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Mitzi Dupree’s old haunt closing down
Kamloops Daily News in British Columbia reports:
She was going to a mining town
Way up north to do her show
I said ‘It must be cold up there’
She said, ‘It depends on who you know’
— Lyrics from Mitzi Dupree
by Deep PurpleThey’re calling it the end of an era, the last strip show in Kamloops.
The Duchess, formerly the Village bar, will reportedly host the final revue Saturday. Those with a sociological bent say men have come to understand that watching women undress in public is inappropriate.
Maybe, but at one time exotic dancing was more popular here than hockey.
Some will remember Mitzy Dupree and her show at Bailey’s on Eighth Street in the ’80s involving ping-pong balls. I never saw her show (honest), but I remember the spirited competition among male reporters for the assignment of “covering” the story.
Her Kamloops engagement made Dupree so famous the rock band Deep Purple wrote a song about her for their 1987 album House of Blue Light. You can now get it as a ring tone for your cell.
Thanks to Herb Alpert for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Mitzi Dupree is an ok song, the second weak song off THOBL album. Hard Lovin Woman is really weak, the rest of the album is great, the best MK2 reunion album by a mile! You have to love the ping pong balls! I haven’t played ping pong for a decade or two.
June 10th, 2013 at 08:03I actually only threw out my old table a month or so back, it was a bit warped being in storage for all those years!
Now I wonder what sort of table Mitzi had? Classic!
Herb Alpert?
June 10th, 2013 at 08:05And his Tijuana Brass?
June 10th, 2013 at 14:17@ 1 that album is ruined by the “contemporary sound” of the 80’s,too much synth and not so much Hammond Organ signature in it.Dead OR Alive has some organ and the rest not so much,too polished.I hope for a remastering and a Re Mix,if Roger gets involved of course,but I doubt it if that is going to happen any time soon.you are right,Mitzi is an ok song,has its momens ,but not their greatest one by a mile.Strangeways is their masterpiece in the album.and dare I say better than every song from Perfect Strangers,but hey don’t kill me for that lol
June 10th, 2013 at 15:46My brother actually saw her perform back in the 80s in northern Vancouver Island, BC Canada.
June 10th, 2013 at 16:18Actually Mitzi Dupree is one of my favourites from HOBL. It has a structure, a nice riff, a proper vocal melody and a triff solo from Richie. One of DPs tracks that seems written rather than just jammed into existence (although probably wasn’t).
Altogether now…dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dah dahdahdah…
June 10th, 2013 at 17:44Listened to Mitzi Dupree yesterday in the car and I love the little story Ian tell, you can easily imagine Ian and Mitzi on that airplane talking to each other.
June 10th, 2013 at 19:32Great song!
@2 You might also know me as Boswell’s Johnson. Stay classy.
June 10th, 2013 at 23:15Mitzi Dupree is one of my secret fav’s of DP. It’s mood is very kind, breathy and bluesy. I also like the guitarsolo and Ian’s singing. Great to know something more about the true story.
June 11th, 2013 at 00:22I never really thought about the ping pong thing and the connection to a strip club, now I’m a little wiser 😉
MacGregor, I agree that HOBL is an excellent LP but Ritchie has a great solo on HLW and also a very good solo on MD. Yeah maybe not the best songs on the record, that probably would be Bad Attitude or the Spanish Archer. All in all I think the reunion had its best moments with the Perfect Strangers album and tour. It was a sellout tour and everyone was actually smiling. Yes Blackmore smiling. For some reason the mix on HOBL was recorded very low. Put on Down to Earth and then listen to HOBL The recording on HOBL needs a huge increase in the GAIN (volume) department. Roger was amazing on the recording of DTE, not sure what happened during HOBL. Different studio maybe?
June 11th, 2013 at 04:48purrfect stranger @ 10 – Yes, the Perfect Strangers tour was great & had a real buzz about it. I went twice in Sydney & George Harrison jammed with them at one of those gigs, Lucille was the song, a wonderful moment in time. That is on youtube that jam, wow did that bring back some memories! I like THOBL album more than PS, I think it sounds more together song wise, a more serious effort involved perhaps. PS is half great & half slapped together sort of sounding to me! Maybe resting on their past laurels? It is a shame that THOBL sounds classic 80’s as al says @ – 4! It should be remixed etc, but I fear it may never happen as it seems to be not a favourite album for the members involved, for different reasons no doubt! But a few of the classic bands from the early 70’s experimented with different sounds etc in the 80’s, it happened to many artists the more I actually think about it.
June 11th, 2013 at 10:56Spanish Archer, Bad Attitude, Call of the Wild, Mad Dog, The Unwritten Law, Black & White, Spanish Archer, Strangeways, Dead or Alive! Great songs, superb vocal melodies, wonderful Blackmore stuff, classic MK2 Purple in so many ways, we just wish it’s sound was better! Not to worry, I prefer to have quality songs etc with poor production, than great production with poor songs! Cheers!
The Queen of the Ping Pong.
June 11th, 2013 at 11:55My Darling, My DARLING………
And what an awesome scream!
Absolutely love the track.
@11 and you know why it may never be remixed ? the bad blood btw Gillan-Blackmore has already surfaced,and the fact that it took em months to finish the record,shows the strain already,if you notice in the video Bat Attitude,Blackmore playing with his head down and other band members not too happy looking.Blackmore is already tired with the direction and want another direction and singer.Gillan didn’t help matters at the time by getting drunk and damaging his voice,so the album is what it is,good one but not so great sounding.
June 11th, 2013 at 23:47@13 And all the members of the band leaving Ian Gillan behind in the Bad Attitude video.. says it all. What would come later..
June 12th, 2013 at 17:05Saw Mitzi perform in Edmonton at the Kingsway Inn in the 80’s. Was sitting up close and she fired a ping pong ball that ricocheted off my head. Got an autographed ball from her.
January 26th, 2019 at 07:11