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A lime green Arabian knight
BraveWords publishes a chapter from the 2008 Tommy Bolin biography by Greg Prato, called Touched by Magic. Quite possibly it is the same chapter that was released as a teaser at the time of publication, but it’s been 15 years, and it’s a chapter telling about Tommy joining Purple, so here we go.
David Coverdale [Deep Purple/Whitesnake/Coverdale-Page singer]: “When Ritchie Blackmore decided to go [from Deep Purple], Ritchie had invited me to go with him to do the Rainbow project. But I felt uncomfortable about it – I didn’t think it was appropriate. And that’s what led to some abrasive aspects of Ritchie’s and my relationship for a while, unfortunately. When we had a meeting without Ritchie, my recommendations were number one, Jeff Beck, number two, Rory Gallagher, and number three, this guy called Tommy Bolin, which no one had really heard about. I’d heard Tommy Bolin on the Spectrum album by Billy Cobham, and I’d heard him on Alphonse Mouzon’s album, Mind Transplant. I was really impressed with this work, and I had no idea if he was a 70-year-old African American – I had no idea. So everyone went, ‘Oh wow, he’s pretty good!’ So we sent the word out. Now at that time, Purple was this huge global entity – one of ‘the rock ‘n’ roll aristocratic bands,’ before the market was so oversaturated, as it is now. Even we couldn’t find out where he was. And we found him a few miles down the road from where I used to live in Malibu – he was living there. We arranged for him to come down and jam with us. This guy walks in with multi-colored hair, lime-green Arabian knight…they weren’t trousers, they were like pre-Steven Tyler floating pants. And on four or five inch sole platform…they weren’t platform shoes, they were kind of platform sandals!”
Continue reading in BraveWords
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Yo,
Not a bad article, but it has plenty of jumps & skips from person-to-person, though good to hear DC with some comments.
RIP Tommy Bolin, long will we remember the music you brought to the world. Great stuff, & it still resonates to this day. “Bustin’ out for Rosie” indeed !
Peace !
December 18th, 2023 at 09:06Nice read, as far as CTTB it’s good but not in the class of Burn or even Stormbringer but that just me! However Teaser and Private Eyes still get played a lot…awesome disc’s! Maybe cause CTTB didn’t sound Purple enough to me but I do remember playing it a lot back in the day!
December 18th, 2023 at 11:38Yeah, I have the book, remember reading this stuff, obviously some cut and paste from older interviews, but Pato also conducted newer interviews or Coverdale’s mentioning of mixing Coverdale Page tracks with CTTB ones could not have been included. Most of the circumstances of Tommy’s audition corroborated by other sources over the decades. He brought along his then girlfriend Karen Ulibarri to the audition in a tight crochet dress which had poor Jon Lord all distracted rather than being erect with attention for the session.
Karen (who is pictured with Tommy on the Private Eyes album) then of course became the first Mrs Hughes rather than the second Mrs Lord, but Jon probably had no complaints as his second wife Vickie was Glenn Hughes girlfriend during Mark III – so it was all good in a somewhat circular way (and little Ian married Vickie’s twin sister Jackie of course). So to people doubting Glenn’s contributions to DP I say: Well, he was instrumental for both Jon and Ian getting to know their future wives! A double whammy so to speak. And you tell me that bass players aren’t important!
December 18th, 2023 at 14:28Regarding CTTB, I think Jon Lord (as he frequently did) summed up the situation very well: “The worst thing you can say about CTTB is that it is not a Deep Purple album. But it’s a terrifically good rock album.” I tend to agree – I can listen to almost any of the other DP albums at any given time. But I sort of need to be in the mood for CTTB. And when I am, I enjoy it immensely.
Check out his comments starting at around 5:30 on the following video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlvDHXNHmb8
December 18th, 2023 at 19:07LOL !
@ 3…Glenn gave us all plenty of double-whammies, I know I have had my fair share TY very-much…
The bassist in any band is arguably the most important element in turning a good gig into a great gig.
And all signs suggest that whatever musically / instrumentally happens in the future with the music we hear, the electric bass is a permanent fixture, where the other instruments may come & go.
Peace !
December 19th, 2023 at 07:28Hey, the Honorable Gregster is really greasing me up now, I feel all slippery already!
https://m.media-amazon.com/images/W/MEDIAX_792452-T2/images/I/61aii3cjLKL._AC_UF1000,1000_QL80_.jpg
December 19th, 2023 at 15:10Apparently the link in my #4 post expired. Try this one instead:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cEkqT5ljEA&t=75s
Jon’s comments start about 50 seconds into the video.
December 19th, 2023 at 15:52Yup, Ohio George, both Jon’s and Glenn’s comments are very perceptive, I always like to rewatch it, thanks for digging it out again. Love it how Glenn mimics David’s voice so closely at 06:00 in connection of his vocals having been wiped off the original recording of Dealer. (Yet he’s never nasty and honors DC’s talent.)
If Ritchie is the be-and-end-all of DP to one (and the other guys just adornments to his art) then CTTB of course isn’t a “real” DP album though it has the telltale DP juggernaut sonic power. But I’m fine if we settle for “best Tommy Bolin solo album featuring four seasoned British talents” just as Bang was the “best Tommy Bolin solo album featuring the James Gang rhythm section + a Canadian singer”. Tommy, for all his genial demeanor, tended to very much put his stamp on things. And his charisma was such that other – established – musicians let him whether they were called Billy Cobham, Jim Fox or Jon Lord. He appealed to people and seemed to mesmerize them (initially at least).
And it should be noted that without Tommy we would have lost all the wonderful non-Tommy contributions on CTTB too, namely Jon’s lovely This Time Around keyboard piece (which Blackmore would have never allowed on a DP album) or David’s and Glenn’s similarly beautiful You Keep On Moving which had been refused by Blackers before. (When Glenn asked him decades later whether he would care to put a guitar solo on a reworked version of YKOM, Blackmore being his usual stubborn and petty self of course refused. Sigh, magnanimity has never been his most prominent personal trait.)
December 19th, 2023 at 22:42@6 said…
qt.”Hey, the Honorable Gregster is really greasing me up now, I feel all slippery already”!
Now a statement like that could land you a job on the cover of another Spinal Tap recording…”Smell the glove II”…
http://i.imgur.com/IOCpznT.jpg
Peace !
December 19th, 2023 at 23:13(When Glenn asked him decades later whether he would care to put a guitar solo on a reworked version of YKOM, Blackmore being his usual stubborn and petty self of course refused. Sigh, magnanimity has never been his most prominent personal trait.) From Glenn Hughes interviews I have read or watched over the years he has always said he hasn’t spoken to Blackmore since 1975 I could be wrong but that is what I am remembering from what I have witnessed. Cheers.
December 20th, 2023 at 08:04That’s nonsense, it’s hard to grab a hold of Ritchie because he generally doesn’t phone or write so everything has to go via his wife or his mother-in-law, but in Glenn’s autobiography it is mentioned how Ritchie wanted to go out with him for a drink while Rainbow were in LA, but Glenn declined because he felt he was too overweight at the time to be seen in public (which Ritchie found très amusing as a reason not to go out).
There was another contact in the early 90ies when Glenn wanted Ritchie to contribute to “Burn” and “You Keep On Moving” as bonus tracks for the imminent “From Now On …” release, Ritchie confirms as much here at 00:42:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JVsWxYDJVg
And more recently of course when Glenn was slotted to play bass (but not sing) in the Rainbow reunion in 2016:
https://ultimateclassicrock.com/ritchie-blackmore-glenn-hughes-rainbow/
That Glenn and Ritchie are somehow anathema to each other is a myth. The most negative things I’ve heard them say about each other is “that Ritchie is difficult to work with” (most people would agree, especially those who have indeed worked with Ritchie!) and “Glenn reminds me a lot of Joe Lynn Turner” (which slots in with what Jon Lord said in the 80ies about Glenn “whenever I see him, Glenn’s become even more American”). Re their instrumental and musical abilities, they have always lauded each other though they obviously prefer different kinds of music. If you are good at what you do like they are then you do tend to hear that someone else is too.
https://i.pinimg.com/1200x/2c/eb/7c/2ceb7c499b33f625c8ad6a73e3188b63.jpg
December 20th, 2023 at 14:39As always, Uwe, I find your comments to be dead on. Tommy Bolin certainly seemed to have mightily impressed Jon Lord musically (and personally, even if he was saddened and not in agreement with Tommy’s addiction), and it clearly shows on CTTB. It’s an album with a heavy guitar bias – I believe Jon doesn’t get an organ solo until the last number (“You Keep On Moving.”). Given that I’m a lifelong pianist, I tend to gravitate toward Jon’s playing as my primary attraction to Purple, as much as I love and admire/appreciate the other guys contributions and musicianship. So that’s probably why CTTB isn’t my particular preference in the DP discography. But I certainly love Jon’s “This Time Around” – it’s a wonderful example of Jon’s gift for providing thematic ideas/passages that perhaps weren’t particularly rock riffs, but invariably were just what a DP song needed to become all that it deserved to be. And I agree – Ritchie would have vetoed “This Time Around” in a heartbeat. Not sure I would go so far as to call Ritchie the be-all of DP – I love “Purpendicular” with Steve Morse a lot more than I like “Stormbringer,” for example – but he is definitely an opinionated rascal for sure.
I particularly like Jon’s anecdote about Glenn calling him “Dougie.” I’m certainly guessing that this stemmed from Jon’s middle name being “Douglas.” Jon’s gift for storytelling is matched in Purple only by Paicey; maybe, as you implied elsewhere, their obvious similarities therein (and their polite, friendly demeanor) stems in large part from their being brothers-in-law. For that, I tip my hat to Jacky and Vickie. As they say, “beside every great man is a great woman.”
December 20th, 2023 at 16:17“I believe Jon doesn’t get an organ solo until the last number (“You Keep On Moving.”)”
Almost, but a cracker of a synth solo here (and also on the studio version)!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mV4gK7gu3pI
But you’re right, for large parts of CTTB, Jon was the adult in the room and graciously took a step back to let the young American do what he wanted to do, letting his inspiration flow. That’s not to say that there isn’t – outside of solos – a lot of great and inventive keyboard work by Jon on that record, he’s real funky and slyly supportive to Tommy’s playing on a lot of tracks – very musicianly, Jon always had a pair of good ears. His funky synth and clavinet playing towards the end of I Need Love for instance is sublime.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwOv-oT1WpU
December 20th, 2023 at 20:30I think I will stay with the Hughes comments that he hasn’t spoken to Ritchie since 1975. Being contacted via managers or whatever isn’t what I said that Hughes has said in my recollection of any interviews etc, it is the ‘personal’ contact’. It is what it is. But what would any of us really know? Cheers.
December 20th, 2023 at 21:00Has anybody from the remaining Purple camp actually “spoken” viva voce to Ritchie since the old badger scurried for the minstrel woods? As far as I’m aware, his Grumpiness tends to take cover behind these two dames here:
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-uxfeDU0giPI/WBt5vANeipI/AAAAAAAAIOA/3Krv801ugNQCnQw0STnghVWBgM1K2hBwgCEw/s1600/jester_tall302.jpg
He’s become the Howard Hughes of the Stratocaster.
December 21st, 2023 at 01:19“Jon was the adult in the room.” Well put, Uwe. Actually, if you think about it, Jon spent most of MK1 through MK4 playing that role – to near perfection, I might add. Whether it was trading solos with Ritchie, configuring a bridge passage to link together classic Blackmore riffs, letting Tommy be Tommy, or playing the best rhythm organ in rock, Jon always knew what to do to advance and polish Purple’s music. When Steve Morse joined the band and much of the “Blackmore drama” was alleviated, I think Jon felt more free – to be his own musician, if you will. No longer required to be the “adult in the room” role, his playing and demeanor became much more relaxed, as well as more advanced and mature. Personally, I much prefer the guitar/organ duels with Steve on youtube (often on live versions of “Speed King”) to the ones Jon and Ritchie pulled off. They bear the mark of a seasoned, veteran musician, entirely comfortable and confident in his skin. Here’s a good example (talk about good ears!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A7EXOwju2Ag
And I agree with you about Jon’s CTTB contributions. Maybe they aren’t as flashy; they’re less Hammond heavy, more synth/piano/clavinet oriented. But they are clearly there if you listen. Yes, a bit funkier, more subtle, but terrifically tasteful, bearing Jon’s trademark role in Purple : always serving the music, be it with a solo or filling in the holes.
December 21st, 2023 at 03:53@ 15 – ha ha ha, indeed Mr Blackmore has always hid in the dark side at times. Getting ready for the eternal move there me thinks. If any of his past Purple or Rainbow alumni need to ‘contact’ him surely they can conduct a seance or something. He did try to get them into all that eons ago for a reason. Cheers.
December 21st, 2023 at 22:00He probably took some tips from Rod Evans on how to avoid undue publicity.
December 22nd, 2023 at 20:21Yo,
RB has his place at Bag-end, & that means comfort ! And plenty of beer…
As for Rod Evans, it would be an awesome thing to be able to hear once again from the man that was such a creative force in Mk-I…Tragic at how poorly Rod & Nick were treated…Rods efforts back in 1980 to regenerate the tunes from his own Mk-I line-up should have been celebrated, not prosecuted imo.
Peace !
December 23rd, 2023 at 12:34“Rods efforts back in 1980 to regenerate the tunes from his own Mk-I line-up should have been celebrated, not prosecuted imo.”
Are you sure? This is in jest, right?!!! By all accounts, Rod struggled with the material (even the Mk I stuff) and was flat as a dead tire pitching-wise (which had already been an issue in Mk I days, especially when the music got louder):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KXf9IEFuy0
He just ‘sang’ three Mk I songs (Hush, Mandrake Root & Kentucky Woman – the Wring That Neck instrumental was also played), the rest of the set leaned heavily on Mk II and III material.
https://mayobat.wordpress.com/2017/03/30/who-do-we-think-we-are-part-two/
Those abysmal performances just screamed for a cease & desist order to put a merciful end to things.
December 23rd, 2023 at 22:50Yo,
Rod Evans said qt.”Whether Ritchie gives his blessing or not is of no real consequence to me, as my blessing to him forming Rainbow would be of no consequence to Ritchie. I mean, if he doesn’t like it I’m sorry, but we’re trying.”
And Jon Lord replied qt.”The worst part of the whole thing is the damage it might do to our reputation”. ( Sadly, Glenn & Tommy sealed that fate cough, cough )…
It would appear that the success the band was actually having with Rod was stirring the pot of the old-guard. The promo / flyer clearly shows no evidence of falsifying anyone within the band or making false claims. And who cares if people are singing Deep Purple songs ??? Back in the 1970’s I’m sure there were plenty of bands covering DP tunes, like most rock bands playing in pubs would have been.
At the end-of-the-day, perhaps “Rod & co.” should have asked someone, but who ??? DP were dissolved, & HEC enterprises became DP (overseas )…And Rod was a founding member of Mk-I…He was the original & successful dude folks !
A big mess that’s none-of-my business really, but I suggest that what was an innocent enough endeavour, turned into a shyte-fight, that really shouldn’t have.
Perhaps all the uproar here was the catalyst that gave RB a flash-bulb-moment to decide to re-group the Mk-II line-up ?
And perhaps Jon should have honoured his promised “discussion over dinner about the new circumstance (mk-II )” with Rod & Nick, way-back-when they were touring with them, whilst recording “Hallelujah” with IG & RG, like an honourable gentleman would have…
It seems to me that it was an innocent enough idea, that sparked more interest than anticipated…And I don’t think Rod deserved what he got.
If I had a history of playing in a band that found success both during & after my departure, I’d have no issue with wanting to reform a version of the band for my own hard-earned interest, & I wouldn’t expect my old band members & management to shaft me a 2nd-time.
Bad luck Rod, & have a Merry Christmas & Happy New Year !
Peace !
December 24th, 2023 at 11:47@21: Have you heard that version of DP? How they sounded was the biggest problem with it all.
December 24th, 2023 at 17:47Lieber Gregster, good grief, there was nothing “innocent” about it, it was a carefully laid out fraud masterminded by people who had shortly before done the same thing with the likewise then not existing Steppenwolf. Rod Evans was more of a tool in the grand scheme of things than a protagonist, but he willingly let his name and reputation be misused by fraudsters. And as he was at that point still receiving royalties from the DP holding, he darn well knew the legal set up. Just read the story I linked in my first answer to you. They were continuously playing hide and seek with the name, first touring as “Deep Purple”, then – after they received flak from promoters and media – as “The New Deep Purple feat. Rod Evans”. And the band was not just “not the original guys”, they didn’t even know how to play the verse of SOTW properly, just listen to how they massacred it on that YouTube link. A-friggin’-bys-mal!!! They were booed off and had the audience leave in droves everywhere they went.
That project had no musical or historical credibility whatsoever, not even a personal one from Rod’s vantage. It was treading the Deep Purple name and heritage into the ground.
December 24th, 2023 at 21:32@22…
That doesn’t matter really, as it would have had its own natural ending…eg, Had they been good, further success may have occurred, had they been bad, they may have seen-out the dates already booked, & then finished-up.
eg Perhaps they would have folded due to very-poor-performances like Mk-IV did…( “Last Concert in Japan” may well prove a comparison perhaps ).
And Rod’s version of Deep Purple is not to be considered a reformation of the old-guard…They did label themselves “The New Deep Purple”, & there was no indication of old members reforming or promoted except for Rod himself. And I think that he had a right to do so, since he was an original Mk-I member, & the band had officially dissolved 4-years earlier.
And what’s wrong with someone trying to make a living for themselves from the ashes of what once was ?…Yes it was maybe a little cheeky to do so, but if anyone has a right to do such a thing, it would be an ex-DP member, especially since the band had folded.
At the end-of-the-day, regretfully, a court decided the outcome, & as always, there’s a massive financial bill attached, so we have an unknown-societal-peer & money via a fine deciding the fate of a band that was perhaps likely to sink anyhow. Not necessary.
We mustn’t forget how extraordinarily poorly both Rod & Nick were treated at the time of Mk-I’s demise…
And never forget that even though Mk’s I & II were selling countless millions of records world-wide, the boys weren’t seeing any of the money generated, until they decided to record outside the UK via “Machine Head” & SOTW was released as a single.
It’s a cruel world, & survival is dependant on you making the best of your acquired skill-set, & that’s all Rod was doing imo. He was an integral part of of the 1st line-up that sold millions of records, & yet reaped little financial reward for his efforts, & was then shafted big-time when he tried to recoup some “losses” from past glory.
Glenn Hughes is doing exactly the same thing now, but using his own name for advertising, & singing most of the same songs I’d guess, but without any Mk-I material.
Peace !
December 25th, 2023 at 00:06Mk IV in their worst moments never approached the nadir that was bogus Purple. Just listen to what they did, it was simply unprofessional and performed by third rate musos. Tommy Bolin tuning his guitar drugged out of his mind was still more musicianly than these hapless wretches.
If Rod Evans would have gigged with a decent backing band performing Mk I and Captain Beyond stuff well, I would have been all for it, but this was strictly amateur hour and deceptive at that. Rod hadn’t been singing in a band for seven years nor recorded anything in that time, he was vocally totally out of his depth.
And his career trajectory shows that he never really bought into the recording und touring musician life, he only dabbled with it, but without any commitment or longevity.
December 25th, 2023 at 02:21Uwe says exactly what I would want to say about Mk IV vs MK Bogus. Even when Mk IV was at it’s worst, JL and IP were still working their asses off behind the coked up power trio in the front, trying to create music in a way DP fans were used to.
December 25th, 2023 at 09:02@ 25 & 26………….EXACTLY!!!!!
December 25th, 2023 at 12:02In all his substance abuse, Bolin always had flair and panache when playing guitar. He just wasn’t an immediate onslaught player like Ritchie whose stage performance was always geared toward impressing and overwhelming the audience quickly.
Ian Paice observed in a post-Mk IV split interview with the NME in 1976 that the final UK tour with Tommy “fell flat on its arse” because Tommy didn’t heed advice that English audiences expected to be bludgeoned with the first note at a DP gig and that they would not allow him to warm up slowly and draw inspiration from a welcoming audience reaction.
In hindsight I’d say that just wasn’t in him to do. Tommy was flamboyant and exotic, but he wasn’t “shoot to kill” like Blackers.
December 25th, 2023 at 16:30Tommy was a great player. The album is one of the best (for me better than Fireball, Who Do…Stormbringer, or anything after Perpendicular). He played brillant on Long Beach 1976. His playing was groovy and funky. He was just not the right choice. I like him. RIP.
December 25th, 2023 at 17:54Yo,
My disappointment isn’t about how good Rod’s band sounded, but rather the way he was treated, & had his right to play his songs taken away as an original founding member of the band.
The rest of the debacle has been dealt with in an unnecessary way, via the court system.
As already mentioned, if the band was that bad, they wouldn’t have gotten too far, & it matters little who were the other musicians, or where they came from.
A founding member of DP got screwed a 2nd time. That’s my issue.
Let’s not forget that without Rod Evans, there would be no Ian Pace drumming for the band.
Who’s the only original member performing to day with DP ?…
Peace !
December 25th, 2023 at 21:55@30 There are so many aspects to this. For one, maybe it would have been ok for Rod to gather a bunch of crap musos and sell himself as DP, and play Mk. I stuff. “His” original songs. But he also had the nerve to introduce “Might Just Take Your Life” as from “our Burn album”, as reported by witnesses.
He was a grown man. A fraudster approached him and asked if he would participate in a project that was questionable, to say the least. He chose to go on with that and had to take responsibility for what he did. He could have chosen not taken part, got into his medical business earlier, continued to receive royalties and been a respected former member of a great rock band.
December 25th, 2023 at 22:54@31…
As you said Svante, there are many aspects to all of this, & the results are over 40-years old now, ( some over 50 )…Perhaps if DP management at the least treated both Rod & Nick with some respect & HONESTY, none-of-this would have even come about.
I’d suggest that the popularity of this “innocent-if-flawed” project caught everyone by surprise. And regardless of the idiocy apparently spoken at gigs, we must remember that DP was well-dead at this time, & I will maintain that he had the right to advertise himself as the ORIGINAL DP singer, & sing some songs. Who else would be more appropriate to do this ??? Glenn Hughes ???
History will prove that Rod & Nick did a great job in Mk-I, with the music created having a uniquely 1960’s vibe throughout. And what a superb rendition of “Help” that was offered, by far imo better than the original. And to my ears at least, both Rod & Ian Gillan have very similar voices, with a strong Elvis sound & range(s) & influence, but with IG having a unique ability to scream in a controlled & musical manner.
And it’s also important to remember that the Beatles were always ass-kissed before anyone else with the label got any attention or promotion, which is why Mk-I floundered in the UK, & likely Europe too, where you couldn’t even find a record in the stores, but millions were being sold world-wide…
Peace !
December 26th, 2023 at 09:52Yeah right 👍, saying that Deep Bogus was “innocent-if-flawed” is a bit like saying Pearl Harbor was a “well-intentioned reconnaissance flight that departed slightly from the plan”.
And of course the people behind it knew that there was shitloads of money to be made as they had been milking the North American clubs & small halls circuit for years with a bogus Steppenwolf. Now they wanted to take it to the next level. The only thing surprising to them was how swiftly and efficiently the Purple organization clamped down on them, leaving all internal strife between the former members aside.
I could forgive all that if the performances by Rod & his men had been up to scratch, a recording of one of the gigs would have constituted an interesting artifact at least. But instead they were plain horrible.
And, if I might add, not to be compared with Glenn’s Mk III +IV revue at all, because that is in fact a highly proficient and credible emulation of a specific Purple era. No one who went to one of Glenn’s gigs will feel stiffed in the aftermath.
December 26th, 2023 at 15:21Oops, I had wrongly put this in one of the Indian gig threads, but it of course belongs here:
“For what it’s worth, I’ve read that an account nominated by people representing Rod is back to receiving those Mk I royalties since the Millennium again. In the 1980/81 settlement he did not have to forfeit them forever but only for a period of 20 years or so. So he or his beneficiaries are making money off Purple again (unlike Nick who gave up all future royalties for good in his settlement in 1969/70 because he preferred cash and parts of DP’s then PA system to use for Warhorse), in 1980 it was supposedly a sum of approx GBP 25.000 or so per year – not a fortune, but something to improve your pension with.
Let’s not forget that the Purple samplers with also Mk I material sell because of the Mk II stuff on them. And Mk I only samplers like the Warner Bros Purple Passages double album of 1972 only saw a release in the verge of MK II’s success (WB bought the rights from defunct Tetragrammaton to release the material anew).
I think it’s fair to say that Rod got a reasonable deal out of his comparatively short tenure (little more than 12 months!) with Purple, no need to complain. And the damages awarded against him after the Deep Bogus affair were moderate, even insignificantly low by the standards of what US courts tend to shell out in other damage cases.”
December 26th, 2023 at 15:31Yo,
Once again, from my own perspective, Rod & Nick were treated very poorly by management at the time of Mk-I’s demise. Here is Rod, in the US-of-A planning his wedding, thinking he has a smashing future to look forward too, & Nick being told it was fine to buy a new Jaguar, & that his parents mortgage can be considered paid-in-full, while in secret, Mk-II was being formed. Now that’s dishonest, & cruel, & reflects more on the attitudes of management & remaining band-members than anything Rod or Nick tried to do afterwards, with success or otherwise.
And as for qt.”Saying that Deep Bogus was “innocent-if-flawed” is a bit like saying Pearl Harbor was a “well-intentioned reconnaissance flight that departed slightly from the plan””…
There’s much truth in that statement leiber Uwe, as recent Australian historical findings tend to suggest that the US-of-A via Australian intelligence reports, suggest that the US-of-A was well aware of Japan’s plans around 6-weeks ahead of time, but wanted “in” on the war in an official capacity. It’s well known that it was Rockefeller-oil being supplied via “Strawman” through the Canary Islands via submarine that kept Germany going strong through the war.
Anyhow, I would have treated my fellow band-members far better than than what happened here, especially after making world-wide-success & doing the hard-yards with them. I had always heard / read that Rod wanted-out & started a life in the US-of-A, & that Nick by chance happening of RG being at IG’s place at the time of audition was removed from service since IP suggested they should keep him. Not nice people.
Water under the bridge.
Peace !
December 26th, 2023 at 21:46If that is 25.000 GBP as in thousands or is that hundreds, is that a typo?. If it is thousands then we get a picture of where Rod Evans could be ‘hiding’ then, out here in Oz land. In todays exchange rate that is about $46,000.00. Sheesh shift that off to the Caymans every year & Rod’s your uncle, too easy. Maybe in todays world of ‘tribute’ bands we could get an ‘Australian’ Deep Purple going & get Barnsey to jump up on stage every now & again & we could make a small fortune. Most people wouldn’t cotton on at all me thinks. @ 33 – “Yeah right 👍, saying that Deep Bogus was “innocent-if-flawed” is a bit like saying Pearl Harbour was a “well-intentioned reconnaissance flight that departed slightly from the plan”. Ha ha ha, that is a good one Uwe, well done.
December 26th, 2023 at 22:14All this reminds me of the more recent Little River Band joke, sure ‘they’ have the name legitimately from a dodgy so & so but that is all & in more recent years that sham has been trundling around the USA club circuit milking something they have no right to with no original members from the bands past glory years. Oh dear oh dear, from Steppenwolf to Deep Purple to LRB & there are probably more no doubt. A sham indeed. Cheers.
There is no question that the remaining DP trio did not handle the forced departures of Rod and Nick well (nor the ones of Ian and Roger or the dissolution of the band in 1976 as regards even communicating it properly to Glenn and Tommy), the band’s track record insofar is pretty horrific and even cowardly.
But I believe that Rod not only had other interests such as acting, but also saw the writing on the wall for 60ies style crooners like himself. He couldn’t have followed the band to where it was heading at the end of the 60ies.
And Paicey’s preference for Roger’s bass playing was also a sign of the-times-they-are-a-changin’: He has described Simper’s bass playing as “With Nicky, anything he played, you knew where he came from.” (meaning Nick’s firm footing in early 60ies beat). Roger was more open-minded and his style sounded fresher to him, plus more importantly, Roger locked in more tightly with Little Ian’s drumming. Nick was more of a stand-alone bass player who didn’t really follow drum patterns all that much (as any comparison of the rhythm section work of Mk I and Mk II will tell you). Roger + Ian were by far a heavier proposition than Nick + Ian – and that is where Ritchie wanted the band to go.
December 27th, 2023 at 16:13Yup, it’s was a lower region five-digit number from what I read. How the advent of streaming has affected the Mk I catalog I don’t know though, but Hush was featured in the soundtrack of Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood for example.
December 27th, 2023 at 16:32@37…( *double-post from another thread for closure )
Thanks Leiber Uwe, but you’re forgetting that Mk-I was extremely successful too…Certainly not to the extent of what Mk-II became, but with all the Mk-I albums charting in the US-of-A at positions 24, 54, & 162 respectfully…And this occurred as you mentioned above, with a failing label “Tetragammaton”, & virtually NO support or promotion in the UK or on the continent, that seems to be mainly blamed on the “Beatles”having everyone’s attention & promotion.
Throw-in the fact that Mk-I was always touring, they had no-chance to relax & record their own new & original material. Even RB continually complained about this circumstance. In fact, he sums-up the whole situation with his quoted phrase to a news reporter circa 1974, via Mk-III…
qt.”Once you can fake being sincere, you’ll make it in this business”…
I think that quote sums everything-up perfectly, or even another one from Guitar Player magazine, ( though it maybe slightly out-of-context )…
qt. “Steal, just steal from everybody”…
And Uwe also said qt.”There is no question that the remaining DP trio did not handle the forced departures of Rod and Nick well (nor the ones of Ian and Roger or the dissolution of the band in 1976 as regards even communicating it properly to Glenn and Tommy), the band’s track record insofar is pretty horrific and even cowardly.
Well said ! And I’d also suggest that the bogus “New Deep Purple” circa 1980 could have been managed better, much better imo…How can it be fair when we have a ghastly DP elephant legal-team stomping on the ant-sized Rod Evans, for wanting to sing some songs ???…
Peace !
December 27th, 2023 at 23:17The big ‘business’ decisions made by certain managers, record companies & musicians over the decades leaves a lot to be desired. Although it also happens in so many other occupations. Some actors get shafted for different reasons & even in sport, which has become a business in itself. But it isn’t always about the mighty lucre, sometimes something has to give to stave off a potentially worse case scenario. Come to think of it, it is a common human & animal habit & ritual in many aspects, but not always thankfully. Cheers.
December 27th, 2023 at 23:53Rod was approached at the time by shady promoters who had already done the Steppenwolf sham. He had no longing to return to the stage, but was enticed/lured by the promised money. Bogus Purple was the fruit of a corrupted spawn right from the start, not an innocent comeback idea of Rod’s gone awry in the wrong hands.
Purple are a band AND a brand. Just like Gibson is a brand or Nike or Prada or Harley-Davidson are brands. You have to protect your brand because (i) you don’t want other people to take cuts from a market you yourself painstakingly created, and, (ii) you don’t want the quality image of your product tarnished by some cheap knock-off. Since Purple wasn’t active at the time, Bogus Purple qualified more for the latter. And that they did resoundingly, their gigs were utter crap and the music lovelessly performed. Something had to be done because an impostor band can do real damage quickly, especially if you are not active as the real thing to convince people otherwise.
“How can it be fair when we have a ghastly DP elephant legal-team stomping on the ant-sized Rod Evans, for wanting to sing some songs ???”
It was entirely deserved by the ant, it was doing termite colony-scale damage to the foundations of Purple’s heritage and reputation.
No one would or could have done anything if Rod would have toured as “Rod Evan’s Hush – the original singer of Deep Purple”. That would have still confused a lot of people because Joe Blow on the street thinks that Ian Gillan was the original singer of DP and that Hush, SOTW and Burn are sung by one and the same person, but it wouldn’t have made any false statements per se. And if Rod’s band had taken some time aside and actually rehearsed to a credible, not shambolic degree what they would be playing, then so much the better. Instead they started booking arenas and stumbled on stage not caring how they would sound.
And Rod wasn’t just a victim, he was instrumental:
“The line-up for the new “Deep Purple” was in place. But, before making gig bookings, the management company made a fateful move that would have dramatic implications for the band’s vocalist. As Hartmut Kreckel noted in an article for The Highway Star, “Rod Evans [was made] the only shareholder, and therefore sole risk-taker of that “Deep Purple 1980″ venture.” This meant, ‘Rod Evans was the only person, who could be taken to court.’ As the singer would soon find out, agreeing to this position was a big mistake …”
https://www.thaliacapos.com/blogs/blog/the-insane-story-of-the-bogus-deep-purple-part-one
Now that was 43 years ago and of course Rod can be forgiven for it today; he also sacrificed long periods of royalty receipt as damages, that’s penance enough for me. But to see him as a victim of the Purple organization at the time is a stretch.
That said, if he toured in my neck of the woods today, I would of course go see him to hear whether he could still do a credible version of Lalena just as I am currently considering to perhaps pay Nick Simper & The Nasty Habits a visit in Vienna, Summer next year. Other than Rod and Tommy Bolin, he’s the only Purple guy I have never seen live. But Nick isn’t deceiving anyone.
December 28th, 2023 at 23:51Rod got his dick whacked and deservedly so.
December 29th, 2023 at 00:44What a great band name that would be: The Deserved Dickwhackers!
December 29th, 2023 at 14:40Indeed Uwe
December 30th, 2023 at 05:52He deserved it for impersonating DP. I do love the three mk1 albums though, vastly overlooked and underrated in Purple’s catalogue. Shades and the Book of Taliesyn are better than Come Taste the Band in my opinion and I really like Come Taste the Band.
@44…Sidroman said…
qt.”I do love the three mk-I albums though, vastly overlooked and underrated in Purple’s catalogue. Shades and the Book of Taliesyn are better than Come Taste the Band in my opinion and I really like Come Taste the Band”.
I completely agree that the first 3 x Mk-I albums are disgracefully underappreciated…(They’re much better listening than anything Pink Floyd were up to at this time imo).
“Come Taste the Band” however is something really unique, & serves as a compass that sadly the band never got the opportunity to follow-through upon, journeying down that road per-se…At least the Tommy Bolin solo material offers a glance at what may have been, though as DP, the results would have been far more powerful & enduring.
Peace !
December 31st, 2023 at 01:29I have absolutely no issues with Rod’s studio work with either Mk I or Captain Beyond (I really like the two Captain Beyond albums and the CY members all agree that he was the best singer for them). Among the Mk I output, I rate the ambitious and charmingly enchanted The Book of Taliesyn highest, there is not a weak track on it., the own writing is strong and the cover’s are well-chosen.
I don’t think that Mk I would have ever conquered the world after the initial excitement surrounding their freak hit Hush (btw: Nick Simper’s arrangement and his idea to cover it), but they were endearingly quaint and naive plus had “cult following” written all over them. Mk II tapped on more primal sources and opened the doors to a new musical age, Mk I was more of a summary of the different influences of the 60ies.
January 1st, 2024 at 03:34Greetings Gregster,
I was never a big Pink Floyd fan. I respect them, but their music has never done much for me. Gilmour is a great guitarist I love his solos on Comfortably Numb. I do love ELP, Jethro Tull, Yes and Rush. Pink Floyd’s music I just was never able to get into, and other than Dark Side of the Moon and Echoes- the Best of Pink Floyd that’s all I have by them. I’ve heard Piper at The Gates of Dawn and Atom Heart Mother, etc and they have never done much for me.
January 6th, 2024 at 23:11hi, sidro: thousand man have thousand tastes, but as a huge DP fan I also love TWO Floyd albums you didnt mention: Wish You Were Here (1975) and especially Animals(1977) are truly masterpieces!!! But I am a bit weird, coz my TOP 10 ALL-TIME BEST rock album are as follows:
1 STORMBRINGER Deep Purple
2 ANIMALS Pink Floyd
3 MADE IN JAPAN Deep Purple
4 RISING Rainbow
5 BURN Deep Purple
6 HEADLESS CROSS Black Sabbath
7 LONG LIVE ROCKNROLL Rainbow
I warned you… but these are my seven BEST and LOVED albums, their top position in my top 100 have not changed maybe 20 years.
January 7th, 2024 at 05:32… back to school, stupid me. TOP 10 with just seven albums?Only for order:
January 7th, 2024 at 05:408 MOB RULES Rainbow
9 HEAVEN AND HELL Black Sabbath
10 WISH YOU WERE HERE Pink Floyd
Well Cov,
January 7th, 2024 at 12:32From that top ten list your 3 favorite bands are Purple, Floyd and Sabbath. As far as Headless Cross, my favorite Tony Martin Sab album is TYR. Headless Cross I like as well as Eternal Idol. Cross Purposes and Forbidden I didn’t care for too much, but I saw Sabbath on those tours. I also prefer Mob Rules to Heaven and Hell, it’s always been close but Mob Rules has the Sign of the Southern Cross which clinches it for me.
As far as a favorite Purple album, I don’t really have one, too many to contend for that spot. But I can tell you a few that aren’t in the running are Last Concert in Japan, The House of Blue Light, and Abandon.
Regarding the Tony Martin era Sabbath albums & Tony Iommi in his new years comments said that this year will finally see the re releases definitely happening. I have them all in their original cd release & won’t be shelling out again for them. However many fans don’t own them or some of them on vinyl or compact disc. A win win situation after many delays it seems. Heres hoping that everything goes to plan. Cheers.
January 8th, 2024 at 00:52Sidro… Mob Rules by BS, not Rainbow, of course. Well… I love Coverdale/Hughes era,thats why my list. As for Headless Cross – stunning vocal performance by singer TM, in my oppinion one of the BEST VOCALS ever on one album.Studion pne, but anyway…
January 8th, 2024 at 06:29Hmmm, Last Concert In Japan… I remember when I listened to that one for the first time… and I was hugely dissapointed. All we know about it now, but in that time? Nonexisting Bolin etc. But I kept on listening from time to time, especially for fantastic Ian Paice! It seems like he wanted to carry all gig like burden on his shoulder, and what a drums performance!!!