruce Dickinson & Uli Jon Roth *
9. Behind Blue Eyes feat. Bruce Dickinson *
10. Black Night feat. Bruce Dickinson, Brian May, John Paul Jones, Ian Paice, Brian Auger *
11. Since You’ve Been Gone feat. Kerry Ellis, Brian May, John Paul Jones, Ian Paice, Brian Auger *
12. Elected feat. Alice Cooper, Uli Jon Roth, Ian Paice, Brian Auger *
13. School’s Out feat. Alice Cooper, Brian May, Ian Paice, Brian Auger *
14. Smoke On The Water feat. Ian Paice’s Sunflower Superjam Ensemble *

DVD

As above plus further bonus tracks:

• Intro
• I Want To Know What Love Is feat. Alfie Boe & Uli Jon Roth *
• Born Free feat. Brian May & Kerry Ellis
• I Loved A Butterfly feat. Brian May & Kerry Ellis
• Only Friend feat. The Temperance Movement

Thanks to Chris Hewlett for the info.

Joe Lynn Turner in an interview to Italian blog Spazio Rock spoke about the Rainbow reunion and said that what he previously touted as an impending event was essentially a figment of his imagination slightly exaggerated.

Here are the relevant bits:

Are you talking about it with Ritchie?

I hate to say it, but I’ve not spoken directly to him, but I have spoken to managers. I’m trying to convince his management that this is what we should do. That said, to be honest, I’m hitting a wall.

I don’t think Candice Night and Carole Stevens will agree easily…

I don’t want to speak badly. But the truth is the truth.

Read the whole interview in Spazio Rock

Thanks to mr.trinity and AlexBlackmore92 from deep-purple.ru forum for the info.

An interview with exuberant, name dropping bon vivant David Coverdale was featured on an episode of The Eddie Trunk Podcast that was posted on December 3. It was meant to promote Back to the Bone, but a long and entertaining interview covered a lot of history. My favourite bit is probably about Cozy Powell, who showed up one day to persuade Coverdale to join the Michael Schenker Group, but “after a night of fun and frolicking” ended up as a drummer in Whitesnake. Or is it the story of him reconnecting with Ritchie? (And for what it’s worth, he shares JLTs conviction that Blackmore will be rocking one day again.)

He has also mentioned that Whitesnake is working on a new album with release some tome in May-June next year, and a US tour to follow.

The interview starts at around 20:20 into the podcast and continues for about 50 minutes.

Use the gadget above or listen in your favourite mp3 player.

Thanks to Classic Rock for the info.

Bernie Marsden recently spoke to Rockpages.gr, promoting his solo album Shine. The conversation also turned to history.

On PAL:

Rockpages.gr: What do you remember from the Paice, Ashton, Lord album “Malice In Wonderland”?

Bernie Marsden: Ooh, I remember everything! It was one of the best things I have ever recorded! A very very good record, but people weren’t quite ready for it yet, because of the Deep Purple thing. I mean most of the fans were expecting Deep Purple Mk.VI, or VII… you know what I mean… and of course it was totally different. When I listen to it now, that’s me! I am really proud of it. It’s a really really good album, but have anybody heard it really? Hahaha!

…And the Whitesnake of old:

Rockpages.gr: Your work with Whitesnake in the ’70s and the ’80s, when you were playing with Micky Moody, I think gave an edge to the more traditional British blues sound. It made it harder, catchier and more mainstream. Have you ever thought about that, your contribution to that sound?

Bernie Marsden: Well, I think that when we did that at the time it was very conscious. Because of my association with Jon and Ian, and because I would always hear stories about Deep Purple and Ritchie (Blackmore)… when we got together with the beginning of Whitesnake we kind of made a conscious decision Micky and I. You know we weren’t interested in this “guitar hero” stuff. What we wanted to do was to play good rhythm and blues songs played really well. We could play well together, and we were more into the Allman Brothers, than in Deep Purple. And I could see David’s shoulders go “oh, it would be great!”. Because there were no ego problems, you know, who is going to be the star guitarist. Because we had two very good lead guitarists. We just played together. And I think that’s what gave the record a great identity. That and Martin Birch, a great producer who knew exactly where to put stuff in the mix. Sometimes Martin is a little bit overlooked when we talk about the old records. Martin was the extra member of Whitesnake, a very important guy!

Read more in Rockpages.gr

Thanks to Yiannis Dolas for the info.

An audience recording of Deep Purple gig in Bologna, Italy, on May 27, 1971, has surfaced on YouTube. The sound quality is, ahem, fair, but one can not ask too too much from that era.

Thanks to Claudio Grassi for the upload and letting us know.

Joe Lynn Turner spoke to Rockin’ Metal Revival promoting Rated X, although the interview (seemingly inevitably these days) slid onto the Rainbow reunion path.

There does not seem to be a way to provide a direct link, so you’ll have to select episode RMR 121-2 manually by selecting playlist icon in the player above. The interview section starts around 18:15 into the episode and lasts for 20 minutes.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

Ian Paice and Deep Purple tributes Purpendicular have announced a new string of dates for 2015 in Denmark, Germany and France. See the dates on the poster below.

The mini-tour builds on the dates Ian played with the band this year in Germany and Czech Republic. The three shows receives favourable reviews and included these tracks:

Fireball, Bad Attitude, When A Blind Man Cries, Black Night, Cascades, Hell to Pay, Apres Vous, Child in Time, A Simple Song (intro only), Speed kind, Perfect Strangers and more – along with some of the bands own songs from their soon to be released debut album This Is The Thing

Watch video:

Ian Paice: People ask me why do I do these things? … I enjoy playing drums, I enjoy playing with these guys.

Highway Star – Ian Paice onstage with Purpendicular:

Further details emerge on A Light In The Black Rainbow box set: track listing has surfaced. It answers a lot (but not all) of questions regarding the contents.

CD1

1. Black Sheep Of The Family 3:22
2. Sixteenth Century Greensleeves 7:33
3. Snake Charmer 4:33
4. The Temple Of The King 4:45
5. Tarot Woman (rough Mix) 6:06
6. Stargazer (rough Mix) 9:09
7. Run With The Wolf (rough Mix) 3:49
8. Mistreated (live In Osaka, Japan / 1976) 11:10
9. Purple Haze / White Christmas / Lazy / Man On The Silver Mountain / Blues / Starstruck (live In Osaka, Japan / 1976) 16:18

CD2

1. Sensitive To Light (rough Mix) 3:04
2. The Shed 4:46
3. Rainbow Eyes (rough Mix) 7:06
4. Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring (bob Daisley Rehearsal Tape) 1:41
5. Long Live Rock N Roll (L.A. Rehearsal / 1977) 6:57
6. Do You Close Your Eyes (bob Daisley Rehearsal Tape) 6:19
7. Still I’m Sad (with Organ Intro / Bob Daisley Rehearsal Tape) 10:07
8. Gates Of Babylon 6:48
9. Catch The Rainbow (live/1976 / With Applause) 22:02
10. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (live In Munich, Germany / 1977) 3:32
11. L.A. Connection (live In Munich, Germany / 1977) 5:13

CD3

1. Eyes Of The World (instrumental Outtake) 6:51
2. Ain’t A Lot Of Love In The Heart Of Me 5:00
3. Lost In Hollywood 4:52
4. Danger Zone 4:30
5. Since You Been Gone (album Version) 3:21
6. Bad Girl 4:52
7. Over The Rainbow / Eyes Of The World (king Biscuit Flower Hour Radio Broadcast / Live At Calderone, New York / 1979) 9:23
8. Love’s No Friend (king Biscuit Flower Hour Radio Broadcast / Live At Calderone, New York / 1979) 8:10
9. Ode To Joy (king Biscuit Flower Hour Radio Broadcast / Live At Calderone, New York / 1979) 5:42
10. All Night Long (single Remix Version) 3:50
11. Weiss Heim 5:19
12. Stargazer (live At Donnington/1980) 8:33

CD4

1. Midtown Tunnel Vision 4:33
2. I Surrender (album Version) 4:03
3. Magic 4:08
4. Vielleicht Das Nachster Mal 3:20
5. Jealous Lover 3:13
6. Spotlight Kid (live At Hammersmith Odeon, London / 1981) 5:07
7. Rule Britannia / Fire (live At Hammersmith Odeon, London / 1981) 2:50
8. Death Alley Driver 4:45
9. Bring On The Night (Dream Chaser) 4:06
10. Stone Cold (album Version) 5:18
11. Power (live In San Antonio, Tx/1982) 4:39
12. Miss Mistreated (live In San Antonio, Tx/1982) 4:26
13. Tearin’ Out My Heart (live In San Antonio, Tx/1982) 8:20

CD5

1. Can’t Let You Go (album Version) 4:21
2. Desperate Heart (album Version) 4:35
3. Anybody There (outtake / Polar Mix) 2:51
4. Drinking With The Devil (outtake / Different Guitar Solo) 3:43
5. Make Your Move 5:26
6. Snowman 4:32
7. Street Of Dreams (album Version) 4:27
8. Stranded (live At St. David’s Hall, Cardiff/1983 / With Applause) 5:51
9. Power (live In Cardiff/1984) 4:30
10. Fire Dance (live In Cardiff/1984) 4:26
11. Fool For The Night (live At The Tokyo Budokan/1984) 3:59
12. Difficult To Cure (live At The Tokyo Budokan) 11:17
13. Smoke On The Water (live At The Tokyo Budokan/1984) 4:42

DVD

1. All Night Long (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980) 7:56
2. Catch The Rainbow (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980) 5:06
3. Eyes Of The World (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980) 1:23
4. Lost In Hollywood (guitar Solo / Live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980) 3:32
5. Will You Love Me Tomorrow? (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980) 3:15
6. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980 / Pt. 1) 2:29
7. Kill The King (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980) 3:29
8. Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll (live At Monsters Of Rock, Donington Park, Uk / 1980 / Pt. 2) 2:20

Disclaimer: the last disk is marked in online listings as CD6 and it is presumed here that it is indeed a DVD like reported earlier.

Thanks to Ray and Weltbild.de for the info.

A pretty unique monument to Jon Lord was unveiled on November 27 in Ukranian city of Uzhhorod. A pint-sized Jon is sitting on the railing of a riverside promenade and contemplating the view.

The idea of the monument came to a couple of locals two years ago. They started collecting the money in empty beer cans strategically placed in local pubs. Two years and 16 kilograms of coins later, here he is, in all his glory:

Jon’s sculpture joins a number of other quirky miniatures installed in the city ranging from 19th century Hungarian musician Ferenc Liszt, to the good soldier Švejk, to RMS Carpathia.

Thanks to Volodimir Drybuschak for the info. Photo: zak-kor.net.