In this interview conducted for the 30th anniversary of Deepest Purple, Jon Lord talks about tensions within the band that led to demise of Mark 2 in 1973:
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And just to make whatever is left of the weekend a bit more interesting, let us present you Minister for Science and Technology of Republika Srpska (not to be confused with Serbia proper), Professor Dr. Jasmin Komić:
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Classic Rock Magazine has the story of the short lived supergroup Babyface comprised of Blackmore, Paice and Phil Lynott. It is based on Colin Hart’s memoirs with additional input from Paicey.

Colin Hart:

Ritchie used to love his singing. Kind of like a young rod Stewart or Paul Rodgers.

They did a couple of covers. It was only a short session, two or three songs, then it was out with the equipment and off home. I don’t think they did anything original. It did sound great together, the three of them.

Ian Paice:

It was meant to be a free-flowing kind of thing. It never got off the ground mainly because Phil wasn’t really a good enough bassist yet.

He had the voice, but learning to play bass well takes time. And for a thing like that to work, all three players need to be at a certain level. [In 1972] Phil just wasn’t there yet.

The story is published in Classic Rock issue 176, on sale now.

Deep Purple official YouTube channel has posted 4 vintage promo clips of classic Purple tracks, complete with the bizarre visual effects and contemporary commentary by the late Jon Lord.

Speed King:

Strange Kind of Woman:

Woman from Tokyo:

Fireball:

The legend of British music scene guitarist “Big” Jim Sullivan has passed away on October 2. Ritchie Blackmore had some of his early guitar lessons from him and admired Big Jim for the rest of his life:

I first met Jim Sullivan in 1958. He was introduced to me by my sister in laws brother. We both lived in the same area: in Middlesex, Cranford. He was playing with Marty Wilde and the Wildcats. He showed me another level of playing. He was probably the most advanced guitarist in the London area. I would listen to the radio every week there was a Marty Wilde show. Jim was often featured on the show so I was glued to the radio. He also made some great instrumentals. One being Trambone and one being Peak Hour. He was the 1st guitarist to play through a wah wah pedal. It was a Deamond foot volume and tone control. I remember an instrumental called the bat, where he used the pedal. That would’ve been around 1959. Last time I saw Jim was in LA where he was playing with Tom Jones. He was one of England’s finest players, a mentor and a good friend for me. His playing will always be in my heart and live on. God bless you Jim.

Thanks to Kevin Dixon for the info.

It seems the annual “Why aren’t Deep Purple Inducted yet?” story may be closer to an end with the announcement of this years nominee’s for the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, which finally includes Deep Purple, some 20 years after they became eligible.

This year you can also be a part of the voting, use the link below to show your support, let’s get Deep Purple in!

From Rolling Stone:

This year’s nominees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame are one of the most diverse lots yet. In addition to classic rock acts such as Rush, Deep Purple and Procol Harum, the list also includes two seminal rap groups (Public Enemy and N.W.A.), two definitive disco hitmakers (Chic and Donna Summer) and two great blues acts (Albert King, the Paul Butterfield Blues Band). The nominees are rounded out by Motown’s Marvelettes, the sister act Heart, tough-as-nails crew Joan Jett and the Blackhearts, the masterful L.A. songwriter Randy Newman, New Orleans funk architects the Meters and the pioneering German electronic group Kraftwerk. Read on for more on each of this year’s nominees.

Nominees for the 2013 Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame

• Albert King
• Chic
• Deep Purple
• Donna Summer
• Heart
• Joan Jett & the Balckhearts
• Kraftwerk
• The Marvelettes
• The Meters
• N.W.A.
• Paul Butterfield Blues Band
• Procol Harum
• Public Enemy
• Randy Newman
• Rush

Vote here. Top 5 bands on list will comprise a “fan’s ballot” that will count as one of the more than 600 ballots that determine the 2013 inductees.

Rufus Stone is now taking preorders for the California Jam book. There will be three editions: Standard, Signature and Vinyl. Between the three of them only total of 1000 copies of the book will be available. The book content remains consistent throughout, but the extras and production techniques change according to the package. Use coupon code DPCALJAM14 to get a 5% discount when you go through checkout in the online store.

The Signature edition will set you back £300. 350 copies of this edition are numbered and all were individually signed by the late Jon Lord in June 2012:

Back when we began work on the title we thought that it would be great to have one or two people connected with the original concert to sign an edition, and with this in mind we have spoken to some of the crew of ’74 to get this organised. At the same time, we were working with Jon Lord’s manager on some publishing ideas and told him of the California Jam book. Somewhat to our surprise, as he was deeply involved in the re-recording of the new Concerto at the time, Jon told us he’d be happy to sign copies of the California Jam book. Not wanting to miss this opportunity, we sorted the details out and prepared the printed, translucent pages, with a view to binding these into the final publication once Jon had done his bit.

As the agreed date for the meeting came round, Mark from Rufus Stone took the pages to Jon’s house for signing. Jon was out at the time and the pages were left for him to sign. A few days later we were told they were finished and that Jon wanted to meet to chat about the project. On Monday June 25th Mark returned to Jon’s house and sat down with him to discuss the project over a cup of tea. Jon, despite being tired, was happy to talk about the Jam itself, his career in general and was very excited about his forthcoming Concerto release. He said he had done the signing while listening to classical music in his kitchen. He had taken great care with each one. Mark left Jon that day with a shake of the hand and an offer from Jon to help further with the project if he could. He was looking forward to seeing it.

It was our intention to make an announcement quickly but just a few weeks later Jon was suddenly taken into hospital and as we all know passed away in July. Since then we have been trying to decide how to progress. There was naturally an immediate reaction that the signed pages should be quietly put to one side and not mentioned. Having discussed the matter further with his manager and members of Jon’s family, it was agreed that the signed edition will proceed, and that the cover price will include a donation to Jon’s preferred cancer charity.

The 288 page Signature edition book is bound in leather with silver foil emboss. Printed on 170gsm art paper, the pages will be guilt edged and hand stitched. The book comes in a recycled leather slipcase and is presented in leather style clamshell box with inlaid colour graphic. Alongside this is a double vinyl album of the live recording from the concert, together with reproduction back stage passes, poster and certificate of production.

The Vinyl Edition £200, 150 copies. Packaged in slipcase together with the vinyl recordings. This edition of the book is the same book without the guilt edging to the pages. Individually numbered with a certificate of production.

The Standard Edition £120, 500 copies, is just the book on its own and quarter bound with a photographic cover and supplied in a card slipcase. Individually numbered.

You can preorder the book at the publisher’s online store.

Before this year Sunflower Jam, Jackie and Ian Paice were interviewed for ExclusiveTV. They talk about the event, it’s origins, and how raised money is being spent. You can watch the interview on ExclusiveTV.

Thanks to Daniel Bengtsson and to lioness from GH fan forum for the info.

An interesting chat with rather rarely interviewed Don Airey have appeared on Hungarian ekultura.hu before the start of current Don’s solo tour.

On his solo career:

ekultura.hu: What happened after your second album with Deep Purple? What prompted you to launch a new solo career?

Don Airey: Ed van Zijl from Mascot Records offered me a record deal – I think he was fed up with just signing guitar players to his label. There was a gap in Purple’s schedule so I wrote some songs around the theme of astronomy, (a hobby of mine), booked studio time and musicians and went and made a record (Light in the Sky).

On Jon Lord and Deep Purple:

ekultura.hu: On a totally different note, how did the death of Jon Lord affect you personally?

Don Airey: I lost someone whose playing and quintessential Englishness I admired immensely, and who over the last ten years had been kindness itself to my tech son Mike, and myself. We were in the middle of recording the new DP album in Nashville when the awful news about Jon came through. It was difficult to get anything done for the next couple of days.

ekultura.hu: How does your solo project relate to what Deep Purple is doing now? Will it in any way have an impact on the music of the new album of the band?

Don Airey: It is separate – a whole different vibe! There is nothing in the world quite like Deep Purple I have to say.

Read more on ekultura.hu.

Thanks to Yvonne Osthausen for the info.

An extensive interview with Glenn Hughes is featured in the latest (#092) podcast from Brazilian site Wikimetal:

Or download the interview audio file (MP3, 28MB).

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.