In December 2012 Ian Gillan provided a keynote speech at the ICD Annual Conference on Cultural Diplomacy. Titled “The Parallax Effect of Long Hair” it covered some of Ian’s experiences and how his haircut was at the time.

The full video can be viewed below:

We’ve mentioned this band before, when Ian Paice played with them, Purpendicular, one of the greatest Deep Purple tribute bands around (and competition is fierce).

Purpendicular consist of UK and European musicians with the ability and determination to perform Deep Purple’s music.

In 2012, Purpendicular criss-crossed the European continent with their 40th anniversary Machine Head show. For 2013 they’ve prepared something slightly more exotic – a 20th anniversary The Battle Rages On tour.

Since 1993, this tour has remained a favourite of mine, so naturally I have high hopes for Purpendicular’s version. They usually come well prepared and always try to add something different to their set.

Celebrating Deep Purple’s 1993 set – Come Hell Or High Water if you like – they promise to include The Battle Rages On tracks such as Anya, the title track, A Twist in the Tale and Talk About Love. But also older and newer tracks like Highway Star, Walk On, Mistreated, Child in Time, Fools, When a Blind Man Cries and a bit of Jon Lord’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra to honour the late great Maestro.

I saw two of Purpendicular’s shows in 2012, and even with a last-minute stand-in guitarist, they were spot on and showed both an excellent time for the audience and great respect for the music in a two-set evening of Purple tinted fun.

Further down this page, you’ll see Purpendicular’s elaborate tour schedule for 2013, but do check out also this clip from their tour last year. Beyond the shameless endorsement in the beginning, you’ll see examples of both Purpendicular’s music and and their tour antics… 🙂

Highly recommended.

Purpendicular live in 2013

04.01.2013 Germany Straubing Raven
11.01.2013 Germany Berlin JWD
12.01.2013 Germany Dresden Tante Ju
28.01.2013 Russian Federation Moscow Svetlanov Hall
30.01.2013 Russian Federation Samara Maximilians
31.01.2013 Russian Federation Kazan Maximilians
08.02.2013 Germany Bremen Meisenfrei
09.02.2013 Germany Hamburg Downtown Blues Club
14.02.2013 Poland Wroclaw Firlej
15.02.2013 Poland Krakow Rotunda
16.02.2013 Poland Katowice Katofonia
22.02.2013 Germany Fulda Alte Piesel
23.02.2013 Germany Düsseldorf (Neuss) Hamtorkrug
01.03.2013 Switzerland Montreux NED Music Club
02.03.2013 France Samoens Le Bois aux Dames France
22.03.2013 Germany Maulbronn Live Music Park
30.03.2013 Netherlands Kerkrade Rock Temple
04.04.2013 Germany Hamburg Marias Ballroom
05.04.2013 Denmark Randers Tante Olga
26.04.2013 Germany Freiberg Tivoli
27.04.2013 Germany Plauen The Ranch
03.05.2013 Germany Köln Kantine
04.05.2013 Netherlands Sint-Michielsgestel Cafe Zaal Overberg
19.05.2013 UAE Dubai City Hall
06.07.2013 Germany Affalterbach 7 Eichen Open Air
06.09.2013 Netherlands Weert De Bosuil
05.10.2013 Germany Schortens Fair Cafe
06.10.2013 Germany Rheda Blues Club
18.10.2013 Germany Ebesbach OKV
19.10.2013 Germany Torgau Kulturbastion
27.11.2013 Belarus Minsk TBC

More info at www.purpendicular.eu

Also, drummer Bernhard Welz previously did a couple of Concerto concerts with Jon Lord, and also released a solo CD with several Purple members guesting.

A message has appeared on the Montreux Jazz Festival site confirming that Claude Nobs has succumbed to his injuries sustained in a skiing accident recently.

“On January 10th you left us!
Only a few days after your accident in Caux-sur-Montreux, in your beloved mountains, overlooking the lake that you were so fond of.”

Read the full message.

TheHighwayStar offers its condolences to Claude’s family and friends.

As temperatures are reaching to world record highs in Australia, The Bureau of Meteorology’s interactive weather forecasting chart needs to be updated with new colours and one of them was decided to be Deep Purple. Especially fitting since Deep Purple themselves will be doing their best to raise temperatures down under next month.

On a more serious note, we of course hope the best for everyone suffering from this heat wave and that everyone looking forward to the shows will be able to enjoy them. Our thoughts are with you.

A new teaser video clip has appeared on the Ear Music official video channel on youtube which offers the first chance to hear a sample of the upcoming album.

“Funky” Claude Nobs has been injured in a skiing accident during the Christmas break.
“The Montreux Jazz Festival communicates that during the Christmas holidays Claude Nobs fell while practicing cross-country skiing. As a direct consequence of this accident, Mr. Claude Nobs underwent surgery at the CHUV (Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois in Lausanne). He has remained to date in a state of unconsciousness. His condition requires further additional tests, the results of which are not known yet.

All necessary measures have been taken to currently ensure the perfect management of the Festival in accordance with a planification in place for a long time. The Secretary General of the Festival, Mathieu Jaton, assumes all of Claude Nobs’ responsibilities. The Festival shall not fail to further inform on Claude Nobs’ condition when receiving more information.

Meanwhile, there will be no further comments in order to protect the private sphere of Mr. Nobs and his close family. The entire team of the Montreux Jazz Festival wishes a full recovery to its boss.

The Foundation Board.”

The Highway Star sends our best wishes and hopes for a speedy recovery.

Ian Gillan’s four concerts were not simply a major music event in 1990 in Yerevan. The concerts proved that the world was changing and “iron curtain” was about to disappear.

One can hardly imagine how difficult the logistics of such concerts was in Yerevan of 1990. It would be no exaggeration to say that the organizers, Vahan Karapetyan and his friends, were real heroes. In March 2010, when organizing Ian Gillan’s concert with the State Philharmonic Orchestra of Armenia, Mediamax had to deal with numerous major and minor issues. Just imagine what it might have been like back in 1990. These people should be paid tribute to. Without their effort, Ian Gillan would never call Armenia his “spiritual home”.

read the full story and view the video’s here

Thanks to Monika Schwartz.

“The courage and resourcefulness of a band of enthusiasts has made possible the success of the concert at the Odeon theater in Canicattì, writing an indelible page of music in the province of Agrigento and environs.
The evening ‘already started’ from 19.00 to sixty lucky drummers who participated to Paicey’s drum clinic.

The boys, as well as listen to the voice of Ian Paice direct the secrets of his technique were able to talk with him and answered all the questions of the drummers. There were moments of emotion when Ian Paice told the illness and death of Jon Lord, keyboardist and his brother passed away recently.
To 22.00 everything was ready for the 1000 spectators Odeon, warmed by the “No Code”, a band that has opened the concert very well.
After a moment of emotion with a tribute to Jon Lord with a great video commemorating the great Hammondist, scream presenter Silvia La Monaca “… and the story begins,” the audience has exploded on notes of the first track, Bach On To This by Jon Lord, performed by the band Rapture(Salvo D’Addeo, Armando Cacciato, Simona Malandrino, Gaspare De Caro, Peppe Sferrazza and Leonardo Bruccoleri).
At the end of the song start the unmistakable rhythmic sequence of the snare drum of Highway Star on which’ joined Ian Paice … and was ROCK LEGEND. Fifteen tracks played at the highest level by Ian Paice and the band in its wake, including the inevitable Strange Kind a Woman, Black Night and Smoke on the water, a song that ended the ladder and saw the audience standing closer to the stage and embrace virtually the performers on stage.

Setlist was articulated and never predictable, which has dusted less famous songs is arousing interest among the fans at the same Ian Paice, who has the pleasure of playing yet. The manager Paolo Sburlati, manager and expert in drums, has spared no praise for the band and the organization, considering the show perfect from every point of view, both organizational and music. The same Ian Paice wanted to compliment you personally with the band, deeming flawless execution and interpretation of the songs, both musically and vocally. Ian also particularly liked the local wine, offered by the guitarist of No Code, Totò Ferraguto. Pure Rock ‘n’ Wine!
An evening that will leave ‘a lasting impression in the memory of those present”.

FACEBOOK PAGE OF THE EVENT:
https://www.facebook.com/IanPaiceCanicatti

Thanks to Armando Cacciato for the information and Eleonora Todaro for the review

In his new interview with 100% Rock (out of Perth, Australia), Ian Gillan talks about the late Jon Lord, the upcoming Down Under tour, having his first joint at the tender age of 38, being pigeonholed, Tony Iommi’s health, and the new album:

So you’ve recently finished work on a new studio album. What can you tell us about that?

Well not a lot. It’s being mixed as we speak. We’ve finished recording. It’s a new tone, it’s a new direction, it’s fresh stuff. I think it was all written and recorded in Nashville, and the reason we went there – not to make a country record, but because Bob Ezrin, our producer, lives in Nashville and so it made a lot of sense because he had all the studio facilities and back up and everything else. So it made it really easy.

It was a great environment to record in and yeah, there’s a bit of diversity on the record. There’s some sort of… defining music is just so hard; it’s just really… it’s hard to define. If you think of a solo artist, you normally know them by their name; you don’t normally describe their kind of music, you just say, “It’s so-and-so or it’s so-and-so.” But with bands everyone feels an obligation to categorise then. I think when you’ve been around the block as many years as Purple has and a lot of other bands, you just listen to see what comes out. It’s not the same at all. So it’s kind of hard for me to describe it. I can’t compare it with any other album either, as far as I know. It will obviously find a niche somewhere when it comes out in April, so I’m looking forward to hearing it. [laughs]

He also hints that no new material will be performed live at least until the album is released:

And will you be playing some of the new stuff on the tour?

No. Christ, you can’t, can you? You play one song, it’s out on YouTube in five minutes, so you can’t do it. And that’s the whole bit that spoils it for everyone. But no we won’t…

Read more in 100% Rock.

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen for the info.

David Coverdale’s version of Christmas greetings includes the best of Whitesnake TV for the 2012, complete with some blues unlugged and personal memories of Jon Lord recalled:
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