Deep Purple Newcastle City Hall 1972
Support from Glencoe
Deep Purple were back at the City Hall in 1972 and this was the band at its peak. This was the Mark II version of the band, which most people regard as the ultimate and classic line-up of Deep Purple. In 1972 Purple had world-wide success with the release of their album Machine Head, and in the same year they recorded the superb live album Made In Japan. They started with Highway Star, which is just the perfect set opener; it kicks off with a great riff, its fast and up-tempo, and there’s a wonderful solo from Blackmore. They played all their best known songs, including the now classic Smoke on the Water which was then new to the set. Other songs which featured in the set at that time were Child in Time; The Mule; Strange Kind of Woman; Lazy; and Space Truckin’. All great. It didn’t get any better than this at the time. 
The encores will probably have been one or two of Black Night; Speed King and possibly Lucille; I can’t be certain. Its difficult to put into words just how great Deep Purple were at that time; they were easily on a par with Zeppelin and Sabbath. Jon Lord’s swirling organ and the unbelievable vocal range that Gillan had in those days gave them something unique, which set them apart from any other band. And Blackmore was amazing, so confident, so flashy in his guitar technique. For this gig I was lucky enough to be sitting in the third row, right in front of Ritchie, and I just couldn’t keep my eyes off him. And Purple were so LOUD; my ears were ringing for days after. My hearing isn’t so good these days, and I reckon the main culprits are Deep Purple, the Who and Motorhead! I remember support act Glencoe well and saw them a few times around that time. They featured Norman Watt Roy on bass and John Turnbull on guitar, who I’d seen in Bell and Arc. Both of them went on to be part of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, and Norman is now bass player for Wilko Johnson. They were a good band, who deserved more recognition. Tomorrow I’ll bring together my memories of the 1973 Deep Purple tour, which was the last time I saw the classic line up in the 70s. Things were not great in the Purple camp, and sadly the band was about to disintegrate.
Archive for the ‘Deep Purple’ Category
9 Sep
Deep Purple live in the early 70s
Deep Purple live in the early 70s
Deep Purple were just untouchable live in the early 70s. They had all those classic rock songs: Black Night, Speed King, Strange Kind of Woman, Child in Time; and they were all top class musicians and performers. I can picture them now; Jon Lord rocking his Hammond organ back and forth while squeezing rich swirling chords out of it; Ritchie Blackmore sombre, dressed all in black: black hat with a sliver buckle, black scoop neck top, black velvet flares; Ian Gillan, long lion-like hair, screaming and screeching the vocals, Roger Glover on bass, wearing a hat and leather trousers, smile across his face, rocking back and forth in time to the music; and Ian Paice on drums, a constant in terms of rhythm, but also in terms of the band and its many incarnations. This was the classic Purple Mark II line-up. I first saw Deep Purple at Newcastle City Hall in 1971, which was the Fireball tour. They were loud and just amazing. I was seated in the 7th row, and had a great view. I was a young kid and I was just fascinated and enthralled by Blackmore, who was the ultimate guitar showman in those days, running both hands up and down the neck of his Fender Stratocaster, pulling at the amps, ringing feedback from the guitar, throwing it in the air. I too had a Strat at that time and was watching his every move; total hero worship. My mate John was there and recalls: “My first gig at the City Hall – I remember it was just fantastic. They played the now-classics from “Deep Purple In Rock”: Speed King, Child in Time, plus Black Night and my all time favorite the single Strange Kind of Woman plus a lot from Fireball. While not their best album I thought it was a great show with Fireball, No No No, Demons Eye, No One Came, the extended version of the Mule plus the rather odd Anyones Daughter. Support was Bullet featuring members of Atomic Rooster John Cann and Paul Hammond – although for years I thought it was Glencoe”. Setlists from the time also show that Highway Star was included in the set, although it was yet to appear on record, as it featured on Machine Head, which came out in 1972. I think the encore will have been Black Night, followed by Lucille and a medley of old rock n roll songs. Thanks also to John for the scan of his Fireball poster. 
John was lucky enough to see Deep Purple at Sunderland Top Rank in 1970. I wasn’t at that gig, and am so jealous of him. John’s memories of that gig: “I was 15 and it was my first gig. Free were the headliners but as the Purple van broke down on the highway and they arrived late, they played last. We arrived at about 6.30pm and queued up outside with many others; the line was from the door across the bridge before. It was billed as an Indoor Festival with five bands. I don’t remember the first band (Yellow), Principal Edwards were strange but I really enjoyed Cochise and bought their album (which features Steve Marriott on the stand out track Thats Why I sing the Blues). At this time they were still playing tracks from the Mark I line plus tracks from their new, and soon to be classic album, Deep Purple In Rock. I believe they played Speed King, Child in Time, Into the Fire (?) and the old songs I remember were a very long Wring that Neck and Mandrake Root at the end of the set. The encore was the hit single Black Night and Lucille which I thought was odd – why would a cool band play such an old song?. I had much to learn. I seem to remember the show finished at about 1.30am which I thought was very cool and then I walked home on my own because the others left early, missing the encore.”
1 May
Blackmore’s Night Newcastle Tyne Theatre 2005
Blackmore’s Night Newcastle Tyne Theatre 2005
I saw the classic Deep Purple Mark 2 lineup several times in the 70s, and if you’d have told me that 30 years later I would be going to see Richie Blackmore dressed in medieval gear, and playing elizabethan folk music on a lute, I would have thought you were crazy. But so it is; its curious how things change and develop over time. I first saw Blackmore’s night at the Newcastle Tyne Opera House in 2005, with my son David. We went largely out of curiosity, but came away having really enjoyed the experience. If you go with an open mind you will enjoy the show, I’m sure. If you go expecting to see the old Deep Purple Ritchie, you are likely to be disappointed. Blackmore’s Night is a completely different experience to seeing Deep Purple. Heavy rock it is not, but great music it is.
Think medieval folk, lutes, Greensleeves, knights and damsels, and you are getting there. I guess there were hints of this in Blackmore’s Rainbow in the form of Sixteenth Century Greensleeves. Blackmore’s wife Candice Night is the exquisitely beautiful singer, and the rest of the band are minstrels of the highest order. If you wear medieval dress you can get cheap tickets for the front couple of rows, and people do! The set was largely new material, but did feature a copy Purple tracks in medieval style, and a few covers. The encore was the Bee Gees First of Mat which was just beautiful and has to be heard and seen to be believed. David and I both enjoyed it. If you go along and see them you will too; trust me! Setlist: Morning Star; Queen for a Day; Under a Violet Moon; Soldier of Fortune; Past Time With Good Company; Mond Tanz / Child in Time; Streets of London; Durch den Wald zum Bach Haus; (incl. Blaydon Races for the Newcastle crowd); Avalon; The Times They Are A-Changin’; Home Again (incl. Rule Britannia); Drink Drink Drink; I Still Remember; Renaissance Faire; The Clock Ticks On; Ghost of a Rose. Encore: Fires at Midnight; Wind in the Willows; First of May
27 Nov
Deep Purple and Cheap Trick Glasgow SECC 26 Nov 2011
Deep Purple (with 38 piece orchestra) and Cheap Trick Glasgow SECC 26 Nov 2011
Norm and I drove up for this great gig last night. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen Deep Purple. They haven’t visited the north east on the last couple of tours, and for one reason or another I wasn’t able to travel to see them. This tour was however especially tempting with the double attraction of Cheap Trick as special guest, and the 38 piece orchestra which was accompanying Deep Purple. I waited until the last minute to decide whether or not to go, however, because I was little unsure about the weather at this time of year. As the weather was ok we decided to go.
We arrived at the SECC at around 6.30pm, and managed to score a couple of tickets from a guy outside of the venue for £60 for a pair, which was a snip as face value would have been £90, plus the dreaded booking fees. The seats were pretty good too,l in the centre block about 12 rows back.
It’s a long time since we last saw Cheap Trick at Newcastle Mayfair in the 70s. I’d forgotten just how good there are and how many great catchy tunes they have. Rick Nielson is still as crazy as ever and Robin Zander still looks great. They were on stage around one hour and the set included: Stop This Game (Mind Choir): Dream Police; Need Your Love; California Man (The Move song); If You Want My Love; I Want You to Want Me; Surrender; Good Night. I managed to get one of the many plectrums that Rick threw out into the crowd. Rick’s vibe neck guitar looks pretty cool.
I hadn’t been sure about how the big orchestra would work alongside Deep Purple’s rock classics. I needn’t have worried; it was absolutely great. Great set, some long solos but the two hours that they were on stage seemed to pass in no time at all. They started with Highway Star, and the set include some of my favourites: Lazy, Strange Kind of Woman, When a Blind Man Cries, Woman from Tokyo. They finished with Smoke on the Water, and the encores were Hush, and Black Night. Ian Gillan looks really fit, and he was singing well although he clearly finds it difficult to get some of the high notes and can’t scream like he used to. Roger Glover always looks like he is having great fun. Don Airey seems to fit perfectly with the others now, and played excellently. Its good to see a local Sunderland lad doing so well. In fact all of the band seemed to be really enjoying themselves. It was great to see them again, and the classics sounded fresh, with the orchestra adding new depth to the arrangements. This was the best time I’ve see them play for many many years. Great stuff.
The drive back was pretty tricky but uneventful, through torrential rain and high winds. We got home around 2.15am.
Deep Purple setlist: Highway Star; Hard Lovin’ Man; Maybe I’m a Leo; Strange Kind of Woman; Rapture of the Deep;Woman From Tokyo; Contact Lost (Guitar Solo); When a Blind Man Cries; The Well Dressed Guitar; Knocking at Your Back Door; Lazy; No One Came; Perfect Strangers; Space Truckin’; Smoke on the Water
Encores: Hush; Black Night
ticket
Rick Neilson plectrum (thanks Rick)
2 Oct
Blackmore’s Night York Opera House 30 Sep 2011
Blackmore’s Night York Opera House 30 Sep 2011
I saw the classic Deep Purple Mark 2 lineup several times in the 70s, and if you’d have told me that 40 years later I would be going to see Richie Blackmore dressed in medieval gear, and playing elizabethan folk music on a lute, I would have thought you were crazy. But there I was on Friday in York Opera House seeing Blackmore’s night for the second time in six years. Last time (at Newcastle Opera House) I went along largely out of curiosity, but in the event I enjoyed the show; this time I was really looking forward to it.
The Opera House is a lovely old venue in the heart of the city of York; this was my first visit. As soon a I arrived I sensed this was going to be good. There were, as usual, many people dressed in costume and notices on the doors told us that the evening was to be recorded for future DVD release.
Support came from a guy in costume playing a selection of medieval bagpipes (trust me, this was better than it sounds), then after a short break Blackmore’s Night came on stage at around 8.30pm. I was surprised to recognise a number of the songs; the crowd certainly knew many of them and sang along. The current set features only one Purple Song (Soldier of Fortune), but that actually seemed ok to me. Richie still takes some solos, and uses a Strat on a few of the songs. Stand outs for me were Under a Violet Moon; Soldier of Fortune; Greensleeves; and Home Again. Richie doesn’t speak to the crowd (but then he never did as I recall); he speaks in mumbles to Candice, who tells us what he is doing and saying. At one point they bring their small daughter onto the stage; she’s lovely but seems pretty bemused by the whole thing. The set was long, but the time went quickly; by the time 11pm came the staff were reminding Richie and Co to leave the stage. They still, however, came back to do a couple of encores, the last being their beautiful cover of the Bee Gees First of May, which features just Candice on vocals and Richie on guitar. I remember that they finished with that the last time I saw them; it was a highlight of the evening.
Setlist: Locked Within the Crystal Ball; Queen for a Day; Under a Violet Moon; Soldier of Fortune; Durch den Wald zum Bach Haus; World of Stone; All the Fun of the Fayre; The Clock Ticks On; Barbara Allen; Keyboard Solo / Carmina Burana / Drum Solo; Journeyman (Vandraren); Highland; The Circle; Toast to Tomorrow; Gilded Cage; Fires at Midnight; Wind in the Willows; Darkness; Greensleeves; Home Again Play; Midwinter’s Night / Dandelion Wine; First of May
Blackmore’s Night website
I still hate printed tickets
flyer
10 Oct
Jon Lord Usher Hall Edinburgh 5 October 2009
Jon Lord Usher Hall Edinburgh 5 October 2009
I’ve alway liked Deep Purple’s Concerto for Group and Orchestra album, and I regret that I never saw them perform it live in concert. I remember seeing it on TV in the late ’60s and bought the lp at the time. I used to play that album and the Moodie’s Days of Future Past again and again on my record player. So when I saw that Jon Lord was planning to perform the work at the Usher Hall I couldn’t resist buying a ticket. The concert sounded pretty interesting from the word go. The plan was for Jon to rehearse with young music students from Stevenson College in Edinburgh and from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music in Glasgow. These young people would be the group for the night and also form members of the orchestra. Sounded like a great opportunity for some young scottish musicians to work and perfrom with a legend. The final performance was to be with Jon Lord, a 100 piece orchestra and the group of young musicians. The Usher Hall has recently reopened after being refurbsihed. So this seemed a great opportunity to see one of my favourite pieces of music performed in a great setting.
As it happened I was feeling pretty tired on Monday night; I was still recovering from the trip to London to see Mott the Hoople a couple of days earlier; and couldn’t really face the 250 ml round drive to Edinburgh after work. But I convinced myself it would be worthwhile. I arrived in Edinburgh around 7pm and went into the Usher Hall to find my seat and buy a programme (a bargain at £2!).
The first half of the show consisted of Phil Cunningham, traditional musicians and the orchestra from the Royal Scottish Academy and Stevenson College playing some traditional tunes. This was a nice start to the evening and brought us to the interval at around 8pm.
Around 8.30pm the lights went down and Jon Lord, Stevenson’s six piece rock band Concertium and the orchestra took to the stage. The conductor for the evening was Paul Mann who has conducted this work with Jon before. The Concerto is in three movements; Slow, Fast and Slow as Jon told us. The performance stayed true to the original and was played brilliantly by the young musicians, most of whom were first year students. The three movements seemed to be over in no time at all. The band were first class, the guitar solos were fluid and seemed improvised yet also stayed true to the original as played by Ritchie Blackmore. The vocalist, Grant Barclay, was superb. And Jon’s swirling Hammond (hired, I noticed, from Vintage Hammond Hire Scotland!) took us all back to the 60s. This was a concert unlike any I have ever seen, blending orchestral music with rock in the unique way that the Concerto does. After a standing ovation, the musicians returned to the stage and Jon introduced us to ” a song from the same period”. The first few notes of Child in Time raised an immediate cheer from the audience and we were treated to a breath-taking version of the Purple classic with faultless vocals from Grant Barclay. As Paul Mann said at the end “Ian Gillan would have been proud”.
The show was over at around 9.45, and I reached home shortly after midnight, tired but pleased that I had gone. The concert was excellent; something that I will remember for a long time, and I may not gate the chance to see performed again.
website: http://jonlord.org/
programme
ticket
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