22 Comments to “Dancer and the Moon chart positions”:

1. 1
   Les Hedger says:

   Way to go Ritchie! He’s had success with Purple, Rainbow and to this day with BN is still making music people want to hear!!

   July 3rd, 2013 at 12:49
2. 2
   Deeperpurps says:

   Why is it so hard to crack the market in the USA???? I will spare you all from my conspiracy rant about the music media, but………….

   July 3rd, 2013 at 15:52
3. 3
   Jaro says:

   Ritchie was right -“the same old crap”.Only “Carry Jon” and covers are good.It’s time to back to rock…

   July 3rd, 2013 at 16:12
4. 4
   cyclone says:

   Any Yo Yo Rapper Nos. 1-25 here in the US…..DP and BN lucky to be mentioned in music section of the Sunday paper. The world is a ghetto.

   July 4th, 2013 at 21:51
5. 5
   Imachinations says:

   Sabbath had no problem reaching Number 1 in the US. Quite a remarkable feat, indeed.

   July 5th, 2013 at 01:27
6. 6
   T says:

   As a long-time Blackmore’s Night fan, I must admit that the new album is “more of the same”. The first several albums had a unique character to each one, and now the music is starting to become a bit of a routine. If I have been critical of Purple for their albums previous to the current one, so must I be as critical to Blackmore’s Night.

   Having said that, it is difficult to argue against the string of successful and very consistently-made Blackmore’s Night albums that tend to garner awards and chart in their genre. One must understand that the band has a newer, unique following that encompasses not only Blackmore’s former rock fans, but legions of new ones who crave these albums–even if you may not.

   Blackmore once said that his residuals from Deep Purple and Rainbow pay the light bill. Blackmore’s Night is what he *wants* to do. Like the late Jon Lord, Blackmore has found a way to do what it is that he wanted to do outside of Deep Purple-style music. More power to him.

   As for the status of chart listings and contemporary music, these can be explained by MTV and its evolution in the middle 1980’s. African-Americans complained that MTV was under-representing black acts despite proof to the contrary. Even so, a shift occurred to put more and often lesser-known African-American acts to the forefront, as well as programs like “Yo MTV Raps” in order to remanufacture the fan base as MTV’s original 1980’s fans aged. This was not entirely racial as record companies saw heavy metal and big hair bands as passé. Grunge did not have a big enough following to replace rock.

   This created an entirely new market of young people and a cultural shift in the United States that continues to this day. Rap and hip-hop displaced rock music, causing the former to become the mainstream and relegating rock to “classic” or nostalgia status.

   Some new rock music remains, but the quality is not what we saw in the 1960’s and 1970’s. Kids would rather emulate rap stars than Deep Purple, and much of the new rock is reminiscent of garage bands.

   The reaction to all of this was the emergence of country music–but not your dad or grand-father’s country music. Today’s country is based on the blues with some pentatonic twang. Throw a throaty vocal over it and it is essentially rock. In America, modern–often called “young”–country is huge, and shows that the rap and hip-hop movement created a gap in the music fan base that wasn’t being filled (on purpose) by record companies who shifted their major labels to rap and put most of their rock music in a few subsidiaries.

   The point here is that mention of Blackmore’s Night or Deep Purple on *any* kind of chart posting is a monumental achievement. That these groups still tour and still bring in fans shows that contemporary music is not all mechanized drumbeats.

   However, it does demonstrate why these acts cannot break into America. Without the commitment of labels, promoters, and management in a massive campaign to cut through what Ian Paice has dubbed “rap crap,” we see very little in the way of rock in America. In the United States, it is more difficult to amass fans in a group large enough to make concerts feasible. This is why the huge, coastal metropolitan areas may sponsor the occasional rock act while most of the interior is no longer viable. Or so they think.

   Pick up an issue of Britain-based Classic Rock and thumb through the concert listings, however, and you will see that in Europe at least, rock is not dead. Deep Purple, Whitesnake, Michael Schenker, Saxon–they’re all there, still doing shows. But when was the last time any of them saw Omaha…Kansas City…Springfield…Oklahoma City…

   July 5th, 2013 at 13:36
7. 7
   purplepriest1965 says:

   @ T

   I m not sure about the rest but Michael Schenker is touring regularly in the States.
   And bands like Heart never or seldomly come overhere in The Netherlands and tour the States like crazy. I think it is the same for some other mega acts like Ted Nugent?
   Although he sometimes comes over, I think.

   My personal gripe is that in 35 years of being a classic rock fan(I dont mind being called that, Ian Gillan is talking bs when complaining about that label IMO)it was hard to see a lot artists from the States I love.

   Chickenfoot was here recently, but hey, I wanted to see Sammy Hagar solo in his prime, even now with the Wabo Cabo band!!!

   Kansas I should have attended a short time ago overhere, but I was ill.

   Saw Foreigner II(Kelly Hansen)in 2006 and they came regularly since that year I understood. But again, health problems struck. Then again, also foreigner plays largely the same set of songs.

   I hope it is not all the end.It is a fact that things will never be the same, but that’s life.

   Never again we ll see the likes of bands that arose from the 50’s and 60’s into what Homer Simpson called the peak of rock in 1975.

   Although it is not practical for me to see shows over there, I understand that heavy rock has a huge following in Eastern Europe and Southern America.

   Then again, I , like Ian Gillan once suggested, I dont like to do what I dont like so I mainly listen to old stuff.
   Of which there is an abundance : )

   July 6th, 2013 at 10:23
8. 8
   cyclone says:

   @5 No. 1 for a nano second …then off to the $2.99 discount section at the Wally World’s discount stores. It’s the same old stuff … Ozzy albums mesh as one. “T” is right….I figured the Rap craze would not last a week. But here we still have this “noise” blaring out of car speakers the size of cardboard boxes….go figure.

   July 6th, 2013 at 11:18
9. 9
   MacGregor says:

   cyclone @ 8 – Since when have Ozzy’s album had the riff meisters x 2, playing guitar & bass guitar on them. Therefore, giving it the unique Black Sabbath vibe big time! At least it made Number 1, in a world of modern musical rubbish, Sabbath kicked ass for hard rock, again! That is how it is accomplished! Regarding Ozzy’s ‘solo’ material, excepting the first 2 Randy Rhoads albums, you are correct in that, yes, they all do mesh into one! Cheers.

   July 7th, 2013 at 04:15
10. 10
    LRT says:

    No need for any thesis on my part, all covered here already. 🙂 I would just like to address #2: Hhmm, didn’t seem to have a problem so called “cracking” the US on the last two, reaching no.1 on the Billboard New Age chart. Maybe the charts are wising up to the fact that this is nowhere near New Age music. The main problem I see here is there is no power left to distribute here because there is no longer label backing for it to make ends meet, no matter who with. = sad fact over here = indie collapse. So, one has no choice but to operate where the backing is still there at all to push it. It’s bad business, not rocket science.

    July 8th, 2013 at 17:33
11. 11
    Deeperpurps says:

    LRT @10…..agreed it cracked the US market on the Rock chart, but at 189th it is hardly significant when stacked up against the numbers scored on other countries’ charts. And I venture to say that the majority of people who contribute to The Highway Star forum are first and foremost Rock fans, so whatever BN scored on the New Age chart is not meaningful to most of us. As for label backing, distribution, etc. Black Sabbath does not seem to have the same issue in the States, look at how they have scored (ie: Number 1) on the US charts with album “13”. It is selling like hotcakes…..Why isn’t Purple doing this kind of business there with Now What? It has barely received any attention at all. Purple gets dissed once again.

    July 9th, 2013 at 23:35
12. 12
    Kidd Purple says:

    Now What !? was barely released in the states.No ads like Sabbath had
    at Best Buy and Target. There were two copies at Best Buy when I bought mine. Seems no one supported it in the states. It’s par for the course here.

    July 10th, 2013 at 22:16
13. 13
    MacGregor says:

    Deeperpurps @ 11 – My take on why Sabbath is more popular recently than Purple is as follows. 1- It is 35 years since these 3 guys have recorded an album & toured the US. 2 – It is the original lineup excepting Bill Ward, with no disrespect to Ward, but it is classic Sabbath & 3 – The Osbourne marketing machine.
    I am aware there could be other reasons also, but if it was ‘able’ to be the original MK2 lineup, which unfortunately it cannot be, would that be more popular in the US in 2013 ? Ozzy is a huge media attraction on all levels in the US, so a classic Sabbath album will inevitably get good publicity. Purple don’t have that sort of publicity & in a way that is a good thing. But in other ways it isn’t.
    Just my two pennies worth. Cheers.

    July 12th, 2013 at 11:46
14. 14
    Tracy (Zero the Hero) Heyder says:

    Kidd Purple @12 has it in a nutshell MacGregor…

    You do too. It’s a simple combination of both of your points, yet the largest factor is as I have stated too many times…. Their Promoters here in the States SUCK. Period. I saw not one add from any store advertising Now What in their New Release section. Not one. Not one advertisement on the Rock Radio stations. Not one. Not once have I heard a track from the album played. Not once. Yeah Sabbath has the Osbourne Machine going for them. A face that is a household name. Of course that gives Sabbath an edge, where as Purple really don’t have anything to push except Smoke on the Water. The masses out there young and old couldn’t put a name or face on the band Deep Purple, but they do recognize… Da Da Da, Da Da, Da Da, Da Da Da, Da Da. Sad to say but that would have to be the main focus on advertising the album and tour. Not the line-up. Even if MK2 existed today. Nobody cares except us Purple fanatics who are the only ones who even know there are different MKs, much less that there even is still a Deep Purple at all. They just relate to the tunes. That ‘Band Connection’ thing was lost 35 years ago when Purple disbanded. Their Promoters and Management dropped the ball soon after the Reunion and allowed time to come between their existence and the knowledge of it. Hell, they were more popular during the 8 years they were gone than they ever were once they rejoined. Like I stated, no name or face was ever pushed publicly and therefore their identity fell off the map….

    Ch-BeerZ?!

    July 13th, 2013 at 01:01
15. 15
    purplepriest1965 says:

    The problem with life is this :

    Once fallen in love with a situation or person or whatever ….

    You are bound to feel shortchanged because those things/persons change.
    Even if they dont want that themselves.

    July 13th, 2013 at 19:25
16. 16
    Deeperpurps says:

    @12, @13 & @14…..yes you are all correct. Purple does not have a promotional machine behind it like Sabbath / Ozzy. Sadly yes, Smoke on the Water is the one hit wonder most people in the states associate to Deep Purple. Beyond the 1984 reunion and tour, their star has fallen and as one generation passes to the next, Purple has simply become a footnote in the USA, nothing more. They have been written out of the history books as a glance at the Rolling Stone Album Review Volume 4 will attest…..you will find Dee-Lite and Def Leppard, but nary a mention of Deep Purple. Sad, but true.

    July 15th, 2013 at 01:46
17. 17
    MacGregor says:

    Tracy @ 14 – What size are the concert attendances when Purple play in the US? Surely they would still play to 8 – 10,000 at a decent venue theses days. I have no idea how popular they are over there, but I am hearing you in regards to Purple not being promoted at all. Concert promoters as we all know, are only interested in one thing, cha-ching! They’ll do anything it seems to either push an artist or play the ‘not interested’ card. But if Purple’s management don’t get on the game, that isn’t a positive thing. It makes me wonder why?
    ‘Now What’ is a good album which has had good reviews from what I have read on the net, so one would think that Purple’s management would kick some ass & get on the band wagon, so to speak! It is a complete turnaround from their beginning, when ‘Hush’ went big in the US & back home they weren’t even known. Cheers.

    July 15th, 2013 at 07:45
18. 18
    Tracy (Zero the Hero) Heyder says:

    MacGregor @17…

    The last time I saw them was at the Ravinia Park just outside Chicago on June 18, 2011 wit the Orchestra, which is the same tour the DVD of the Montreaux Jazz Fest was released. As with most of the venues they play here in the states, it was a small Amphitheater seating anywhere from 2000 to 4000. The norm that I see in attendance is maybe 75% full. None of the shows I have been to have sold out except maybe some of the smaller places such as the Pageant Theater in St. Louis which is on the lower end of size. Again, if not for this website, I wouldn’t know there was a show or an album being released. Now what? More of the same here I’m sure……

    Ch-BeerZ?!

    July 16th, 2013 at 13:17
19. 19
    MacGregor says:

    Tracy, thanks for that info. It reminds me of Tony Iommi & the problems he had with the late 80’s Sabbath in the States. The band arrived there for one tour, possibly Headless Cross 1988/89 or maybe Tyr 1990/91, & found there wasn’t any advertising, publicity or anything else from the so called promoter. I think that was when he put ‘someone’ possibly the promoter, up against the wall by his throat, in pure frustration. The tour was a right off apparently. The so called promoter was full of it, & obviously wasn’t interested in that version of Sabbath. Of course now Ozzy is back with Sabbath, the promoters would be falling over themselves trying to get the gig. It is a shame, but popularity is the name of the game.
    Even the Heaven & Hell tour in 2007 here in Oz, was advertised as Black Sabbath by all the media etc. Call me a cynic, but that would have been deliberate as many people are not interested in Sabbath unless Osbourne is there, therefore the promoters would have milked it, to try & sell as many tickets as they could. Deep Purple should still be able to get a promoter for smaller concerts surely, but as you said, it is in the hands of their management no doubt, & they don’t sound that interested it seems. Makes me think that Gillan or Glover should grab their (Purple’s) management by the throat perhaps? Cheers.

    July 17th, 2013 at 07:47
20. 20
    Kidd Purple says:

    Went to see Purple in 05 in Portsmouth ,Va. absolutely no advertisement anywhere. No radio or newspaper. They were giving tickets away ! It was pathetic! Maybe 4000 people . These guys deserve better. The show was great -the promotion sucked !Someone needs to get with it! Now What Should be all over the place including the states!

    July 18th, 2013 at 00:22
21. 21
    Tracy (Zero the Hero) Heyder says:

    Yes MacGregor, I remember the Sabbath situation also then. I saw them during that time at the Sunrise Musical Theater in Ft. Lauderdale with Tony Martin. Very little promotion. When they returned a couple of years later with the short lived DIO version, there was more promotion by far, but again nothing as one would expect. I also saw the Gillan version at the same venue years earlier, but that was a whole different story. It was promoted heavily. Either event got more promotion than any Purple gig since MK7 though. Purely a crime against the band and they should be much more hands on and in better control over their management. As much as I blame the management, I have to wag the finger at the band themselves also. With all the whining about record sales and poor attendance here, they should take the bull by the horns and take control. I have yet to hear or read anything here about “?!”. Not one mention or advert. When and if they play here in the States (in 2014 the earliest), that will be their best way to get the word out about the album, by announcing it to the uninformed audience who won’t have a clue it was released, by then a year prior. ‘Deep Purple’, the best kept secret on the planet.

    Ch-BeerZ?!

    August 5th, 2013 at 13:42
22. 22
    MacGregor says:

    Tracy, good luck to you for the Born Again & Headless Cross concerts. they would have been decent gigs. The Headless Cross tour was in place here in Oz back in ’89, advertised with dates, tickets etc, but then suddenly it was cancelled for some reason, bummer!
    Never had the pleasure of witnessing Cozy Powell in action, as I also didn’t get to the classic Rainbow gig in Sydney back in 1977. A big regret that one for me.
    Regarding Purple in the US next year, yes surely it should get ‘promotion’ especially with a decent album behind it. But as you said, with the smaller concert number attendances over the last few tours, that may be a reason perhaps? You are correct in the band should kick the promotion thing a lot more. The album was recorded over there, with Ezrin also involved, it has some credential for some decent gigs, surely. Cheers.

    August 6th, 2013 at 10:29

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