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Jon turned it down, so…

Louder Sound reprints a Prog magazine short feature on the Butterfly Ball project, stemming from a 2018 interview with Roger Glover. In 1973, Alan Aldridge and William Plomer published a picture book titled The Butterfly Ball And The Grasshopper’s Feast, based on a 19th-century poem of the same name by William Roscoe. On the surface, […]

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For the sake of completeness

Over the years, we’ve announced a multitude of side projects and guest appearances for the various members of the Purple family. Quite inevitably, we’ve missed a few. Here they are, at least some of them. The last number in parentheses refers to the number of tracks the corresponding musician appears on, whenever known. Don Airey: […]

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Living the Blues

Saxophone player Terry Marshall (of the Marshall amplifiers fame) has released his first album Living the Blues on October 11, 2024, via Marshall Records. Besides working alongside his father Jim, Terry became an accomplished session player, but up until now never got around to recording under his own name. Nick Simper plays bass on the […]

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The well dressed necklace

A jewellery artist Katya Arts presents the Steve Morse collection of unique handmade pieces crafted from sterling silver and guitar strings. I started making silver jewelry because I got inspired by a Deep Purple song, composed and played by guitarist Steve Morse. The first piece I made was a silver dreamcatcher with the inscription ”The […]

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Become a DJ down under

Mark O’Neill from Australia writes to us: I do a national rock show on community radio and also 3 nights of programming on 94.7 The Pulse. I’m looking for someone to do a weekly Purple pre-recorded show. The only prerequisite (besides the Purple knowledge) is fluent English. Interested parties are advised to contact Mark directly […]

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Like a kid in a candy store

Speaking of Thomas Blug, he recently spent a very Purple day, and here are the proceeds. Join us for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes experience as Thomas Blug spends a day with rock legends Deep Purple and Jefferson Starship in Luxembourg! Invited to watch the show from both the front row and side stage, Thomas takes us […]

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The rest is not history

Ritchie Blackmore tells the story of how Deep Purple Mark 1 coalesced together, eventually morphing into Mark 2. That’s a lot of history in 3 minutes.

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In jazz we trust

Back in 2006 Don Airey and Ian Paice performed at the ProLight+Sound trade show in Frankfurt, Germany. Turns out that a recording was up on Youtube all this time, without us being aware. Here it is for your viewing pleasure.

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Plug in and go

Another one for the guitar gearheads. UK retailer Play Music Today met with Simon McBride on the recently concluded European tour, and he gave the rundown of his stage setup. Letting us know, in the process, that the Engl Artist Edition amp he plays these days is a lot more closely related to the Ritchie […]

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He knows exactly what he wants

Guitar World has an interview with Steve Morse, and it gets pretty gear-heavy pretty quickly. Here it is, with more details on basic single coils vs stacked coil pickups than most of us ever wanted to know. If forced to make a choice, would you rather buy a really good electric guitar and a cheap […]

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Bombast and swagger

Several press reviews from the recently concluded =1 More Time UK tour. Blues Rock Review presents some impressions from the November 9 gig in Manchester: Much of their new set at the AO Arena, Manchester comes from their latest album =1, and it’s a winning formula, still bringing vivid shades of vintage Deep Purple, while […]

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Tonight on the telly

Hot off the press, and slightly unverified. Tonight, November 12, at 11pm local time, Ian Gillan will be hosting a show on channel 358 (NOW Rock) of Sky TV.

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Back to Budokan

The Asahi Shimbun reports that the famed Japanese music magazine Burrn! is celebrating its 40th anniversary. It was named after “Burn,” a hard-rocking song by British band Deep Purple, under the belief that beginning a magazine’s title with the letter B promised strong sales. The letter R is duplicated in the name to rhyme with […]

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The last band standing

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. […]

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Utterly magnificent

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 […]

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One for the musician’s enthusiast

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 […]

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Will never, ever be forgotten

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 […]

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Actually good

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 […]

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Definitely not the last

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 […]

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In rock around the clock

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 […]

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