David Coverdale has issued the following update:

It is unlikely that Whitesnake will tour in 2010, as we have committed to writing & recording a new studio album & delighted to report we are working with an enthusiastic, highly respected record company, whom at this time I am reluctant to name, until they wish to make their own announcement…

The album will feature all new, fresh material…

We are off to a very good start, with the new songs taking very positive shape… At this time it feels like a solid, natural follow up to Good To Be Bad… but, taking it to the next level…

Soulful, bluesy, melodic power rock with a couple of underwear moistening, tear jerkers thrown in for good measure…

I personally feel we are off to a very strong & positive start…

At this time the plan is to resume touring in Spring 2011, to coincide with the release of the new studio album…

The tour will be a World Tour… yes… that includes YOUR country, Boys & Girls…

We also are planning to mix several other Whitesnake related projects this year that have been consistently requested by our supporters… So, fingers crossed, it will be a very, very busy, creative & productive time thro’ 2010…

Thanks to BarveWords for the info.

This time Machine Head will get audiofile treatment by the Audio Fidelity label. The album in it’s original form (no bonus tracks) will be reissued on 24 karat gold CD some time in March, remastered by Steve Hoffman.

Track listing:

Highway Star 6:05
Maybe I’m A Leo 4:51
Pictures Of Home 5:03
Never Before 3:56
Smoke On The Water 5:40
Lazy 7:19
Space Truckin’ 4:31

Catalogue number: AFZ065

Thanks to Daniel Bengtsson for the info.

Joe Lynn Turner will join Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson on February 27 at 11pm (Eastern Time) for That Metal Show on a US cable channel VH1 Classic. Trunk says, “Joe was great to have as a guest. We are all friends and fans of his and have wanted him since we started taping the show. His personality and great stories made for a killer episode.”

Once the show debuts on February 27, the episode will repeat a few times more. Check VH1 Classic schedule for details.

Thanks to BraveWords for the info.

“Around the world in 20 concerts” is the title of the latest interview with Jon Lord published on his website.

Here, he talks about a busy 2009 that took him to concert stages around the world – incl. places he’d never before visited as a solo artist – as well as into the recording studio to lay down his new album “To Notice Such Things”.

– Yes, this has been an incredibly busy year. We did all those shows, and especially getting the Lichfield show ready, finishing “To Notice Such Things”, recording it, then arranging all the stuff for the show with the college up in Edinburgh; the 40th anniversary Concerto show in Dublin, and then Russia and Bucharest and so on. So it’s been quite a busy time, says Jon Lord.

Read the full interview on JonLord.org.

February 1st has seen the launch of one of the most comprehensive Deep Purple online stores to date. In a partnership that sees for the first time all associate labels working together to promote the band, this new (and official) online store based in the UK is of interest not only for their extremely wide range of physical items such as CDs, DVDs, and other merchandise, but because they promise to have an emphasis on digital product releases including rare archival material such as interviews, live tracks and a range of new video tracks featuring never-before-seen content. As an example of this, we were made aware of 4 new video clips have been produced using this unreleased footage: Might Just Take Your Life, Woman from Tokyo, Child In Time, and Stormbringer. These are expected to be available shortly, but there is already a very extensive catalogue of digital audio tracks to peruse online.

We’ve also been informed that the store will focus on material right across the bands incredible history, and in the coming months there will also be a range of “mini stores” launched for all band members and their solo careers. It seems to be a major undertaking, and we have been assured that THS will be kept abreast of launch and major product release details as they come to hand.

Check out the new venture at http://www.deeppurplestore.com/

Due to “organizational reasons”, the Ian Paice & Tolo Marton February dates have been rescheduled to April.

Ian Paice & Tolo Marton Band new dates:

8th April – Gran Teatro – Padova – Italy
9th April – Muddy Waters Live Music Club – Calvari (Genova) – Italy

Thanks to Francesco from Deep Purple Italia for the info.

The other day we jumped on to Facebook, and now we’re on Twitter as well.

Updates to The Highway Star will from now on appear also on Twitter, and as a follower of us there, you will automatically be notified of THS news, blogs, etc.

Come join us at http://twitter.com/highwaystarcom!

The Highway Star has finally found its way onto Facebook. Arguably the world’s number one social media platform, you can now hook up with us there.

Updates to The Highway Star will from now on appear also on Facebook, and as a fan of us there, you will automatically be notified of THS news, blogs, etc.

Find us at Facebook.com/TheHighwayStar.

Back in 1970 Mike Thorne worked as an assistant at the De Lane Lea Studio in London. One day his sound recording experiment with an air conditioner became a part of Deep Purple lore:

Several massively expensive tube mics (a Neumann U67 now fetches maybe $5000 on the used market) were placed strategically in the grubby AC closet: about five, I remember. With a little plate reverb, not to mention fastidious mic placing refined by control room checks, I created what to my beginner’s ears was a most enveloping stereo machine sound. Forget all that fancy Stockhausen electronic music, the cutting edge of the sixties I’d been listening to: this was mine, and it sounded glorious. I turned the machine on, waited a little after it had climaxed to appreciate the full roar of its sostenuto, then turned it off (generating a familiar massive electrical click on the tape, another De Lane Lea feature). The machine wound down in its own classic fashion. As it did, the celebratory church bells from next door wafting down the air shaft gradually faded up. God in His heaven was smiling and obviously approved. I faded the recording, edited out the click with a razor blade, and put the master in a box with credit to the singular performance of the West Uzbekistan Percussion Ensemble. (It was just after the sixties had closed, please humor me.) The master went into the tape store, where it languished forgotten until an innovative client request.

Read the rest of the story at stereosociety.com.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov for spotting this.

A bunch of tourdates that we had listed for a while, as well as a couple of new ones, have just appeared on the official Deep Purple site and as so are now confirmed. That includes

• all the Australian dates
• Singapore and Hong Kong (but not Taiwan)
• Armenia
• two of the South African dates (but not Durban)
• two new dates right after South Africa — one in Croatia and a festival appearance in Switzerland
• one date in Czech Republic in October (but not the one in Poland)

On top of that, there is another unconfirmed new date — July 14 in Portugal — for which tickets are already on sale.

Full details in our calendar. Let us know if there are any additions, corrections, missing ticket info, etc.

Update (Jan 22): Polish promoters MetalMind has announced three dates in Poland: October 28 in Rzeszów (previously incorrectly listed by us as Oct 26), October 30 in Katowice, and October 31 in Wrocław. Tickets for all 3 go on sale on February 1 at 10 am.

Thanks to Jakub Stawiarz for the Polish tour info.