Deep Purple Newcastle Odeon 1974
Support from Elf
So Deep Purple returned to the North East with a new line-up. Ian Gillan and Roger Glover had departed and in came local lad David Coverdale, who hailed from Saltburn, on vocals and Glenn Hughes, from Trapeze, on bass and vocals. The gig had sold out pretty quickly, which was some achievement given the changes in the band and the fact that they had graduated from the City Hall to the larger capacity Odeon. I went along with a group of mates, with some trepidation; I just couldn’t imagine how the new guys were going to fit it, and live up to the huge reputation that was Deep Purple. Support came from Elf, who featured Ronnie James Dio on vocals, and delivered an impressive set. Purple had released the new album Burn, and one of mates had bought it. We’d all listened to it and agreed that it was pretty good. The Deep Purple we all experienced that night was easily on par with its predecessor. They exploded onto the stage with “Burn”; Coverdale was on fire, Blackmore was his old self, Jon was attacking his organ, Hughes added a more soulful dimension to the vocals, and Ian Paice provided the solid back beat. I have a theory that bands can find great strength at times of change. I’ve seen it happen a couple of other times: when Genesis came back without Gabriel is another example. Deep Purple came back stronger than ever, and the strength of the songs on Burn helped. Mistreated, Might just take your life, and Burn itself are all very powerful songs. Setlists from the time show the set as being: Burn; Might Just Take Your Life; Lay Down, Stay Down; Mistreated; Smoke on the Water; You Fool No One; The Mule; Space Truckin’. Encore: Going Down; Highway Star. 
My friend John sent me his own recollections of the gig: “For years I though this was the City Hall; I had a great seat near the front. They played Burn and Mistreated from the new album which were great plus I think Might Just Take your life, You Fool No One and Lay Down Stay Down. Burn was the starting track, Mistreated was the highlight for me and think they played Highway Star, Space Trucking and presumably Smoke on the Water.Support was Elf with Rockin Ronnie. Remember Glenn Hughes had really long hair – had seen him once before in Trapeze.”
It was all of 11 years until I saw Deep Purple again. I didn’t see the Tommy Bolin line-up; they toured the UK but didn’t play the North East, although a show at Middlesbrough Town Hall (which would have been a home-coming show for David Coverdale) was rumoured but, to my knowledge, never happened.
12 Sep
Deep Purple Newcastle Odeon 1974
Posted September 12, 2012 by vintagerock in Deep Purple, Elf. Tagged: blues, concert, concerts, folk, gigs, heavy metal, music, pop, prog rock, punk, R&B, rock, rock n roll. 7 Comments
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Posted by jeffollerton on February 4, 2014 at 10:22 am
You might have seen this already Peter, but just in case, there’s a great live version of Burn from 1974 on YouTube which should bring back memories for you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzhhCyfAV-Y
Posted by vintagerock on February 4, 2014 at 2:00 pm
Thanks I’ll have a look Jeff Best wishes Peter
Posted by John Johnstone on December 28, 2014 at 10:21 am
I remember Glenn Hughes declaring his undying love for Terry Hibbitt (a Newcastle United midfield player at the time) – his words were something like “if Terry was here tonight, I would kiss his arse on stage”. I was less impressed, being a Sunderland fan. Brilliant gig, though – Burn was awesome, just like Mistreated. I also remember a roadie giving Richie Blackmore a substitute guitar towards the end of the gig, just before he smashed it up on stage.
Posted by vintagerock on December 28, 2014 at 10:27 am
Cheers John Happy days Peter
Posted by John Johnstone on March 13, 2019 at 1:24 pm
Just checked my ticket … G14. I can still feel the pain in my ears even now!
Posted by Ben on February 5, 2022 at 10:35 pm
Me and a mate travelled from Sunderland on the train to see them. Deaf all the way back. Am I remembering correctly that there was a woman on crutches who the rowdies sat in front of one set of speakers and put her crutches in front of the another set on the other side of the stage?
Posted by vintagerock on February 6, 2022 at 12:22 pm
Hi Ben I used to love being deaf after gigs! It was a sort of badge of honour. Great story about the woman on crutches. I have no memory of that. Happy days. I am planning to go to see Deep Purple later in the year! Cheers Peter