British newpaper Birmingham Post has published an interview they did with Steve Morse:

Any news of a new Deep Purple album?
We’re always trying to get started, but these tours keep popping up. Recording is very nearly a volunteer endeavour, and touring pays most of the bills. Despite that, as a group we are committed to doing a new record soon.

When is the Steve Morse Band coming to the UK?
One problem keeps coming up. Compared to US clubs, European or UK promoters ask for more notice up front. Deep Purple is always holding me every month for tours and ideas that are in the works, therefore, when there is a hole in the schedule, it’s usually with not enough notice to book a tour outside of the US. So, the answer is when DP decides to schedule some time off!

Read more about the hay bales, touring Antarctica, and Christmas shopping at the Birmingham Post website.

Back in 2004 a Polish label Metalmind made a deal with Purple’s management to release a 1996 performance in Katovice with limited distribution in Eastern Europe. The album, titled Live Encounters (read our review) saw the light of the day on DVD, CD and vinyl, all of which eventually found their way to Amazon and was available worldwide.

Metalmind is re-releasing a remastered version of the album on CD on October 19. Once again, it is claimed it will be available in Eastern Europe and Greece only. The digipak version will include complete show, while regular jewel case version will skip (for some reason) No One Came.

Vital info:

Label: Metal Mind Records

Cat. No.: MASS CD 0999DD
Barcode: 5907785035591

Cat. No.: MASS CD 1000DGD (CD Digipak)
Barcode: 5907785035607 (CD Digipak)

Format: CD / CD DG
Genre: classic/hard rock
Release date: 19.10.2009 Eastern Europe + Greece

Tracklist

CD1
1. Fireball
2. Maybe I’m a Leo
3. Vavoom: Ted the Mechanic
4. Pictures of Home
5. Black Night
6. Cascades: I’m Not Your Lover / Steve Morse’s solo
7. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
8. Woman from Tokyo
9. No One Came (digipak only)

CD2
1. Rosa’s Cantina
2. Smoke on the Water / Jon Lord’s solo
3. When a Blind Man Cries
4. Speed King
5. Perfect Strangers
6. Hey Cisco
7. Highway Star

Thanks to Metalmind for the info.

Over the Rainbow is currently on tour and will hit Sweden for their first shows since Sweden Rock Festival this summer. If you can get to their Malmö show on October 13 you might be interested to know that the official Blackmore’s Night Scandinavian Fan Club is running a competition where you can win tickets to the show at Kulturbolaget.

To have a chance to win, simply answer the questions below along with your name and city in an email to: otrmalmo@blackmoresnight.nu no later than 2 October. Please put “OTR Malmo” in the subject line.

1. What was the title of the first Rainbow album with Joe Lynn Turner?
2. Bobby Rondinelli has played at KB before as a support act to Glenn Hughes. What was the name of that band?

Winners will be selected at random from all those who have answered the questions correctly, and will be informed by email. Only one entry per person.

Clue: All answers are available at the Blackmore’s Night Scandinavian Fan Club site. Good luck!

There are 2 tickets and backstage passes up for auction on ebay for the forthcoming uk tour.
100% of the money raised will go to the Teenage Cancer Trust.
The tickets and passes have been kindly supplied by Roger Glover.
For more info and to place a bid go here

thanks to Lee Worrall.

More than 40 years after Deep Purple first started touring and making records, their multifacetted musical heritage not only lives on, it is continually evolving through projects featuring other musicians, and some of them are very young.

In 2009 audiences across the world are still experiencing Deep Purple. New fans come to the flock all the time. Often they are offspring of more experienced Deep Purple fans, who have now grown old enough to understand and enjoy Deep Purple onstage.

But 40 years in the business also means some of Deep Purple’s older fans have become ambitious musicians themselves wishing to keep the Purple flame alive. Throughout Europe, Deep Purple tribute bands are creating specially themed events where they are joined by one of the original Deep Purple members.

Ian Paice was one of the first to partake in these evenings of ‘something different’ from the Purple Family. He has appeared at numerous evenings of first a drum clinic, then a Deep Purple tribute show with local musicians. Nick Simper has been doing entire Mark 1 themed concerts in Austria, Glenn Hughes has done Mark 3&4 shows in Scandinavia, and Ian Gillan has taken up singing with orchestras.

Now appears another dimension. Playing the music of your childhood hero with your childhood hero is one thing. It’s another experience to be a very young musician, struggling to master your instrument and get to do it with the help and backing of someone of Deep Purple’s calibre. Nevertheless, this is what is going on in Scotland at the moment.

Music students from music schools and colleges in Edinburgh are gathered together in a special project aiming to perform Jon Lord’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra with Jon Lord in their city on October 5. An entire philharmonic orchestra of 100 young people, these are not Deep Purple fans with massive record collections. Rather, they are keen and energetic kids revelling in the opportunity to learn from one of the masters.

– I couldn’t believe my eyes when Jon Lord walked into the college, says guitarist Grant Kilpatrick when Jon Lord first came to Edinburgh in February to rehearse the rock band.

– It is a great privilege to perform with him especially in this piece. We all know Smoke on The Water but this is something else!

So while the current formation of Deep Purple is preparing to sow more musicals seeds on a November-December trek across the UK and the European continent, Jon Lord is gearing up a gang of Scottish kids to do the Concerto on a very special evening in Edinburgh.

Thus, the music of the Deep Purple family lives on and continues to evolve through projects featuring other musicians. Give yourself a treat, go see a different kind of show.

Jon Lord with the Stevenson College Orchestra at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall on October 5. Book your tickets.

Deep Purple on tour – UK, Holland, Belgium, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Sweden, France, Italy.

Read also: Scottish premier for the Concerto.

July 20, the hot summer day was a memorable day for Ian Gillan, Georgian fans and for Istanbul, of course. Why? Here’s a really great story how Georgian fans had a special meet&greet with Gillan in Turkey, before the show:

THE IDEA
I live in Tbilisi, Georgia. Unfortunately DP hasn’t visited our country, but we had a great time with Ian Gillan in 1990, in Tbilisi. He had 5 sold-out shows in Tbilisi Sports Palace as part of his [then] USSR solo-tour, and a great wedding with his wife Bron Gillan, in national Georgian clothes. Gillan’s and Bron’s wedding in our city was the event, we never forget, as well as Gillan & Bron theirselves.

Tbilisi is a real Purple city, but we had no chance to see DP. In January 2009 I read on ths.com DP coming to Istanbul and decided: “something gonna change, we should do something great”. I called to some of my friends and we began collecting Georgian fans to visit Istanbul for one Purple night. I began internet and outdoor promotion for the show, posted posters on Georgian sites, sent press-releases to georgian news-agencies and even published posters in Tbilisi streets. the result was – 50 Georgian fans, one full bus ready to go to Istanbul.

In April I wrote e-mail to Ian Gillan, telling him our preparation for the show and asking to tell us story of his wedding in Tbilisi. In 1 week Sally, Gillan’s PA answered me that Gillan was very happy for the letter and he would be in touch soon. So we had nothing more to wait for Ian’s answer.

THE GREATEST E-MAIL
On June 6 I received the greatest e-mail in my life, DP’s tour coordinator Kate notified me, Gillan was so happy for my e-mail, that he decided to meet all Georgian fans in Istanbul, before the show. It was the day I never forget. Georgian fans became crazy, waitting for July 20 to meet our hero.

MEETING WITH IAN
July 20 was a crazy day – 60 georgian fans were waitting at the back entrance of Turkcell Kurucesme Arena, where the show would take place after several hours. we entered the arena at 5:00PM, straight in front of stage waitting for Gillan. And he came.

Arena was deafen by our screaming when we saw the man himself – the greatest rock vocalist and our hero. He met us so warmly, kissing and huging, smiling all the way, signing tickets and CD’s, T-shirts and flags of Georgia. then Gillan told us the story of his visit in Tbilisi in 1990: “My visit in Tbilisi was fantastic, we [Ian & Bron] never forget our wedding and time we had there, great people, great city”.

Ian seemed to be in a huge emotions during talking to us. The biggest surprise was when we gave the photos of the wedding to Bron – she screamed: “ohh my goooodd” and began crying (Bron was there, celebrating 25th anniversary of their wedding).

All in all, the meeting was so emotional, I can’t express the emotions:

.

INTERVIEW
after the meeting I had interview with Gillan. it lasted more then half hour (not 15 minutes as it was planned). When I told him, that i was George, he who wrote a letter to him in April, he huged me and said “Thank you George for your lovely letter, Internet is quite a good thing”.
Then I took photos with Gillan, he signed my ticket and my copy of Rapture of the Deep CD and said, that Bron was still in emotions after seeing those wedding photos which she had never seen.

After this super-emotional meeting and interview, we had left nothing more, to wait for the show. I’d admitt: 60 Georgian met Gillan, but all in all over 400 fans from Georgia were at the arena.

THE SHOW
And they came on stage. Deep Purple kicked off with Highway Star, unfortunately we could hear only bass and drum due to technical problems, vocs, key and guitar was hard to hear.
Things I Never Said followed and then the bombastic version of Wrong Man. At that time sound was improved and was brilliantly. Personal highlights from the show were Wrong Man, rapture of the Deep, Fireball, Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming, Well Dressed Guitar, The Battle Rages On, Perfect Strangers and Black Night.

The band was in superb form, as well as Gillan himself. he only had some difficulties during Space Trucking. even physically Ian was absolutely full of energy, running and jumping on the stage, enjoying the great 20 000 crowd.

the biggest surprise was when he said hello to the crowd: “he Heyyyy, hello Istanbul, Hello Georgia… Where’re you Georgian fans?” and the arena was deafen by our screaming after he said hello to us.

another highlight was Roger Glover, who was fully in fire, especially during Black Night – this is really Roger’s song, he conquerd the crowd.

the crowd itself was absolutely amazing – 20 000 people singing and shouting together, they were very responsive and loud, you could hear screaming of 20 000 people during EVERY song, including tracks from Rapture.

all in all, it was a fantastic meeting, fantastic interview, fantastic show and fantastic day, which we (together with Gillan and Bron) will never forget.

Ian and the purple boys, we Thaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaank youuuuuuuuuuuuu, so much, it was unbelievable.

Setlist:

Intro
Highway Star
Things I Never Said
Wrong Man
Strange Kind Of Woman
Rapture Of The Deep
Fireball
Contact Lost
Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming
Well Dressed Guitar
Wring That Neck
The Battle Rages On
Don Airey Solo
Perfect Strangers
Space Truckin’
Smoke On The Water

Encores:
Hush
Black Night

Glenn Hughes and Come Taste The Band.
Restaurant Løa, Vennesla, Norway, July 24th 2009.

Glenn Hughes and the Norwegian tribute band “Come Taste the Band”, delivered to expectations at Restaurant Løa, when they performed their tribute show; “An Evening of Deep Purple”.

I have seen Glenn H. and CTTB a couple of times before, and once again they really impressed me. From the first riff of “Stormbringer” to the last encore “Burn”, they played tightly with great energy.

Glenn H. is always acting very professional, and this time he really got the best out of CTTB.
I have never heard the band playing better, and they all seemed to play with great confidence. It looked as Glenn H. really enjoyed himself, when he performed this setlist of Mark III
and IV songs.

Those who also came to hear “The Voice of Rock” was not disappointed. His voice still reaches the highest notes, and during the concert, he did several great vocal improvisations., both rock and soul.

This is not Purple Mark III, but today this is the only chance Purple fans have, to hear one of the original members, perform a full setlist of Mark III/IV stuff. Glenn H.\’s great contribution to the show is vital.

I have already mentioned his brilliant voice, but he is still a fantastic bass player, with a spesial sound.

I had never before heard Glenn H. and CTTB, perform “Holy Man” and “What’s Going On Here”..

According to Glenn, (Jo Henning from CTTB told me), had Purple never played “Holy Man” live.
“What’s Going On here” was only performed a couple of times in the beginning of the Burn tour.

After the last encore, there were an great applause from the crowd, approximately 500-600.

Once again I went home after a memorable evening, still dreaming about a Mark III reunion.

Setlist :
Stormbringer
Might Just Ttake Your Llife
Sail Away
What’s Going On Here
Mistreated
Love Child (performed by Vidar from CTTB)
Getting Tighter
You Fool No One
Holy man
You Keep On Moving

Encores :
Soul Mover
Burn

Last weekend Deep Purple played at the Fête de l’Humanité festival just outside Paris. This cheeky video ad for the festival aptly illustrates how the music we love transcends ages, races and, ahem, political persuasions:

A live video clip from the festival offers a unique point of view that may or may not explain certain things:

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov for spotting the ad and to zerockerparis for the live video.

On September 4 Ian Paice played another gig in Italy that for some reason went completely under our radar. He performed at a Roman club called Stazione Birra with a tribute band Hush. Keyboard player Gianluca Stabbi (from the Ranfa Blues Band) and guitar player Marco Carpita (from Blackmore’s Night tribute band Morning Star) were the special guests.

During the night there had been a moment of commemoration of Aldo Murgia, bass player from Orchydea (another Deep Purple tribute band from Rome) who was tragically killed last April. Little Ian himself handed the commemorative plate to his brother Filippo Murgia.

Setlist (might not be in the exact order):

Highway Star
Strange kind of woman
Child in time (guest Gabriele Pizzuti on bass)
Woman from Tokyo
Perfect Strangers
Mistreated
Fireball/Into the fire
Lazy (guest Gianluca Sabbi on keyboards)
Burn (guests Gianluca Sabbi on keyboards and Marco Carpita on guitar)
Speed king inc. drum solo (guests Gianluca Sabbi on keyboards and Marco Carpita on guitar)
Hush
Smoke on the water (guest Marco Armari – second drumkit)
Black Night (guest Marco Armari – second drumkit)

Regarding this particular version of Mistreated, it is peculiar how the band (an they are undoubtedly very competent musicians) take a back seat to the drummer on a tune which can hardly be described a drummer’s showcase. Meanwhile Paicey manages to turn it into one.

We’ll leave you with this energetic take on the Speed King:

Thanks to Francesco from deep-purple.it for the info, to nikos833 for the video and to Kevin Dixon for spotting it.

Back in 2003 ITV1 Wales did a documentary on Roger Glover. Now, with it’s appearance on Youtube, all of us who missed it on TV and on the bootlegger’s grapevine, have a chance to see it.

Thanks to landinleonardo for the upload and to Andrey Gusenkov for spotting it.