An interview with Jon Lord, done before the Concerto performance in Dublin in September 2009, is available from Irish public broadcaster RTE. This obviously has previously appeared in print, albeit in unspecified publication. Jon quips about the Concerto, past and present.

Regarding the original 1969 performance and alleged tensions within the band about it:

The band loved it! Reports of a schism were not true, it wasn’t ‘Jon was doing his classical thing, so he wasn’t concentrating on the rock band’. People forget that during that time, were inventing hard rock, and during the time of the Concerto we were writing Deep Purple In Rock. I don’t think that anybody would listen to that album and say that it wasn’t committed. The story doesn’t hold up. Forgive me for saying this, but it was a journalistic invention, it was a good story. ‘Jon wants orchestras, the rest of the band don’t. Split in Deep Purple!’

Read more from rte.ie (PDF file, 1.4 MB).

Thanks to Yvonne for the info.

Wymer Publishing were kind enough to send us a preview copy of Jerry Bloom’s Deep Purple — A Matter of Fact.

First things first: what this book is not. It is not a comprehensive biography of the band. It does not pretend to be. As such, I would not recommend it as an introductory reading on the history of the band.

What the book is: it is a collection of short (2-3 pages) stories arranged in roughly chronological order. Some of them are highly amusing, some educational, some quite bizarre, and some quite mundane. What falls where is a matter of opinion of course, but I’ll give you one example of the latter category: a certain singer, whose name escapes me at the moment, was offered a job in the nascent Deep Purple (way before Rod Evans came into the equation). His manager refused, in the hopes of advancing said singer solo career instead. Months later the manager refused another job offer, this time from one Jimmy Page, for another nascent band. The fact that I forgot the name of the singer before I finished the book, speaks volumes about wisdom of said manager on both counts.

It is 193 pages long, printed in rather generous 10-point(ish) font, interspersed with contemporary press clippings and an odd photo or three. Being a collection of short stories, it also plays quite well with reading on the go.

From what I can tell, the book is very well researched, although of course there’s no ceiling of how well it can be done, and some (you know who you are) might find inaccuracies.

In summary, it is quite literally what it says on the cover:

Based on interviews with band and road crew members, contemporary press articles, and drawing on management files, A Matter of Fact helps to clarify the truth behind several stories. It also dispels some untruths once and for all, as well a few previously un-revealed new stories that will appeal to even the most diehard fans.

Our verdict: while we would not recommend it for an introductory reading on the history of the band, it is a very interesting read for hardcore fans. This way, it is highly recommended.

Deep Purple — A Matter of Fact will be published on May 4, 2015 via Wymer. The book can be preordered from the publisher’s website.

On October 10 last year Polish fans held a third Jon Lord memorial concert in Warsaw, which is now threatening to become an annual event. We had announced the first and second events, and apologize for missing it last year due to a miscommunication. In the spirit of better-late-then-never, we present you with excerpts from the proceedings.

And trust me, these are some of the best covers that this site has ever seen.

Child in Time
Lead Vocals: Ania Rusowicz
Keyboards: Łukasz Jakubowicz
Guitar: Piotr Brzychcy
Bass: Błażej Grygiel
Drums: Sebastian Wojciechowski

Hallelujah
Lead Vocals: Ania Rusowicz
Keyboards: Łukasz Jakubowicz
Guitar: Ritchie Palczewski
Bass: Michał “Burza” Burzymowski
Drums: Hubert Gasiul
Backing Vocals: Joanna Jakubowicz

Mistreated,
Vocals: Grzegorz Kupczyk
Keyboards: Łukasz Jakubowicz
Guitar: Ritchie Palczewski
Bass: Michał “Burza” Burzymowski
Drums: Hubert Gasiul

Thanks to Łukasz Jakubowicz (the Hammond man) for sending this in.

Joe Lynn Turner appeared on the Bulgarian version of the X Factor singing Street of Dreamswith one of the contestants. JLT’s involvement with the show came about when a friend sent him a video of Slavin Slavchev belting out a version of Can’t Let You Go. Here’s JLT appearing on the show:

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

Bob See, the founder and the owner of a lightning and sound production company called See Factor, has passed away on February 10.

Robert See speaks to NAMM in 2010

Purple connection? He designed and built the enormous rainbow that adorned the stage of the eponymous band during the RJD years. Later on, he also was responsible for the giant eyes stage prop seen during the Straight Between the Eyes tour.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov for the info.

Back on Black Records will be celebrating the Record Store Day this year by releasing Live at Montreux 2011 on vinyl. This show already had a vinyl release back in 2012, which was limited to a run of 500 copies. It’s on a different label, so all the bells and whistles of the original pressing may not necessarily apply.

The Record Store Day in 2015 will be held on April 18.

Thanks to Joe Embleton for the info.

The Sunflower Jam has announced that their annual even will be held on September 24 and 25 in London. This time they are scaling down a bit by moving the Jam from the Royal Albert Hall back to Porchester Hall. The evening of September 24th will be a dining event with charity auction and some unspecified entertainment, while the 25th is promised be “a good ol’ fashioned rock and roll gig”. Lineup is to be announced, but we presume that at least Ian Paice have to be there, seeing that the whole thing is organized by Mrs. Paice.

Tickets are already on sale, and they don’t come cheap: £250 for a standard ticket and £500 for VIP treatment. Yes, this is for charity, but we are of the opinion that these prices are quite stiff.

While surfing around on Facebook today, I ran across a picture of a wonderful old Mellotron Mk.II. According to the poster, Streetly Electronics, a British firm specializing in Mellotrons, this instrument was used by Jon on the Book of Taliesyn album.

One comment on the photo mentions that you can hear the Mellotron at about 1:34 into the song Anthem.

The ever prolific Martin Popoff has published another family tree book — Sail Away: Whitesnake’s Fantastic Voyage. The back cover blurb reads:

In Sail Away: Whitesnake’s Fantastic Voyage-the first ever full biography of the band-top music writer Martin Popoff tells the tale of rock legend David Coverdale, from his Deep Purple roots to the two distinct incarnations of his mega-popular creation.

Whitesnake began life as a UK-based blues rock outfit, until the lad from England’s chilly east coast transported the act to America’s sunny west coast in search of fame, fortune, big videos and even bigger hair. Coverdale found them all, and 1987’s self-titled album went eight times platinum in the US alone before the band’s bright star waned in the face of grimy grunge.

In this book-his 45th-Popoff conducted 30 interviews of major characters, including Coverdale himself, to piece together the band’s roller-coaster history. He follows their story through the hirings and firings, the splits and reunions and the image changes which have enabled Coverdale, through his Whitesnake vehicle, to position himself firmly within the pantheon of hard rock greats.

If you’ve rocked out to anthems like “Here I Go Again,” “Fool For Your Loving,” “Still Of The Night” or “Slow An’ Easy,” this is essential reading.

Like many of Martin’s books, this one is also based on numerous interviews that he conducted over the years with David Coverdale, Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray, Micky Moody, Adrian Vandenberg, Steve Vai, John Kalodner, Doug Aldrich, Keith Olsen, Ian Paice and many others

The book has been published by a UK publisher Soundcheck Books, so our British readers might be able to procure it locally with SRP of £14.99.

This side of the pond, it might be easier to order directly from the author, with his prices including shipping being:
US orders: $33.00 US funds
International orders (airmail): $43.00 US funds
Canadian orders: $36.00 Cdn. funds

Mail payment (personal check in US funds, cash, or INTERNATIONAL money order), to Martin. Paypal also accepted.

Glenn Hughes has posted an update on his Facebook page explaining the reasons for California Breed demise and outlining his future plans:

Good morning ..
On June 2 Jason left California Breed.
We had just gone on sale with tickets for the USA and Europe tours . I felt it necessary to commit to these shows, as we had recorded an album and we needed to play and promote our work.
Joey C came in and played drums,and helped us out on tour , and I am supremely grateful for this .
What I couldn’t commit to was a second album. Cali Breed was Jason Andrew and myself , and there was no way moving forward without all 3 original members.
Over the past 4 decades I have built a very loving and loyal fan base, where I know most of you , through touring , signing autographs for all , or on social networks, where I see your photographs or avatar , and answer you, in whatever you wish to ask or share with me .
Those of you who have met me , or know me , know that I deeply care about LIFE…
I am currently working on 3 projects , 2 musical & one movie …I will give more details as I move forward .
This is a loving … And safe Place smile emoticon
The Canvas of my LIFE is vast …and I go …where my spirit.. Leads me ..
Big love to all my fans, friends and GOLDEN ones across our Planet …
In my world LOVE is the answer .. Remember this

Thanks to Cameron Hons for the info.