![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse5.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/mcbride6.jpg)
Loving every moment of it
Simon McBride gives the rundown of his stage rig, admitting in the process that he’s not terribly technically minded, and talks a bit about the whole experience of playing in Deep Purple. Continue Reading »
Sweet jazz o’ mine
![Ian Gillan soaked in rain Jazzopen Stuttgart 2023 [114215-004-A]_00:04:06_01](https://www.thehighwaystar.com/wp/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/cap_Jazzopen-Stuttgart-2023-114215-004-A_000406_01.jpg)
European channel Arte TV this year is showing performances from the Jazz Open Stuttgart festival. Deep Purple are playing at the festival on July 18, 2023, and it will be broadcast live online, as well as made available for replay for 90 days afterwards. Live broadcast starts at around 21:00 CEST and is expected to last for an hour and a half.
[Update Jul 25]: The show has been posted on Arte.tv, where it will be available for your viewing pleasure until October 22, 2023. Little birdie told us, that this ditty allows you to, ahem, watch the show offline.
Thanks to Joerg for the heads-up.
If you look closely
RAMzine has a preview of the updated edition of Illustrated Biography, listed by the publisher as slated for shipping in September/October 2023. The book is now called Deep Purple – The Visual History 1968-76.
Unlike many other similar books about bands of this stature, this isn’t just a collection of pictures. The contents are divided up under a series of headings from Deep Purple’s inception in 1968, examining every ‘mark’ stage up to 1976, including albums and personnel, and incorporating comments from and details of everyone who played in Purple in this period, including how they joined the band, plus details of short-lived members like Nick Simper and Rod Evans. Ritchie Blackmore gets a 30-page spread and, if you look closely, you’ll even see him smiling in one of the pictures. The book’s mostly factual, with Charlesworth rarely incorporating his own views about whether a line-up change had improved or detracted from the band. Nonetheless, this is still an interesting read with a few surprising little nuggets of information … Rod Stewart, when with the Jeff Beck Group, being looked at as a possible frontman when the band’s being put together in ‘68? Glenn Hughes approached to join the embryonic ELO before joining Purple?… and for Purple fans young and old, there’s something here for you all to enjoy, not because the book is amazingly brilliant or rammed with controversial comments, but because it’s an enjoyable trawl through the first eight years of a remarkable band. It’s a safe bet their story from 1984 onwards will be nothing like as exciting a ride as their ’68-76 period.
Read more in RAMzine.
Das making-of Machine Head
German edition of the Classic Rock magazine has “Das making-of Machine Head” as the cover story for their July/August 2023 issue (a.k.a. #121). This may or may not be somehow related to the English version of the same story published earlier this year. Anyways, our correspondent on the ground tells us that there’s nothing in the German story that we haven’t known before. The issue can be ordered directly from the publisher.
Thanks to Tobias Janaschke for the info.
Mo Foster R.I.P.
Roger Glover posts a eulogy to an old friend Mo Foster:
Deep sadness at the news that Mo Foster has died. I met him on the Butterfly Ball sessions in 1974 and we always remained friends. Not only was he a warm and charming man but an inspiring bass player and endowed with a superb sense of humour. His book British Rock Guitar was, and is, both insightful and wickedly funny. One of a kind. He will be sorely missed.
My condolences to his wife Kaye and all his family and friends
Roger Glover
4th July 2023
Jeff Beck & Mo Foster perform Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles in 1980:
Romero’s Masters
Ronnie Romero will release his first original solo album Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters on September 15 via Frontiers. His two previous offerings — Raised On Radio and Raised On Heavy Radio — were both cover albums. This new release features only original material, written by Romero in collaboration with drummer Andy C. and guitarist Jose Rubio.
Video clip for the opening track Castaway On The Moon:
Tracklist:
- Castaway On The Moon
- Mountain Of Light
- I’ve Been Losing You
- Too Many Lies, Too Many Masters
- Girl, Don’t Listen To The Radio
- Crossroad
- Not Just A Nightmare
- A Distant Shore
- Chased By Shadows
- Vengeance
Lineup:
Ronnie Romero — Vocals
Andy C. — Drums
Jose Rubio — Guitar
Francisco Gil — Keyboards
Javier Garcia — Guitars
The album can be pre-ordered here.
Thanks to BraveWords for the info.
Down to the crypt with ouija board
Glenn Hughes appeared on the Rockonteurs podcast hosted by Gary Kemp (of Spandau Ballet fame) and session bassist extraordinaire Guy Pratt. That happened on or around June 27, 2023. Listen to this rather interesting conversation Continue Reading »
Twenty-one and life is beautiful
Glenn Hughes was a guest on Bulgaria’s Z-Rock radio (his gig in Sofia was on June 24th, and he mentions it as being “tomorrow”).
Glenn reminisces about writing and recording Burn, leaving Trapeze and joining Purple, working with Blackmore, meeting Coverdale and the prospects of collaborating with him again.
On the last issue, in particular, he said:
We have spoken about it in the last 10 years a couple of times. But David — he’s been very busy; I have been very busy. So, the window of opportunity is closing, because I’m not sure how long David wants to continue. And I am so damn busy that… If he said to me tomorrow, ‘Let’s get together and maybe do something,’ I would find the time, but I don’t wait for that opportunity, because we’ve had that time. We had a great legacy.
A lot of people would love to see Glenn and David together on one more tour. But I’m not sure [it will happen]… I mean, I think fans would like that. You never know. But I’m not sure.
Watch the whole thing:
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info and the quotes.
All hail to the chief
There’s one member of the band that is truly irreplaceable. He has been in every lineup, on every record, and on every gig. His name is Ian Anderson Paice, and he was born on June 29, 1948. Which makes him 75 today. Happy birthday to The Boss!
Coverdale’s guitar up for sale
David Coverdale has donated his 1974 Yamaha FG-160 acoustic guitar to the Download 20 Auction for Heavy Metal Truants to be auctioned for charity.
It is claimed to be the very guitar used to write nearly every song ever written by DC for Deep Purple and Whitesnake. The minimum bid is £1,000.
The auction will be going live on Thursday 29th June at 10am BST and will close on Thursday 6th July at 23.50 BST.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing