The famed Los Angeles recording studio The Record Plant is closing down after 55 years in business. It has a Purple connection — Stormbringer was mixed there, together with some last minute recording additions. But that’s beside the point. The reasons for closure reflect the overall state of the music business today. Longtime studio engineer […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-07-14
16 Comments
Nick Simper continues working on his autobiography, which has now reached the summer of 1969 and his dismissal from Deep Purple. June ended with a show at London’s prestigious Revolution Club, followed by a BBC recording session for the David Symonds radio show. On July 1st I again met Rod Freeman, who was now manager […]
Read more »
Posted in News by Nick on 2024-06-18
17 Comments
Guitar World is celebrating the 70th anniversary of Fender Stratocaster with an anecdote of how Blackmore bought his first one from an Eric Clapton’s roadie: I was in Deep Purple in 1969, and I was living in Acton, London. We were all in the same house, the whole band, and Eric Clapton’s roadie came by […]
Read more »
Posted in News by Nick on 2024-06-11
4 Comments
Louder Sound reprints an old Classic Rock feature on the formation of Mark 2, from Chris Curtis to Fireball. This was originally penned by late Pete Makowski for the Re-Machined: A Tribute To Deep Purple special issue. It all began when Chris Curtis, the former drummer/singer with Merseybeat band The Searchers, approached London businessman Tony […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-06-09
12 Comments
Sweden Rock Magazine issue #5/2024 features the 1971 Blackmore/Paice/Lynott project Babyface as their cover story, with a seven-page feature inside. Also in the issue: 4-page feature on the current Deep Purple, with Roger Glover being interviewed. The magazine also mentions that “Glenn Hughes has finished writing the music for his first solo album since 2016”. […]
Read more »
Posted in News by Nick on 2024-05-27
31 Comments
Reprint of an article from New Musical Express, June 26, 1971, on Deep Purple’s visit to Iceland and review of the gig, in which the author reveals that he has absolutely no clue what Aurora borealis actually is. But that’s beside the point. A trot round town revealed every record shop with its windows full […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-05-26
7 Comments
Bristol 24/7 has a review of a new book The West’s Greatest Rock Shows 1963-1978, complete with the cover photo of Deep Purple Mark 3 on stage in all their bell-bottomed and platform-shoed glory, and excerpts covering reviews of several local gigs, including said Mark 3 at the Colston Hall in Bristol, on May 20, […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-05-02
8 Comments
A gentleman going by Mr. Zero has published in his blog a pretty detailed write-up of Tommy Bolin’s collaboration with Alphonse Mouzon on the latter’s album Mind Transplant. That recording, along with Tommy’s work with Billy Cobham, got him noticed by the big boys and an audition with Deep Purple a year later. > The […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-04-27
27 Comments
Guitar Player reprints online an excerpt from a vintage interview with Ritchie Blackmore that was first published in the July/August 1973 issue of the magazine. Did you ever have lessons? I had classical lessons for a year. That helped, because I learned how to use my little finger. A lot of blues guitarists play with […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-04-20
15 Comments
Scottish newspaper The Courier has a historic account of a Deep Purple concert at the Caird Hall in Dundee on April 18, 1974. It is accompanied by some never before published pictures from the gig. These rare colour photographs document the night Deep Purple kicked off their UK tour in Dundee 50 years ago. They […]
Read more »
Posted in Blog by Nick on 2024-04-18
5 Comments