![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/mcbride1.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/gillan.jpg)
More than we asked for
Continuing on the slow news week theme, here’s something for that hangover morning — a Burn documentary, opinionated by a bunch of people most of us never heard about. Of the redeeming qualities, it has input from the ubiquitous Glenn Hughes, and from John McCoy (of all the people). The archive footage includes bits of Doing Their Thing, the Leeds Polytechnic project, Cal Jam, and the Last Concert in Japan.
Thanks to Uwe for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I still have this on DVD. I bought the Rainbow 75-78 one too.It was useful for the Live in London audio dubbed onto the live footage of Burn.Of course what we really want is a Classic Albums presentation on the Burn album, with meaningful input from the surviving members.
December 30th, 2024 at 21:41Some of the commentators in that video are/were journos for Classic Rock Magazine and other UK rock publications (Malcolm Dome and Jerry Ewing for sure). I see that frequent Purple / Rainbow biographer Jerry Bloom had a hand in the production of that video as well. It’s the first time I have seen that particular presentation, and I think it was very well done, and gives an excellent overview of the Mark III years, particularly the stellar Burn album. Glenn Hughes’ contributions were certainly key to the success of that record.
December 31st, 2024 at 01:31I gave up on this half way through when the so called Guests and narrative was sooo far off the truth …I mean Bron being with Ian in the early 70s !!…And Roger leaving of his own volition!!
December 31st, 2024 at 01:47Come on , at least do your research…there is so much guff on you tube , it’s not true !
I think even John McCoys bits were filmed years ago !
Yeah, this came out around the time of the 30th Anniversary remaster/remix of Burn, though not in any way affiliated as a release, it’s a more-black-than-purple Jerry Bloom venture.
So let’s not be too critical of some of the statements, we’re all the wiser 20 years onward. (Though I feel honor-bound to clarify that Ian Gillan was always more than just a “heavy metal shouter”! And there were no “hits” on Burn either, though the material was collectively very strong, no single song charted or gained the significant FM radio play of some of the Mk II staples.)
For a fresher appreciation of the album watch this by an Australian and a drummer (no, not the inimitable Herr MacGregor himself, it’s actually two people):
https://youtu.be/zGxugIc6QTg
Me? I don’t have to put down the underrated WDWTWA to appreciate the greatness and freshness/immediacy Burn had and has retained to this day. While WDWTWA saw Purple experimenting with PROG influences again (after the relatively straightforward Machine Head), Burn jettisons all PROGishness (with the exception of the Burn – the song – solo parts of Jon and his “A”-200 tour de force) in favor of what is essentially US-flavored stadium rock (with Blues and Soul/Funk influences thrown in) that still shows original Brit grit (that grit would be gone on Stormbringer though I like that album too for – much like WDWTW two years before – attempting to broaden the band’s musical recipe, but yeah, Stormbringer is so smooth and glossy an album, it sounds slippery and very LA in places).
But man WHAT a monster stadium rock album Burn is – fucksolutely brilliant!!! It set off the era where, to my ears at least, Ritchie triumphed as a guitar stylist, honing his idiosyncrasies to perfection.
Innocent question for Karin, have you actually ever heard Burn (the album) in full or is it ‘verboten’ terrain for you after you have pledged yourself so completely to Ian Gillan?
December 31st, 2024 at 02:16It is worth noting that on that tour DP played seven songs at each concert, five of which were from the new “Burn” album , which speaks volumes about the time when bands were infinitely braver than today, but also about the kind of album it was.
December 31st, 2024 at 12:52Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
i have the album very good show
December 31st, 2024 at 12:56Ivica, make it six songs from Burn, they sometimes played What’s Going On Here too, not just at the very early Mk III gigs in December 1973 as here
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hx34LuA59as
but also – albeit infrequently – on the 1974 US Tour.
So the only songs from Burn never played by Mk III live were – incongruously so – the brilliant Sail Away (to me the strongest number on Burn next to the title track) and the underrated instrumental “A”-200 (which would have made a nice piece within Jon’s live solo spot).
December 31st, 2024 at 17:12is gleen touring new jersey this year ?
December 31st, 2024 at 17:57Not yet apparent, Smitty:
https://www.glennhughes.com/tour.html
But it’s still early days for 2025.
December 31st, 2024 at 21:56Hi Uwe
January 1st, 2025 at 20:30I’m sure you will know the answer to this …What was it that Jon said so complimentary about Ray Manzarek ( of The Doors )
I got into The Doors a few years back ( fantastic band ) …and I seem to remember Jon saying something on one of those rock music documentaries about Ray …and for the life of me, I can’t find it anywhere!
Your help would be very much appreciated
Steve, I have to pass on this, I’m not aware of any specific Jon quotes on Ray (or vice versa), couldn’t find anything either, but the influence of latish 60ies US organ-led bands (Vanilla Fudge, Iron Butterfly, The Doors) on Mk I especially is obvious, One More Rainy Day always sounded très Doors’y to me:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLhYajHZ9rk
I would imagine that Jon would have had something nice to say about Ray’s lyrical approach though that was very much down to the latter’s “a piano player playing organ”-style (in the early days at least), something Jon always consciously tried to avoid. Ray initially played keyboards mainly as a melody and harmony instrument (plus of course bass with his foot pedals when The Doors did not have a bassist performing with them), Jon was – when he didn’t solo – Deep Purple’s Keith Richards or Rick Parfitt, he determined the rhythm of the band to a great deal playing very tightly with Little Ian.
As with a lot of musicians at the time, there was an inherent respect of DP for The Doors as counter-cultural icons that forged a trademark sound with a singer writing deep poetry – Ritchie is on record for explicitly deeming Ian Gillan’s neo-Jim Morrison look in 1969/70 attractive for Mk II’s future, this was way before he knew that a little girl called Karin in Denmark would one day be smitten with the chosen singer! 💜🤷♀️
https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2HWEYBC/ian-gillan-lead-singer-of-the-deep-purple-rock-group-pictured-in-the-royal-pavillion-gardens-in-brighton-east-sussex-after-it-was-announced-he-would-be-playing-the-part-of-jesus-christ-in-a-pop-opera26th-june-1970-2HWEYBC.jpg
https://www.licensestorehouse.com/p/767/ian-gillan-lead-singer-deep-purple-rock-group-21680263.jpg.webp
I mean it’s not for nothing that DP have covered Roadhouse Blues and that Big Ian has sung other Doors songs both as early as with Episode Six
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNgygG04md8
and even more recently in his career:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK3gACseqh0
And wasn’t Riders On The Storm the taped outro (or intro?) track on the Black Sabbath Born Again tour?
Even a band like GHOST pay reverence to The Doors to this day:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qyxrzUe_TDM
This will be considered heresy by all Jim Morrison fans, but Ray wasn’t a bad singer either:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBTNtkMh05A
And if I dare say, by 1977, when Ray had the criminally underrated Nite City running, I venture the guess he had given Jon Lord a few listens in the meantime (he plays a lot ‘choppier’ than before) or at least declared to his fellow band members: “BTW, since I am paying for all this, I want my Hammond to be mixed as loud as this guy from Deep Purple!!!” 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e847NbuFjkQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-a-QoIIY9w
January 2nd, 2025 at 01:12Given that Gillan and Glover were brought into the band as a strong songwriting team. Glenn was writing in Trapeze but surely Coverdale was an unknown. What was Plan B if Coverdale and Hughes weren’t able to contribute in the same way?
January 2nd, 2025 at 09:17Uwe
Fantastic insight and comments, thanks very much for taking the time to do all that . I know I didn’t get the answer I wanted but I got way more then I asked for ( exactly as this thread suggests ! )
I can remember Jon’s comments were on one of those late night documentaries about music ( around 2008 to 2011) …I’m pretty sure it was about Ray playing the bass lines on his left hand ..with a Vox Continental?
January 2nd, 2025 at 10:37At the time , I only thought The Doors were ” light my fire ” etc …little did I know!!
Anyway, Thanks Uwe and a Happy new year
thanks wue! 😉
January 2nd, 2025 at 12:46Actually, the did have a bass player in 2005 in Atlantic City. Ian Astbury joined Manzarek, Krieger and a bass player and drummer whose names I can’t remember. I love the Doors albums, but I never liked any live stuff by them, they always sounded thin, and Morrison just didn’t seem to cut it live, of course he was probably drunk anyway.
January 2nd, 2025 at 13:01DeepOz, as you said, Glenn was already a prolific writer in Trapeze, their songs were generally either written by Mel Galley and his brother Tom (he of Phenomena fame) or by Glenn alone.
DC already wrote (not so bad) songs in the late 60s, he could play acoustic guitar and a little piano, some of his 1968 home demos are on the recent The Solo Albums boxed set release:
https://youtu.be/dvFT3l8tm4E
https://youtu.be/MVXHRmTQCtk
https://youtu.be/4kznVHPxLBc
https://youtu.be/JyfHGX9HizU
And ballady as they are, those songs all sound a lot more timeless and 70s contemporary than what DP put on their 1968 debut which all still breathed a prominent mid 60s vibe! 😂
That said, DP hedged their bets a little: DC was only presented to the world press as the new singer AFTER the songwriting sessions in Clearwell Castle leading to the Burn album’s recording in Switzerland (for tax reasons) had been concluded. Whether someone has own songwriting ideas or not is something you notice pretty quickly once you start jamming with him. And where Ian Gillan had often only revealed his vocal melody ideas to the band once a track was more or less instrumentally finished, DC chipped in his ideas early on which Blackmore liked because it gave him more of an influence on the finished vocal line. What he wanted heard in his mind and what Big Ian would come up with had been a bone of contention during the recording of WDWTWA which is why Painted Horse (where Gillan’s “out there” vocal line failed to please Ritchie) was shelved in the vaults. It certainly didn’t sound like something Paul Rodgers would have come up with:
https://youtu.be/Vc_9PHHrd2k
That was already very much the type of unexpected vocal melody that would become a trademark of Ian’s singing in IGB and GILLAN a couple of years later – far too outlandish for Blackmore who prefers more conventional vocal lines.
January 2nd, 2025 at 14:56Smitty, “wue” is the most Asian sounding variation of my not really translatable first name yet, cảm ơn, I finally feel like a Vietcong general! 😁
https://www.album-online.com/photos/prev/M2Q0NjEzMA/album_alb5485815.jpg
January 2nd, 2025 at 16:32@ 11 @13
Coincidences
“Now What” was released in April 2013, a month after May 20 Ray Manzarek died
A beautiful tribute by Don Airey – to the great Ray ….( “Riders on the Storm”)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBfqURqESf0
January 2nd, 2025 at 17:58They actually ( The Doors ),used Elvis Presleys bass player …I think for Morrisons Hotel and LA Woman …I can’t find the Don Airey version of Riders on the Storm ?
If you look on you tube, you’ll see them doing a great version of ” When the musics over ” at the LA Bowl ….and that’s a great example of Ray using his left hand to play the bass notes …( I’m sure this is what Jon was so complimentary about ) but if the fountain of musical knowledge, Uwe can’t find it …nobody can ! ..pity though ..
January 2nd, 2025 at 20:12Uwe
January 2nd, 2025 at 20:20Massive thanks for posting Gillan doing light my fire …never even knew it existed…let alone heard it !
Where did that come from ?
@ 12 – DeepOz – Gillan & Glover were not brought into DP because they were a ‘strong songwriting team’. Gillan was approached for one reason, his vocal or maybe I better mention his looks too. Karin will crucify me If I don’t, not to mention Uwe. Regarding the songwriting, it just happened to gell with Blackmore, their ideas at times with Ritchie. Any good lead vocalist should (but not necessarily always) have an inkling for melodies, lyrics etc. Glover just happened to be there it seems & yes he has also contributed nicely. Blackmore has a nous for talent so Coverdale or anyone else at that time would have worked ok in regards to the songwriting and as you mentioned, Hughes was also there. Cheers.
January 2nd, 2025 at 21:01I’m not a keyboard player, Steve, but I found a few quotes on a keyboard forum site
https://forums.musicplayer.com/topic/147012-the-doorsray-manzarek-thread/
A Rob Hammer holds:
“Manzarek, along with Lord, was a major formative influence in my early years. I’ve just started working with a Doors tribute, we are only a couple of gigs in, but things are coming together.
At the moment I’m using Hammond XK1 – of course it’s great for the Changeling and Wild Child but the Voxy sound is not quite there. Hope to get an SK2 later this year, not heard the Vox / Farfisa voices yet but imagine they would do the job
Technically playing Manzarek is very different from playing Lord (I did a few years in a Purple tribute), but the challenge is in getting that style down. I do have the luxury of a bass player though 😀”
And a Joe P observes:
“Me and my band mates are starting a Doors project. We have a good singer and were all pretty enthusiastic about the music.
I’ve always liked Ray Manzarek and The Doors, but this is a pretty steep departure, keyboard-wise, from what we normally do, which is rock and blues covers, a lot of Allman Brothers etc., typical piano/Hammond type stuff.
So there are no organ sweeps or Leslie speed changes or pentatonic piano solos. Its all that Vox/Gibson organ playing, which is a completely different style. There is also a load of honky-tonk piano, harpsichord and some Rhodes.
What has really fascinated me, though, is Manzarek’s use of thirds. Everything is thirds – comps, solos, intros everything. I’ve never encountered anything like it. I knew he used thirds a lot, but the extent to which he uses them is amazing. They’re in every song, one way or another, so much so that its beyond a personal style and more like a keyboard-playing philosophy.”
The last quote reminds me of an interview Jon once did for a keyboard magazine where he said he had to GIVE UP thirds when he made the transition from piano to organ because “You have to be careful on an organ with thirds, it very easily sounds too sweet then”. So that is where his approach obviously differed from Ray’s.
But obviously not to the total exclusion of the other: When The Stranglers became popular in the Punk era, they were initially regularly derided as The Doors clones due to Dave Greenfield’s prominent and sprightly keyboard lines:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xgzDQwWygAc
Poor Dave heard the Ray Manzarek comparison so often that eventually he burst out in an interview:
“I’ve never listened much to The Doors or Ray Manzarek, the only tracks by The Doors I knew (before joining The Stranglers) were Light My Fire & Riders On The Storm. My main keyboard influence is Jon Lord! And after him Rick Wakeman.”
Which in the Punk era was a brave thing to admit! Come to think of it, Dave wore Jon Lord influences not only on his sleeve, but also more conspicuously on his face! 😂
https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/05/09/obituaries/07GREENFIELD/07GREENFIELD-mediumSquareAt3X.jpg
http://www.strangled.co.uk/images/news/DaveRaven.jpg
[For the non-musicians: The third is within a triad consisting of ‘root note + third + fifth’ the note that decides whether the chord is major (happy sounding) or minor (darker or more somber sounding), a minor third makes the chord a somber minor one, a major third (a half-note up from the minor note) makes it a major chord, letting it sound sunnier. And when you listen to The Doors you hear that – because very often the keyboard parts sound either happier (major) or darker (minor) than Jon’s work who would regularly leave the thirds away completely on organ thus not defining a chord as major or minor.]
January 3rd, 2025 at 00:04Steve @20: looky here (it’s available under two titles, but the track lists are identical) …
https://cleorecs.com/products/a-tribute-to-jim-morrison-the-doors-cd?srsltid=AfmBOopgC2vc2d66b0NgcIQ348sJ6QDf_alPkHlqX0-CCCT1cLVjUYu6
https://cleorecs.com/products/light-my-fire-a-classic-rock-salute-to-the-doors-cd?_pos=11&_sid=4e3b72222&_ss=r
A lot of these tributes are dodgy, but this one isn’t. Joe’s contribution is nice too, variable as he is, he emulates the Jim Morrison growl nicely:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5-DDprfbXk
And if we feature the Russkies-lovin’ kid from New Jersey, the widowed hay farmer from Florida deserves a mention too:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9lyp5EaJNw
And Graham is (second tier) family as well, although he sings so deep here, you hardly recognize him at first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8-Gaf8iQuo
Finally, the reborn christian from Flint, Michigan, is unrelated, but gets a honorary mention here, I have a soft spot for Grand Funk Railroad:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QgPGK5OFpqM
1. L.A. Woman Feat. Patrick Moraz
2. Love Me Two Times Feat. Lou Gramm
3. Roadhouse Blues Feat. Leslie West
4. Love Her Madly Feat. Mike Stein & Mick Box
5. Riders on the Storm Feat. Joe Lynn Turner
6. The Crystal Ship Feat. Edgar Winter
7. Intro (People Are Strange) Feat. Keith Emerson
8. People Are Strange Feat. David Johansen
9. Touch Me Feat. Jordan Rudess & Steve Morse
10. The Soft Parade Feat. Graham Bonnet & Steve Hillage
11. Hello, I Love You Feat. Ken Hensley & Roye Albrighton
12. Spanish Caravan Feat. Eric Martin & Elliot Easton
13. Alabama Song (Whiskey Bar) Feat. Todd Rundgren & Geoff Downes
14. Break on Through (To the Other Side) Feat. Mark Farner
15. Light My Fire Feat. Ian Gillan & Rick Wakeman
16. The End Feat. Pat Travers
Produced by Billy Sherwood
January 3rd, 2025 at 07:40“fountain of musical knowledge”
🤣
My fountains used to be a lot lower, Steve, but at my age you’re happy about any compliment you can get your hands on!
Herr MacGregor, I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Ian & Roger as a songwriting team were irrelevant to Ritchie, Jon & Paicey, Blackmore always liked to have a songwriting foil and neither Rod nor Nick had excelled in that department. Going forward in the summer of ’69 (Bryan Adams always claims how that song is not about a particular year, can’t he hold his tongue about things like that I cry?), Purple must have realized that they needed to up their ante as regards own material to be taken serious so any help should have been welcome. Ian & Roger were certainly frustrated about Episode Six focusing on covers and even had qualms about Hallelujah, their first recording with DP, which they deemed a bit cheesy and too similar to the material they had been doing with their former band.
Recently, I came across this set list of Ian’s and Roger’s first gig with the others as Mk II:
https://www.purple.de/dirk/purple/tours/1969/69-07-10.php
QUOTE
10 July 1969 – London, Speakeasy Club – UK
Deep Purple
INFO
It happened to be Mark 2’s first live performance, as Ian Gillan recalls “I felt absolutely elated at joining Purple. When I first heard them I had never been moved musically so much in my life. At the time Deep Purple were the greatest band I could join. It made me realise I had to work much harder than I had ever worked before.”
Ian Gillan
“These were the guys I fronted on 10 July 1969 on a tiny stage at the Speakeasy in Margaret Street in London’s West End. I stood before my peers that night – pros, other musicians and people in the music business. As soon as we started, the place went ‘Wooah’. It was awesome, and I just coasted through – the feeling of power indescribable. I played congas, for want of something to do during an instructional, and I cried – oh I cried.”
Ian Gillan talks about his first performance with Deep Purple
set list:
Hush
Kentucky Woman
Hallelujah
Bird Has Flown
Wring That Neck
Paint It Black
Hey Joe
Mandrake Root
St. Louis (Uwe: the Easybeats number also covered by Warhorse and Nick Simper’s Dynamite …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFubEd2QA8w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goWOE9zM3Uc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6UzpJChOKw )
UNQUOTE
Man, I would sacrifice a nut to have a recording of that gig with that set list, but it also shows that there was obviously a dearth of own material fledgling Mk II deemed fit to play live, only three songs were their own!
January 3rd, 2025 at 08:17@#17: Uwe, being married to a Chinese I can confirm that “wue” is a legit pronounciation of Uwe in quite a few Asian languages ;-). It’s just not defined yet, in which tone it shall be pronounced so there can still be lots of different meanings associated to it!
Fun fact: as Chinese writing is not a phonetic writing (i. e. the different signs don’t represent vowels or consonants but only meanings; hence you have the same signs all over China but they may be pronounced completely differently) it’s quite a challenge to represent a Western name in Chinese writing. So my in laws usually refer to me as Ka- Ri – Stoffu (if you pronounce these syllables in a German way).
Thanks for your explanation of the Thirds! This will be my next phonetic adventure (besides my futile attempts to dive into correct Chinese pronounciation) to listen to a few Jon solos as opposed to Manzarek solos
January 3rd, 2025 at 11:28Uwe
You most definitely are an OCEAN of musical knowledge! Thanks so much for your replies .
I never knew The Stranglers keyboard player was influenced by Jon ….but, I can definitely hear it now .
I am going to get that Doors Tribute CD ( I can’t believe that had gone under my radar ) ..I hear Joe ( who I’m not a fan of ) singing exactly as he did on S/M …and you’re right, this does sound good .
I’m surprised Gillan didn’t feature them in his top 20 bands !? He had CCR in there and The Kinks …but hey ho …
January 3rd, 2025 at 13:09I notice on his vocal delivery , he underplays the word ” Fire” ( not like Jim , who obviously accentuates it ) …this is obviously deliberately done by Gillan , who, you will notice , normally puts a high emphasis on things like that ( check out ” Gimme some loving on TTC ) …I guess he deliberately wanted to do something different to Jim’s original vocal
Actually, I’ve just had an idea , as it’s a slow news week …and if The Big Chiefs that run this site don’t mind …why doesn’t everyone reading this thread , list their top 5 bands ?
I think we obviously know who most people’s no 1 will be ! ( be very interesting if it’s not !!!)
But, also, we might get some other influences and bands to check out …
I’ll have a think about mine …probably, something like
Purple
Doors
Gillan / Rainbow
Be interesting to see what everyone else has ….
January 3rd, 2025 at 13:30@ 16 Uwe Hornung
@ 21 MacGregor
Thanks for the information and correction.
I recall Coverdale saying that for Burn he wrote something like 10 sets of lyrics, were the other 9 sets of lyrics used in other songs, either in part or in full?
January 3rd, 2025 at 13:56@24 – Yes, it would be great if a recording of that, or another early MKII gig, ever surfaced.
How cool to hear a Purple version of “St Louis” and a MKII version of “Hey Joe”!
Surely only two songs were MKII’s own, though?
“Hallelujah” counts, presumably? Though MKI had likely run through it at some point, and Nick certainly was present for the initial recording.
And “St Louis”, since the Easybeats’ version wasn’t released in the UK until June 27 1969, too late for the then no-longer-rehearsing MKI to have played it. Even if Purple had heard the song in advance of its release, Nick has denied that it was ever part of MKI’s repertoire.
The other seven tunes were all part of the MKI songbook.
The notion of Blackmore liking to have a songwriting foil is something that only began with MKII, when he became the dominant composer.
Prior to that, when Lord took the lead as much or more than Blackmore…
Rod was always able to deliver lyrics that suited the music, whether it originated with Lord, Blackmore or a plagiarised riff (“Mandrake Root”). Often pretty clever stuff.
@21 – Yes, Blackmore has stated that he wanted Gillan as a singer due to his high-pitched screaming. And Morrison-esque looks.
Prior to joining Purple, Gillan and Glover had no track record as hit songwriters. Nor, as it turned out, were all their early Purple lyrics an advance over what Rod Evans had been capable of.
Different styles, so in many cases, eg. “The Shield” vs. “Child In Time”, it would be like comparing apples to oranges.
Some of the material, though, like “Flight Of The Rat” verges on doggerel.
January 3rd, 2025 at 17:22@ 24 – “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that Ian & Roger as a songwriting team were irrelevant to Ritchie, Jon & Paicey……”
January 3rd, 2025 at 22:05Uwe where did that word ‘irrelevant’ emanate from? Anyway the gist of the situation was a harder rock style lead vocalist was needed desperately & of course the melodies & words will hopefully accompany that individual. Glover tagged along and as they needed a bass player he was the perfect foil as he was associated with Gillan already. I couldn’t imagine both of those gents would have been well known as a ‘songwriting team’ at that stage of proceedings. That hopefully comes (and did) with their initiation & we have also noticed that scenario develop with other bands, well some of them. A huge step up from Episode Six to Deep Purple, in more ways than one. There are probably two ways to look at Ritchie’s rock music career in that perspective. Either he had a wonderful ‘crystal ball’ in that hat that he wore, or he was incredibly fortunate with certain individuals who he happened to bump into at his various musical interludes over time. Cheers.
@ 27 – I don’t have a number one favourite artist. Impossible for me to separate them purely because one day I will really enjoy a different act to the next day & so on. Getting it down to a top five is incredibly hard for me to do anyway. When I was first possessed in the early 70’s as a rather naive lad by DP, Sabbath & Floyd just to name a few, I thought they were the only great bands. Then the door was blown open with so many other acts. The ‘progressive’ rock bands came along and they changed the game big time. In alphabetical order: Jethro Tull, King Crimson, Pink Floyd, Yes. Which band gets the prized fifth position, hmmmmm, now let me see……. Classic DP for me is MKI & MKII, 70’s & Dio era Sabbath, certain Zeppelin music, 70’s Genesis, late 60’s to mid 70’s The Who, 70’s Steely Dan, late 70’s to early 90′ Rush and on and on etc. Cheers.
January 4th, 2025 at 11:20@21
“ Karin will crucify me If I don’t..” no I won’t! ‘25 will be a year with gentleness and kindness and no discussions what so ever! I’ll turn the other cheek so to speak 😊
However on YT I saw a very weird thing, please have a look!
https://youtu.be/yG_nCqQrCXY?si=RL31u5Os2-2gi121
I’m not sure who is behind it, but it certainly isn’t a person that has any warm feelings towards the current vocalist in Purple!
And some of the statements were downright wrong, f.e. Ian didn’t meet Bron in the 60s, but that is a minor thing. It does not look good on the rest of the ‘program’ if their research are equal sloppy ☺️
January 4th, 2025 at 13:04Skippy, so you‘re one of the Flight Of The Rat naysayers too? 🤨 That song doesn‘t seem to have many fans. Funny thing, it is together with Child In Time my favorite on In Rock (an album I regard as a statement of a newly forged innovative sound more than as a testament to great songwriting), I like the instrumental interplay, the vocal melody and the raw MC5ish “garage rock”sonics of the song. But it was apparently never played live.
Herr MacGregor, there is no doubt to my mind that Ritchie had an uncanny ear for new talent – he regularly found and attracted people in the strangest places to join him. Retaining and developing/nurturing that talent was another matter though …
January 4th, 2025 at 17:38Steve #27
1. DP, they have been with me since I was 13 (in ’70)(my first ever concert attendance in december ’73).
2. Jethro Tull
3. Which ever band my daughter, Gaia, plays (bass) in.
4. Danish band “Alien Force” because the singer is my good friend.
5. King Gnu
In the 70’es it might have been Rainbow, Nazareth, ELP, Janne Shaffer Band (and others).
And because of my dear daughter I will attend Iron Maiden and Ghost concerts this year.
janbl
January 4th, 2025 at 18:28@27
Well, my list is:
Elvis Presley (ohh sorry, autocorrect! )
No no no, my very own list is:
Deep Purple
January 5th, 2025 at 13:54Dan Baird, incl Georgia Satellites
Sweet
Black City (Danish band, they don’t excist anymore, but please take a listen to this, very good to do your morning exercises to ☺️)
https://youtu.be/fwZIoGm9QB8?si=aEUlGqXv0M3lgs1u
Oasis
Fleetwood Mac
Beatles
ELO
Gary Moore
Henning Stærk (Danish performer, very strong voice, former drummer for another Danish band Gnags)
Now that’s a good child you raised, janbl, Iron Maiden and Ghost, way to go! I‘ll actually be seeing the latter too, my stepdaughter and her hubby gabe me a ticket for my birthday, I always wanted to see the Swedes, I think they’re tuneful and the image is a hoot.
My five favorite bands? Probably DP (that encapsulates the family), Judas Priest, Status Quo, Be-Bop Deluxe and The Sparks. Add Blue Öyster Cult if you want to make it six.
January 5th, 2025 at 14:10Top 5
Thanks …there are some very interesting answers there and I knew it would be difficult to name a top 5 …top 10 or 20 ..easy !
I see Wishbone Ash popping up …I’ve just started listening to them a bit …and I’ve always liked Jethro Tull .
Man, I do envy Janbl and MacGregor seeing Purple in the 70s …what was it like ?…I’m always in awe of people who saw them in the early days …my first gig was Knebworth 85 ( although I saw all the spin off bands from 1980 till 1983)
In my family , my older brothers and sisters were into Floyd, Bowie, Roxy Music, Yes , Queen , Genesis etc …we even had an old 8 track in the living room .
Just going back to The Doors …anyone listens to ” Ship of Fools ” or Land Ho ….and I dare you to deny Purple were not influenced by these tracks …especially on Mandrake Root and the Space Truckin extended solos
Thanks so much for the bands and input …I’m gonna check a few out
January 5th, 2025 at 22:33Ps
Vanilla Fudge !!?
OK, with apologies to all who were interested, let’s change this to Top 10 …Top 5 really is impossible ( MacGregor is right )
I’m going
Purple
Doors
Gillan/ Rainbow ( I’m cheating I know )
Led Zeppelin
Small Faces
Nirvana
Pink Floyd
RHCP
Blondie !!!
Roxy Music
Family ( can’t beat a bit of Riger Chapman !)
January 5th, 2025 at 23:43Steve @ 37 – I didn’t witness Purple in concert until 1984 in Sydney. Too young back in the early 70’s, even Uwe was young back in those days, he he he. I was introduced to those wonderful early albums & of course my soul was then surrendered to the devil. Although some would say that Black Sabbath also had something to do with that and Ritchie’s evil dark persona & his hat. Cheers.
January 6th, 2025 at 04:13If forced to pick a top five: Rolling Stones, Beach Boys and ABBA would definitely be in it. Groups with substantial catalogues containing many outstanding songs.
With Purple MKs I-III, Kinks, Tull, Grateful Dead, Scorpions and Grand Funk among those contending for the remaining two spots.
But as MacGregor said, it’s incredibly hard to pick, because it would change from day to day… B-52s, Black Oak Arkansas and BTO could be on the list one day, due to listening to them and enjoying them at the time… Ramones, Romantics and Roxy Music the next.
Nazareth, Slade, Zeppelin, Yes and Quo might have made my list in younger years. But – perhaps others find this as well? – one reaches the point of saturation after hearing a record enough times. And needs a break from over-familiar songs.
As an excuse to narrow it down, would exclude some groups because, though they always or nearly always made excellent records, their catalogues are small, eg. Doors, Be-Bop Deluxe, Max Webster. Or miniscule, such as X-Ray Spex, Sex Pistols and Television.
As well as the many groups which made several favorite records among a greater number that didn’t appeal so much, eg. The Who, The Hollies, 1970-80 Wishbone Ash, Sparks and Uriah Heep.
Though they ALL – among many others – have some real gems among their repertoires.
Reading other people’s lists makes me want to spin some Nirvana, Priest and ELO.
And Blondie. Haven’t listened to them for years but one seems to recall their first LP being a 10/10 classic.
January 6th, 2025 at 05:43Karin, jeg forstår helt hvad du mener med Elvis, se bare:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIKfmlpXTV0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UWupO17Q8D4
January 6th, 2025 at 08:39@40
January 6th, 2025 at 11:01🤣😆😆
Jamen det er jo præcis sådan jeg hører ham!
Var ved at indtage min frokost da jeg tjekkede de to videoer ud og må indrømme jeg var ved at kløjs i det 😆
Tak for underholdningen 👍🏼
Karin has crushes on bad boy bands like Oasis, go tell everyone else! Which one is it then, Liam or Noel, you Brit Pop Bride, ‘fess up! I bet she posts in Oasis forums too: “It’s sooo cute when Liam gets in another pub fight and loses once again a couple of front teeth!”
Slade and Wishbone Ash Martin Turner era would likely be among my top ten too. The New York Dolls/David Johansen as well. Or The Dictators and Belfast boys Silent Running, David Bowie …
January 6th, 2025 at 17:04@27 and all responders…..my top 5 bands in the 70’s were:
January 6th, 2025 at 17:40DEEP PURPLE
RAINBOW
THE DOOBIE BROTHERS
BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE
GRAND FUNK RAILROAD
MacGregor…sorry, I thought you were one of the privileged few ! Actually, I have a Programme from Australia in 84 ( it’s basically the same as the Knebworth one ..but with no live concert shots ..for obvious reasons! I got it as a friend of mines brother was in Sydney and went to the show . He wasn’t really a fan , so he gave it to me !
I’ve certainly got more then I asked for from this thread and from a selfish point of view , I’ll be checking out Grateful Dead and others ( I take it Be Pop deluxe Sparks is not the Maer brothers !)
It is really interesting to see the diversity that Purple fans seem to listen to …ABBA!? So, that’s where Ritchie gets it from ! And I love B 52s ..very clever band , Rock lobster fascinates me !…and cracks me up !!
I think the Blondie album must be Parallel lines ( one way or another , heart of glass etc ) …they were my favourite…then, I saw Gillan on Top of the pops in 79 …and everything changed .
From looking at everyone’s lists , I get a sense of just how imperious Purple must be ! I mean there’s a massive diversity there from some obviously very intelligent people ( especially me !!..not !) …and yet , Purple sit at the top …maybe, this goes someway to explaining their longevity!?
January 6th, 2025 at 19:24@43
Well this is actually the only forum I read and write a bit in!
And if you really need to know I have always preferred Noel! He has a lovely voice, I love his guitarplaying and I really love his lyrics 🤩
Oasis has this je n’est sais quoi when it comes to their tunes, I can forget all about them for some time, and then suddenly I hear this one:
https://youtu.be/oxOjIj18I9E?si=ZIW–o7xWxoJpl7i
And then I really need to listen to some more ☺️
Only Purple have that effect too!
How many forums are you in Uwe?
By accident I found myself on another Purple forum the other evening (I googled something about Purple and saw this site I can’t remember the name of) but the main topic discussed was wether Ian G is homosexual or not! I couldn’t care less! So I found my way back here 😉
January 6th, 2025 at 23:29@44
January 6th, 2025 at 23:31Ohh yeah, how could I forget BTO on my list! Well you ain’t seen nothing yet ☺️
@45
Dear Steve! I could write books on why Purple is so important to me ☺️
They are completely magnificent and whenever I hear them, almost no matter what song they’re doing, I feel like I’m home..
They have it all! Magical tunes, wonderful vocal and very intelligent lyrics. But that’s not all. When I see them, dvds or YT, they have such a radiation, it’s almost electrical 😊
January 6th, 2025 at 23:47And I’m not thinking on individual members here, it’s the band that has this quality!
I guess that’s partly why I was heartbroken when Jon stopped (and later died) because would the magic disappear? Well Don came along, took over the ‘piano’ and made his very own footprints 😊
Same goes for Steve Morse and Simon McBride! When Blackmore left for good in the ‘90s I was devastated. I honestly thought that would mean Purple would stop. But they kept going.
I do have to say though that when Ian G stops singing well then I am pretty sure no one can follow him and give the same as he has been doing since In Rock.
A voice is much more intimate than any other instrument, so unless they clone him, I guess I’ll keep to the already existing cds 😊
Steve, I didn’t see DP in the 70s for the simple reason that I wasn’t around much of the time and by the time I was the buggers decided to split up! I left for Kinshasa, Zaire/Democratic Republic of Congo in late 1972 when I had just turned 12 and only returned to Germany in January 1976 – Bohemian Rhapsody was all over the radio back then. Purple never toured Africa, much less Kinshasa in the 70s.
Actually, upon my return to Germany, I was wondering why they didn’t continue their UK Tour into Continental Europe, that didn’t feel right, Germany was their happy hunting ground. And then in spring their dissolution was in the music papers, a shock to the system. To this day I hold a pet theory: If Purple had gone from their 1975 US and Far Eastern Tour straight to places like Paris, Zürich, Brussels, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, Rome, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Oslo, I swear to Snoopy and the almighty Red Baron: They wouldn’t have dissolved then. The goodwill they still had in Continental Europe would have carried them through for at least one more album following CTTB. I think European audiences would have adopted Tommy, strange, but attractive and charismatic bird he was.
Instead DP went for the lion’s mouth, jaded ole UK, back then already preparing for the summer of punk and all rock journos only waiting to sink their teeth into an overtly Americanized stadium act of the old guard like Mk IV. By 1975 when CTTB came out, DP’s perception in Blighty wasn’t all too different from say, Foghat or Grand Funk Railroad. A reliable stadium filler with nothing to say either politically or culturally, not cutting edge at all and not current or relevant. No one was waiting for them there. Sending DP off to the homeland (of 4/5 of the band) in early 1976 was a real managerial cock-up at the time, I don’t know what the hell possessed them to do that, they could have made more money, done more gigs and found a friendlier media echo on the Continent.
Instead my first rock gig in 1976 was Rainbow followed a few months later – in early 1977 – by Status Quo. I only got to see DC, Jon Lord and Ian Paice much later in early Whitesnake (I wanted to go to the PAL gigs scheduled in Germany, but they were pulled after the UK debacle and Tony Ashton’s fall into the orchestra pit), Ian Gillan with GILLAN and Roger Glover only on the Down To Earth tour + Glenn only as late as the early 90s. Nick Simper I first saw live early last year in Vienna (nice motorcycle trip going there), he was the last one on my list. I’ve now seen them all with the obvious exceptions of Tommy Bolin and Rod Evans.
***************************************************************************
OF COURSE I meant the Mael Brothers with Sparks and the Bill Nelson-led outfit with Be-Bop Deluxe, how you insult me!!! 😂 I have a real soft spot for good, witty lyrics and quirky pop, that is why I also dig The Cars, 10cc, Super Furry Animals and the Manic Street Preachers. I was and always will remain a metal kid (except for speed and thrash metal, I stopped following those sub-genres in the 80s), but I was raised on The Beatles as a kid so a pop side always stuck with me too.
I actually think that Mk II had more of an English pop side than Mk III, that was no doubt the Gillan/Glover element. Neither DC nor GH are really pop, Glenn can do it if he must, but it is not where his heart and soul lies. DC is essentially the Blues & some Soul, nothing quirky about him, his music isn’t really playful.
I’m not surprised at all that there is a sizable amount of DP fans who also like ABBA. I’ve written this before: There are similarities in the Europeaness in sound, strains of melancholy and how neatly designed and constructed the music of both bands is – that musical assembly kit where everything can be heard individually yet it all fits together perfectly. I just didn’t name ABBA among my favorite rock bands because – much like The Carpenters which I also dig – I consider them neither rock nor really a band. They are/were two singer-songwriter couples welded together.
But I’m an unashamed pop nut, Rumer is one of my guilty pleasures:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5z7Uxo625w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ERzNIzrEnLg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-BVPT7SM0k
I know, I know, that is bordering on Easy Listening, I can’t help it! Whenever I listen to it at home, Edith cracks up and says nasty things like “Are we having a Karen Carpenter phase after all that Judas Priest again?!”
She isn’t wrong though, next to Ian Paice and Herr MacGregor of course, Karen is the prettiest drummer ever! 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-XYBj0J99i8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25V3hubVk0k
If only she had eaten better, sigh.
And then there is always her:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPJwtG9FfAw
One day, I’ll manage to reconcile that with these guys which I also love! 😁
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMlvMsGRouM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CZa4eMST76k
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2q_pSTNX5ro
January 7th, 2025 at 01:50“How many forums are you in Uwe?”
Just this one here and The Last Bass Outpost (it’s not about angling!) where I’m an admin. Other than that, I just tend to leave a comment here and there, mostly in political matters when some celebratory right wing echo chamber/rabbit hole needs a sprinkling of truth/reason. But these days discussion culture is pretty much down in the dumps, people don’t even attempt to argue their point anymore if they register that you might hold an opposing or skeptic view.
Is Ian Gillan gay? Now that’s a question I’ve never asked myself because I have a gut feeling that if he was he wouldn’t be closet gay. Of course, ask any Judas Priest fan and he’ll tell you how having a gay singer can be extremely beneficial for any band. The one time Priest didn’t (the ‘Ripper’ Owens years) their appeal for me dipped to a point where I even couldn’t bring myself to go to their gigs anymore. Priest without Halford was a devastated and desolate musical landscape to me (and Halford without Priest totally lost).
That is not to say that Big Ian might not have dabbled with the other gender at one point and the autobiographic character of Angel Manchenio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_LlClLhLKvc
was certainly in love with him in the 60s, hell, it was the Swinging 60s and the debauched 70s and didn’t Oscar Wilde rightly say that temptations are one-time-opportunities in life that should best be succumbed to? 😎
I never really gave it any thought with Purple. Looking back, I’d say that Tommy’s inquisitive, daring and generally “I’ll-try-anything”-hedonism might have led him down (or up) the bi-route because while he was a ladies’ man he seemed to have an appeal for men too. Glenn, so often perceived as Mr Hedonism in Purple, was relatively reluctant, I mean refusing a blowjob in a helicopter from a stripper dressed as a policewoman pretending to arrest him for cocaine possession after the California Jam gig or passing David Bowie’s offer to have sex with David’s then-wife Angie with the Thin White Duke possibly watching/cheering on – what is wrong with the guy that he always discards chances of good old-fashioned fun? 🤣
Karin, I get the Oasis thing though I prefer Liam the ruffian and loudmouth, they have an appeal, yes. Their music is neither brilliant nor crap, they have highs and lows like most bands.
January 7th, 2025 at 17:44@49
I might’ve misunderstood it all Uwe, but wasn’t it inner lack of peace that was the main cause of dissolving Purple?
Ian G was gone and as far as I know, the remaining members weren’t on most friendly terms.
I guess it wasn’t a matter of where they toured, but more the fact that they needed some time away from each other? 😊
At least now their home-country has taking them all to their bosom like the prodigal son(s) ☺️
January 7th, 2025 at 20:19@ 49 – “Sending DP off to the homeland (of 4/5 of the band) in early 1976 was a real managerial cock-up at the time, I don’t know what the hell possessed them to do that, they could have made more money, done more gigs and found a friendlier media echo on the Continent”. Maybe Jon Lord, Ian Paice & also Coverdale had had enough Uwe & just wanted to go home. Put an end to the facade that DP had become. Cheers.
January 7th, 2025 at 21:30I’m suprised how that notoriously bearded, yet Mormon/Latter Day Saint
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OKkLV1zE8M0
outfit in animal furs (!) BTO is still remembered here, but, yeah, I like them too, never mind some slight, uhum, incongruencies in their chosen belief.
https://aaa.digital.uic.edu/files/asset/3026da376af33f049277656d3049835ef08fdd48.jpg
But let’s not quibble about small things like whether the Mayas met Jesus in the Americas – in a place called Bountiful it says – who punished those who fell away from faith with dark skin while true believers were elevated to a lighter hue (I’m recklessly oversimplifying of course), they (no, NOT Jesus & the Mayas, BTO I mean, namely Elder Randy B and his bass buddy CFT) did a reunion show in 2010 (in the Americas again, but not in Bountiful, the somewhat less mystical NYC had to suffice) and that was pretty darn spectacularly good, I love CF Turner’s gruff voice, the whole gig is well worth watching and listening …
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S13DozOsAu8&list=PLw38JK-rit7je_ftXh9YZb3vFcbyp8lBJ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rnIjkIx1Qww&list=PLw38JK-rit7je_ftXh9YZb3vFcbyp8lBJ&index=6
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2D2XGy6tQrM&list=PLw38JK-rit7je_ftXh9YZb3vFcbyp8lBJ&index=4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybtl9qVFAjc&list=PLw38JK-rit7je_ftXh9YZb3vFcbyp8lBJ&index=11
True trivia fact: When Thin Lizzy, a band that was no stranger to a more … let’s say hedonistic life style, opened for BTO on one of their endless North American mid 70s mammoth (mammoth fur was also what the latter wore I think …) tours, not just philosophical differences between Elder Randy Bachman and raised Catholic Irish boy Phil Lynott somewhat chafed … 😂
January 7th, 2025 at 21:41@ 49 -“She isn’t wrong though, next to Ian Paice and Herr MacGregor of course, Karen is the prettiest drummer ever! 😂” Uwe I prostrate myself before thee, second on any list is an honour, believe me. Thank you for that wonderful accolade. Cheers.
January 7th, 2025 at 21:42Talking of impeccable looks & good behaviour, are you going to watch the latest Nosferatu movie Uwe. I am a bit suss on a ‘new’ version of it, but probably will eventually stream it one dark eerie night. I have a penchant for the 1920’s original and also Werner Herzog’s 1978 classic. All these modern day over the top sound effects & CGI ruin certain movies for me. Plus old Nosferatu would be spinning wouldn’t he, being treated as such. Cheers.
January 7th, 2025 at 22:09Karen
I totally get what you mean about Purple, I’ve just listened to one of the versions of Space Truckin from MIJ ( as I seem to do every Christmas) …and I’m not ashamed to say, the quality of the musicianship and Paiceys other worldly drumming , has me in tears every time ! I mean , only us true fans can understand it …how can a band possibly be this good !? Surely, that was where the legend was born !
Uwe, I thought you of all people would know , the break up in 76 was because the band had become a bumbling joke …a shadow of it’s former self ( just check out Jon’s comments ) ..and Glen Hughes pratting around the stage, thinking he was God , like some 3rd rate Gary Glitter …and all the funk ! Yuk ! It’s embarrassing! CTTB wasn’t a bad album though .
I’m absolutely amazed at the different lists of fav bands that are coming out here …some notable ommission though …but, I do draw the line at BTO …next, we’ll be having Bon Jovi
January 7th, 2025 at 22:45Isn’t there anyone here who saw Purple in the 70s ? ( Mark 2) …I’d love to hear their memories.
January 7th, 2025 at 22:53Someone on here ( probably Uwe) posted a load of official bootlegs of some 70s gigs ( quality wasn’t great ) but better then most…and they were fantastic ( I’m sure they’re on you tube ) …every night was different and exciting ( hence my comments about them being a cabaret band now …but, I’d better not go there ..as I don’t want to get stoned again ! Lol )
Nosferatu: Sure, I’ll watch it, I’m always hoping for another great vampire movie though most aren’t. The trailer looks promising.
I did like the more recent “Interview With The Vampire” AMC Studios TV series after Ann Rice’s books though (not that the 90s film with Brad Pitt , Tom Cruise and Kirsten Dunst was bad, but the series is better and deeper).
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BecdVouR7mY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wT4QihIavo
Mk IV: I’m of course aware of the conventional wisdom background for that line-up’s demise in 1976 – I was just never really utterly convinced that it is the whole story though:
– I don’t think there was any hate or warring power games within Mk IV, I believe relations in Mk II towards the end between the banjo player and the nudist were a lot more strained. Mk IV died not from internal strife, but from mutual neglect. Jon and Little Ian were saturated millionaires and tired from touring, Glenn was AWOL with a decadent life and his addictions (I believe the funk issue is overplayed, DP were still plenty rocking even as Mk IV and funk influences were en vogue in the mid 70s, especially in America), Tommy, when he was not shooting up smack or throwing pills, saw Purple at the recommendation of his management as a – albeit musically able – stepping stone to becoming the next Peter Frampton, his Humble Pie vehicle so to say. Only DC, still hungry and out to prove himself, really continued to care about the whole project, but – taking a cue from Ritchie – he also wanted full (or at least larger) control which he could not wrestle from the others in DP at this point, he was still the new kid Cinderella from Saltburn-by-the-Sea.
– Mk IV had good and bad gigs, even on the UK tour. Stone me, but to me Last Concert in Japan is a valiant effort of compensating for an ailing band colleague by all the others and the Long Beach gig is cooking.
– The media in 1975/76 Great Britain was viciously against everything DP stood for. The US stadium success, travelling on chartered airplanes from gig to gig, the non-European funk influences, Coverdale’s macho rock star lyrics, Jon’s classical pretensions (as they were perceived), the platform shoes and bell bottoms, and worst of all someone as non-Brit and oblivious to what was going on in Europe as Tommy Bolin, an American upstart/Wunderkind replacing Blackmore who for all his idiosyncrasies was always good fodder to write and speculate about, also an entertaining enfant terrible.
– Mk IV in 1976 was still resurrectable. End the tour cycle with gigs in DP-friendly Europe and other territories where the name still pulled the masses and people weren’t eager to see them fail. Give Jon and Little Ian a year off to marry and buy mansions in the UK, let Coverdale work off his testosterone with a solo album, let Glenn and Tommy detox and afterwards do drugs in sensible moderation (with cruel to be kind oversight), let them tour with the Tommy Bolin Band and with Trapeze so that they can learn to reappreciate the lavish amenities of DP world class leisurely traveling. Someone like Peter Grant would have set everyone straight and in, say, 1978/79 as Punk began to wane again they could have returned well-rested and recharged with an inspired double studio album giving everyone enough room to breathe. DP had by the mid 70s attained a status that allowed releasing albums in two-and-a-half year cycles followed by one giant world tour.
January 8th, 2025 at 00:52@53 Uwe….believe or not, but it’s true!! The rotund bearded ones are doing a cross-Canada reunion tour this spring! BTO heading the bill with a Myles Goodwin-less April Wine as support, and the Headpins as the opening act.
January 8th, 2025 at 01:44“I’m absolutely amazed at the different lists of fav bands that are coming out here …some notable omission though …but, I do draw the line at BTO …next, we’ll be having Bon Jovi …”
Can’t we have both, Steve? 😂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC9-27aGVFs
(Richie Sambora sings and solos at 03:34.)
If truth be told, Bon Jovi is one of the few American hard rockish bands where I hear considerable more DP than Led Zep or Black Sabbath as an influence.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxGrw6kFnAo
Always thought ‘Keep The Faith’ Deep Purple Gillan era-viby. Some Hush influence there too.
David Bryan, born 1962, the Bon Jovi keyboardsmith, is a Jon Lord/Deep Purple nut.
And very early John Bongiovi (prior to adopting the Bon Jovi moniker) couldn’t deny his Purple influence either nor did he want to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vfnPTlz91pA
Just sayin’! ‘Tis our seed …
PS: And there is more subtlety and sheer musicality to BTO than meets the eye. I don’t know how South American lounge jazz records got so far up north, but little Randy B must have gotten his grubby kiddy palms on a couple of them!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPMJ3AueOmk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ld-i5_Jpfq4
January 8th, 2025 at 04:09@50
“ Karin, I get the Oasis thing though I prefer Liam the ruffian and loudmouth, they have an appeal, yes” <- Renè and you are agreeing here!
René really likes Liam’s voice, and yeah also his boyish attitude ☺️
But please listen to this and honestly tell me whether Noel’s more mature manner isn’t appealing 😊
https://youtu.be/tM1RS_5IAiE?si=1–EJAZTOhqbMWSH
“ Now that’s a question I’ve never asked myself because I have a gut feeling that if he was he wouldn’t be closet gay” <- I agree completely! Ian G has never been discreet about anything in his life, except his life with Bron. But that was because of her!
Well both men and women are drawn to the current vocalist of Purple 😉 I often think it must be awkward to have all these people, who know nothing about you at all, declaring their undying love for you 😄
January 8th, 2025 at 07:33That must make a significant difference in your self-perception. Also because even if you make BIG mistakes or are causing troubles, the echo chamber keeps on chanting their devotion! How do you ever grow as a person in that milieu?
I’m happy I’m a nobody 😇 I get punished on a daily basis for my blunders 🥴 that’s personal grown on a very deep level! 🐣😃
I do believe you all have seen this one, and may have chosen to keep it under lock and key, but never the less, let’s have a little giggle (it’s not so funny as the mocking of a certain American butter tenor, but I do like the ‘singing’ of the Gillan-voiceover 😃
https://youtu.be/DSKqw9f-luU?si=UQbOiNJsq1luB0u0
And as usual: may your day be filled with really good coffee and a big smile now and then 😊
January 8th, 2025 at 08:18My 5 favorite bands to bring to a desert island are:
Deep Purple
Stratovaius
Journey
Queensryche
Dream Theater
the choice is given exclusively because in these bands there are my favorite singers since I was a boy.
January 8th, 2025 at 13:21if I can bring a sixth band I choose Fleetwood Mac for the divine Stevie Nicks.
Karin, I know that one, and I laugh every time I see it.
Btw, I think I saw you in the “papers” (not you? Too young?):
https://www.dr.dk/drn-video/677e85842d79c556120300f5
January 8th, 2025 at 16:04Uwe @60 quoting Steve @ 56 as to the merits of BTO. Thank you Uwe, you hear it the same way I do. BTO had it all, the heaviness factor (in more ways than one, pardon the pun); along with blues rock, jazz guitar, and a pop sensibility too. They were massive (in more ways…oops I’ll stop there) in Canada, and in the USA, and even in Japan. Back to the heavy stuff….Welcome Home, Sledgehammer, Not Fragile, Four Wheel Drive, Flat Broke Love, and others – they certainly had it. So, I’m not sure where a line needs to be drawn, and how BTO might equate to Bon Jovi!?!?!
January 8th, 2025 at 16:48😂🤣😂
That is actually very skillfully edited, Karin, absolutely hilarious and – if truth can be told in a forum of devotees – NOT THAT FAR AWAY from how DP could sometimes actually sound in their early 70s improvisation daze too. Nobody is inspired all the time and both Ritchie and Jon sometimes simply noodled in those endless improvisations or just took the piss.
Dope Noodle 😄 sometimes sounded a bit like ambling Grateful Dead on a particularly hallucinogenic night. It wasn’t all improvisational brilliance of the highest caliber.
PS: Don’t let those Yanks get their grubby hands on Greenland, Karin! I have heard that your good king in all his wisdom has just made the fearsome polar bear on the Royal Coat of Arms a bit larger …
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jan/06/danish-king-changes-coat-of-arms-in-apparent-rebuke-to-donald-trump
January 8th, 2025 at 20:58Karin
That’s great fun and I’m certain the lads would like it . I’ve actually got ( as I’m sure a few of us have ) a bootleg cd…I believe from Denmark, where they actually open up with …Danish Yodel ! And Gillan yodels through the first improv …in fact, I think the CD is called …Danish Yodel !
Plus, look on the Fireball extras …Noise abatement Society …enough said !
Massive thanks to everyone who has taken their time to name their favourite bands . From a selfish point of view , I’ve gained a lot …I’ve never really heard The Grateful Dead , but, now I know they’re a country and western band ..I bet their rivals are Charlie Daniels band and The devil went down to Georgia ! 🤣🤣🤣
…and , I’m now really keen to hear more Fleetwood Mac …I always absolutely loved Tusk …but , I’ve now got some new ( old ) music..that I really appreciate.
Notable absentees from people’s lists …
Queen. Free ( I love ) AC-DC. Guns n Roses. Genesis. Yes. Uriah Heep. Wishbone Ash…even Sabbath!…not saying I’m a big fan of any of these ( except Free and Sabbath) …but, it’s really, really interesting to see the direction people go in .
Ps
January 8th, 2025 at 22:49Still waiting for someone to say ( and talk about ) seeing Purple in the 70s …was anyone actually at The Speakeasy ? ( they would be a national treasure )
Anyone at The Roundhouse in 72 ?
@63 Deeper Purps …and anyone else I’ve offended!
January 8th, 2025 at 23:03Sincere apologies, I actually like BTO …I got them completely mixed up with Tom Robinson..2 4 6 8 …what a Dickhead !
I humbly retract my scathing comment…mind you, I always thought Taking care of business was Skynard !
Nope, Karin, Noel’s “more mature manner” is not as appealing to me as Liam’s happy-go-lucky stance:
https://youtu.be/9YU94V1q4c8
Noel is your typical always-frowny-elder-brother type, those can really be a p in the a. 😂
Besides, Noel sometimes tries to hard and his compositions then come out mannered. To me, Liam sounds fresher.
January 9th, 2025 at 01:56How can one – without sufficient drug intake – reasonably mistake BTO for Tom Robinson? 😂
And there is nothing in the least wrong with Tom!
https://youtu.be/kGrnEc_3mYo
Great lyrics too, not about dragons either:
https://youtu.be/KmR3p3-LN94
I like that type of jangly guitar pop, this here is a great one too from across the pond a few years later:
https://youtu.be/k8ePSJ44Fiw
Absolute earworm!
January 9th, 2025 at 02:18“I always thought Taking Care Of Business was Skynyrd!”
Sigh, don’t they teach kids in school anything anymore these days … 🧐
Dontcha know that Lynyrd Skynyrd don’t like no Canucks: “I hope Mr Young will remember, southern man don’t need him around anyhow …” 🤣
January 9th, 2025 at 03:57@64
January 9th, 2025 at 06:35🤣🤣 oohhh noooo😆😆
I simply don’t know how to respond to this 😂
@66
Yes it’s really well made! 😄
I’m sorry I never experienced Purple sounding like that for real 😆
I am afraid Uwe the Danish king is nothing more than a kransekagefigur! (Cake topper?) ☺️
@67
Ohh noo Steve, did they yodel 😄
By the way, have you checked out the Danish band Black City with the phenomenal tune Summertime? I really like it, so energising 🤩
https://youtu.be/fwZIoGm9QB8?si=Rl7fM9APMa_WaHQQ
Bjorn Poulsen, the vocalist, lived in our city once, and I noticed he is visiting again in a few days, I guess it’s a concert and storytelling. Unfortunately I’m not going to see him, but man those guys could rock 🥰
January 9th, 2025 at 06:46We are never far from Elvis here, it seems: https://www.elvispresleytcb.com/#:~:text=The%20letters%20appear%20as%20a,his%20guns%2C%20his%20karate%20patches.
January 9th, 2025 at 06:52I saw DP 2 times in the seventies. The first time was also my first concert ever, it was in KB-Hallen December 1973 (I was 16), I had a ticket for first row number 2 (I still have the stub).
I had my new “portable” cassette recorder with me.
It was the first concert with the new people, Coverdale and Hughes, and I remember there were rumors that “Gillan was back” out in the foyer.
When I entered the hall, they were doing some sound check and it was the first time I had heard something so loud, you almost took a step back.
Support was Tucky Buzzard, who I remember absolutely nothing about other than I grabbed a harmonica which was thrown into the audience.
If I thought the sound check and support was loud it was nothing against what came next.
David shouted “Wanna hear some music!” then Ritchie did his “In Rock” intro, that was loooud.
The “worst” sound though was when Jon used a Moog in his solo, it was so ear hurting.
(someone posted my recording on YT, some of the photos are also mine):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyKfJlyZE_c
(apparently someone also had an 8mm film recorder with them (not me this time)):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPCuvOQdCw4
In those days earplugs were not known so much, so my ears was ringing for the next several days, a memory you could take with you.
The second time I saw DP was in Brøndbyhallen on 20 March 1975, but I don’t actually remember much of that concert.
However, someone had brought a tape recorder with them:
(I did too, but this one is not mine):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4DGov_m6paM
Next DP experience was Malmø June 1985, my first with Gillan and Glover:
(again not mine):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lFd7ZcXrXo
And Malmø again in 1987, it was ice winter that year and the water between Denmark and Sweden froze, it was before the bridge so we had to take a bus from Copenhagen to Helsingør where a ferry could get to Helsingborg then the bus again to Malmø:
(a fine multicam recording):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mnpPjDgT_gI
In 1988 it was “home turf” in Valby Hallen:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baFoTf8LJuw
Then in Forum, Copenhagen 1991 (Purple Rainbow, with Jolene)
(no video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vo1uZ3SUkC8
Now with Gillan again in Valby Hallen 1993 (the most tight show with Blackmore I have seen)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdciPknMpbs
My first show with Morse was in KB-Hallen 1998
(some of the songs is from KB-Hallen):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-LGZZIVgEo
And the last with Jon (RIP) 1999 5-Øren, Amager:
https://youtu.be/3joik8M9p9k?t=6568
And the first with Don 2001 also 5-Øren:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djvS7YSXOP8
2003 kb-hallen
2004 Ringsted kongrescenter
2006 kb-hallen
2008 kb-hallen
2009 kb-hallen
2013 London Roundhouse
— Simon McBride
2022 Royal Arena
janbl
January 9th, 2025 at 11:21@69
Ahh ok! Frowny-elder brother, well wasn’t that needed with that kind of a baby brother 😄
Actually I had 4 older brothers and I love each dearly. A pain in the derrière? Certainly, but man they were nice to have around 😍
“ Besides, Noel sometimes tries to hard and his compositions then come out mannered. To me, Liam sounds fresher.” <- well, isn’t it Noel who is behind most of the compositions? I believe Liam’s only contributions are Songbird and I’m outta Time ☺️
January 9th, 2025 at 11:22As far as I’m concerned we need to be more away from the late Butter-tenor 😂
January 9th, 2025 at 11:28And I actually live in a city where a weird and confused person (no actually he is great and so friendly 😊) has made (dis)Graceland 😃
@75 Janbl
January 9th, 2025 at 16:19Brilliant !
Thank you so much for taking the time to send that in and tell us of your memories …it really stirs up some images for me .
The recordings you sent aren’t too bad a quality either, considering their age !
You’ve seen quite a spectrum of Purple and KB Hallen does seem to be one of their favourite haunts !
Thank you once again , I shall enjoy going through your catalogue many times
Noel wrote the lion’s share and many good ones among them, but by the later albums Liam would write more and more and sneak in two to three songs per album which I would always like.
Oasis’ music, melodic and harmonic as it is, isn’t really very rhythmic (there is little black influence in it) nor does it leave much space. Live it tends to become a samey drone quickly with Liam’s telltale vocals hovering above the melee, sung in again a not really rhythmic, but very straightforward way (much like Ozzy Osbourne actually), mostly quarter and eighths notes – a Glenn Hughes when it comes to accentuating and syncopating vocal lines he certainly isn’t.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieb0bZbu6j4
The legendary Oasis wall of sound is as confining as what AC/DC or Status Quo do, not that Oasis fans mind.
January 9th, 2025 at 16:55Wow, janbl, you saw Mk III very early on and again on their last legs, I’m jealous! Had David’s and Glenn’s stage demeanor changed much between the two gigs?
January 9th, 2025 at 17:00Uwe, to be honest I really don’t remember. I just think they were a very professional band who gave a great show.
That’s also my feeling on all the DP shows I’ve seen, I at least got what I came for (that made me come back again and again).
When I see it like this I think “wow, that’s a lot of times I have seen them”,
and not only DP also Rainbow multiple times, Whitesnake with Lord and Paice, Black Sabbath with Gillan, Ian Gillan solo, Gary Moore with Ian Paice (and probably Don)
just to mention the ones in DP family.
I must have been to a lot of concerts in “the old days” (I know many people has been to a lot more).
Nowadays, it has to be very special before I go to concerts, ie large concerts with many thousands of spectators.
The 2 most recent were DP and Jethro Tull in 2022. I did not go to DP in Tivoli 2023 or “Smukfest” in 2024 as I really don’t like outdoor concerts let alone festivals.
Next up is Ghost with my two daughters and Iron Maiden with one daughter.
janbl
January 9th, 2025 at 18:54https://youtu.be/DvLR5_wPxvU?si=xj5iG-o0R_Hf-QaM
Hopefully all you yodlers out there will get this ….especially you Karin !
Jan…just be watching your 1988 vid, that’s a good gig ! ( they never came to UK in 88) but I always got the impression that the gigs were good .
January 9th, 2025 at 19:54All seems well in the band …but , as we all know, it quickly went downhill from here .
@82
Thank you Steve! 😃
They were in Vejlby-Risskov hall in Aarhus not far away from here 😊
I guess being 4 yo at the time I would have loved every minute of it, especially Lucille at the ending ☺️
Oh man they oozed energy and joie de vivre 😍 and the yodel is amongst those episodes where you just know you’ll never forget it and you’ll always remember where you were and what you were doing at that exact moment 😂
January 10th, 2025 at 00:24@27
Here’s my Top 5:
1) Deep Purple
2) Golden Earring (Horribly underrated, especially here in the US)
3) Blue Öyster Cult
4) The Who
5) (from my hometown) The Beat Farmers (Undisputedly the world’s GREATEST bar-band) Check ’em out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apIi8-JyOuI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxvJ8BWflzM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ239Q3CRXk
January 15th, 2025 at 09:24Good choices, Dilligaf, Golden Earring and the mighty BÖC are favorites of mine too!
https://youtu.be/9s3sFidHwgU
Do I detect more than a touch of Cheap Trick in The Beat Farmers?! 😎
January 15th, 2025 at 20:59@84
Oh man, I misspelled The Beat Farmers, so I searched for the Meat Farmers on yt, and…. Now I’m a vegetarian 😝
Please take a look but only if you have a strong stomach:
https://youtu.be/-dRCGBnzAA8?si=S5gI45sTvk1pbk4o
January 16th, 2025 at 09:01@85
RE: “Do I detect more than a touch of Cheap Trick in The Beat Farmers?!” The short answer is there could be. There is a a distinct similarity in the intensity of their live performances. The Beat Farmers influences are all over the place. Trying to pigeonhole them is pretty much impossible. If you have an extra hour or so’ this documentary sums it up pretty well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXOVmYvsvLw
Thanks for the BÖC clip; one of Alan’s best, equaled only by Lonely Teardrops.
I suspected you have an appreciation for Golden Earring. They were always more popular in Europe vs. the USA. Here’s one of my favorites:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5C1jaLedHWE
For those of you that don’t know (Karin?), Vince Taylor was supposed to be the UK’s answer to Elvis Presley. It didn’t go well for him.
January 17th, 2025 at 00:21@86
I don’t have a weak stomach. I’ll pretty much eat any sort of meat (my day-job involves reducing fragmented bovine, lamb & hog carcasses into roasts, steaks & chops and selling them). I enjoy offal (very nutritious) as much as Agneau de pré-salé or a good chuck eye steak. And if I had to, I’d even eat a Bamboo Rat. I hear that they taste a little bit like rabbit. 😉
January 17th, 2025 at 00:40@88
Oh ok 😂😂
In Denmark everything out of the ordinary is said to taste like chicken!
But ok carrots and beans are also F I N E 🤓😝
January 18th, 2025 at 15:22@87
🤣🤣 thanks Dilligaf775 for mansplayning who Vince T was !
No of course it didn’t go well for him, impersonating that butter tenor from the US! 😄
As a matter of fact, I would like to draw your attention to these fine young men:
January 18th, 2025 at 18:07https://youtu.be/yIIgk4M0jxg?si=_xufULO5qozQBqZe
The song is called Fire, but don’t be alarmed, it has nothing at all to do with EP! 😃
@90
Karin, it wasn’t my intention to try to mansplain who Vince Taylor was. I was ribbing you a little; because of the Elvis Presley connection but it came out wrong.
Thanks for sharing the Black City clip. That particular one didn’t really do much for me… but they did pique my interest enough to explore some of their other stuff. I really like The One You Sacrifice and also Summertime.
January 22nd, 2025 at 23:19@91
Aww sweetie, I knew that 😃😄
And I also understood the EP ribbing 😁
Yeah Summertime with Bjørn Poulsen and co is indeed amazing, so much energy and joie de vivre 🤩
Unfortunately they don’t excist anymore, but Bjørn is in another band now.
January 24th, 2025 at 09:42Have a nice weekend 👋🏼
Hey, I didn’t know that Nickelback had changed their name to, what was it again, Black City? Interesting.
Landfill grungy hard rock, nuff said. As original and refined as rød pølse.
January 24th, 2025 at 17:05@93
Will you immediately wash your mouth with soap!
Black City was a lovely band, and you’re on dangerous ground suggesting, well THAT 😤
January 25th, 2025 at 06:37