In a brand new interview for his website, Jon Lord talks about the background to his new album, “To Notice Such Things.”

The album is dedicated to the memory of Jon Lord’s dear friend Sir John Mortimer, and Jon explains how the album has grown out of the music he used to play onstage with Sir John Mortimer.

– John and I became friends about 12 years ago. A couple of years later he asked if I would be interested in playing the piano and writing a bit of music for him, for his theater shows – “Mortimer’s Miscellany” – during which he sat on the stage and, accompanied by two actresses, a pianist and a flute player, he read poetry and prose, told stories and jokes and related hilarious legal anecdotes, giving his wonderfully wise and witty take on life, love and the law.

– I realized that I had these three little pieces for flute and piano that I had written for the theater shows that I used to do with Sir John, and I thought that they might provide the basis for this ‘flute concerto’ and that I could write in his memory.

Read the full interview on JonLord.org.

You can help vote Jon Lord into Classic FM’s Hall Of Fame 2010.

Last year, Jon Lord’s “Durham Concerto” was the highest new entry in Classic FM’s Hall of Fame as it jumped in at no. 75. Jon Lord’s previous album, “Boom of the Tingling Strings” reached no. 198.

Vote for Jon Lord now
You can help secure Jon Lord’s position in this year’s Classic FM Hall Of Fame by voting for him online. It’s free and takes only a few seconds.

Simply enter ‘Lord, Jon‘ in the voting form and you can vote for “Durham Concerto”, “Boom of the Tingling String” and “Disguises”. You are allowed three votes.

Cast your votes now on classicfmhalloffame.co.uk.

Deadline for voting online is Sunday 31 January 2010 at 23:59.

Jon Lord is releasing his next album, “To Notice Such Things” at the end of March. Read more on JonLord.org.

French promoter Gerard Drouot Production has just announced a new Deep Purple tour in Belgium and France. The dates are:

• Nov 3, Marche-en-Famenne, Belgium
• Nov 5, Lyon, France
• Nov 6, Montpelier, France
• Nov 7, Bordeaux, France
• Nov 9, Rennes, France
• Nov 10, Paris, France

Further details in our Purple calendar. Feel free to email us any corrections and additional info, i.e. ticket sale dates and links. Note that none of those dates have been officially confirmed by the band’s management yet.

Thanks to Regis Lamoline for the info.

Good news for all you vinyl junkies out there. Apparently both Montreux 1996 and 2006 shows have been released on vinyl at the end of last year. They quietly came out on a UK label Rock Classics, each as a double LP with gatefold sleeve.

Order it from a store near you:

• Live at Montreux 1996
  
• Live at Montreux 2006
  

Thanks to Axel Dauer for the info.

First four Blackmore’s Night albums are apparently being deleted by SPV and will be reissued by the in-house label Minstrel Hall Music. Differences from the previous pressings are summarized below.

Shadow of the Moon
(MHM001)

Tracklist as per the 1998 UK re-issue/US release. Artwork at the rear loses the BMG logo and gains the MHM logo. The track listing is in a darker/bolder type face. CD artwork and inner rear CD tray artwork now incorporates the central section from the front cover.

Under a Violet Moon
(MHM002)

Tracks as per the original UK version. Artwork on rear has the track listing done in a different font and is centralized. The production notes have been removed, and there is the MHM logo. The band’s logo appears on the spine of the cover. CD artwork, band’s name and album name are in a large font size, and the production notes have been removed. The track listing is again in a new font. CD Booklet is 12 pages long and is different from the original 16 page UK version.

Fires at Midnight
(MHM003)

Tracks as per original UK release, not the same as the deluxe box version. Rear cover artwork, the band logo is slightly larger with a black outline, making it more distinguishable from the fiery background. Has MHM logo.

Ghost of a Rose
(MHM004)

CD artwork removes SPV logo and replaces it with MHM logo. The band’s logo appears on the spine of the cover. Track listing is same as the basic UK version, however Way to Mandalay video has been added.

Thanks to Kevin Dixon for the info.

Very interesting interviews with Roger Glover, Ronnie Dio, Eddie Hardin, Ray Fenwick, and Alan Aldridge (author of the book). This was filmed circa 1999 (a poster of a 1999 DP gig in Hamburg can be seen at one point).
Continue Reading »

In Kevin Shirley’s online diary, he confirms what Jason Bonham said about Black Country and also confirms the rumour that there is a keyboard player in the group. Maybe no one told Bonham that. 🙂

Kevin Shirley writes:

So there it is folks – the cat is out the bag! This is BLACK COUNTRY.

I am producing the debut album and we already have six tracks cut. We’re going to do the next session in March when I’m through with my current project, and I hope to finish in early April. The band is Jason Bonham on drums, Derek Sherinian on keyboards, Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals and Joe Bonamassa on guitar and vocals. The songs are all original and what a lineup! They are all the very best players in the world, for my money!

Jason Bonham (Led Zeppelin, Foreigner) is a totally unique drummer and a supreme, yet oh-so-tasty powerhouse. Derek Sherinian (Dream Theater, Billy Idol, Alice Cooper) is super versatile, and is playing mostly overdriven Hammond organ in this ensemble and is the color on the palette. Glenn Hughes (Deep Purple, Trapeze) plays bass and sings with a range VERY, VERY few can even get close to, and Joe Bonamassa, perhaps the best Blues guitarist around, plays hard riffing guitar as well as adding his signature vocals alongside Glenn. You’ll just have to wait – we’re planning to get this out late summer, and it’s promising to be phenomenal! Perhaps if you’re around San Bernadino about March 17………

Meanwhile, Glenn Hughes’ website has this to say:

There is a lot of speculation and talk about the new project that Glenn is involved with, and at this stage, all we can say, is that an official statement/announcement is forthcoming and will be made very soon. However, this will not be made until the time is right.

Joe Bonamassa comments on his Facebook page:

So it is out of the bag… I am in a band again.. Really cool bunch of guys who are so good. The first tracks are really great..

And here’s a very small taster of what’s to come. Hughes and Bonamassa joins Bonham at 2.20.

It looks like the band will spend this spring (or autumn, depending on how you look at it) in Australia and Far East. Lennard Promotions has just announced the 2010 Deep Purple Australian tour Continue Reading »

Joe Bonamassa has reported on Facebook that he recorded with Don Airey this week. No more information at this moment but Bonamassa referred to it as “Don Airey’s record”.

At the Guitar Center’s Drum-Off last weekend, Jason Bonham did a tribute to his father, the late John Bonham from Led Zeppelin. Glenn Hughes was Bonham’s guest at the show. In an interview before the show, Bonham talked about his new band featuring Joe Bonamassa and Glenn Hughes.

“I just literally went into the studio last week for two days with one person I’d done an album with before, very quickly, and then the other was a friend of my father’s I got to meet later on, Joe Bonamassa and Glenn Hughes, and we’re working on a new project with a working title of Black Country.”

“We just went in with [producer] Kevin Shirley and played riffs and just jammed for two days. And that’s really exciting.”

There has been rumours floating around about a keyboard player joining the group. For now at least, Bonham denies that.

“Joe just wanted to play guitar so with Glenn on bass and vocals, it’s a power trio.”