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Sunny side up
Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night were interviewed for the Q105.7 radio station broadcasting out of Albany, NY. This was done in anticipation of a couple of Blackmore’s Night upstate gigs this past weekend. Continue Reading »
As subtle as a flying mallet
Louder Sound reprints a feature from the Classic Rock magazine on Whitesnake’s 1979 Lovehunter album:
Working at Clearwell Castle, the 18th-century estate in the Forest Of Dean where Purple had prepped for both Burn and Stormbringer, the band re-hired Purple’s producer of choice, Martin Birch, who had also overseen Trouble, to man the console of the Rolling Stones Mobile.
Later nicknamed ‘Headmaster’ by Iron Maiden, Birch was a serious guy but not without a sense of humour. Clearwell was said to be haunted, and Birch derived great amusement from piping spooky sounds into the band’s headphones as the tapes rolled.
Continue reading in Louder Sound.
Videos
You may or may not have noticed a new link on the home page: Video list. This immense piece of work was done by long-term editor Trond (I did the munging to HTML) and should keep you occupied for more than a few hours. There are videos on YouTube and elsewhere of lineups from Rod Evans to Simon McBride.
I’m afraid you’ve missed the immense recent Stuttgart concert. It was only available on ARTE for a short time. It’s only marginally below Made in Japan in my humble opinion. Still plenty of other stuff there. Including the Frankenstein’s monster of a MiJ reconstruction.
As usual, all contributions welcome if you see anything passable or better out there. There are several different directions this could go!
Dave // Editor-in-chief emeritus.
From the desk of Mr. Glover: Seijiro Udo R.I.P
SEIJIRO UDO R.I.P
Sadly, one of the greatest promoters has passed on. Mr. Udo was not
only a superb businessman but a deeply passionate advocate for music in
Japan. He could always be counted on as a dignified and sincere
presence in our lives. He and his remarkable team supported Deep Purple
and many others with professional courtesy and generosity over decades
of touring in Japan. As a giant of the music business, he was a disarmingly
humble man who unfailingly gained respect from all who knew him. He
became a friend, whose warm smile of welcome will be sorely missed.
Profound commiserations to his family.
Roger Glover
Mr. Udo RIP
The legendary Japanese concert promoter Seijiro Udo, widely known as ‘Mr. Udo’, has passed away at the age of 92. He was responsible for bringing Deep Purple to Japan for that historic tour in August 1972, and every subsequent visit of the band to that country.
His company UDO Artists issued the following statement:
It is with great sadness to announce that the Japanese Concert Promoter, Seijiro Udo a.k.a. Mr. Udo, passed away at 3:18 a.m. on Oct. 15 at the age of 92 due to senility.
He started his career in his early 20’s at Kyodo Kikaku and founded UDO Artists, Inc. in 1967. He was a pioneer in bringing Western music to Japan and had lived his life more than anything else to please music fans. He went on to bring hundreds of major international acts to Japan such as Eric Clapton, Bob Dylan, KISS, Aerosmith, Santana, Jeff Beck, Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Billy Joel, Bon Jovi, George Harrison, The Who, Van Halen, TOTO, and Bryan Adams to name a few, and held over 10,000 concerts in Japan.
We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of you who have attended our many concerts and will continue to offer more concerts that will remain in hearts of music fans in the future, following the will of the deceased.
Thanks to BraveWords for the news, however sad they are.
Boxers, briefs, or commando?
In this latest instalment of QT with DC, David Coverdale talks about his choice of underwear, his favourite drink, and answers other important questions from the fans. Continue Reading »
The last battle
German magazine ROCKS is running a feature on The Battle Rages On and subsequent tour as the cover story of their latest issue (2023/6). We are being told that the article is well written and illustrated, albeit does not contain anything we haven’t already learned from elsewhere.
The issue can be ordered through the publisher with worldwide delivery.
Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the info.
Accidentally knighted
David Coverdale appeared on The Totally 80s Podcast to talk about power ballads et cetera. Continue Reading »
Regret never changes anything
A vintage interview with Roger Glover, originally published in an issue of New Musical Express from February 12, 1972. He talks about Gillan’s illness that cancelled the US tour towards the end of the previous year, recording a new album in Switzerland, how it compares to Fireball, financials of the band, and the creative process:
Why write most of your numbers actually in the Studio. Surely it must work out expensive.
“When we make an album we`ve got to be happy and relaxed, and if you`ve got hassles of getting equipment in from a rehearsal room, it doesn`t help. It`s worth the extra money we spend in studio time, just to be able to avoid the hassles.”
Is it always a joint group venture, writing a number?
“Officially it`s a five-way split when we write, but different people contribute different things to different songs. We know who wrote what, but I don`t think it`s apparent to the listener.
“For example, `Fireball` was written mainly by Richie, John and Ian. The basic ideas usually stem from Richie and myself.
“On the new album I got most of my ideas during the four weeks off, just because I was able to take time off and listen to some music and also drive around in my car and relax.
On the lyrics side, sometimes Ian Gillan will do them on his own, or we`ll get together. With one particular track on the new album, `Smoke on the water`, that particular phrase just came to me. My first thought was to write it myself as a folk song.
“I mentioned the idea to Ian, and no more was said until we came to write the lyrics of a song in the studio. So that`s how that number came about.”Isn`t it annoying, for those of you who contribute more than others`, to still have this five-way-split on the songwriting side?
“Sometimes I feel I`d like more credit for some of the stuff I do, but the decision to split it five ways was made ages ago before “Deep Purple In Rock.”
That`s because our music is basically the result of a jam session. I think it avoids friction this way, though I can`t say it won`t in the future. As soon as money comes into it, people change. Some for the better – some for the worse.”
Read more in My Things – Music history for those who are able to read.
Thanks to Geir Myklebust for transcribing the interview, and to Uwe Hornung for bringing it to your attention.
Powered by 40 fingers
Here’s a rendition of Highway Star like you’ve probably never heard before. Arranged for 4 acoustic guitars and played by the outfit known as 40 Fingers. Continue Reading »
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing