[hand] [face]
The Original Deep Purple Web Pages
The Highway Star

Good to see you vertical

Some time in 2019 Ian Paice visited his colleague Lee Kerslake, who was filming a documentary about his musical career and battle with cancer. Lee passed away in 2020.

Blog | read more »


Don Airey in Classic Rock

Classic Rock magazine has an interview with Don Airey in their latest issue (#340, with Fleetwood Mac on the cover). We don’t have many further details at the moment, apart from the blurb: Q&A: Don Airey The Deep Purple keyboard player, go-to session guy and solo artist on his new album, touring, Purple, Blackmore. If […]

News | read more »


See what you want to see

Another clip from the series of restored and upscaled classic Gillan videos. This is Unchain Your Brain from the BBC TV series Rock Goes To College, as performed live at Oxford Polytechnic in 1981. The video has been cleaned up nicely, sadly the sound is the same muddy affair as before.

Blog | read more »


Confidant and wardrobe consultant

Candice Night was interviewed by eonmusic, and in between some things that have been discussed previously, the last Rainbow incarnation came up. Finally, I wanted to touch on Rainbow’s shows in 2016, and onward; that must have been special for you, to help make that all happen. One hundred percent. I absolutely loved doing that […]

News | read more »


Not perfect, but evocative

We’ve already mentioned on these pages that there’s a new book out that might be of interest to our readership. It is called Deep Purple From 1984: every album, every song, written by Phil Kafcaloudes, and published by SonicBond. The book is pretty much what it says on the cover — it is every post-reunion […]

Blog | read more »


Hard of hearing, anyway

Blackmore’s official channel has posted an interview done in December 1975 by one named ‘Ronnie Die’ in the description, and who sounds suspiciously like Ronnie James Dio.

News | read more »


Not minding that you don’t get any sleep

Issue 49 of the Rock Candy magazine (the one with Black Sabbath’s Sabotage on the cover) has a page-spread interview with Don Airey. It is short, and sweet, and rather interesting. Don reveals that he is fond of travelling on tour buses, and even sometimes forgoes the Purple’s executive jet just to join the roadies […]

News | read more »


Forgot to supply the sandwiches

On April 2 this year, Don Airey appeared on the Mick Wall’s LIVE POD podcast to talk about his newly released solo album Pushed To The Edge, among other things. The other things included a compendium of amusing stories regarding the who-is-who of rock luminaries Don has worked with: queueing at the US embassy, reading […]

News | read more »


Les Binks R.I.P.

Drummer Les Binks has passed away at the age of 73. He played on Roger Glover’s Butterfly Ball and Eddie Hardin’s Wizard’s Convention. Later on, he joined Judas Priest on Roger’s recommendation and appeared on two of their albums Stained Class and Killing Machine (a.k.a. Hell Bent For Leather), both released in 1978, and the […]

News | read more »


$500 an hour is a lot indeed

In this interview with the Classic Album Review podcast, Candice Night tells a story, among others, how Rainbow album Stranger in Us All US release was sabotaged by sheer miscommunication.

News | read more »


Taking coal to Newcastle

Guitar Player magazine celebrated Ritchie Blackmore’s 80th birthday by reprinting online a 1996 feature, including an extensive interview with him. This interview originally appeared in the December 1996 issue of Guitar Player under the title “Mistreated: Will Ritchie Blackmore Ever Get His Due?” Deep inside a German castle, Ritchie Blackmore sits at a long table, […]

News | read more »


One way to get thrown out of a hotel

In this latest instalment of Tales from the Tavern Ritchie Blackmore discusses the genius of Django Reinhardt and how to get thrown out of a hotel.

News | read more »


Odyssey through the chaotic career

Record Collector magazine has announced a special Deep Purple issue featuring foreword by Opeth’s frontman (and a card-carrying Purple fan) Mikael Åkerfeldt. Join us on a 57-year odyssey through the chaotic career of Deep Purple, the original British heavy rock band. There will be deaths along the way. There will be arguments and near-fatal pranks. […]

News | read more »


Vibrato of a Hammond is what powers this man

MetalTalk has a positively glowing review of Don Airey’s new album Pushed To The Edge: For a bloke who is one of the most revered and reliable musicians in the business, Don Airey appears to take it all in his stride. Playing with global heavyweights like Ozzy Osbourne, Rainbow and Whitesnake and breathing life into […]

News | read more »


Missioned Souls go for a drive

This cover of Highway Star was done by a band of siblings from the Philippines, who apparently have become a minor YouTube sensation with a following of reactions, no less. The band is called Missioned Souls and includes ICE (age 11) on the drums, Stacey (12) on rhythm guitar and lead vocals, Neisha (14) on […]

Blog | read more »


Graphic artist Ioannis R.I.P.

Internationally renowned graphic artist and designer Ioannis Vasilopoulos has passed away. Ioannis was the author of the cover art for Abandon and Rapture of the Deep and graphic designer for Bananas. He also designed numerous other record covers and merchandise for other bands, from Alan Parsons Project to Sepultura. The following message has been posted […]

News | read more »


The mountain revival

Vermonter.com has an article about the connection that Deep purple formed in the 1980s with the quaint ski resort town of Stowe, Vermont. With input from Colin Hart, and some locals what befriended the band. The piece is well illustrated with photos, some of which may have never been published before. In the tranquil mountains […]

News | read more »


Can’t stop the tide coming in

Roger Glover was interviewed by the ROCK TALK podcast out from Argentina. There was no apparent occasion, so lots of things were discussed — what the band is up to these days (spoiler: working on a new album apparently, the interview was recorded before =1 came out), the writing process, Turning to Crime and Whoosh!, […]

News | read more »


Glenn and Lita steal the show

Glenn Hughes is currently touring Germany with the Rock Meets Classic package. Here is some video evidence of the proceedings and a brief witness report.

DP related reviews, Tour Reviews | read more »


A missed opportunity

There is a new book out — it is called Deep Purple From 1984: every album, every song, written by Phil Kafcaloudes, and published by SonicBond. David Black got himself a copy and shares his review with the rest of us. We also received a copy for review, which we hope to complete and publish […]

Blog | read more »


||||Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
© 1993-2025 The Highway Star and contributors
Posts, Calendar and Comments RSS feeds for The Highway Star