Month: January 2020

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Episode #40 – Trapeze – Medusa

Video blocked on YouTube this week. 🙁

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Thanks to Our Patrons:

Thanks to our Brothers at the Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Thanks to the Patron Saint and Archivist of The Deep Purple Podcast:

Show Updates:

  • Comments from social media.

Word from Our Sponsor:

  • This week’s sponsor ‘ Folgers Coffee . . . it’s the best part of waking up!

Personnel

  • Glenn Hughes – Bass and Vocals
    • Glenn Hughes on Wikipedia
    • Glenn Hughes on Discogs
    • Well covered in many episodes starting with Episode # – Before they were Purple (Part 3: Coverdale & Hughes)
  • Mel Galley – Guitar and Vocals
  • Dave Holland – Drums
    • Dave Holland on Wikipedia
    • Dave Holland on Discogs
    • Went on to play in Judas Priest
    • Also worked with Tony Iommi
    • Passed away January 16, 2018
    • Sad story of imprisonment and abuse plagued him until his death
    • Iommi had his drums re-recorded by another drummer after word of his illegal acts became public

Lead up to the Album:

  • First album with the trio lineup after Terry Rowley and John Jones left the band.
  • Mel Galley handled the bulk of the songwriting with his brother, Tom.
  • Signed to record label, Threshold Records, set up by The Moody Blues’s bass player John Lodge.
  • Trapeze would tour America six times in three years.  Very big in America, not as popular in the UK, much like early Deep Purple.

Album Art & Booklet Review

  • Cover [Illustration] – Phil Travers
    • Mistakenly credited as Pat Travers
      Did many Moody Blues album covers
  • Photography By – David Rohl

Companies, etc.

Credits

Album Tracks:

  1. Black Cloud (Mel Galley, Tom Galley)
    • Was released as a single
  2. Jury (Mel Galley, Tom Galley)
  3. Your Love Is Alright (Mel Galley, Glenn Hughes, Dave Holland)
  4. Touch My Life (Mel Galley, Tom Galley)
  5. Seafull (Hughes)
  6. Makes You Wanna Cry (Mel Galley, Tom Galley)
  7. Medusa (Hughes)
    • Favorite of John Bonham as we discussed in a previous episode
    • Glenn says in his book that this along with Black Cloud were huge for the band in the US and were played all over the radio.

Reception and Review

  • The band toured the USA supporting the Moody Blues including two shows at Carnegie Hall.
  • Review in American Hi

This Week in Purple History . . .

January 27 through February 2

  • February of 1976 – Rainbow begins recording Rising
  • January 28, 1986 – Black Sabbath releases Seventh Star
  • February 1, 2003 – Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates on re-entry – Kaplana Chawla had copies of Machine Head, Purpendicular, and Rainbow’s Down to Earth on Board. Steve Morse would later write “Contact Lost.”  Liked to wake up to “Space Truckin’” while in space. She had emailed the band members while in space.

For Further Information:

Listener Mail/Comments

  • Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover?  We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
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Episode #39 – Rainbow – Rising

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Thanks to Our Patrons:

Thanks to our Brothers at the Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Thanks to the Patron Saint and Archivist of The Deep Purple Podcast:

Show Updates:

  • Comments from social media.

Personnel

  • Ronnie James Dio
  • Ritchie Blackmore
  • Tony Carey
    • Wikipedia: Tony Carey
    • Discogs: Tony Carey
    • Grew up in California
    • Started off playing piano in church and eventually was allowed to play the organ
    • At 17 he started a band called The Blessings but after two years they failed to get a contract
    • While they were working on finishing their album at the studio, Blackmore was in the studio next door and liked what he heard from Carey’s playing – they were auditioning Jimmy Bain at the time
    • Carey was frustrated with his band’s inability to finish their album and accepted Blackmore’s invitation to join
    • Blackmore, in Sensitive to Light, describes Tony Carey as a very talented musician only lacking in discipline. Blackmore also describes him as a great singer though he didn’t sing in the band and he didn’t know it until later on.
  • Jimmy Bain
    • Wikipedia: Jimmy Bain
    • Discogs: Jimmy Bain
    • Born in Scotland
    • First played with a band called Street Noise
    • Later joined a band called Harlot, I believe this is the band he was playing in when Blackmore saw him and recruited him to join
    • Ritchie, from Popoff’s book “Sensitive to Light” says: Jimmy Bain was a wonderful human being. He’s such a happy-go-lucky guy. The only thing I could say about Jim was that he used to pick his nose a lot. Excellent guy, really nice guy, and I can see why Ronnie keeps him around.  He’s a very positive fellow to have around.
    • Bain says in an interview with Popoff in the same book that he loved the album Stormbringer and one day he was playing it in the limo and Blackmore took it out and threw it out the window of the moving car.
    • Cites John Paul Jones and Geddy Lee as his idols.
  • Cozy Powell
    • Wikipedia: Cozy Powell
    • Discogs: Cozy Powell
    • Born Colin Flooks in Cirencester, Gloucestershire and adopoted
    • Started playing the drums at the age of 12
    • Took the stage name of “Cozy” from jazz drummer Cozy Cole
    • Played with a pop group The Sorcerers in the 1960s
    • Formed relationships with Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, and Tony Iommi at an early age while they were all unknowns
    • In April of 1970 he got the job as the drummer in the Jeff Beck Group and remained for two albums before the group split up
    • Did a lot of session work then joined a group called Bedlam
    • Formed Cozy Powell’s Hammer with Bernie Marsden and Don Airey
    • Also had a power trio with Clem Clemson and and Greg Ridley (trying to emulate Cream)
    • After this he left the music business briefly to take up a career racing motorcycles (like the bubble we talked about in the previous episode)
    • He was then recruited by Blackmore to join Rainbow

Lead up to the Album:

  • As a rule they laid down all the basic tracks with the trio of Blackmore, Bain, and Powell.
  • Dio and Carey would do their tracks as overdubs.
  • In “Senstive to Light” Powell writes in an interview with Craig Gruber that Ritchie and the record company talked about how huge Rainbow was going to be and talked them all into moving from New York to California.
  • He also talks about how Ritchie liked the drums to be very much on the eights or sixteenths.  Gary Driscoll was very busy and Ritchie didn’t like it. Since Gruber played along to the drums and was used to this style from Elf they both had to go.
  • As stated in previous episodes Mickey Lee Soule just quit because he saw the writing on the wall.
  • Ronnie was reportedly pretty upset about Driscoll being fired.
  • Gruber and Cozy played together but it was very busy still so Gruber had to go.  He said Ritchie would micromanage his playing with Cozy and eventually Gruber lost it and threw his bass to the ground as did Ritchie and Dio broke up the fight after which Gruber left.
  • The album was recorded in ten days.
  • The unusual thing is that they used the Rolling Stones mobile unit instead of the gear at Musicland.
  • Was recorded at Musicland directly after Ian Gillan had recorded Child in Time there and just a few months after Deep Purple had finished Come Taste The Band.

Credits

Album Art & Booklet Review

  • Painting – Ken Kelly
    • Did the cover for Kiss’s Destroyer and Love Gun albums and a lot of Manowar albums 
    • Also did art for Conan the Barbarian and other fantasy works
    • Ritchie says that there were about seven versions of this painting before they got it just right
  • Art Direction, Photography By – Fin Costello
    • Prolific rock photographer covered on previous episodes
  • Album cover was voted one of the best of the decade in contemporary polls
  • Gatefold features black and white photos with the lyrics to Stargazer – much like the debut album featured only the lyrics to Sixteenth Century Greensleeves
  • This time the album is credited to “Blackmore’s Rainbow” a sort of bridge between “Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow” and “Rainbow” which they would eventually settle in on on the next album.

Album Tracks:

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio

  1. Tarot Woman
    • Blackmore asked Carey to come up with this opening but he still doesn’t get a writing credit on the song
    • Dio sings about visiting a Tarot reader who warns him of an upcoming relationship
    • Leaves the bluesiness behind, straight forward classical/rock
    • Was never played live by the band
    • In “Sensitive to Light” Popoff says that Carey played the first take of the keyboard solo but he didn’t like it.  Ritchie said he liked it and Carey did takes all day that didn’t match up to that first one. Ritchie was very happy they’d kept the first take.
    • Dio states that Ritchie asked him one day, out of the blue, to write a song about a Tarot reader.  So Dio did just that.
  2. Run With the Wolf
    • Song about werewolves
    • Another song that was never played live
    • Drums were set up in an echoey hallway
    • Ronnie says: “We were a little more Beowulf-ish at that time.”
  3. Starstruck
    • Tells the story of a stalker that began stalking Blackmore when they were in France
    • Referred to as Muriel but it’s unclear if that’s the real name
    • The band states that she would be at the airport when they arrived, would be at every gig before they got there, and they once found her hiding in the bushes outside Blackmore’s window.
    • Ritchie, in Sensitive to Light: “I found a girl in my garden once. I saw the bushes move and a little head popped up.  It was a French girl of 18 who somehow followed me to England. I set the dogs on her. They’re friendly dogs; they just jumped into the bushes and she came out screaming. It was strange how she found my house. She went around touching the walls, caressing the house.”
    • The song was only ever played live as a middle part of “Man on the Silver Mountain.”
  4. Do You Close Your Eyes
    • Was written and played on tour by the band before being recorded for the album.
    • Used largely as an encore for the band.
    • In Pilkington’s book he says that Rainbow did not regularly do encores at this time.  If Blackmore felt the audience didn’t “deserve” and encore then he would not do one. He tells a story of going to see a show in 1977 where the audience was chanting for an encore but one never came.
    • The next night they did a huge encore where Blackmore climbed up the speakers and damaged part of the theater.
    • Ritchie said he was told that this should be the single but he didn’t feel it was representative of where the band was going musically.
    • Ronnie: “The song was okay.”
  5. Stargazer
    • Solo uses the Phrygian dominant scale commonly used in Arabic music.
    • Munich Philharmonic Orchestra plays on this track.
    • Blackmore says this song was inspired by Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir.”
    • Pilkington says in his book: “Dio’s fantastically evocative tale of the wizard using the mass forced labor to build his incredible tower, and his final, climactic fall.
    • A keyboard instrument called Vako Orchestron is used on the track.
    • They wrote and played this one in 1975 before recording the album.
    • In an interview with Steve Pilkington Ritchie says, “You really need an orchestra to build at the end of it.  It’s a strange song, and working on it from that angle I didn’t think it worked so much live. IT really needs to build, and whereas on the record you’ve got the orchestra, on stage you’ve just got keyboards, and I didn’t think it was right.”
    • Ritchie says he wrote the riff to this song on the cello.
    • Ronnie says it’s the story of an Egyptian slave who is serving the wizard and building a tower so the Wizard can jump off and fly.
    • At the end the wizard jumps and falls to his death and the slaves are freed.
    • Ritchie says there was a violinist playing a solo at the end of Stargazer when they ran out of tape and the violin played this amazing solo that they weren’t able to record.
    • At the point they did this song they didn’t have an album title and when Ronnie sang “I see a rainbow rising” they decided to name the album that.
    • Tony says about the orchestra that the musicians just aren’t into it, they’re looking at the clock and just wanting to get a check.  He says people misunderstand it that it’s some sort of magical experience. He says what they’re doing is very simplistic and he could do they whole thing on a synth in five minutes.
  6. Light in the Black
    • Tell the story of the slaves after the wizard is beaten.  A continuation of “Stargazer.”
    • Song was also written and performed during 1975 tour generally right after Stargazer as on the album.  It was played early on the tour supporting “Rising” but was eventually dropped. It was asking too much of Cozy to keep up that pace, similar we read about Deep Purple dropping (was it “Flight of the Rat?”) because Paice just couldn’t do it live.
    • Tony talks in Sensitive to Light about them trying it live a few times and how it and explains that Cozy had an incredible amount of stamina.

Reception and Review

  • The Deep Purple Appreciation Society which would launch the magazine Darker than Blue started out in the 70s when it was called Stargazer.  In their Issue Six, Aug./Sept.1976 they reviewed “Rising.”
    • Tarot Woman’- Good melody, and a great chorus tune. The difference between this line-up and the first is immediate, Cozy seems to provide that drive which spurs Blackmore on. ‘Run With The Wolf’- More uninspired, Dio sounds good, but can’t make up for the lack of a tune. ‘Starstruck’ – reminds us of ‘Hold On’, strange as Ritchie doesn’t like that track. ‘Do You Close Your Eyes’ – a reasonable track, a bit Elf-like, but still the most dispensable one on the album.’Stargazer’ – I’d have to go back to the ‘Fireball’ LP to find a track which had as much impact on me the first time I heard it as this did. Undoubtedly one of the best things Blackmore has ever been involved in; perverse epic grandeur as NME put it. ‘A Light InThe Black’ – I wondered how they’d follow it but they do. These two numbers combine to form one of the most devastating album sides I’ve ever heard. It’s going to be incredible live, we can only wait and see.
    • Tour Schedule: Rainbow are currently touring America on a two month cross country blitz. According to Purple Records UK dates are on for August, final venues still being worked out.
    • Dio: “Rising, the album that everyone says ‘ehh, it’s one of the greatest, mah’ . . . this album is about a bunch of self-indulgent shit on the second side as far as I’m concerned I think the first side is great, it’s got real songs on it. The second one was hey let’s play a drum solo for 18 minutes, and hey Ritchie you can play guitar too, good for you.”
    • Ritchie picks Rising as his favorite Rainbow album in an interview with Martin Popoff: “We had ‘Stargazer’ on it, and ‘Stargazer,’ I felt, was very reflective of where we were trying to go, with the orchestra playing away, and I think it was a good riff.  And Ronnie sang extremely well. I think there are only nine tracks on it. And we were still having fun, whereas for the next one we started getting a little bit tired of each other.”
    • In a later interview with Popoff Ritchie says “There are only seven tracks on it.” 
    • Glover, in Popoff’s book: “I think the era of Rainbow that really contributed most was the era before I had joined the band. After I joined them, I joind them with the specific brief to commercialize the band and sell more records–otherwise it was going to fold. So I think the real cult era of Rainbow was the first two or three records, Rainbow Rising in particular.”
    • Glover goes on to tell about bumping into the Ritchie in 1976 for the first time since leaving Deep Purple.  Ritchie took him into the studio and played him Stargazer and Glover was blown away.
    • Ronnie: “. . . but as a vocalist you kind of feel out of the loop a little bit.  So I look at that whole album and say, well, I was on the first side, and half of the second side, and not very much of the other part.  So it just seems to me that there were better songs on the first album, although there were some good ones on the second one.”
    • Ronnie: “I thought the second one [Rising] was amateurish and looking up people’s asses, to tell you the truth.”
    • Ronnie felt Rising was just a vehicle for Ritchie and Cozy to play and show off.
    • Tony Carey holds up side 1 as the weaker of the two sides.  He says they did the songs all quickly. “The important ones for us were ‘Stargazer’ and :’Light in the Black.’”
    • Tony puts it more bluntly in Sensitive to Light: “I think it sucks. No, I don’t like it.  Yeah, I don’t like it. But you know, it’s 30 years later and I get fan mail from that record.  No, I don’t think it sucks, but it’s very naive. Side two was like two songs, like mega-long solos, both for me and for Ritchie.  I don’t know if that’s necessary to the song. I hated the lyrics; I didn’t like the lyrics. But what people react to and the emotional response that Rising invokes in people is because of the power, and the power is there
 All this shit about wizards and dragons and my eyes are bleeding and all that shit.”
    • Peaked at #48 in the US on Billboard and #11 in the UK.

This Week in Purple History . . .

January 20 through January 26

  • January 23, 1971 – Purple records was formed and announced in NME
  • January 26, 1976 – Deep Purple performs live on the King Biscuit Flower Hour
  • January 23, 2016 – Jimmy Bain dies

For Further Information:

Listener Mail/Comments

  • Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover?  We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
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Episode #38 – Ian Gillan Band – Child in Time

Subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Anchor.fm, Breaker, PodBean, RadioPublic, or search in your favorite podcatcher! 

Thanks to Our Patrons:

Thanks to our Brothers at the Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Thanks to the Patron Saint and Archivist of The Deep Purple Podcast:

Show Updates:

  • Comments from social media.
  • Strange Brew Podcast came out with episode on Howie Casey the same day our Paice Ashton Lord episode dropped.  Check it out here: https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/howie-casey/
  • Come.taste.the.memes
  • Riding_the_meme_out: “Hey I just finished your Teaser episode and enjoyed it a lot and I just wanted to say I love your show and appreciate the work you guys do for the podcast!”
  • Rich on Facebook:
    • Hey guys just stumbled across your podcast. So far so good! I realize that it sounds like an insult but…. I like that you are not experts. There is a charm to listening to 2 good friends discuss the music they love and discovering/rediscovering the music of Deep Purple as well as their story.
    • I’m now 7 or episodes in and very much looking forward to hearing you guys as you listen to the Morse era albums, for my money some of their best. My only criticism would be the balance between the sound clips and your voices. Maybe this corrects itself in future episodes or maybe it was you guys paying homage to the poor production of the first three albums
    • Keep up the good work.
    • By the way, I spotted the RI accent right off the bat, Long Island?
  • Mo Foster:
  • Snippet from his talk promoting British Rock Guitar.
  • Email from Mo on Roger Glover:
    • Thanks Nate
    • I have a quick story for you.
    • Some years ago I had a call from Roger Glover who was visiting London. He fancied popping over for a cup of tea and a chat.
    • Just before he’d rung, my wife Kay — a New Zealander and a big Purple fan — had gone for a long walk on a very soggy Hampstead Heath.
    • When she returned home a couple of hours later — sweaty, and with her boots and clothes covered in mud  — she came into the room where we were sitting,
    • I introduced them: “Kay, this is Roger”. The expression on her face was priceless.
    • Cheers
    • Mo
  • We wondered in our Paice Ashton Lord episode (Episode #33) what George Harrison played with Deep Purple when he joined them on stage in 1984.  Joerg Planer answers our question with the following link: Deep Purple Feat George Harrison – LUCILLE (1984 – 12- 13, Sydney )
  • Also in our Paice Ashton Lord episode (Episode #33) John mentioned imagining the songs being done by Coverdale.  According to Joerg Planer Coverdale had been approached about doing the second album but it didn’t come together.  Coverdale refers to it as CLAP.
  • On Facebook, about our Teaser episode (Episode #32): Frank KrĂžier Theilgaard-Mortensen What a great episode! Im so glad I found your podcast! 🎶 It takes me back to the time in the late 90s when me and my friend got into Purple and suddenly found All these fantastic sideprojects/solostuff in the Purple family. I absolutely love Teaser and it was great to hear your thoughts about the songs. Looking forward to dive into another episode 😎

Gillan’s Financial Endeavors:

  • Deep Purple’s finances were taken care of by their accountant, Bill Reid.  He had invested most of their money in off shore bank accounts but before anyone could ask him about these investments he died suddenly and with him went the knowledge of how and where to access this money.
  • Gillan had decided he would never sing again and went into a new phase of his life. He didn’t, however, really know or understand how much money he was going to need to make this possible.
  • Bill Reid remained Gillan’s financial adviser.
  • Gillan cut his hair short, dressed more “normal” and decided he was going to turn an old building into the “finest country hotel in the world.”
  • He got taken advantage of by many contractors and sunk a lot of money into the renovations after paying 100,000 in cash for the property.
  • Opening party on November 30, 1974.
  • A second venture was the Mantis Motor Cycles company which Gillan helped finance after visiting a race and falling in love with the sport.  He then opened his own motorcycle shop World of Wheels in September of 1975.
  • The British motorcycle industry was experiencing a bit of a bubble which popped.
  • From then on things started falling apart for Gillan financially.
  • Martin Birch came to Gillan and asked him if he’d be willing to buy De Lane Lea studios as they’d moved De Lane Lea to a new location and left all the old equipment behind.  Gillan felt he missed all of these old friends and purchased the studio renaming it Kingsway after the street it was on.
  • Immediately they began running into problems with recording and were only allowed to record after 6:00pm.  They could only record quiet (string quartets) or use the place as an office during the day.
  • Gillan says it was a stupid move as he was never at all interested in the techinical aspects of making records.
  • Four days after this venture Martin came to see Gillan and told him that Purple offered him a permanent retainer.  It was something he couldn’t refuse having just gotten married. This left him without any qualified audio engineers.
  • Glover, mostly producing, still used the studio.
  • This is when Gillan was recruited to The Butterfly Ball and his interest in singing was rekindled as we discussed in our Butterfly Ball epiosdes.
  • He had three ventures going now and all of them were falling apart.  Bill Reid met with Gillan to discuss his finances.
  • By this point he had used all of his money up.  Gillan had no chance but to liquidate, selling the hotel for what he paid for it (losing possibly 300,000 on the deal).
  • Gillan tells the story of having one of his friends go fill up his car with gas for him at a station where he had an account.  In his book Gillan says “. . . a guy called Gary, whith whom I was on first name terms, came screaming out, shouting, ‘Take the pump out of the car. Don’t put petrol in it. It’s Gillan’s car — he’s bankrupt!’

Forming of the Band:

  • In the aftermath of “The Butterfly Ball” live at the Royal Albert Hall where Gillan performed with Ray Fenwick and John Gustafson he put together this band.
    • Ian Gillan
      • I think we’ve covered Ian Gillan by now
    • Ray Fenwick [wiki, discogs]
      • Covered extensively in previous episodes
    • John Gustafson [wiki, discogs]
      • Covered extensively in previous episodes
    • Mike Moran [wiki, discogs]
    • Covered in Episode #28 – The Butterfly Ball (Part 1: The Musicians)
      • Went on to work with Queen, Ozzy, George Harrison, David Bowie
      • Moran would drop out after the album being replaced by Mickey Lee Soule
    • Mark Nauseef [wiki, discogs]
      • Born in New York
      • At this point had performed with The Velvet Underground and Elf
      • Would go on to perform with Thin Lizzy, Phil Lynott, Gary Moore
      • Played on Wizard’s Convention

Back in the Business:

  • Ian went back to Paris to focus on singing.
  • He set up a meeting with John Coletta to discuss making a new album.
  • Coletta demanded very high percentages but Gillan, out of desperation, agreed to the deal.
  • Then Coletta demanded the publishing.
  • At this point Gillan had his own publishing company, Pussy Music.
  • Gillan took the band to meet Coletta and Bill Reid.
  • There was a journalist present and they went back to the apartment that the band was sharing.
  • Gillan said as he was talking to the journalist he looked over and saw John Gustafson pissing in her handbag which he then threw out the window.
  • Needless to say the evening did not end on good terms.
  • Gillan then tells a story of him and John Gustafson having a “screaming contest” which he describes as “. . . we lay on the floor, face down and nose to nose. We then started to scream, and this continued for about two or three hours. I vaguely remember Zoe saying she was going to bed, and Mark also disappeared as the city came to life.”

Lead up to the Album:

  • In Dave Thompson’s “Smoke on the Water” he mentions that Gillan wanted to call the band Shand Grenade, a portmanteau of Shangri-La and Hand Grenade.
  • Made their debut just before Christmas in 1975 on German TV with Glover on Bass on Mickey Lee Soule on keyboards.The band went to Munich to make the album on the Oyster label.
  • They recorded at Musicland Studio, with Roger producing.
  • They got to the studio only after all being arrested at the airport for “making a nuisance of themselves on the plane.”
  • Gillan described the music as “now sort of music at the time.”
  • Recording began in January of 1976 (just three months after Butterfly Ball)
  • Gilan decided not to use Coletta’s management.
  • They stayed at the Arabella Huas Hotel while recording.
  • He said they all made friends with a group of hookers who were hanging out at the hotel.
  • Very odd story about how a short man with a cigar came into the hotel with the hookers one night and Ray Fenwick, for some reason, decided to drop his pants and sit in the plate of canapes the man was sharing with one of the hookers.  Gillan says that “Ray has one of the hariest arses in the world.” When he stood up there were bits of cucumber and carrot all stuck to his ass. Gillan says the man with the cigar only reacted by taking the lit cigar and sticking it Ray’s butt.
  • Gillan says that the group was out of control and when they went to America he traveled separately because he couldn’t keep up with them.

Album Art & Booklet Review

Album Credits (from Discogs):

  • Bass, Vocals – John Gustafson
  • Drums, Marimba, Bells [Tubular, Various], Triangle, Steel Drums, Drum [African Log], Percussion [Flexatone, Darabukka, Thunder Sheet, Ko-Daiko, Various Shakers], Cabasa, Claves, Gong, Congas, Bongos, Finger Cymbals, Temple Block, Gong [Water], Rototoms, Cymbal [Cymbal Tree], Bell Tree, Guiro [Shekere], AgogĂŽ [Agogo] – Mark Nauseef
  • Guitar, Slide Guitar [Slide], Vocals – Ray Fenwick
  • Mastered By – G.K.*
  • Organ [Rhodes, Hammond], Clavinet, Synthesizer [ARP 2600, ARP String Ensemble], Piano – Mike Moran
  • Producer, Synthesizer [ARP 2600], Kalimba, Vocals – Roger Glover
  • Vocals – Ian Gillan

Album Tracks:

  1. Lay Me Down (Gillan, Fenwick, Nauseef, Gustafson)
  2. You Make Me Feel So Good (Gillan, Moran, Dave Wintour, Bernie Holland, Andy Steele)
  3. Shame (Gillan, Fenwick, Nauseef, Gustafson)
  4. My Baby Loves Me (Gillan, Fenwick, Nauseef, Glover)
  5. Down the Road (Gillan, Fenwick, Nauseef, Gustafson, Glover)
  6. Child in Time (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice)
  7. Let it Slide (Gillan, Fenwick, Nauseef, Gustafson, Moran)

Reception and Review

  • The Deep Purple Appreciation Society which would launch the magazine Darker than Blue started out in the 70s when it was called Stargazer.  In their Issue Seven, June/July 1976 they reviewed “Rising.”
    • “The production has left the potential of the band completely hidden. It’s overproduced to a point where the group’s natural energy sounds contrived, it’s usually the drive and freshness of a new band which attracts attention – vis. ‘In Rock’. Gillan sings on typical rock themes, ie. bed, but the backing is incongruous. Everything has a soft Americanised touch, and is altogether too rich. It will appeal more to the 25-35 age group. It sounds old.” Ann.
    • Ian Gillan’s personnel is changing faster than Blackmore’s! Keyboard player Mike Moran was replaced for the French Tour by Micky Lee Soule (ex. Elf), who was in turn replaced by Colin Towns after the tour before they left for America.1
  • In Dave Thompson’s “Smoke on the Water” Gillan says about their first show: “The audience went berserk as soon as we walked out onstage; they were hyped up, ready to headbang and everything else.  And our opening number went, ‘Dink-dink-a-dink, dink-dink-a-dink,; it was a jazzy, funky thing. And the crowd didn’t know what was happening. They were going, ‘Eh?What they hell’s that?’ But we stuck with it.  You’ve got to do what you believe in. You’ve got to take risks.
  • Fenwick: “A lot of the Deep Purple fans were getting a little unhappy — ‘Hey Ian’s getting funky!’ — and, of course, by the time the second album [Clear Air Turbulence’, that terrible word ‘jazz; was coming in. But the worst thing we could have done was be another Deep Purple. We started to really experience and, by the time we got to the third album [Scarabus], although we started doing shorter songs because we were thinking about radio play, we were also getting into some really strange stuff.”

This Week in Purple History . . .

January 13 through January 19

  • January 19, 1947 – Rod Evans is born
  • January 13, 1973 – Deep Purple releases Who Do We Think We Are
  • January 15, 2006 – Dream Theater performs Made in Japan in Osaka – Roger Glover does the mix

For Further Information:

Listener Mail/Comments

  • Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover?  We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Posted on

Episode #37 – The “New” Deep Purple

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Thanks to Our Patrons:

Thanks to our Brothers at the Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Thanks to the Patron Saint and Archivist of The Deep Purple Podcast:

Show Updates:

  • Comments from social media.
  • Apple Podcasts review by yah buh dee , 5 STARS, 11/26/2019 – Finally! – Finally a deep deep purple podcast. Amazing work. Love the band, love the music, love the hosts of this podcast. Just like Black Sabbath sent me to deep purple, Sabbath Bloody Podcast sent me to this podcast. Up to machine head episode and loving every episode so far. Keep up the great work
  • Lots of praise about Butterfly Ball episodes – lots of new people turned on to the show.
  • Aranea Push on YouTube on 11/21/2019
    • So excited to find somebody who has explored The Butterfly Ball in depth! I have a dad who not only instilled in me a passion for music, but who also gave me a name from this album! Needless to say I grew up with this music. But to this day I never meet anyone who’s ever even heard of The Butterfly Ball let alone listened to it! Thanks for taking the time to explore this!
  • Guested on Scott Haskin’s podcast, HaskinCast PodCast, Episode Eighty-Four: 
    • Don’t listen for us! Listen because Scott tells us an incredible Roger Glover story!
  • Judi Kuhl (Glover) words about Butterfly Ball:

Personnel:

  • Rod Evans – vocals
  • Tony Flynn [wiki, discogs] – guitar
    • Born in 1956 in San Francisco.
    • As a child he was in a comedy movie trilogy called “The Lemon Grove Kids Meet the Monster” playing the role of Pee Wee.
    • Started recording and doing session work very young
    • In the 70s he was in The Tony Flynn Trio
    • Later he was in a band called Naked Kombo
    • He worked with Rick Derringer in 1973
    • In 1975 he was in a group called McJohn with John Mayall though they would never play live – Also in the group was Goldy McJohn, founding member of Steppenwof
    • Next group was Southern Pacific again with Goldy McJohn
  • Tom de Rivera [wiki, discogs] – bass
    • Grew up in Los Angeles County and was a founding member of the band Corroboree in 1968 which was one of the more highly regarded bands in the early 70s club scene in LA
  • Dick Jurgens III [wiki, discogs] – drums
    • Born in 1959 and grew up in Sacramento, California where he began playing drums in the school band.
    • Named after his grandfather who was the founder of the Dick Jurgens Orchestra in the early 1930s.
    • Because of his musical camily connectsions he’d gotten a backstage pass to meet the original Deep Purple when they played California in the 60s.
    • In the late 1970s he was in a fake remake of the band Association.
    • Would later join the new Steppenwolf band.
  • Geoff Emery [wiki, discogs] – keyboards
    • Born in 1951
    • First real credit was with New Steppenwolf
    • It was reported that Emery was also part of an Iron Butterfly lineup as well
    • Was an attorney

The New Steppenwolf:

  • In 1977 Tony Flynn was recruited to be in the “New” Steppenwolf with original organ player Goldy McJohn and bass player Nick St. Nicholas.  He played with them on and off in different lineups up until 1980.
  • Eventually this lineup would include Geogg Emery on organ

Formation:

  • In 1980 Steve Greenberg (also known as Steve Green) became interested in reforming Deep Purple in any way possible.
  • They approached Nick Simper first but Nick declined.
  • When they approached Rod he said in Sounds Magazine in August of 1980: “It came along at the right time because I was tired of what I was doing, you know, toeing someone else’s line and working semi-nine to five. I was ready for a change.”
  • After Simper refused they auditioned Tom who got the gig.
  • On Gerhard’s site it’s mentioned that Geoff Emery was an attorney who put this project together
  • Rod Evans says in an interview with Mexican magazine Conecte “ was tired of all this.  Then one day Gooeff called and said ‘Let’s get Deep Purple together, we have the name.’
  • Rod said he was a little lin doubt.
  • Nick Simper, in 2010, stated that Rod had called him in 1980 and left a message with Simper’s wife to have Nicky call him.  He did not. Later he would say this was a “wise” move.

Concert Audio:

  1. Smoke on the Water live in Mexico City
    • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYuLwQMB7h4
    • Jorg Planer almost had the full show!
    • Rod: “… but with the Rolling Stones truck thing just outside . . .”
    • In 1994 when Deep Purple played Mexico City Ian Gillan would quip: “This is the FIRST time we play in Mexico!”

Tour Schedule:

  • The “New” Deep Purple featuring Rod Evans Tour Schedule
  • For an extensive review of specific shows along with quotes see: http://www.dpac.at/Bogus_Deep_Purple_1980.html#1
  • Some selected quotes:
    • “I don’t know what they played at the Swing, but they played all the stuff that Rod wasn’t even in the band for when they played the gymnasium of my high school that same year. Yes. THAT is right. My high school. Arcadia high in Arcadia, California. I still can’t believe it 36 years later… I remember wondering why he was singing songs from albums he had nothing to do with… I was trying to see if I could contact any of the friends who were with me but to no avail. I was personally feeling like it was in the fall but after all this time and all the parties it very well could have been June… tell him thanks for the cool show if you see him.” (Ray Wright, via facebook comments)
    • “The next act was introduced as “Steppenwolf”, they did a selection of Steppen-wolf songs including “Magic carpet ride” and “Born to be wild”. When they finished the lead singer came out to introduce Deep Purple. I noticed then that the same band came out to perform as Deep Purple…” (Jon Trask, via e-mail, 2014)
    • “It was already dark when they announced the arrival of Deep Purple. The announcer had no better idea than to ask us to light our lighters to receive the musicians, so people started to burn everything they had nearby. Stands, posters, everything… In the middle of that general fire the magic chords sounded: chan chan chan, chan chan chan chan. I forgot everything and joined the crowd singing “Smoke on the Water” to the screams.” (NicolĂĄs Gadano, laagenda.buenosaires.gob.ar, 2016)
    • “The keyboard player, who must have been playing all of two weeks, has captured Jon Lord’s actions well. The drummer is pretty good and did the synth work in ‘Space Trucking’.” (Julie Lewis, Stargazer magazine No. 23, 1981)
    • “The one thing I remember distinctly was the …ahem… drum solo which consisted of the drummer unscrewing a cymbal from it’s stand, carrying it into the audience and tapping it in front of some bewildered and increasingly smoldering patrons.” (Openair83, bdeeppurplefanforum.runboard, 2004)
    • “I’ll never forget that. The show I attended lasted less than a few minutes. When the lights when on, and there was no Ritchie, the crowd went ballistic which quickly turned into a riot! That show took place @ “At the Factory” on July 17, 1980 in Staten Island, NY. Well, that was a long time ago and I was in a different state of mind that night, but I distinctly remember the band coming on stage (although very briefly) sans Ritchie. It was a packed house and the crowd immediately went apesh*t and started screaming for Ritchie and within a minute (or so) beer bottles started flying toward the band members. It quickly turned into a chaotic scene so I don’t recall for sure, but I believe a few of them were hit and injured. And if that wasn’t bad enough things only escalated once the bouncers tried to intervene (not that they even had a chance). It was a night I’ll never forget.” (MrX, thegearpage forum, 2015)

Example Setlist

From 21 June, 1980 show in San Bernadino California: (source:  http://www.dpac.at/Bogus_Deep_Purple_1980.html)

  • Hush
  • Hey Joe
  • Kentucky Woman
  • Highway Star
  • Smoke on the Water
  • Space Truckin’
  • Drum Solo
  • Woman From Tokyo
  • Might Just Take Your Life

They would also play “Wring That Neck”


In The Media:

  • Daily Record – 18 July 1980:
    • A band billed as Deep Purple was scheduled to perform last night at the Factory, a club located . . . on Staten Island.  The band will appear Sunday at Baby-O, in Seaside Heights . . .
    • “What does this Deep Purple have in common with the band that recorded ”Smoke on the Water” and “Burn?”  Don’t ask the band’s ol record company, Warner Brothers. “WE dont’ know anything about this group, “ said Marion Perkins, director of East Coast Tour Publicity for Warners.”
    • “Don’t ask Capitol Records, the label to which the current Deep Purple is supposedly signed.  “Deep Purple is not on Capitol,” said a spokeswoman int he company’s publicity department.”
    • John Salvato, of Talent Spectrum, made the claim that they were signed to Capitol.
    • Article goes on to talk about sold out show of 38,000 Deep Purple played in Mexico City grossing $342,000.
    • “So the question remains: who is this Deep Purple?  And do they have teh reight to use the band’s name? Salvato’s only comment on that issue: “I’m not sure of the legalities.”
  • In Reno Gazette Journal on 09 August, 1980 – 
    • Blackmore: I think it’s pretty disgusting that a band has to stoop this low and take somebody else’s name.  It’s like a bunch of guys putting together a group and calling it Led Zeppelin.
    • Glover: “People are paying good money to see something that isn’t what it’s purported to be.  Even though Rod was in the band originally, it’s not really the band that people know.”
    • “Tony Flynn contends that his group ‘ sounds exactly the same and looks exactly the same.  In all respects, we are the same product.’ Flynn also asserts taht he acquired the right to use the Deep Purple name from the group’s old manager, John Coletta, and its accountant, Bill Reed.”
    • Reed and Coletta, of course, denied this claim.
  • In Los Angeles Times on 09, August, 1980 – Patrick Goldstein
    • To most rock fans, Deep Purple means Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord, and Ian Gillan, all best-known for their work with the heavy-meatl supergroup.  But none of those stalwarts will be on stage when the band headlines the Long BEach Arena on Aug. 19. In fact, no one seems to want to reveal just who is in Deep Purple these days.  The group has been playing concert halls around the country despite the presence of only one original member, singer Rod Evans.
    • Goes on to say how they were going to reveal the band’s identities on August 17.
  • In Los Angeles Times, on 19 August, 1980 – Richard Cromelin 
    • The controversy surrounding tonight’s concert by Deep Purple –now billed as “The NEw Deep Purple” — at the Long Beach Arena excalated Monday when an ad appeared int eh Times stating that Ritchie Blackmore, David Coverdale, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Glen [sic] Hughes, Jon Lord, and Ian Paice would not perform at the concert.
  • In Los Angeles Times, on 21 August, 1980 – Terry Atkinson
    • The New Deep Purple band, which includes only one musician ever associated with the famous British rock group, drew enough curious and confused fans Tuesday night to fill two-thirds of the 9,000 available seats at the Long BEach ARena.  The audience response wavered between docile acceptance and enthusiasm during the 55-minute set.
    • Some of the audience Tuesday seemsed unaware of the pre-concert controversy about the band’s makeup.  “This is ridiculous,” cried one young man. “That’s not Deep Purple up there.” A woman who gave up on the show after only 10 minutes had been better informed, but bought tickets anyway. “I wanted to see if they at least sounded something like Deep Purple.  They’re not even close.– it smears the name of the group.”
    • The band’s playing was so sloppy that, though I blieeve it performed nothing but old PUrple songs, I can’t be sure.  The group got halfway through one of my favorites “Woman From Tokyo,” before I realized what it was. I couldn’t even identify a couple of others though “Highway Star” . . . “Space Truckin’” and “Burn” were (barely) recognizeable.
    • Tempos constantly went awry, all sense of dynamics was absent, and the long guitar, organ and drum solos were pathetic.  On top of everything, Evans had a flat, leaden voice that didn’t do justice to his material. With his black tank top, tight black pants and short hair he didn’t even look the part. Flashy laser light effects couldn’t hide the fact that the whole thing was a sham.
  • In Los Angeles Times, on 25 August, 1980 – PAtrick Goldstein
    • Purple Pose: Rock or Xerox?
    • According to Lor Kain, a San Francisco-based singer, two members of the new Deep Purple, pianist Jeff Emery and guitarist Tony Flynn, played numerous dates with him in Colorado earlier this year — calling themselves Steppenwolf.
    • “One night Flynn even introduced himself on stage as Michael Monarch (the original STeppenwolf guitarist),” said Kain, who served as the group’s lead singer.  “Each night they’d say, “Who’s gonna play the original member this time?”
    • Kain claimed the group never had full-scale rehearsal, saying “We just learned the songs off Steppenwolf’s greatest-hits album.”  Though the group was billed as including original band member Nick St. Nicholas, who claimed to own the non-exclusive rights to the name of the group, KAin said that St. Nicholas never appeared at any of the gigs.  Emery and Flynn were unavailable for comment.
    • According to the new Billboard Talent Directory, NTI’s talent roster includes Deep Purple, Steppenwolf, as well as re-formed groups like JAy and the Americans, Canned Heat, the Blues Image, Herman’s Hermits, the MC5 and Rare Earth.
    • One rock businessman, a Colorado-base promoter, washed his hands of the whole matter.  According to the promoter, Emery earlier this year offered him either group–one price for STeppenwolf, one price for Deep Purple.  “At this rate,” said the promoter, “I expect to hear about a Beatles tour any day now.

The New Deep Purple Album

  • Featured the track list:
    • Tracks the New Deep Purple band recorded in the summer
    • of 1980 at L.A.’s Village Recording Studios had been:
    • – Hush
    • – All I Am Is Blue
    • – Hold On Me
    • – Blood Blister
    • – Brum Doogie
    • Producer: Mike Curb
    • Album title: unknown Picture: Tony Flynn
    • A more recent version of “All I Am Is Blue”, performed by Tony Flynn & The Bluescasters in Acapulco on July 10, 2015, can be viewed on youtube.
  • Tony Flynn – The Bluescasters – All I Am Is Blue
    • Live in Acupulco, July of 2015

What Deep Purple’s Former Members Had To Say

  • “People are paying good money to see something that isn’t what it’s purported to be. Even tough Rod was in the band originally, it’s not really the band people know.” (Roger Glover, Rolling Stone magazine, August 1980)
  • “I think it’s pretty disgusting that a band has to stoop this low and take somebody else’s name. It’s like a bunch of guys putting together a group and calling it Led Zeppelin. I don’t like this at all.” (Ritchie Blackmore, Rolling Stone magazine, August 1980)
  • “We did not want anything with Deep Purple, and everyone was involved in different projects. I think Rod Evans was in his right because the name had been abandoned, but there were so many “legal corners” hidden that this became a complex battle and they lost, I wish the best of lucks.” (Jon Lord, Conecte magazine, November 1980)
  • “We didn’t make that money, it went all to the lawyers involved… The only chance to stop that band was to sue Rod, as he was the only one receiving money, all others were on wages… Surely Rod did get involved with some very bad people!” (Ian Paice, March 18, 1996, from Hartmut Kreckels (un)official European Captain Beyond website)
  • “It was a very expensive business. And, of course, we’ll never be paid the damages. Rod Evans just doesn’t have the money. He no longer receives the royalities from those first three albums though.” (Manager Tony Edwards, source: Deep Purple – The Illustrated Biography by Chris Charlesworth, 1983)
  • Before the controversy
    • “Deep Purple is a thing of the past and I don’t want to have another experience like that again.” (Ritchie Blackmore, 1978 – Conecte magazine, May 1981)
  • After the controversy
    • New: “One day I’d really like to work with Ritchie again and maybe it’ll be with Purple, I don’t know.” (Ian Gillan, Record Mirror, August 30, 1980)
    • “I think there is an excellent opportunity for Deep Purple to meet again in the near future.” (Jon Lord, 1980 – Conecte magazine, May 1981)

Where are they now?

  • Rod Evans
    • No one knows.
    • It’s reported he was married in 1988.
    • As we said in an earlier episode listener Norman wrote in to say he met Nick Simper and asked him where Rod Evans was.  His answer: “Where is he? ThatÂŽs the 100.000 billion dollars question. As far is know – as my daughter is friend with somebody who is close to RodÂŽs kids – he is alive, doing well, living in California, retired, bald-headed, and totally out of the music biz.“
  • Tony Flynn
    • After The “New” Deep Purple Tony Flynn had plans to record a solo album in Mexico with Rod Evans, Goldy McJohn, Paul Butterfield, and Geoff Emery.  In an interview in 1981 he said that he completed some of the recordings but it’s unclear (and unlikely) that Evans, Goldy, or McJohn participated.
    • Released a CD in 1990 entitled “Anthony R. Flynn – Angel’s Breath.”
    • He also starred in a movie “Romancing the Bride” with Laura Prepon and Carrie Fisher credited as Tony Flynn
    • Tony Flynn – Deep Purple tribute show (a journey through Rod Evans’ 1980 Deep Purple tour)
    • Tony Flynn – Tribute to Deep Purple show (a journey through Rod Evans’ 1980 Deep Purple tour) Outtakes from Tony Flynn`s Deep Purple tribute show, performed in Tlapa de Comonfort, Guerrero, in Mexico on December 16th, 2017 From May 17th to September 20th, 1980, original Deep Purple vocalist Rod Evans was on tour with his new Deep Purple band, performing in the United States, Mexico City and Canada. The group consisted of Rod Evans (vocals), Tony Flynn (guitars), Geoff Emery (organ, vocals), Dick Jurgens (drums) and Tom De Rivera (bass, vocals). A journey through the Deep Purple 1980 tour – Music by Tony Flynn & The Mountain Men
    • Tony Flynn & The Mountain Men – Wring That Neck
      • Tony Flynn – Fandango
      • Tom de Rivera [wiki, discogs] – bass
        • Allegedly retired from the music business after the 1980 tour
        • There is word taht he played with a band called Soul Purpose in South Orange County, California in 2006.
      • Dick Jurgens III [wiki, discogs] – drums
        • As reported on: http://www.dpac.at/Bogus_Deep_Purple_1980.html
        • passed away of cancer on December 4th, 2016. He was sick for a long time. “Thank you for the nice contact we had, it gave me a lot of inspiration when creating the “New Deep Purple 1980” fanpage. Rest In Peace!“
        • Legendsfuneralhome.com – 
      • Geoff Emery [wiki, discogs] – keyboards

      Podcast Meeting

      • Show format moving forward
      • Discussion of subjects, how to select, etc.
        • Cycle through categories?
        • Introduce random element?
        • One picks category, other picks subject?
      • Deep Purple History segment? Time to retire?
      • Any new segments to bring in?

      In The News . . .

      • Ian Gillan “Announces” New Deep Purple Album on Facebook
      • Deep Purple
      • December 3 at 2:00 AM ·
      • A MESSAGE FROM IAN GILLAN
      • It was late March in 2019, when I found myself in Nashville TN, renting an Airbnb delight called ‘Rose River Cottage’, on one bank of the Cumberland River, almost directly opposite the Grand Ole Opry, from where the quaint music would drift across the water into the wee small hours.
      • It was springtime, and – along with the woodchucks – I was emerging from hibernation.
      • Across town, other members of Deep Purple were staying in more urbane accommodation. This was a shock, as we are famous for our lack of planning and we all wondered what had drawn us together in this place and time.
      • An even greater surprise was to follow; each member (arms and legs I’m talking about) arrived at a rehearsal studio and then a recording studio at roughly the same time on roughly the same day with roughly no idea of what we were doing.
      • It was a total coincidence, the like of which has probably never been witnessed since – unbelievably – exactly the same thing happened a few years earlier when we spawned some In-Finite ideas.
      • Then – blow me down – Bob Ezrin turned up and said ‘Let’s have dinner on Monday’
      • Someone enquired ‘What’s the big occasion?’
      • Bob replied ‘To celebrate the fact that we are all still alive
’
      • ‘In which case’ continued the world-weary muso, ‘We’d better make it Sunday’
      • But we survived the weekend and had dinner on Monday.
      • Tuesday, we made another album and Wednesday we went to the pub
.
      • Something like that anyway (it was all a blur) and now we gird our lions (yes, I know, but I’m in Africa) for a year of febrile activity into which a rare amount of planning has been invested; obviously not by us.
      • I sense the grinding of campaign wheels, the oiling of creaky roadies, rumours of itineraries and ripples of creativity in Hamburg. Quite plainly something is in the air; but I have no idea what it could be.
      • Perhaps, after another brief hibernation, all will become clear, in the spring of 2020.
      • ig

      This Week in Purple History . . .

      January 6 through January 12

      • January 12, 1987 – The House of Blue Light is released
      • January 7, 1975 – Stormbringer is certified gold in the US having been released the previous November
      • January 10, 2013 – Claude Nobs dies

      For Further Information:

      Listener Mail/Comments

      • Comments about the show? Things you’d like us to cover?  We’d love to hear from you. Send us an email at info@deeppurplepodcast.com or @ us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.