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Deep Purple
As a boy of fourteen I went along to the Sheffield City Hall to see Deep Purple. It was 28th of September 1972 and my life changed forever that day. I had listened to Deep Purple's albums; In Rock, Fireball, Concerto and Machine Head and I had already been converted to fandom, now I had the chance to see them live.
After the support band, Glencoe, had finished their excellent set, Deep Purple exploded onto the stage with Highway Star. Of course I was spellbound as I had never experienced such excitement before. The noise, the lights and Ritchie Blackmore's arrogant strutting on stage- right was overwhelming. He was the flashiest guitarist around coupled to the fact he was, and still is, an astounding master of his instrument. Together with Roger Glover on bass, Ian Gillan vocals, Jon Lord organ and Ian Paice on drums this was Deep Purple.
Deep Purple photographed in 1970
This Deep Purple was the Mark 2 version, which most people regard as the band's zenith. In 1972 Purple were riding a tidal wave of success following the release of the album "Machine Head". They had, a month earlier, recorded their live album "Made In Japan", which later became their biggest seller of all time.
Early publicity shot of Deep Purple mk2. I think this is a press photo for the "Concerto" gig at The Royal Albert Hall, London in September 1969.
This clip is of Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solo featured in the first movement of the "Concerto" performed with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Albert Hall in September 1969. Apparently, Ritchie improvised this solo and extended it to twice the expected length due to some of the orchestra's "negative" comments in rehearsals. A bemused Sir Malcolm Arnold (conductor) is seen awaiting his cue to rejoin with the orchestra. Despite some negative responses there seems to be one or two "foot-tappers" in the orchestra's ranks. A great Blackmore solo.
Deep Purple circa 1972
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Made In Japan 1972 Track List
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Smoke On The Water single
I regard myself as greatly privileged to have witnessed Deep Purple at the height of their powers. It was a monumental concert which I can still recollect vividly all these years later. After Highway Star, Child In Time, Smoke On The Water, Strange Kinda Women, Lazy, Space Truckin and finally Black Night as an encore, the performance finished. I saw Deep Purple the following January (1973) but by that time the internal troubles which led to Ian Gillan's and Roger Glover's departure were all too apparent. They had lost the tightness and flow of a great band and it was clear that Gillan and Blackmore were no longer at the top of their respective Christmas card lists.
Ritchie Blackmore
Sure enough that summer Ian Gillan announced that he had left Deep Purple. He was followed shortly afterwards by Roger who we all assumed had left of his own volition. Years later he would reveal that Ritchie had convinced Ian Paice and Jon Lord that they would be better off without Roger, which I think was totally despicable. Roger, together with drummer Ian Paice, had been the backbone of the band and had given Blackmore a perfect steady platform to show off his great skill. Any musician knows that a band survives or falls on the quality of its bass player and drummer. The singer and lead guitarist get all the girls but it's the rhythm section that makes a band. If you've ever heard a band that sounds very wishy-washy it's because of deficiencies in the bass and drums department.
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Roger Glover (Osaka 29th June 1973) |
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Roger was treated shamefully but happily he had great success following his departure from Deep Purple. His mini opera "Butterfly Ball" was a big worldwide hit and he enhanced his reputation as a producer and writer. Ironically he was asked to join Blackmore's own band Rainbow in the late seventies and he remained there until the reform of Purple in 1984.
Final photo of Deep Purple mark 2 taken on 29th June 1973 in Osaka, Japan. The end of an era.
After Roger and Ian Gillan left in June '73, Deep Purple continued for a couple more years with David Coverdale on vocals and Glenn Hughes on bass and vocals. They recorded two decent albums "Burn" (1973) and " Stormbringer" (1974). I saw this version at Sheffield City Hall on the 6th May 1974. Click here for a photo from this concert
David Coverdale strutting his stuff at The Sheffield City Hall, May 6th 1974.
Tour poster for the 1974 British tour
The May '74 concert at Sheffield City Hall was a great gig but the Deep Purple I loved had gone and this line up split the following year with Blackmore's departure. Ritchie had grown tired of Purple's new "funky" style and left in April 1975 to form his own band Rainbow. This followed his solo album called "Ritchie Balckmore's Rainbow" which was released in early '75.
Deep Purple Mk 3 circa 1974:
Jon Lord (Organ) David Coverdale (vocals) Glenn Hughes (bass) Ian Paice (drums) and Ritchie Blackmore (guitar)
Deep Purple Mk 3 early promo photo taken in late 1973 at the Deep Purple Mk press launch:
Left to right Glenn Hughes, Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice, Jon Lord and David Coverdale.
Deep Purple Mk 3 again.
Left to right: (standing) Ritchie, Glenn and David. (Seated) Ian and Jon.
Another Deep Purple Mk 3 promo photo from the 1973 press launch:
Left to right Ian Paice, Glenn Hughes, David Coverdale, Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord.
For some reason the band continued after Ritchie left and recruited former James Gang member Tommy Bolin to replace him on guitar. Poor Tommy was in the final throws of drug addiction and Deep Purple went into an unsavable nose-dive which ended at the Liverpool Empire in March 1976. Tommy died of a Heroin overdose in December that year, he was just 25 years old. The band recorded one studio album "Come Taste The Band" (recorded in August 1975) with Tommy. The album was panned by the music press but I enjoyed the album as a whole. Tommy also recorded some good solo albums. "Teaser" is in my collection.
Glenn Hughes, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, the late Tommy Bolin and David Coverdale pictured in July 1975.
Deep Purple Mk 4. Left to right: The late Tommy Bolin, Glenn Hughes, Jon Lord, David Coverdale, and Ian Paice.
After the split in 1976 the various members of Deep Purple went their separate ways. Blackmore had his own band, Rainbow, which suited his autocratic personality as he could finish any debate with the other band members by uttering the words "You're fired!" and frequently did just that. During this time Blackmore's immovable personality met the irresistible force of vocalist Ronnie Dio. Ronnie had been with the excellent band Elf who had supported Purple when they played in Sheffield in May 1974. He had done the vocals on Rainbow's first album and went on to sing with the band during the mid-seventies to early eighties contributing to the live album "On Stage" (1977) as well as several studio albums. He and Mr. Blackmore had some differences and Ritchie did some more uttering......exit Mr. Dio.
Ronnie now has his own very successful band Dio.
Organist Jon Lord went away to sit in a quiet corner for a good few years and was only coaxed out by an invitation by ex-Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale. David had formed Whitesnake after leaving Deep Purple and had built the band from the ground up. Everyone thought that Coverdale would go into obscurity after Deep Purple, but David proved them all wrong by forming and fronting one of the most successful bands of the eighties. Whitesnake were huge particularly in America where their milder, more melodic rock went down a storm. He is still touring and making excellent albums all these years later. "Into The Light" is one of my favourites. Ex-Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice also played with Whitesnake for many years.
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A recent photo of Jon
Lord
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Roger Glover
Ian Gillan took a sabbatical for a year or two and then came back with The Ian Gillan Band with ex-Episode Six drummer Mick Underwood in 1976. Ian was dogged by record company problems which seriously damaged the bands stability and its financial footing. The band were however brilliant live and could have been a major force but for the record company problems. They did have three gold records during this time. I saw them at Sheffield City Hall and they were brilliant.
Glenn Hughes went on to a solo career and was briefly involved with Black Sabbath (as were Ian Gillan and Ronnie Dio).
Deep Purple were asked to reform in 1984 by their management/record company. There have been stories quoting an upfront payment of a million Pounds each, but it's never been confirmed. Whatever the reason the mark 2 version of Deep Purple were reunited in a large house in upstate New York to record "Perfect Strangers" (1984). I saw them at a very wet Knebworth in August '85 and their show was superb despite the monsoon.
Deep Purple on stage at Knebworth in 1985
Ticket from Knebworth 1985
Blackmore and Gillan had a working relationship that creaked and groaned for another couple of years, but inevitably the cracks began to appear once more and Ian Gillan left the band. Various vocalists were recruited to fill his shoes but none successfully. A couple of years later Gillan returned to the fold once again but Blackmore left a couple of years later in the most bizarre manner. During the filming of a live gig he decided not to come on stage until half way through the first number (Highway Star) as he had been brooding about something backstage. When Ritchie did eventually arrive he punctuated his performance by throwing water at people at the side of the stage. He stomped off at the end and quit Deep Purple.......this time for good.
Deep Purple asked guitarist Steve Morse to join them and a period of stability followed. I saw them perform in Sheffield in 1996 and they were a much more settled band and played music from all of their career. This happier band have toured and recorded ever since, the line up only being altered due to Jon Lord's departure in late 2002. Jon was replaced by the very capable Don Airey.
Ritchie Blackmore. A tortured genius?
A typical Blackmore moment (circa 1974)
I saw the documentary about the recording of "Machine Head" (December 1971) recently and I appreciated for the first time the problems that led to the demise of the mark 2 Deep Purple. Constant touring exhausted the band and fanned the flames of discontent that had smoldered ever since Ian Gillan and Ritchie Blackmore first worked together. Skillful and sympathetic management could have channelled this energy to more constructive purposes but fanned as it was it eventually became all out war. It's ironic that Ian and Ritchie were roommates early on in Deep Purple Mk2's career. They were both big personalities whose temperament needed the tender care which unfortunately was not available from their management. It's a great shame that this was never achieved because of personal difficulties that could have been overcome. I always felt that they had not harvested all the crop of the Mk2 line up and who knows what we've all missed. It's ironic that both Ian and Ritchie, despite their personal animosity (which some say borders on hatred), achieved their greatest musical heights whilst working together. Perhaps this is the root of their problem. They may resent the others ability to draw out their best musical performance. One thing is for sure....they left us some great music.
Ian Paice
There is always someone who influences a young boy as he's growing up. Someone who fulfills the role of hero. To some this may be a footballer, to others a great actor. For me Deep Purple were my heroes, men who dazzled me when I was at the age of new discoveries and the start of new journeys. I think back to 1972 and I realise that rock fans like me were highly fortunate witnessing as we did the great bands of the time. The music back then was a newly trodden path and we were able to witness its creation watching from a few feet away in a small venue like Sheffield City Hall. Nowadays, bands play large arenas and you are assured that the small ants you can see on the horizon are your idols. The music is pumped out through marvellous P.A. systems that somehow flatten the sound. In 1972 the shows were up close and raw. I once read an interview with Ian Gillan where he said "It's not rock and roll if you can't smell it." I know now what he meant.
Dennis Hanna July 2003
Deep Purple mk2 photographed around 1972. In my opinion the greatest band of all time.
Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Jon Lord (organ), Roger Glover (bass), Ian Gillan (vocals) and Ian Paice (drums).
Deep Purple playing "Rapture Of The Deep" on Brazillian TV - November 2006
Deep Purple prior to Jon's departure in 2002, left to right: Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord, Steve Morse and Ian Paice.
The current Deep Purple
Above: Left to right Ian Paice (drums), Roger Glover (bass), Don Airey (keyboards), Ian Gillan (vocals) and Steve Morse (guitar)
Steve Morse, Ian Paice, Don Airey, Roger Glover and Ian Gillan (seated).
Ian Paice, Don Airey, Ian Gillan, Steve Morse and Roger Glover
Dream Theater play their version of the Deep Purple classic "Highway Star"
Learn how to play Deep Purple's "Highway Star" from a mystery guitarist (hmm....I wonder who he is).
Websites dedicated to Purple People
Deep Purple The Highway Star website
Mick and Dez Bailey (Bailey Brothers) Interview David Coverdale
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