Like wine – the older they get, the better they are!

It was a sold out concert in Amsterdam and it was a long time a go that Purple was here, according to Ian Gillan.

The set list was almost similar to Brussels. Compare with that list, they added the songs Mary Long and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye (the song with a Bo Diddley rhythm as Ian said). Ian had still some problems to remember some words of the new songs. But that didn’t bother me, I was happy that they play a lot of the new stuff. And they play the new songs very well, heavier then on the album.

Some old songs had a new approach, so they sounded little different as we know it from previous tours. The instrumental break in Mary Long, I never hear it this way before, Highway Star had a different intro, the tempo from Space Truckin’ was slower then normal, so it comes closer to the original album tempo.

The encore was also a little different from Brussels, in Amsterdam they played Hush with a solo spot for Ian Paice, Yesssss!!! and closed it with Black Night.

It seems that the guys have a lot of joy on stage, a lot of smiling. So when the band is having fun on stage, then normally the audience is also having fun. I can only speak for myself, I had a fantastic evening with great music that was played with a fantastic spirit from Ian G., Roger, Ian P., Steve and Don.

Thank You!

Bennie Helmes

Yesterday I went to my first Deep Purple concert since the Concerto Tour in 2000. I was willing to see them again, just because I really admire the new album Rapture of the Deep, but also because I wanted to see them play in the Heineken Music Hall.

Everything was very, very good. The atmosphere, the opening act (really don’t know who they were, but they took their stand as warmup for Deep Purple, singing Iahan Gillàààn repeatedly. Funny guys from the south of the Netherlands) and of course Deep Purple. And it was loud! Very very loud. (one time it hurted my ears…)

The show opened on the two video screens left and right of the stage. Very nice feature, these screens. Just before the band came upon the stage there was a short film of a big trunk being opened by one of the roadies. The 5 guys we all came to see came out of the trunk and walked towards the stage door.

Then the show kicked of with Pictures from home, with the well known, brilliant Drum intro from Ian Paice. Very nice show opener, will probably remain the opener for this tour. It made everybody move, jump, swing, clap … have fun.

They went straight on with Thing I never said, what a great Rock and Roll song, I feel a bit pissed that it is not on my special edition, metal case cd… 🙁 Very very good song, played at full volume …)

The whole show followed more or less the same setlist as the other shows. Back to Back was left out, and unfortunately we didn’t get to hear Speed King, but Mary Long and Hush were a real treat ! Absolutely fabulous.

Wrong man still appeared to be difficult for Ian Gillan. He started with the lyrics of the second verse, instead of “I wasn’t in the room when the action was going down … ” He still was paging through his textbook and yet made the mistake. Is he nervous? As the show moved on, he didn’t need the book anymore, and the performance of the new songs got better and better (if any improvement was still possible, because it was first class already)

Living wreck, complete with the fresh style of timing by Ian which I like very much, was real treat. It is nice to hear an old song being performed live in such a strong way. (did I already say it was loud?)

All the other songs were performed with splendid musicality, the titelsong from Rapture of the deep is not my personal favorite, but live it was taken to the level of Perfect Strangers. It is much better than on the album, in fact all the new songs have a much more energetic feeling ion their live versions. (This show calls for a live album gentlemen!)

Before Time began was also very nice and then Ian Gillan told the roaring crowd that we were left in the capable hands of Steve Morse. He played a beautiful version of Contact Lost driving up to The Well Dressed Guitar. Specially for these solo parts the video screens were superb, also because the camera work was done very well. Really like it!!

The Morse solo was highly appreceated by the crowd. At the end I jumped out of my chair to applaud as loud as I could. (Just like many others!) It took us to “Lazy”, one of my favourites. Execellent, brilliant, need I say more? … Loud maybe? (this is the song in which one chord of Steve really made me grab for my right ear, it hurted like hell for half a second…)

And then, the Keyboard Solo. Don really took over from Jon Lord in a very pleasant way. He’s got his own style and being a real Jon Lord fan I’m reluctant to say that I think Don Airey is more all-round. He was playing syths, moog, piano, hammond and another keyboard. WOW WOW WOW!!! He kicked off with a Lord-like classical piece of Beethoven, moved on, performed the Star Wars theme beautifully and even incorporated “Tulips from Amterdam” very funny sing-along song from the early fifties. It raised a big laugh by the audience. The solo could have gone on and on for ever, but took us to Perfect Strangers.

Yeah Perfect Strangers, it made full use of the wonderfull lighting kit. Sometimes so bright you could hardly look towards stage. Really spectacular !!!!!

Junkyard blues was introduced as a “true story” about an era where Ian had no money and had to sleep in an old car.
Excellent live song.

Then came another surprise, Hush !! To me, this line up, with Don behind the keys, has given the best performance of that song I have ever heard. I did like the Kula Shaker version, but now we know how we really got to know it…
Good chance for a chart single, a live single?

Then we were leaving the rock ‘n roll highway to go “up there” and Ian pointed to the ceiling… SPACE TRUCKING! It’s been a while since I heard that one live… wow… at that time I was hoping the evening would never end…

It was Machine Head time… we were also treated on Highway Star and of course, again with a roar from the crowd, Smoke on the Water. I think everything there is to say about these songs had already been said in the last 30-something years… I will remember the bass-solo and the drum solo forever. (What a beautiful Bass Guitar Roger. Very vintage, great sound.)

The fab five left the stage briefly, to return for the encores, Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye and Black Night. The latter being turned int o a real sing-along by Steve Morse.

All the band members appeared to have a great time. And so did we.

The sound quality in the Heineken Music Hall is indeed splendid. No reflections from walls or ceiling, just music coming from stage. For the first time I could really identify every instrument. Specially the Bass made a great impression. (Hopefully my ear will recover, maybe it just needed some training… )

Thank you guys, keep on Rocking!!!

Robert Daems

Jeb Wright at “Classic Rock Revisited” did an interview with Ian Gillan recently. Here is a few bits:

I think the way Purple goes about their business – we just don’t want to be called a classic rock band. I don’t really mind it but I just want to make that point.

We are going on the road for two years to support the album. People ask me how I can do that at age 60. I still get a tickle in my tummy on show day. I have to meditate and hold down my adrenaline level. It is still an incredible challenge to be on stage with Deep Purple every day.

About Deep Purple family tree:

It’s not a tree. It is a fucking jungle!

About “Rapture Of The Deep“:

I don’t know if anyone in the band is still disappointed in the cover. All I can say is that it has the total support of the record company and the management. I hope no one within the band is disappointed; they have not said anything to me. As I say, it was Roger’s ideas. Paicey loves it. Don wanted a more heavy metal cover.

About “Rapture Of The Deep“:

I think Roger did a fantastic job under great pressure. I have no doubt that it
is the best cover Deep Purple has done since In Rock”

Read the whole interview here.
Thanks to Classic Rock Revisited for the information.

Dream Theater continue their tradition of covering a classic album in it’s entirety at any two-night stands in the same city. Earlier this month they performed Deep Purple’s “Made in Japan” at two shows in Japan (January 13 in Tokyo and January 15 in Osaka). The setlist was:
01. Highway Star
02. Child in Time
03. Smoke on the Water
04. The Mule / Drum Solo
05. Strange Kind of Woman
06. Lazy
07. Space Truckin’

Take care
Benny Holmstrom

A few years ago in Lichtenvoorde at the Arrow Festival I was hugely disappointed. A very obligatory set, no inspiration. I thought they had lost it, and told myself, ‘no more Purple concerts.’ I’ve seen them many times and it is enough.

BOY, WAS I WRONG!

The album Rapture of the Deep was too good to be true, in fact, it is brilliant. And when opportunity knocked, I wanted to give them a chance, so I went to Brussels.

WHAT A SHOW!

I’m not going into detail, but every song was spot-on, lighting was just flashy enough, the sound was great, and Gillan sounded better than ever.

My favourites were Rapture of the Deep, Perfect Strangers, Highway Star and Junkyard Blues. And all the other ones were also magnificent. Keep up the good work, guys, and next time I will be there again!

Walter Coolen

I arrived at 19:10 at the sold out venue. First things first: getting me a new T-shirt. They are quite nice, I’ve seen a lot worse Deep Purple T-shirts (with dragons, etc.) The long sleeve I bought is a real nice one, it is one of the most beautiful ones I have in my Deep Purple-collection of 25 (not counting Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night). The special tye-dye shirt is great as well.

This was the first time in my Deep Purple gigs career of 20+ concerts that I was not wearing one of my t-shirts or my special patched (Deep Purple and Rainbow) jeans jacket, first time that I was at a gig without Johan (he had to work)[You mean the Johan? Regards! 🙂 – Rasmus], and the first time that I was sitting down in chairs (except for the Concerto tour).

Normally I am standing in front of the stage among the wriggling crowd. Am I showing my age? Most of the people sitting around me were the same age or even older, except for some young couples snogging. The standing area front stage was 9/10 filled. It was rather cold in the hall, but I reckoned that this would change soon enough.

Why do people whistle when the hall-lights go down? Right of the strike of 20:00 drums started beating, a nice warm bass-sound. But the singer… He walked on stage, acting like he was the main act. I did not know who they are and don’t care to know neither. The drummer was not bad, and the guitar player knew his stuff, but I did not like the songs. During the first one, there were some strange explosion like sounds through the PA.

I was sitting there looking quite amused by the silliness showed by the band. By the time they did the second song, I already was having a headache. I felt quite ashamed that a part of the band came from Bruges (as the singer told us). Luckily I had to sit through this for only half an hour. And yet they received quite a descent applause. Maybe the audience was showing their grattitude that it was over?

At 20:45 the standing area was packed, after all we were with 8.000 (Gent in 1994: only 3-4.000. On the other hand: Genk 1985 – my first Deep Purple concert – that hall was filled with 13.000 fans).

At 20:57 another quick pee-break. You could hear a lot of noise in the hallway, but it was just noise, nothing recognizable. But suddenly one could hear huge cheering, and I was too late to see the start of PICTURES OF HOME. I wondered how Roger would look without his bandana, bald?

Left and right of the stage were some big video screens, the left one just did not hide Paice. It also was the first time that I saw his drum kit filmed from up above, I did not know he had that amount of stuff. (I do have almost all their videos and DVDs, but simply had not found the time to watch them properly).

Pity that the video had not the right picture size: seen on that screen, Steve had a very short guitar. But it was a great addition, seeing him pulling and stretching those strings, and seeing Don fiddling around with his fingers and even his footwork. At the end of the song he was interpolating something á la Jon Lord, can’t remember what exactly though.

Nice touch to play a not known song THINGS I NEVER SAID and though hardly no one ever heard it, this drew quite a good response from the audience. Pity it is not on the album, if this happened a few years ago, I would have bought the Japanese one as well, but it looks like I am a bit mellowed in my ‘collecteur’ madness. The Hammond is quite high up in the mix, good to hear it properly again.

Gillan: ”Good to be back here, love the warm welcome. We did not do it.” WRONG MAN. Roger was having a great time. I first heard this song in Düsseldorf and hoped it stayed in their live show, so it did, a marvellous rock song.

“I was in a bar once, he told me his story over a few beers. What was he called? Eduard? Commonly known as Ted”. TED THE MECHANIC. Good to hear that one again.

LIVING WRECK. What a start! This IS Deep Purple, the Deep Purple I am fan of. After Steve’s –too short- solo, Gillan was a bit late with his singing. Yet I was slightly disappointed, maybe my hopes were set too high after reading the earlier reviews?

RAPTURE OF THE DEEP had a powerful 70’s intro. This really has Perfect Strangers-potential. Gillan no longer bangs on the bongos, but is using a skinless-tambourine. Was I the only one between the sitting people (around me) who was singing and moving around on the music? This song was applauded real loud.

Gillan told us stuff about “beautiful bodies, caterpillars turning into butterflies…” BEFORE TIME BEGAN. The first minutes of the song I was thinking that they could loose this one live, the audience stood there à la what-is-this? But during the second part of this song: WOW! Strange, I heard this song quite a few times already, and still it has to grow on me more? At the moment again I am listening to it, and it sounds quite different on the CD.

The next spoken remarks of Big Ian had too much reverb on his voice. Can’t remember what he said. But the songs were CONTACT LOST and WELL DRESSED GUITAR. these are becoming classics. From where I was sitting I had a great view of the clapping hands.

These songs went straight into LAZY. I missed the good old Hammond intro. For a loooooooooooong time this was one of my favourite live songs, but this time… hmmmm… were they going through the motions? I don’t know, pity. But the crowd went into overdrive.

“Thaank you, and now… the most eclectable of all entertainers… Don Airey” Said in a tombstone-voice. His intro was Klaus Shulze-Tangerine Dream-like. Delicious! The crowd was clapping along on his piano tunes, he was doing stuff we were used to hear from Jon; and Star Wars – which was, according to reviewers, missed at previous concerts on this tour. This could have gone on for a long time. I really was sitting there with a happy smile on my face!! The sound was really powerful: our seats were shaking.

Of course this changed into PERFECT STRANGERS which was greeted with great enthusiasm. Did I already write that I had great views of the raving crowd? Nice to sit so close to have a nice view of the stage, and seeing the audience and video screens at the same time. Though my bum starts to hurt (one is never satisfied *sigh*). And, as usual, I missed the green laser beams, this song simply demands them. Don’s solo had a different sound, did I like it? Dunno.

Wait a minute, haven’t I read in other reviews something about “Back to Back” Did I miss that one? Or didn’t they do that?

“Thank you, you are the 6th member…” JUNKYARD BLUES. This could become a second Lazy, it sounded very similar, but fresher. It somehow reminded me of Ritchie’s mistakes between Smoke and errr… Strange Kind of Woman, or was it Woman from Tokyo?

Had to take a pee-break again, and when I came back and heard the music, I had not the faintest idea what they were playing, and still can’t remember. It had a great drum sound (according to previous reviews it could have been “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” but I doubt that. I am afraid that I have to wait until other reviews appear on the net).

“The last call for the flight to England, thank you”. And though I am fan of Deep Purple since 1972, I have written down in my little notebook: Highway Star, but it was SPACE TRUCKIN’ (see, I really have the Blackmore-syndrome) Again there was too much reverb on Ian’s voice. The drum part in the song could have been a nice short solo, but no. Pity. The crowd was absolutely ballistic.

I also want to thank the security in the hall: every time people were standing in front of us – the sitting ones – the security gently send them away. Thank you!

A short splendid bass intro which Steve picked up (and now I was loosing it completely, am I really getting Alzheimer?) what song was that again? A nice playful up tempo thingy. More more more! This is the reason why I became a real Deep Purple fan for! I missed my long hair (I am a kind of skin head, partly because of my job (head chef in the army) and partly because long hair looks silly when it starts halfway your skull J) I was sitting there really headbanging! Oh, it was HIGHWAY STAR! Peerless!!! Gillan was swirling around his mike standard like a real hard rocker, which drew wild response from the crowd, the place really went nuts.

Suddenly the lights went down, a few seconds of silence, and then… world’s most know chords: SMOKE ON THE WATER. Again too much reverb, or was it the echo off the hall? This was the first time I noticed Roger’s Rickenbacker (I don’t know I’ve ever seen or had taken notice of it).

I must say that Don really was the hero of the evening, he worked his ass off.

At 22:30 the cheering went louder and louder, after a minute:

“Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here together to rock and roooll” (said in a preacher’s voice): SPEED KING. This is the first time I see the girl, sitting left to me, move to the music. After this magnificent song Ian shook hands with Steve, like he really meant it. And YES! We got a drum solo, even the one hand roll! *Nananananaaaaaaaaa*

Thank you Deep Purple for reading our reviews and taking them into account.

Gillan again was interpolating some oldies amongst them, like Mary Lou, and after a whisper with Steve a piece of “Strange Kind of Woman”! Thank you!!!

After a very short but furious applause (due to lack of time between the songs) it went straight into BLACK NIGHT with an awesome Glover. Again Ian was playing – a bit ridiculous – the high air-organ, but most in the audience are mimicking him.

At 22:52 it all was over, 5 minutes under a 2 hour show. I liked the part where they stepped –on the video screen- in their gearboxes.

I took no pictures as it was forbidden, though the whole evening people were using their cell-phone-cameras. And like it was forbidden to smoke – every second you could see flashing a lighter.

They left out “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” and replaced it with “Speed King”. Can’t remember if they played SIFLS.

I stayed a bit on my seat to avoid the crowd, had another beer and just as I arrived at my car I received a text message from Johan asking me how it was.

Michel De Pourcq

I’m just back from the DP concert at Brussels, and yes it was great! Better than the Bananas tour, but still under construction for some parts. Major mistakes in Before Time Began (in the structure), but I’m sure they’ll fix it by tomorrow. And Gillan will learn his lyrics. The tour is still young.

I saw the setlist posted on The Highway Star site, and already some (just a couple) of changes have been made.

Back to Back was dropped and so was SIFLS. Instead they played an amazing version of Speed King (with a short but efficient drum solo including the famous one-handed roll).

Most of the new tracks sound really great live especially Junkyard Blues and Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye, and although not on all versions of Rapture of the Deep, Things I Never Said is a wonderful warm-up, up-tempo track attached to the opener Pictures Of Home.

Also great to have Ted The Mechanic back in business…

Living Wreck was played, although, unless it rises a bit, I don’t think it will stay long in the setlist. Don’t ask me why, but I had the same feeling with I’m Alone on the pre-Bananas tour, and I was (unfortunately) right.

Funny little story on the side: Gillan introducing Space Truckin’ while the rest of the band looks at him shaking their head to disagree… And Gillan to reply said something along the lines of, “Okay, on our way to Space Truckin’, we decided to have some more metaphysical thoughts and went on for a Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye.” This detail (and many others) shows how much the band is an entity and has a real good time on stage, spreading good vibes and a definite sense of humour among the audience.

The lights show and video screens make me believe they will release a DVD from this tour.

I still miss Jon Lord…

Philippe Joseph

What a fantastic show! This was a treat and a half for me. On my 47th birthday we flew into Paris on a cold afternoon, quick trip up the Eiffel Tower back to the hotel for a quick change and on to the Zenith, great auditorium, difficult to walk to!

We arrived at around 8.45 got in and settled right of stage near S.M. and within minutes the boys entered the stage following a pre run video of them arriving in a flight case.

I couldn’t ask for better than a track I consider being the best to open the show “Pictures of Home”, the sound is spot on and it’s nice to see everyone enjoying the show so much.

The set list follows the London gig apart from the dropping of Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming and adding Speed King/Black Night to encore.

The new tracks all sound so much better live especially Junkyard Blues which allows the band to feature the heaviness of their riffs which are usually best heard live. Production on albums can be sometimes squeaky clean and its nice to have the rough edges as can be heard on In Rock.

Roger lost his bass during Wrong Man but was quickly given a replacement Vigier. Ian’s voice was supreme, he clearly ehjoyed every minute and his screams were not stretched but sounding as if he was back in the 70’s with strength and harmony.

There was still a few spots of misunderstanding but hey this early on in a two-year tour. I have to say that of all the gigs I have seen (see reviews 1974, ’85, ’03) this was clearly the best. The show was an excellent mixture of old and new and came to a fantastic crescendo with Highway Star, Speed King and SOTW.

The lighting and video was superb and it was great to have the camera shots for specific guitar licks and drum fills.

The band did a solid two hours and enjoyed every minute. The crowd were aged between 17-70 by the looks of things with even the kids in the front crowd surfing to SOTW! A solid show and tour to better Bananas. Go and see, enjoy and rock out to the finest around.

After show the band took time out as always to meet the fans and it was nice to say hello to Ian Paice (thanks for the one handed roll!) and Ian G. who looks better than his age would suggest. Thanks for giving us the time and good luck on this fantastic journey that keeps getting better. See you in Milton Keynes in June.

Dave Bonner

Reflections on Deep Purple, Barcelona 22 January 2006

The Pavelló Vall d’Hebron, Barcelona, is a sports hall, built for the Olympics held here in 1986. Owing to a “crap promoter” (Ian Gillan’s words) the doors were late opening and there was no support band. Hence it was two-and-a-half hours after the advertised opening time before Purple hit the stage. In keeping with that delay, I would like to give a little personal history behind my interest in Deep Purple, before going on to the performance (or you can scroll directly to the concert).

I was just 12 years old when I first heard “Made in Japan” and I loved it. Like most kids of that age at that time all I knew of music was what I heard on Top of the Pops, Radio 1 or Radio Luxemburg. Deep Purple were so unlike anything else I had ever heard up to that time. With the combination of my hormones starting to kick in and the death of my father only six months before, Deep Purple filled a deep hole in my psyche that I am only now beginning to realise.

Back then, my older brother found the records and we lapped up the back catalogue: from “Machine Head” back to “Shades of” and the later “Who Do We Think We Are?” At the time, it was Ian Gillan who spoke to me (or should I say screamed), so when I heard that he and Roger Glover were leaving the band I was gutted. It was appalling news. After finding myself able to carry on without a father, I was deserted again by the surrogate that Ian Gillan and his magnificent voice had become to me.

The news that the band were to continue, but with new vocalists and bass player was something of a relief, though it was hard to imagine a suitable replacement for Gillan. “Burn” was released and I went to see them in Coventry in 1974. I was still only 13 years old. As one might expect, they mostly played songs from the new album and when it came to the classics like “Space Truckin” and “Smoke on the Water”, they just didn’t sound right. Whilst I enjoyed that, my first rock concert of any description, I would have had to admit it was a bit of an anti-climax.

Months and years passed and I went to other rock concerts and the memory of that first one faded a little. I kept listening to Purple, following their progress with David Coverdale on vocals and got to see them again when they came round two years later, this time with Tommy Bolin on guitar. Looking back I don’t remember much about that concert – my tastes had spread across the spectrum of rock and, if I am to be fair, this second performance was mediocre by comparison to other concerts. I got to see Richie Blackmore’s Rainbow twice and he seemed to embody what I loved about the band better than the MkIV Deep Purple.

The new wave of punk music followed and Deep Purple collapsed. I was amazed to hear they’d reformed in the eighties, but at that time I wasn’t listening to much in the way of “new” music – my tastes had gone back to the 60’s, with the likes of Dylan, The Doors and Hendrix. I paid the reformation no mind. I married and had two kids and, except for the occasional trip to Glastonbury my life as a rock concert-goer was essentially over.

The youngest of our kids was a boy and he showed an interest in rock music practically from birth, nodding along to the sounds of Led Zeppelin before he could walk or talk. But it wasn’t until he was 14 that he started taking a serious interest in my back catalogue of Deep Purple tapes and vinyl. With a brief view of them performing at Live 8, he was talking about wanting to see them live himself. As a family we had moved to Spain and the law prevents under-16 year olds from going to concerts. So when we heard that there was a new album and tour out towards the end of 2005 it didn’t take much for me to decide: we had to go and see them in Barcelona. I would treat him for his 16th birthday.

For myself, I didn’t have high hopes: the new album “Rapture of the Deep” seemed mediocre compared with the early stuff, though it had been growing on me with every listening, and I couldn’t quite get used to sound of the band without Blackmore, even though it was quite refreshing to hear Gillan again. (No offence meant to Steve Morse, a technically brilliant guitarist, but Richie always seemed more fluid, more natural.)

The concert
So when they finally hit the stage they opened with “Pictures From Home”, a song I had heard on the radio. It was quickly followed by a couple from the new album, which sounded much better live, and “Ted the Mechanic”, another one I didn’t know too well.

I was therefore dumbstruck when Gillan dedicated the next song to the aforementioned promoter: “Living Wreck”. Suddenly I felt rapture from deep within me. And there on bass, he who I’d almost completely ignored, was Roger Glover! Suddenly I was 12 again and I realised what was missing from 1974 onwards. It wasn’t just Gillan, it was Glover too. Blackmore may have been the author of some of the greatest riffs off all time and Jon Lord the most exciting keyboardist, but neither of them were there in Barcelona. The title track from “Rapture” followed, a song that is destined to be as great as any other Purple song, a couple more from the same album, Steve Morse’s guitar solo and eventually, “Lazy”. The crowd suddenly woke up. Don Airey’s keyboard solo followed, “Perfect Srtangers” and “Junkyard Blues”. Despite Ian Gillan’s explanations (in English) to the crowd about his frustrations when writing the next song, I don’t think there were many there who understood “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” like I did: as a British ex-pat invariably frustrated by the local customs!

Finally, the double pieces-de-resistances: “Space Truckin” & “Highway Star”. After 32 years of buried disappointment, I heard both songs played live properly for the first time since “Made in Japan”. Even if you couldn’t hear Gillan’s vocals on “Highway Star” thanks to the Spanish/Catalan crowd knowing all the words and belting them out, who cared! Glover’s performance was magnificent. It brought me to tears to hear it and it brings me to tears to write about it two days later. This was what was missing in 1974 and 1976. Coverdale was a great vocalist to equal Gillan, but Glenn Hughes: nondescript by comparison.

“Smoke on The Water” followed and the band went off. Back on for an encore, another new one and the final song: “Black Night”. This had never been one of my favourites, but once again, Roger Glover showed me why the MkII Purple were the greatest line-up of the band and why MkVIII can carry the banner and raise it high once again.

If I had any disappointment from the show it was down to wanting to hear some more of Ian Paice – where was “The Mule”? Gillan proved he could still hit the notes through the aforementioned classics but perhaps it would have been a scream too far for him to perform “Child In Time”. Shame, but no matter, we can’t have everything. The band showed they are tight performers, I didn’t hear a single bum note.

Long live Deep Purple.

Kevin Allcoat

“The Butterfly Ball” film will finally be released on DVD. It feature a performance from Royal Albert Hall 16th October 1975 by Roger Glover, Ian Gillan, Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale among others. The film has also animations. Here you can read more about Butterfly Ball. The DVD will be released March 14. You can preorder the DVD in our shop.