Louder Sound reprints a Classic Rock interview with David Coverdale from 2011. It is a long read, covering everything from a Saltburn-by-the-Sea schoolboy listening to Elvis through to the latest at the time Whitesnake album Forevermore.

One time a guy came in the shop while I was reading the Melody Maker. And he knew I sang and said sarcastically I should go after the job with Deep Purple, and walked out laughing. I went back to reading and right there in the Melody Maker was a picture of Jon Lord sitting at the organ, a bit Monty Python like, with a little line that said: “Deep Purple are still looking for a singer and are considering unknowns.” That was all it took.

So I went round the corner to a public telephone box, and called a guy called Roger Barker, who managed the local band I was with, and I asked if he had any contact numbers for Deep Purple. He gave them to me. They wanted a demo and a photo, so I sent them something I’d done when I happened to be very drunk. Ian Paice was the one who collected my tape from the Purple office. And apparently he called Ritchie [Blackmore] and said: “I think I’ve found somebody. He’s rat-arse drunk but he’s got a good tone.” So they set up an audition for me. They never asked me to do any Purple songs at the audition, but Ritchie said: “Is there anything of ours you want to do?” So I sang my version of Strange Kind Of Woman, more expressive, moving around the melody rather than following the guitar, or whatever, and Ritchie came over and said that’s how he’d heard it when he first wrote it. Which was really cool to hear, as you can imagine.

Read more in Louder Sound.

And speaking of Classic Rock reprints, another one is a Joe Elliott interview done on the occasion of his contribution to the Re-machined tribute album. In this chat, Joe professes his love for all things Purple, and shares some anecdotes:

Have Def Leppard ever crossed paths with Deep Purple over the years?

Ian Gillan and I did a duet on his Gillan’s Inn album called I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight. It’s a cover of the Dylan song, and it was great fun. For 20 years or more we swapped Christmas cards. We first met Ian Paice in 1983 when Def Leppard had just started to go ballistic in America. We were touring with Krokus and Jon Butcher Axis were supporting. Jon Butcher lasted a little while and then Gary Moore came out instead, and Gary had Ian Paice on drums. Here we were – 22 years old or something – and we had Ian Paice playing drums in the band that were third on the bill to us! We were all going up to him and saying, ‘Er… I’m really sorry…’ But he just burst out laughing and told us, ‘Don’t be so fucking daft.’ Then he started telling us stories about how when he goes into restaurants and can’t get a table, he says, ‘Don’t you know who I used to be?’

Have you had any experiences of The Man In Black?

Def Leppard opened for Rainbow in Europe in 1981. I remember Ritchie saying to me, ‘I want you to watch the audience tonight during Long Live Rock’N’Roll.’ So I stood at the side of the stage and he winked at me and then went down in to the pit with a box full of tomatoes and started throwing them at [Rainbow singer] Joe Lynn Turner. Of course, Joe couldn’t see Ritchie because of the spotlight and so he starts berating the crowd thinking they’re throwing them at him. People talk about the moody man in black, but I saw a different Ritchie Blackmore when we toured with him.

Read more in Louder Sound.

Thanks to the fine folks at earMUSIC, The Highway Star is reviewing Deep Purple’s new album =1 in segments ahead of its July 19 release date. Since the first segment, the band has spoiled us with no less than three new songs in their live set; the single Portable Door, A Bit on the Side (already reviewed) and Bleeding Obvious, which is the album’s very intense closing song. More on that eventually.

3 – Sharp Shooter opens with a gritty, dirty bluesy riff over an infectuous mid-tempo shuffle. Ian Paice’s busy hi-hat pushes the song forward, and the swagger and groovy swing will set your dimples alight.

Ian Gillan is let loose with another colourful story told through subtle innuendo and brilliantly reimagined clichés. Check out the photo above. Gillan and Roger Glover sketching out plays on words over tea in a shady Portugese garden. Oh to be a fly on the wall …

“You’re just another sharp shooter, with your finger on the trigger, you’re aiming at this big head of mine. And from there you can’t miss, the only trouble is, I have to put you in line.” The self-assured storyteller doesn’t miss a beat. “You’re my baby face assassin with your weapons of seduction, you get me sooner or not.” The joys of Gillan and Glover penned lyrics in full creative flow.

“I’ve got friends in louder places,” exclaims Gillan before Airey flies off into a classic Moog-style flurry that’ll brighten your day – before McBride is given free reign – within the song’s structure, and it’s all good fun and happy energies.

Rich ooh-aah backing vocals add to an uplifting semi-naughty party atmosphere, and while this song may not be breaking new territory, the craftmanship is beyond competition with accentuations left and right to keep your ears busy.

4 – Portable Door was unleashed on us as the album’s first single, and as such we won’t spend too much time on it here. Being our first glimpse of the new Simon McBride’d line-up, the single set a high standard and offered promise of a solid and altogether amazing album.

The song sports a strong, heavy groove, a catchy melody and a ton of instrumental intent. It gallops along with good-humoured lyrics and solos to punch the air for – before it gathers itself and climaxes with an effective and proper ending. Yay!

5 – Old-fangled Thing ups the ante yet another notch. What were they drinking?! Over an uptempo and intense keyboards and guitar riff, Gillan delivers another story with telling lyrics and lyrical vocals.

“It was hot steamy night, I was drinking on my own, just me and my guitar, the bottle’s empty except for the record of you, then along came you.”

Don’t be fooled by words reminiscent of an old blues standard. This one’s got a sweaty swing, plenty of lifted accents, and a bridge with backing vocals that mean business.

Suddenly there’s a half tempo break before a surprise spicy left turn, and during the bridge, Gillan sings with the mad conviction of a wrongly convicted deathrow convict. Ferocious!

Then McBride’s guitar takes over with a strong long noted solo in a very becoming contrast to the otherwise very busy backing track. Possibly an Ezrin request. Thank you!

After another verse we’re into a different break and a different left turn backing the organ solo. Woah. It’s all a bit reckless and intense yet tightly controlled. Sounds like fun!

Gillan goes for a long wailing scream as the backing lift and lifts and boom! We’re done. Such a blast and yet another highlight! You couldn’t make this stuff up – and yet it’s exactly what they did in that Toronto studio (see photo above). Such a delight.

This takes us five songs into the album’s 13 tracks, and when we continue (before long, promise) there’s a grandiose orchestral ballad on the horizon, I kid you not!

Read the first segment of this review.

Several German magazines chose Deep Purple to put on the covers of their recent issues.

Eclipsed magazine issue #261 (06/24) has 50 years of Burn as the cover story. The magazine can be ordered through the publisher, albeit delivery is available only to selected European countries.

Classic Rock Germany issue #131 has Deep Purple’s upcoming album =1 as the cover story, with interviews from both Ians and Simon. Bonus: a feature on Black Country Communion and their new album V. This magazine can be ordered through the publisher as well.

And last, but not least, Rocks magazine has exactly the same =1 promo picture of the band on the cover of issue 101 (04/2024), with a massive 12-page feature inside. It is based around the interviews with Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, and Simon McBride. And we’re being told that Google Translate promises some juicy tidbits. If any of our readers can furnish any further details, please do so.

Thanks to Marcelo Soares for the heads-up.

Deep Purple are performing again at the Montreux Jazz Festival this year on July 8, and the day before, on July 7 Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, and Roger Glover will be participating in a workshop event held by The Montreux Jazz Artists Foundation (MJAF).

If Montreux is known far and wide, it’s thanks in no small part to “Smoke on the Water”. This song is emblematic of our town and is considered to be the anthem of the Montreux Jazz Festival.

However, in the 70s, Montreux was not only known musically thanks to the Festival, as the Tourist Office organised concerts throughout the year under the name Super Pop.

In 1971, a crucial year, on the afternoon of 4 December, during a Frank Zappa concert, the Kursaal caught fire in front of the members of Deep Purple who had come to Montreux to record an album in the Rolling Stones’ mobile studio.

This is the story the members of Deep Purple will be telling us.

Who: Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, and Roger Glover;
What: Workshop by MJAF: Montreux Ville Créative;
When: Sunday, July 7, 2024, at 17:30;
Where: The Memphis stage, located inside the Lake House (a.k.a. Le Petit Palais) — the very venue where backing tracks for Smoke on the Water were recorded, before relocating to the Grand Hotel;
Tickets: free admission (as far as we can tell).

Guitar Interactive magazine has Black Country Communion on the cover of their latest issue (#104), with a Glenn Hughes interview feature inside.

As Black Country Communion release their highly anticipated fifth studio album, ‘V,’ (via Mascot Label Group) Guitar Interactive Magazine’s Jonathan Graham presents an in-depth exclusive interview with the legendary Glenn Hughes, the band’s esteemed vocalist and bassist. Hughes provides a detailed account of the band’s creative process, their latest tracks, and his illustrious career. From his early years with Trapeze to his tenure with Deep Purple, collaborations with Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, and his personal journey to sobriety, Hughes offers us some valuable insights into the life and experiences of a true rock icon as he embarks on a new chapter in his storied career.

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Thanks to Blabbermouth for the heads-up.

Yet another reaction video. You will not find here neither a Juilliard level analysis, nor an opera singer’s insights, or “professional gushing”. What you will find is a self-described introvert with somewhat less than perfect grasp of English, discovering music that came out 30 (or maybe even 40) years before she was born. And the music is In Rock from start to finish, no less. Proceed if this sounds intriguing.

As another band once said, feels like the first time, innit?

Nick Simper continues working on his autobiography, which has now reached the summer of 1969 and his dismissal from Deep Purple.

June ended with a show at London’s prestigious Revolution Club, followed by a BBC recording session for the David Symonds radio show. On July 1st I again met Rod Freeman, who was now manager of Jim Marshall’s music shop, and we went for a drink at the old favourite Cromwellian Club. Rod was quite subdued and once again broached the subject of my leaving the group. I explained that this type of rumour often followed successful bands. He then hit me with the bombshell. “It’s true”, he said, and then proceeded to tell me how they had been witnessed rehearsing with Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. With all respect to Glover, I found this very hard to believe. This, of course, was like a bolt from the blue, and I resolved to find out more. The next day I telephoned Tetragrammaton in the US to find out what they knew. I was told that they already had the new single, and had been told that Rod and myself had been “paid off”. They told me that it was obviously not Rod and me on the record, and the official story was that the record was completed by Ron Wood on bass and the singer from Spooky Tooth on vocals, both in the capacity of session men.

Read more on Nick’s website.

Thanks to Arch for the heads-up.

Roger Glover and Joe Lynn Turner are among the guest musicians on Michael Schenker’s new album of UFO remakes. It is called My Years with UFO and is due to be released on September 20, 2024, via earMUSIC.

Track listing

1. Natural Thing (feat. Dee Snider, Joel Hoekstra)
2. Only You Can Rock Me (feat. Joey Tempest, Roger Glover)
3. Doctor, Doctor (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Carmine Appice)
4. Mother Mary (feat. Slash, Erik Grönwall)
5. This Kids (feat. Biff Byford)
6. Love To Love (feat. Axl Rose)
7. Lights Out (feat. Jeff Scott Soto, John Norum)
8. Rock Bottom (feat. Kai Hansen)
9. Too Hot To Handle (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Adrian Vandenberg, Carmine Appice)
10. Let It Roll (feat. Michael Voss)
11. Shoot, Shoot (feat. Stephen Pearcy)

The “house band” includes Derek Sherinian on keys, Brian Tichy on drums, and Barry Sparks on bass.

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.

Glenn Hughes was interviewed for the THAT Rocks! podcast, talking about his Purple tour and the new (then) upcoming Black Country Communion album, and his plans for the future. Continue Reading »

The fine folks at earMUSIC have kindly allowed pre-release access to Deep Purple’s new album =1, so that we can tell you all about it here on The Highway Star. Starting now and continuing until the official release date July 19, Rasmus Heide will be reviewing the full album in two-track segments. As they say: Hit Subscribe Now.

1. Show Me. “Uh! Come on, man! Don’t be shyyy!” Is this Ian Gillan urging new guitarist Simon McBride to fully embrace his new role in Deep Purple? He might as well. Over a tightly knit non-riff riff(!), Gillan moans, then urges, and then we’re off – into the explosive opening song on =1.

And what a fresh new start this is! For the first time in almost 30 years (since 1996 to be precise) we’re offered new blood on the geetar in Deep Purple. This alone is something of an accomplishment. Now listen to the size of Simon McBride’s Irish balls in this.

Show Me is a very effective opener – and unlike any openers you’ve heard from Deep Purple before. Its hypnotizing opening guitar with keyboard effects both intrigues and attracts, then moves into the song proper. Ian Gillan is front and center, and the words arrive fast and steady in a staccato style delivery that could almost be described as Ian’s way of rapping. Yes, rapping. Just wait and hear it for yourself.

“You’re on a hiding all for nothing, not going anywhere,” he sings. The verses are dark and menacing while the bridge clears the skies away to show us a happier face in excellent contrast.

Then there’s the solo section. Oh yes, Don Airey and McBride embrace each other at the front, trading licks in classic Purple style, rounding off their bit with an intense ascending run, before Gillan returns with another chorus before we’re taken through a dramatic build-up to the song’s ending. No meagre fade out here!

What an opener. This band is playing off each other, and their energy is palpable and gorgeous.

2. A Bit On The Side opens with fast double bass drum pattern underpinning an intense but less staccato riffing. Let’s consider this a modern day cousin to Fireball. There, I said it.

There’s a ton of energy here – supporting Ian Gillan’s superb tale about Charlene, another femme fatale in his long list of conquests. “You’ve been getting bolder, now you’re leaning on the shoulder, I can guess how you want this to be.”

With great intent Gillan claims in the chorus, “I don’t want no left or right, I want front and back – and a little bit on the siiide!” slowly trailing off the last word while Airey sweeps in with an effective Moog-style solo – until Ian Paice’s drums break things up and a whooshing McBride guitar takes us up to the next verse. This is busy!

Then, after another verse and chorus, towards the end, McBride levels the playing field with an intense and speedy solo that both excells and cements his position with the band. This guy’s here to stay! Then it’s straight to the song’s breathless climax. Phew!

Repeated listens give more insight into the playful lyrics and the layers of intrumental excellence. There is a terrific abundance of energy, detail and entusiasm here, perfectly portraying the collective skills of a band that sound half their age yet play with a refined restraint rarely seen among youngsters.

An absolute pleasure!