Here is a thought for the stage wardrobe…
There was a time before Ritchie went from being evil to mediæval. The time was 1988 and the place was Frankenstein Castle in Germany where Deep Purple were having Nobody’s Perfect release party.
Read the contemporary report with more (bordering on hilarious) pictures at the Stars and Stripes archive.
P.S. I think it was at that party Ritchie first met a German folk band called Des Geyers Schwarzer Haufen and the seeds of what he is doing today might have been sown.
Who knows what might have happened if they had cut another album later in 1988 and gone on the road again…? 🙂 Thanks for the flashback, Nick!
May 1st, 2009 at 23:41Only one comment:What a great time.I miss that so bad.
May 2nd, 2009 at 00:19I remember this photo. And I still have the tape of the radio broadcast of the release party.
May 2nd, 2009 at 02:24Roger is a very good lookin’ lad in the photo!
May 2nd, 2009 at 11:17Yes I wonder what that next album would have sounded like. During the radio show Roger said it would be “as rocky as possible”. Since THOBL had been more laid back. Also I remember at this time there was talk of Purple doing music for a soundtrack to a movie that was to be called “The Stroker”.
May 3rd, 2009 at 01:47The next album would have sounded like The Battle Rages On.
May 3rd, 2009 at 19:48Well it would have had the sound of TBRO. But we would have songs like “Slow Down sister” with Gillan’s lyrics and vocals as that was one of the tracks they were messing around with at the time.
May 4th, 2009 at 00:33The next album would have sounded like Slaves and Msters with different vocals.
May 4th, 2009 at 12:40I once read that Jon Lord did not attend to the party due to the stupid character of this event. Good decision Mr. Lord. It`s obviously who`s responsible for that kind of promotion. I`m very happy that Blackmore decided to leave DP before changing them to Blackmore`s Purple (instead of Blackmore`s Night)
May 4th, 2009 at 15:40Jon Lord is always said to be Mister Gentleman and so on but he is the first to admit he ahs behaved very cowardly during the days since the beginning of Deep Purple.
I wholeheartedly empathize with, for one, Nick Simper.
If you are really a strong person you tell someone yourself he is fired and not ask the mangement to do so.
Its only one example that Lordy is not Mister Perfect.
Did I forget to mention I still love his musicianship and that I KNOW that other members like Gillan and Blackers also were bad asses in their own right from time to time?
Personalitywise it leaves much to desire.
Or not?
Maybe you have to be very cold to gain succes like this?
May 4th, 2009 at 23:59once you go black you never go back
May 6th, 2009 at 01:07I thinks its reasonable that JL didint want involving in this pantomime………..
Its obviously the fore-runner of RB’s mandolin ‘sideshow’ band……..
May 7th, 2009 at 14:05Not to be too much of a “nerd,” but Ritchie actually met Des Geyers in 1985, a few years before. But this article is a real FIND, with some foreshadowing that is both amusing and foreboding ;).
May 9th, 2009 at 12:01Love Roger’s classic “WTF is Ian doing now ” face
December 23rd, 2013 at 10:33