Another review of the November 6th London gig, this time courtesy of Brighton and Hove News:

Cometh the hour, cometh the band. After an introductory blast of ‘Mars’ from ‘The Planets Suite’ by Gustav Holst, Deep Purple take the stage and go straight into the classic ‘Highway Star’. Guitarist Simon McBride impresses from the off. I’d heard good reports about him. I’m pleased that they appear to be accurate. Ian Paice isn’t using a drum riser, which is very unusual. We’re given an early warning that tonight isn’t going to be a nostalgia fest by the second song ‘A Bit On The Side’, which is from the current album ‘=1’. However, Purple have such an illustrious back catalogue that it clearly can’t be ignored, so we get ‘Into The Fire’ from 1970’s ‘Deep Purple In Rock’ album third song in. Ian Gillan is in fine voice. Obviously he doesn’t sound like he did in his twenties. The screams aren’t quite so high as back then, but his voice is still strong and his pitch is excellent.

Read more in Brighton and Hove News.

Metal Talk reviews the London gig from November 6:

Whilst the line-up may have changed over the years, there is still the undoubted spectacle of seeing genuine rock legends playing some of the best rock songs ever written. Not only is their back catalogue the envy of practically every other band on the planet right now, they have never been content to rest on their laurels.

With their current (ahem) purple patch of great new albums, they are on commanding form.

Many bands seem lost in giant places like The O2, but Deep Purple fill the place with sound, light and sheer force of personality. Here, despite the large and crystal-clear video screens that dominate the top of the stage, the music does the talking.

Continue reading in Metal Talk.

Photo credit: Manuela Langotsch/MetalTalk.

Couple of press reviews of the Leeds gig on November 7.

Leeds Live:

Two years since they last visited, the veteran band have lost none of their zest for woozy-bluesy solos and progressive time signatures.

Review: “Alright, alright, alright, Leeds,” Ian Gillan pronounces with a short wag of his finger, before the septuagenarian singer waves his arm across the full crowd before him. “It’s great to be back. A few calypso classics to get you in the mood, perhaps?” A steady roll of weathered chuckles and soft titters emerge from out of the darkness, and the frontman rewards them with a wink-wink, nudge-nudge grin.

There is, of course, little in the way of Caribbean vibes when it comes to Deep Purple, unless you count the fronded shirt patterns sported by keyboardist Don Airey. One of the most highly regarded rock bands of the twentieth century, they are considered a key progenitor in the birth of heavy metal by many who followed in their footsteps; a fascinating notion in part when viewed against the prism of the modern-day scene given their lone-guitar approach and woozy-bluesy penchant for progressive time signatures and movements.

Continue reading in Leeds Live.

The Yorkshire Post:

It`s quite incredible to think that over 55 years after cracking the American singles chart with ‘Hush’, Rock legends, Deep Purple, have, 23 albums and 100 million album sales later, have finally landed a UK Number One single with ‘Lazy Sod’ from their latest release ‘=1’.

Quite an achievement for a band in the twilight of their career.

Kicking off with traditional set opener ‘Highway Star’, the first of four from their classic ‘Machine Head’ opus and the finest driving song of them all was always going to set things off with a bang. Guitarist Simon McBride`s interplay with keyboardist Don Airey was astonishing. Close your eyes for a moment, it was if the originals Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore were duelling as if their lives depended on it. They were that good.

Continue reading in The Yorkshire Post (and see our notes regarding their paywall). [Update Nov 15]: This review is also available on PressReader.com, apparently unencumbered.

Another review of the Birmingham gig from November 4th, 2024. This one is for the Metal Planet Music.

With the energy of the crowd now at an excitable fever pitch, the lights dimmed, and ‘Gustav Holst’s Mars’ the Bringer of War’ echoed dramatically through the arena. Images appeared on screens above the stage, each for the audience to ponder, with a final fiery DEEP PURPLE logo emblazoned in the background, this set the tone for the legendary band about to take the stage. As the music swirled, a sense of anticipation filled the air, the time had come for DEEP PURPLE to unleash their rock prowess.

Read more in Metal Planet Music.

Photo credit: Manny Manson for MPM.

The Guardian reviews the November 6th London gig:

There are certain things that have to be factored into life: Boris Johnson will self-promote; Five Guys is overpriced; and Deep Purple (and their spinoff bands) will plague the audience with solo spots. Thankfully, those solos are no longer quite as interminable as they were in the days when the band would only fit nine songs into their set because everyone had to have a moment in the spotlight. Tonight, Don Airey’s two keyboard solos and Simon McBride’s guitar spot only occupy 15 minutes of an otherwise tight set of just shy of two hours.

The rest of the time, Deep Purple are not just surprisingly good, but actually good…

Continue reading in The Guardian.

Ian Gillan spoke to The Yorkshire Post:

In a few days you’ll be embarking on a five-date UK arena tour. Are you looking forward to it?

Absolutely. We’re very much looking forward to it. This tour actually started in May but we are finishing in the UK so we are definitely looking forward to it for sure then we`ll be off the road for Christmas and then I’ll get a holiday but we will be working after the tour is finished.

You’ve called it the One More Time tour. Is this really going to be your last tour or do you still intend to play select dates as and when you want?

We actually changed the name to the ‘=1 Tour’ when we realised what everyone was thinking because that’s what it sounds like but we didn’t think of it like that. We meant it more in musical terms of “let’s go again”. We had a previous tour with similar problems called ‘The Long Goodbye Tour’ so this is definitely not going to be our last tour.

Continue reading in The Yorkshire Post.

Addendum: we’re being told that the article is behind the paywall. We are also being told by a little birdie that Firefox with Enhanced Tracking Protection feature turned on shows the article just fine. All hail Firefox.

Marcelo Velazquez writes to us:

Hi, I made this video in honor of my all-time favorite band and I wanted to share it with you. I hope you enjoy it.

And the video is Deep Purple In Rock, if it was recorded in the 50s:

The immortal words of Arthur C. Clarke are very pertinent here: “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.”

A website aptly called Maximum Volume Music reviews the Birmingham gig of the band that once held the title of the loudest band in the world:

From that song to that riff, and the main set ends with arguably the best ever, and as Simon McBride starts it up, all of a sudden the crowd are up, but there’s a chap who’s a steward, and he’s walking around doing that involuntary head nod thing that people do when there’s a riff you can’t ignore.

But here’s the thing about “Smoke On The Water”, it’s recognised the world over because it’s fantastic.

There are many in the course of this hour and 50 minutes, but for every “Highway Star” here, there’s something new.

Continue reading in Maximum Volume Music.

Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the heads-up.

Ahead of the current =1 More Time UK tour, Ian Gillan spoke to the PA News Agency, and the conversation steered, of all things, onto the ’72 tour that produced Made in Japan.

In Japan, I noticed the first thing was the cultural change. I was able to do two things, one to learn about the different cultures and the values, number two was from a distance, to be able to see my own culture in England in a different way, from a different perspective.

And there was a real eye-opener, how other people see you and how you see yourself from a distance. I suddenly realised what an undiluted culture was in Japan.

Read more in PA media.

Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the heads-up.

Well put together documentary on Jon Lord before Deep Purple. It covers in fair detail the evolution of the Art Wood Combo / The Artwoods / St. Valentine’s Day Massacre. Continue Reading »