Author: Nathan Beaudry

Link to video episode on YouTube: 

Disclaimer: The video used on YouTube is a byproduct of producing our audio podcast. We post it merely as a convenience to those who prefer the YouTube format. Please subscribe using one of the links below if you’d prefer a superior audio experience.

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

<center></center>

How To Support Our Show:

The Deep Purple Podcast is 100% listener supported and ad-free! If you receive value from our show please consider supporting us!

• Support Our Show

• Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts
• Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store!
• Become a Patron on Patreon
• Donate on Paypal (Donate one time or click “make this a monthly donation” box)
• Donate to $DPPOD Using Cash App
• Support Us on Ko-fi

Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

New Patron/Patron Upgrades:

• Joining us at the $1 Silly Made Up Name Tier
  • Durple Purple!
  • Hey guys! Honestly, it’s been such a fun ride following the show for the last few years that I couldn’t help but want to support it. Proud to be one of the younger listeners of the show and I hope that it gets more and more recognition from hereon out!
  • Best regards, Durple

Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:

• The “In Memorium” Tier
  • Gerald “Jerry” Kelly & Family
• The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
  • Ovais Naqvi
  • Purple Maniac
• The £15 “”Fifteen Squid” Tier
  • Alan “Ain’t Too Proud To” Begg
• The £10 “Good Doctor” Tier
  • Dr. Mike Kattan
• The Turn it up to $11 Tier
  • Clay Wombacher
  • Frank Theilgaard-Mortensen
  • Mikkel Steen
  • Will Porter, PhDPP
• $10 “Some One Came” Tier
  • Ryan M
  • Jeff Breis
  • Victor Campos
  • “Better Call” Saul Evans
  • Peter from Illinois
• The “Hughes-O-Ween by 2033” Tier
  • Fielding Fowler

Patron Updates:

• hh

Listener Email

• hh

Apple Podcasts Reviews:

• hh

Upcoming Shows:

• Glenn Hughes live at the Arcada in St. Charles, IL – The Pickle Capital of the World!
  • https://www.stcmuseum.org/history-news/2017/9/9/pickle-capital-of-the-world
  • Playing with Enuff Z’Nuff and Bad Marriage.
  • February 10, 2024 (John’s Birthday!) – Doors at 6:30pm
  • VIP TBD
  • Tickets available here
• Vai Satriani Tour!
  • http://www.satriani.com/road/
  • Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL
• Tickets for Chicago Show here: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/07005F6785B91507
• April 18, 2024

Other Support:

• hh

Postcards From The Edge . . . OF CONNECTICUT!

• Postcards from The Roback and Merms!
• End of year catch up!
• Ethel Merman Merchandise

Hall of Fame Presentation:

• hh

Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

• Deep Dive Podcast Network

Lead up to the Album:

• In the very early days of Roundabout Chris Curtiss from The Searchers teamed up with Tony Edwards and his partners John Coletta and Ron Hire (HEC) to start the group.
• The idea was that Chris Curtiss would be the singer and they’d have a rotating group of musicians that would jump on and jump off the figurative roundabout.
• Nick Simper recalls the formation of the group in this interview with Simon Robinson: “Back with the Flowerpot Men, me and Carlo [Little] were saying to Lord that we should do something, let’s get Ritchie over to join us. I think that’s how Jon found about Ritchie ‘cos he didn’t know who he was. We told him he was the greatest guitarist, and I think that when he was asked by Chris Curtiss about a guitarist, he said well I’ve heard about this Ritchie Blackmore – Curtiss obviously knew him – see Jon had come from Leicester but all the Londoners knew Ritchie, he’d lived in Southall like a mile from my house and he’d played with Carlo in Lord Sutch, so we were urging Jon all the time. Somehow Bobby Woodman got involved, I can’t recall how and then Jon said to me Would you give up all the money we’re getting in the Flowerpot Men, a regular 150 pounds or so, for a small wage to do what we want to do and I said give me the chance! He said well I know a couple of businessmen that are willing to put some money up, will you give it a go and I said yeah. I said who’ve you got on drums? I told Carlo I was going to split and form a group with Jon and Carlo was a bit upset, sort of why hadn’t he been asked, so I asked Jon and he said he’d got Bobby Woodman, who was Carlo’s idol, a living legend – the original UK rock’n’roll drummer, first guy to use double bass drums and all that so Carlo couldn’t say much after that!”
• Bobby Woodman had gotten his start learning from jazz drummer Eric Delaney. Delaney had his own band and released the singles in the 1950s (among others):
  • N.15046 “Cockles and Mussels”/”Say Si Si” (04/56)
  • N.15054 “Oranges and Lemons”/”Delaney’s Delight” (07/56)
• Woodman was also in a band with Big Jim Sullivan called The Beat Boys which changed their name to Marty Wilde’s Beatboys then back into The Beat Boys as a backing band for Billy Fury.
• After this Woodman’s band joined Vince and The Playboys as a backing band to tour America arranged by Vince’s brother-in-law Joseph Barbera (of Hanna-Barbera). In 1960 the Kenny Pavell left the band as guitarists and was briefly replaced by Jimmy Page who was 16-years old at the time.
• He then had a group called The Bobby Woodman Noise before reuniting with Vince Taylor, then leaving and taking the name Bobby Clarke and having the band The Bobby Clarke Noise.
• Bobby in 1965 went to America to start a career. He filled in on a number of recordings for the drummer of the Band Love (with Arthur Lee). There he played and recorded with Vince Flaherty.  He then went on to play with bandleader Arthur Lee at a club called Bido Lito’s. There he played with Daryl Dragon (better known as “Captain” from Captain and Tenille).
• Bobby’s run in America was cut short when he became the first UK rock start to be deported because of marijuana possession.
• In 1966 Clarke played with Frank Zappa and a band called The Elves Themselves which featured Jimi Hendrix on guitar with Vince Flaherty on vocals.
• After this Bobby went to France for a third run with Vince Taylor Bobby went to America with his new band simply called “The Noise” where he worked with a number of artists including Dave Curtis, the former singer of The Tremors and brother of Chris Curtiss.
• Nick Simper: “ Dave Curtiss I met at Jon’s flat when Jon moved out of there to my parents, ‘cos we were introduced. I remembered him from Dave curtiss and the Tremors. He was quite a nice singer but not for us. We wanted a guy called Terry Reid but he wasn’t interested, he was an amazing singer. We were sitting in Deeves Hall the four of us, started writing and Bobby clearly just wasn’t interested in our sort of music, he was still living in the Johnny Kidd era – great days, but we’d seen Vanilla Fudge which turned us on and we wanted to create something new, but he wasn’t interested so it just used to be the three of us trying to write things. One night we had a party invited a few friends and Tony Tacon came along. I said we needed a singer and hesaid what about Gillan? And I said yeah, what’s he doing – he was with Episode Six so although I didn’t know him personally, just to say howdo to. He’d always seemed a bit distant when I’d met him at gigs, ‘cos he was usually in the support group supporting the Bergeracs [Nick’s old group] once I remember, and I said to Tony would you ask him, tell him what we’ve got ‘cos you’ve seen it all – he was obviously impressed, banks of Marshalls, nice big house! Tell Gillan what it’s all about ask him if he’s interested in coming down and having a blow.
• The next night Tony rang me up and said, I can remember almost the exact words, he said I’ve spoken to Gillan and he’s not interested. He says you’ll never get anywhere and Episode Six are gonna make it big. I said oh well, tell him where to stick it! ‘Cos he was flash, came across like that. The others didn’t know who he was and they said what about your mate and I said he’s not interested. I asked Roger Truth to come down and audition as a drummer, he didn’t want to know.”
• Simper says that they auditioned for about 5 weeks at Deeves Hall in advance of going on tour in April.  “It’s funny because I really hit it off with Bobby, we were great pals, although he wasn’t doing much for us musically and Rod was trying to get Ian Paice in. They called a meeting one night, Tony Edwards and us and I remember Jon Lord saying to me, “tell me Nic, if we got rid of Bobby would you leave?” and I said why and he said we’ve got to get rid of Bob; we want to get Ian Paice in and we don’t want you to leave and I said no, I wouldn’t leave. All I said was that you shouldn’t mess around with the guy, he’s come over from France, uprooted himself from where he’s lived for years, he knows you’re not happy with him why don’t you tell him straight? And they didn’t have the guts to so they had to get Coletta and Edwards to fire him. Tony says “Bobby we want to terminate the contract and we’ll give you twenty pounds” and old Coletta nudges him quietly saying “forty, forty”; “forty pounds expenses”. There was a big silence and Bobby says “I don’t fink that’s very nice at all. Its him innit, it’s Blackmore he don’t like me”, even in those days! Jon’s going “I’m your friend Bobby”… so anyway he packed his bags and Rod and Ian who were with the Maze packed their bags and moved in with us. That was the start of it all.”
• They were auditioning many singers including Ashley Holt (Warhorse) and as Simper says Rod Stewart, saying they watched him sing, not that it was a formal audition.   “Ritchie had seen him [Paice] in Germany and at the time we were only auditioning singers.”
• After split Edwards and Coletta backed Clarke to start his own band with Dave Curtis, Clive Skinner, and Steve Howe who’d just left the band Tomorrow.
• Originally Steve How says, he was working on studio work and that lead him to Deep Purple’s management where he was enticed to form the band.
• They were originally called Canto and recorded a few demos.
• The band was named after the first three letters of their names (BObby, DAve, STeve).
• Steve Howe says, “Not the best method to settle on a group name, particularly as there was no reference to Clive.”
• The Bodast Tapes back cover states that Clive joined at a later date.
• In some settings they were also joined by an additional member, Bruce Thomas, who played bass.
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bruce_Thomas
  • He would go on to play with Paul Rodgers and Micky Moody in The Roadrunners but is best known for his work as a member of Elvis Costello and The Attractions.
  • The liner notes from the 2000 release say he was just around at the time and never a band member.
• Howe says they were set up in a house and paid a weekly sala4ry to write songs and try to get gigs. He said he’d never before or since been supported this way.  He describes this time as when The Beatles White Album was released.

When Steve Howe learned of Clive Skinner’s death in 1978 he said that he wanted to remix the old Bodast tapes.  Howe says “Towards Utopia” is the best version of these songs.

Core Band:

• Acoustic Guitar, Vocals – Clive Skinner
  • More commonly known as Clive Maldoon
  • Went on to form the band Curtis Maldoon with Dave Curtis.
  • Their debut album featured Steve Howe and Tony Ashton. The song “Sepheryn” was reworked by Madonna and William Orbit into the song “Ray of Light” which was a huge hit for her.
• Acoustic Guitar, Lead Guitar, Bass on (1,000 Years) – Steve Howe
  • Began his recording career working with Joe Meek in 1964.
  • Howe was a member of The Syndicats and was later replaced by Ray Fenwick.
• Bass Guitar, Vocals – Dave Curtis*
  • David Lawrence Atkins
  • Brother of Chris Curtis of The Searchers who along with Dave formed Roundabout with Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore.
• Drums – Bobby Clarke*
  • 
    

LP release in 1981 on Cherry Red

Recorded at Trident Studios, London, 1969

Engineered for re-release at Sarm Studios, Nov. 1980 (Gary Langan)

Dedicated to the memory of Clive Skinner (D. 1978)

Jim Jag credited with “Sleeve Remix”

Spectral Nether Street:

Notes

Tracks 1-4 original recordings made in 1968

Tracks 6-11, 13-16 original recordings made in 1969

Tracks 5 & 12 original recordings made in 1969

Produced by Keith West

Engineered by Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott at Trident Studios,

London in 1969

Remixed by Steve Howe and Gary Lagan at Sarm East,

London in 1978

Artwork, Design – Phil Smee

Bass, Vocals – Dave Curtiss

Compilation Producer – Mark Stratford

Drums – Bobby Clarke*

Guitar, Vocals – Clive Maldoon, Steve Howe

Liner Notes – Jon Newey

Mixed By [Sound], Remastered By – Paul Aitken

Towards Utopia:

Produced by Keith West

Engineered by Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott at Trident Studios,

London in 1969

Remixed by Steve Howe and Gary Lagan at Sarm East,

London in 1978

Additional Musicians:

• hh

Technical:

• Engineer – Gary Langan
  • Must have been involved in the mastering of the tapes based on age. Very prolific British producer.
• Engineer – Ken Scott
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ken_Scott
  • Was one of the main engineers of The Beatles. Also worked with many other artists including Elton John, Pink Floyd, Procol Harum, and Duran Duran.
• Engineer – Robin Cable*
  • Worked with Genesis, Elton John, and many others.
• Producer – Keith West
  • https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keith_West
  • 
    
• Remix – Steve Howe

Album Art & Booklet Review

• Photography – Ed Carson (2)
  • No other credits.
• Sleeve – Jim Jag
  • Only a few other credits.
• Sleeve – John Jessup
  • No other credits.

Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons:

• The $7.77 KeepItWarmRat Tier
  • Michael Vader
• The $6.99 “New Nice Price” Tier
  • Spike the Rock Cat
  • Sugar T
• The Episode $6.66 Tier

• Steve Coldwell
• Arthur Smith
• Anton Glaving
• Charles Meadows

• The $6.65 “Almost Evil” Tier
  • Kenny Wymore
  • Michael Bagford
  • Richie Sucksmith
• The $6.00 “What’s Goin’ On Here” Tier
  • Richard Fusey
• $5.99 The “Nice Price” Tier

• Robert Smith
• Karl Hellberg

• The 60 Kroner “Scandinavian Nights” Tier
  • Knut Morten Johansen – 
• $5 “Money Lender” Tier
  • John Convery
  • German Heindl
  • Adrian Hernandez
  • Jesper Almén
  • Oleksiy The Perfect Stranger Slyepukhov
• Kev Roberts

• Percival Frequency
• Scott Zerns
• Cynthia Dube
• Raff Kaff
• Coyote Bongwater

The Venue:

• hh

Album Tracks:

Side One:

1. Do You Remember (Curtis)
2. Beyond Winter (Skinner, Howe)
3. Once In A Lifetime (Skinner)
4. Black Leather Gloves (Skinner)

A portion of a song from the Bodast album titled 

Side Two:

1. Tired Towers (Skinner, Curtis, Howe)
2. Mr. Jones (Curtis)
3. 1,000 Years (Skinner)
   • Bass played by Howe on this track
4. Nether Street (Skinner, Curis, Howe)
   • “Nether Street” was renamed “Würm” and was re-used as part of the song “Starship Trooper” from The Yes Album in 1971. Howe says fragments of songs he was working on for Bodast also turned up later in Yes’s “South Side of the Sky“, “Close to the Edge” and Asia‘s “One Step Closer”, from that band’s debut album.^[1]

Album Tracks:

Thanks To Our Foundation Level Patrons:

• £3.50 “Deep Purple NY” Tier
  • Lord Longford
• The £3 “The Aromatic Feed” Tier
  • Simon Ford
  • Richard Breese
• The $3.33 Half Way to Evil Tier
  • Stephen Sharpe
  • Duncan Leask
• $3 “Nobody’s Perfect” Tier
  • Peter Gardow
  • Ian Desrosiers
  • Mark Roback
  • Stuart McCord
  • Flight of the Rat Bat Blue Light
• Øyvind Fjeldbu –

• Runar Simonsen –
• JJ Stannard
• Ruinous Inadequacies
• John Miceli
• Michael Boyette
• Corey Morrissette

• The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
  • Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
• The 10 kr “” Tier
  • Carsten Lau
• $1 Made Up Name Tier
  • The “1000 Years of Drips” Leaky Mausoleum
  • Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic

• Hank the Tank
• Private Eyes
• Ashen Lionel
• Blackmore’s Tights
• Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
• Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
• Anders Engstrom
• Ashely { Still I hear, “Burn” } Rose
• I see DC
• Durple Purple – NEW PATRON ALERT!!!

Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet

Reception and Charts:

• Between mid 1968 and mid 1969 Bodast recorded a complete self-titled debut album for Tetragrammaton.
• Their last gig was opening for The Who and Chuck Berry was on July 5, 1969. They were also the backing band for Chuck Berry at The Royal Albert Hall minus Steve Howe. 
  • Howe said he only found out during rehearsals that afternoon when Chuck pointed at him and said “We don’t need you.”
• In 1969 Clarke was asked to fill in in the Jeff Beck Group. Beck asked him to stay permanently but Clarke was eager to get back to his work with Bodast.
• When Tetragrammaton folded so did the band and their album was not released until the tapes were remastered by Howe in 1981 and released as “The Bodast Tapes.”
• Howe says that they were fired after an engineer at Kingsway studios accused them of taking heroin which he denied.
• Clarke went on to have a fourth run with Vince Taylor among many other acts over the years.
• Dave Curtis and Clive Skinner (going by Clive Maldoon) formed the duo Curtis Maldoon and released an album on Purple Records featuring Steve Howe on lead guitar and Tony Ashton. Their song Sepheryn was used for the Madonna 1998 hit “Ray of Light” and as a result they have songwriting credits on the single.
• Steve Howe went on to audition for The Nice. He got the job but left the following day, deciding that the band wasn’t for him.
• Howe got an audition for Jethro Tull but didn’t take it because he learned the guitar player would not have any songwriting input.
• He also had a stint with Atomic Rooster with Carl Palmer but didn’t think it was a good fit.
• Howe was in P.P. Arnold’s backing band along with Tony Ashton and Roy Dyke of Ashton, Gardner, and Dyke.
• Howe would, of course, go on to replace Peter Banks in Yes.  Howe was in the band The Syndicats and was replaced by Ray Fenwick. Peter Banks joined to replace Ray Fenwick before joining to form Yes and then was replaced by Howe.
• Howe went on to be in supergroups Asia and GTR.
• Skinner/Madloon passed away in 1978 from complications of prescription medication.
• Bobby Woodman/Clarke passed away in 2014.
• Releases:
  • The Bodast Tapes (1981)
  • Steve Howe With Bodast: The Early Years (1990)
  • Spectral Nether Street (2000)
  • Towards Utopia (2017)
• They had additional recordings under the name Bodast as well as several tracks under the band name Canto.

Reviews

• hh

Merch, Etc.

• Hh

For Further Information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bodast
• https://www.discogs.com/release/11041648-Bodast-Towards-Utopia
• Towards Utopia CD Liner Notes by Malcolm Dome
• https://www.discogs.com/release/1400540-Bodast-Spectral-Nether-Street
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curtiss_Maldoon
• https://www.nicksimper.net/darker-blue-interview/
• All My Yesterdays: The Autobiography of Steve Howe
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Howe
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bobbie_Clarke
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eric_Delaney
• http://love.torbenskott.dk/flaherty.asp
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Paice
• http://mikedolbear.com/groovers-and-shakers/bobby-clarke/
• https://vincetaylortheplayboys.blogspot.com/2009/10/
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ray_of_Light_(song)
• https://overdoseoffingalcocoa.blogspot.com/2009/05/ashton-gardner-and-dyke.html
• https://www.concertarchives.org/concerts/the-who-chuck-berry

Extra Thanks To:

• hh

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.

Cockles and mussles

ASIA!

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

How To Support Our Show:

The Deep Purple Podcast is 100% listener supported and ad-free! If you receive value from our show please consider supporting us!

• Support Our Show

• Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts
• Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store!
• Become a Patron on Patreon
• Donate on Paypal (Donate one time or click “make this a monthly donation” box)
• Donate to $DPPOD Using Cash App
• Support Us on Ko-fi

Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:

• The “In Memorium” Tier
  • Gerald “Jerry” Kelly & Family
• The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
  • Ovais Naqvi
  • Purple Maniac
• The £15 “”Fifteen Squid” Tier
  • Alan “Ain’t Too Proud To” Begg
• The £10 “Good Doctor” Tier
  • Dr. Mike Kattan
• The Turn it up to $11 Tier
  • Clay Wombacher
  • Frank Theilgaard-Mortensen
  • Mikkel Steen
  • Will Porter, PhDPP
• $10 “Some One Came” Tier
  • Ryan M
  • Jeff Breis
  • Victor Campos
  • “Better Call” Saul Evans
  • Peter from Illinois
• The “Hughes-O-Ween by 2033” Tier
  • Fielding Fowler

Apple Podcasts Reviews:

• Purple Chickie 100 – USA – 5 stars!
• Show is good!
• Show is good!
• Is this our 100th 5-star review???

Upcoming Shows:

• Glenn Hughes live at the Arcada in St. Charles, IL – The Pickle Capital of the World!
  • https://www.stcmuseum.org/history-news/2017/9/9/pickle-capital-of-the-world
  • Playing with Enuff Z’Nuff and Bad Marriage.
  • February 10, 2024 (John’s Birthday!) – Doors at 6:30pm
  • VIP TBD
  • Tickets available here
• Vai Satriani Tour!
  • http://www.satriani.com/road/
  • Chicago Theatre in Chicago, IL
  • Tickets for Chicago Show here: https://www.ticketmaster.com/event/07005F6785B91507
  • April 18, 2024

Postcards From The Edge . . . OF CONNECTICUT!

• Postcard cleanup from 2023

Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

• Deep Dive Podcast Network

New Year’s Special Topics

• “Auld Lang Purple: Reflecting on the Year in Review”: We can talk about the band’s achievements, milestones, or significant events from the past year. Also a year in review of our adventures: purple in February, Hughes in October etc 
• “New Year, New Purple”  We can speculate about what Deep Purple might have in store for us in the coming year as well as our plans for the coming year.
• “Listener Resolutions, Wishes, and Questions.”

Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons:

• The $7.77 KeepItWarmRat Tier
  • Michael Vader
• The $6.99 “New Nice Price” Tier
  • Spike the Rock Cat
  • Sugar T
• The Episode $6.66 Tier
  • Steve Coldwell
  • Arthur Smith
  • Anton Glaving
  • Charles Meadows
• The $6.65 “Almost Evil” Tier
  • Kenny Wymore
  • Michael Bagford
  • Richie Sucksmith
• $5.99 The “Nice Price” Tier
  • Robert Smith
  • Peter from Illinois
  • Karl Hellberg
• The 60 Kroner “Scandinavian Nights” Tier
  • Knut Morten Johansen – 
• The $5.55 “What’s Goin’ On Here” Tier
  • Richard Fusey
• $5 “Money Lender” Tier
  • John Convery
  • German Heindl
  • Adrian Hernandez
  • Jesper Almén
  • Oleksiy The Perfect Stranger Slyepukhov
  • Kev Roberts
  • Percival Frequency
  • Scott Zerns
  • Cynthia Dube
  • Raff Kaff
  • Coyote Bongwater

Thanks To Our Foundation Level Patrons:

• £3.50 “Deep Purple NY” Tier
  • Lord Longford
• The £3 “The Aromatic Feed” Tier
  • Simon Ford
  • Richard Breese
• The $3.33 Half Way to Evil Tier
  • Stephen Sharpe
  • Duncan Leask
• $3 “Nobody’s Perfect” Tier
  • Peter Gardow
  • Ian Desrosiers
  • Mark Roback
  • Stuart McCord
  • Flight of the Rat Bat Blue Light
  • Øyvind Fjeldbu –
  • Runar Simonsen –
  • JJ Stannard
  • Ruinous Inadequacies
  • John Miceli
  • Michael Boyette
  • Corey Morrissette
• The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
  • Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
• The 10 kr “” Tier
  • Carsten Lau
• $1 Made Up Name Tier
  • The “Baby New Year’s Leaky Diaper” Leaky Mausoleum
  • Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
  • Hank the Tank
  • Private Eyes
  • Ashen Lionel
  • Blackmore’s Tights
  • Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
  • Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
  • Anders Engstrom
  • Ashely { Still I hear, “Burn” } Rose
  • I see DC

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.

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

<center></center>

How To Support Our Show:

The Deep Purple Podcast is 100% listener supported and ad-free! If you receive value from our show please consider supporting us!

• Support Our Show

• Leave us a 5-Star Review on Apple Podcasts
• Buy Merch at Our Etsy Store!
• Become a Patron on Patreon
• Donate on Paypal (Donate one time or click “make this a monthly donation” box)
• Donate to $DPPOD Using Cash App
• Support Us on Ko-fi

Brendan Ashbrook – Logo Designer

Thanks to Our Executive Level Patrons:

• The “In Memorium” Tier
  • Gerald “Jerry” Kelly & Family
• The $25 “Uncommon Man” Tier
  • Ovais Naqvi
  • Purple Maniac
• The £15 “”Fifteen Squid” Tier
  • Alan “Ain’t Too Proud To” Begg
• The £10 “Good Doctor” Tier
  • Dr. Mike Kattan
• The Turn it up to $11 Tier
  • Clay Wombacher
  • Frank Theilgaard-Mortensen
  • Mikkel Steen
  • Will Porter, PhDPP
• $10 “Some One Came” Tier
  • Ryan M
  • Jeff Breis
  • Victor Campos
  • “Better Call” Saul Evans
  • Peter from Illinois
• The “Hughes-O-Ween by 2033” Tier
  • Fielding Fowler

Deep Dive Podcast Network:

Check out our website to find other like-minded shows taking deep dives into individual songs, bands, and albums.

• Deep Dive Podcast Network

Album Tracks:

All tracks by Gillan, Glover, Morse, Airey, Paice except where noted.

1. Picture of Innocence (Gillan, Glover, Morse, Lord, Paice)
2. I Got Your Number (Gillan, Glover, Morse, Lord, Paice, Bradford)
   • https://www.thehighwaystar.com/specials/bananas/glover.html
   • Although Jon Lord doesn’t play on Bananas (a guest spot was rumoured), he did contribute to the writing of two tracks; I’ve Got Your Number and Picture Of Innocence. We asked Roger Glover how these songs came into being:
   • Both I Got Your Number and Picture Of Innocence were songs that we wrote a few years ago, hence Jon’s inclusion as a writer but not as a performer, although he is on one of the demos.
   • POI started as a jam between IP and SM in Greg Rike Studios some 3 or 4 years ago. It was recorded on a DAT which I took home with me, put in to ProTools (a computer programme that, amongst other things, makes editing easy) in my home studio, took bits and pieces and spliced them together to form the arrangement pretty much as it now exists, adding some bass guitar. In November 2001 we had a writing session in Steve’s own studio in Ocala where I played the finished result to the rest of the band – we worked on it and eventually made a demo but with no finished lyrics. In LA, IG and I worked on the lyrics and finished it.
   • IGYN started at the same writing session in Orlando but by the time we made a demo in Steve’s studio it had undergone several changes; it was far, far more complicated to begin with – the riff was in various time signatures as the drums just thundered through in straight 4/4. We simplified it, wrote some lyrics, mostly IG’s, and started performing it under the title Up The Wall. However, it always felt unfinished and it was only when we got to LA and played it for Michael that he suggested that it needed a chorus, so we wrote one. As is often the case, IG sang garbled words over the band as we routined it, I thought I heard him sing the words ‘I got your number’ although he probably didn’t; he kind of sings words that aren’t words but sound like they are. Anyway, I sang them back to him and it clicked. There is the song. So, Jon wrote them with us but Don played on the record.
   • There are several ideas kicking around that were written while Jon was still with us and some of them have great potential. I hope one day we’ll be able to work on them again.
   • Good luck,
     RG
   • MB
     • – Those two songs started out as demos that they had recorded before I was involved. In rehearsal, we worked on the arrangements and streamlined them some more. Then we re-recorded them at Royaltone. They were pretty heavily re-arranged, just to make them flow better.
3. Never a Word
4. Bananas
5. Doing It Tonight
6. Contact Lost (Morse)
   • From the Bananas World Tour Programme:
     • Indian-American astronaut Kalpana Shawla chose Deep Purple Machine Heade and Purpendicular amongst other CDs as part of her music selection to take on the ill-fated Columbia shuttle mission ST-107. She had been to her first ever rock concert (Deep Purple of course) on the 7th June 2001 at Bossier City LA and commented that the concert was “A Spiritual Experience.”
     • When she decided to make “Space Truckin’ Her wake up call, her husband Jean-Pierre Harrision contacted Ian Gillan and a correspondence ensued, with Deep Purple fans worldwide being privy to the shuttle mission.
     • The CDs were signed by the band with the intention that they would be returned, presented with a certificate saying they had indeed been into space on a shuttle mission.
     • The Launce went without a hitch and the mission, some 79 scientific experiments, went very well. Ranging from meteorologicfal, monitoring dust storms and upward lightning, to the biological. Tragifcally, the shutt’es re-entry proved disastrous, with the shuttle breaking up minutes from reaching the ground as friends and family looked on.
     • After the disaster, Steve Morse wrote:
       • “While we were in California, the shuttle tragedy occurred. Ironically, I, as well as the other band members, had just gotten and e mail from one of the astronauts, Kalpana. We were lucky enough to have made acquaintance with many of the colks associated with STS 107 and were invited to the launch in a special area, but we had to go do the recording. I totally freaked out when I saw the disintegration on T.V. that afternoon, I brought in a little musical idea, which I titled, “Contact Lost,” which is probably going to be on the album to pay homage to all of them. Like combat forces, test pilots, police, and fire fighters, they all know they are exposing themselves to higher levels of risk, but nobody had ever been witness to such a horrendous accident on re-entry.”
     • In Mexico city, during a deep purple concert, a very special presentation took place. The husband of astronaut Kalpana Chawla, Jean-Pierre Harrison presented the band with the fragments of the recovered Deep Purple CDs she had taken into space with her.
     • The thoughts and prayers of the band and Deep Purple fans worldwide are with the family and friends of the crew of the Columbia.

Thanks to Our Core Level Patrons:

• The $7.77 KeepItWarmRat Tier
  • Michael Vader
• The $6.99 “New Nice Price” Tier
  • Spike the Rock Cat
  • Sugar T
• The Episode $6.66 Tier
  • Steve Coldwell
  • Arthur Smith
  • Anton Glaving
  • Charles Meadows
• The $6.65 “Almost Evil” Tier
  • Kenny Wymore
  • Michael Bagford
  • Richie Sucksmith
• $5.99 The “Nice Price” Tier
  • Robert Smith
  • Karl Hellberg
• The 60 Kroner “Scandinavian Nights” Tier
  • Knut Morten Johansen – 
• The $5.55 “What’s Goin’ On Here” Tier
  • Richard Fusey
• $5 “Money Lender” Tier
  • John Convery
  • German Heindl
  • Adrian Hernandez
  • Jesper Almén
  • Oleksiy The Perfect Stranger Slyepukhov
  • Kev Roberts
  • Percival Frequency
  • Scott Zerns
  • Cynthia Dube
  • Raff Kaff
  • Coyote Bongwater

Bustin’ Out The Spreadsheet

Reception and Charts:

• MB:– Yes, it is “classic”, because it is so brave. This record was not a matter of re-creating “Machine Head” or something. In fact, “Machine Head” was great because it was a bold departure at the time. It sure did not sound like “Hush”. Deep Purple is great when they push themselves, and that is what they did. Even people who do not like “Bananas” at first have said that they like it more and more once it sinks in.
• As you know Martin Birch produced the classic albums and this new CD really marks the beginning of a new era that could have you in his old role as the guy that records with Deep Purple. That is what I hear people say. People are excited.
• – I would love to be known favorably as “The guy who produced Deep Purple”. I would work with them anytime.
• How do you rate the CD yourself if you can have your final say on it?
• – I am very satisfied with “Bananas”. Great songs, great playing, great singing. It has its own sound, so some will love it, and some will not, but at least it will not be ignored. I would not trade the experience for the world.
• Charts:
  • Argentina – 10
  • Austria – 12
  • Belgium – 42
  • Czech Republic – 17
  • Finland – 6
  • France – 50
  • Germany – 3
  • Italy – 13
  • Japan – 212
  • Norway – 19
  • Poland – 24
  • Sweden – 18
• In Russia it reached Gold with 10,000 albums sold.

Reviews

• https://www.allmusic.com/album/bananas-mw0000318751
  • Bananas Review by David Jeffries  [-]
  • Bananas has every sign of being a disappointment. Jon Lord‘s grandiose keyboards were always a focus but he’s gone, it’s released in the heady age of Radiohead, and it’s got one of the oddest titles and the oddest cover art that ever graced a Deep Purple album. Surprise, it’s fantastic. New keyboardist Don Airey is an effective replacement, adding new sounds and styles and working the Hammond so well that an uncredited Lord appearance was rumored among fans. Lord has said he’s not playing on the album, but he did contribute some writing on the excellent “Picture of Innocence” and “I Got Your Number.” Those two tracks, followed by the winding and pastoral “Never a Word,” add up to a strikingly impressive suite that bridges the more bombastic first half of the album with the looser and more playful second half. That’s right, “Deep Purple” and “playful” in the same sentence. The thunk and chug is still there, but Bananas often turns to mid-tempo boogie and blues, allowing Ian Gillan‘s wry and witty delivery some deserved space while guitarist Steve Morse‘s time in Kansas and the Dixie Dregs pays off as never before. The funky light reggae of “Doing It Tonight” is downright smoky-bar slinky-sexy, and if the band doesn’t add it to every one of their encores for the rest of their career they’re nuts. Filled with hooks and songs that get better with each listen, there’s little to dislike about Bananas. Certainly the urgent “House of Pain” could have benefited from punchier production, and there’s a noticeable lack of lengthy solos throughout, but these are minor quibbles. Hipsters have already decided, and some hardcore fans will pine for the monolithic sound of Machine Head, but on Bananas Deep Purple sound comfortable, free to do what they want, and more than the sum of their parts than they have in a long, long time.
• https://web.archive.org/web/20031126211856/http://www.chartattack.com/damn/2003/09/0904.cfm
  • Deep Purple: Bananas For Men In Bandanas
    Tuesday September 09, 2003 @ 04:30 PM
    By: ChartAttack.com Staff
  • Hammond-handed hard rock legends Deep Purple are returning with the rock ‘n’ rollsy Bananas, the third record of the Steve Morse era, and the first with new keyboardist/old friend Don Airey. Out everywhere by late September, all issues of the album will contain the same tracks — no bonuses apply.
  • “It’s broad, fresh, quick, but that’s kind of fresh. I think it’s round; it’s got a little more of a round personality,” says bassist Roger Glover when asked to come up with a few adjectives to articulate the new Deep Purple sound. “And it was done very quickly. Abandon took us five months to do. And why did it take five months? I can’t answer that. You go in the studio and you write a song and you put it down on tape. You think it would be so simple, but somehow it ends up being far more complicated because the vocals aren’t written or someone has to do a solo and they’re not feeling well that day. It gets put off and put off and put off. And then you end up, ‘Let’s take Sunday off; let’s take the weekend off’ and all of a sudden you look around and five months have gone by.”
  • Glover keenly understands the pitfalls of taking too long to make a record. Too much tweaking can make things too perfect.
  • “The album can become flattened out because you’ve perfected it to the point where you actually ironed the life out of it,” says Glover. “And as a producer, I’m aware of this but I’m also in the band. So I don’t have the authority that a producer would normally have, which is why I so welcome having a producer, something I’ve wanted, actually since Perfect Strangers. Right then, we should have had a producer, I think. But Michael [Bradford] was very good; he was very decisive and he’s very quick and he also realizes exactly the same thing; he was very good at cutting us off. Before we’d start improving things, he’d cut us off and go, ‘No, that’s good, that’s good the way it is.’ ‘But, but, but…’ ‘Sorry, move on.’ And he was very good at it because he didn’t have to say it in a forceful way. Because we had his trust, or he had our trust, it would be more like, ‘I don’t agree with you, but OK, let’s see how it works out.’ And I think for that reason, there are a couple of things that I would change. We finished a little too quickly for my liking. I wanted to do another couple days of jamming and have maybe another couple of songs in the pipeline or whatever. Then all of a sudden, we’d finished. Three weeks and four days, boom, ticket home. ‘But, but…’ ‘No buts. That’s it.'”
  • See www.deep-purple.com for preliminary plans for the inevitable worldwide tour, one which Roger figures will hit Canada in the dead of winter, or during the first inklings of spring.
  • —Martin Popoff
• Jon Lord’s opinion on Bananas from the now defunct PicturedWithin.
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20031008211150/http://picturedwithin.com/tour/hell/pressconf.html
  • Metal Express Radio: You’ve written a couple of the tracks on the new Deep Purple album, but have you listened to the rest of it?
  • Jon Lord: Yes I have, yes.
  • Metal Express Radio: What do you think?
  • Jon Lord: It’s not what I expected, to be perfectly honest, because it’s not what we were writing when I left.
  • I think it’s very good, but I’m not… You see, it’s not my job to criticize that but I will give you an opinion if you remember that it’s only an opinion.
  • I don’t think the sound is very good to be perfectly honest. I thought Roger would have done a better job producing it, but there you go. That’s just me, and Michael Bradford is a rather large black chap and he’s going to sit on my head now, I know that, and hurt me. [laughter]
  • A couple of the songs surprised me. Err, I can see why they put it on, but… Never A Word, is it? It’s lovely but it just starts to get going and it stops, so that worried me slightly. But it’s in the same area I suppose as The Aviator and Fingers To The Bone and that kind of thing.
  • I think the opening track’s fabulous. Obviously I like the two that I was involved in writing because I was involved in writing them. [laughter]
  • Generally speaking I don’t think it’s the best Purple album ever, but I think it’s better than Abandon, which to me had no sense of direction. I don’t think it’s as good as Purpendicular, which I thought was probably the best Purple album along with In Rock, Machine Head and Perfect Strangers. I thought Purpendicular was right in there. I was immensely proud of that album and still am immensely proud of that album.
  • But I’ve got a feeling in my bones. These old bones of mine are telling me that this is going to be a successful album. The time feels right for them.
  • And it’s really strange to say “them” and not “us”.
• Banshee Bananas – Associated Press
  • The metal kings are back with their best album since 1984’s Perfect Strangers, one that blends Deep Purple’s power chords and banshee vocals with the memorable melodic hooks that earned the band a place in rock history.
  • Bananas is the third studio album with former Kansas guitarist Steve Morse, who joined the band when Ritchie Blackmore decided to flush his career and dabble in medieval folk ballads in the worst career decision since David Caruso left “NYPD Blue.”
  • The first single, “House of Pain,” is a crunchy, catchy nugget, and Morse evokes Blackmore’s fluid solos on “Sun Goes Down.” Perhaps the best track is “Picture of Innocence,” which rails against the right-wing’s attempts to impose its vision of morality on society.
  • Despite 30-plus years of screaming and howling, Ian Gillian (sic) is still in fine voice, joining longtime Purple drummer Ian Pace (sic) and bassist Roger Glover. Keyboardist Jon Lord is out, replaced by hard rock veteran Don Airey, whose work with Rainbow (Blackmore’s first solo band) and Ozzy Osbourne is legendary in its own right.
  • Wayne Parry, Associated Press
• Masters
  • Business Standard, September 13, 2003
  • Moving on to the best album of the month – it’s the latest offering from the grand daddies of hard rock, Deep Purple. After a five-year hiatus following their last album Abandon, Deep Purple are back with Bananas – an album title inspired by a newspaper photograph that bassist and oldest band member (sic) Roger Glover happened to chance upon.
  • The compositions are replete with catchy melodies, Steve Morse’s trademark guitar solos, Ian Paice’s magic on the cymbals and the majestic voice of Ian Gillan. This is as good as anything they’ve done in the past.
  • “Haunted” is already being touted as an all-time great rock ballad, and “Silver Tongue”, “Razzle Dazzle” and “Never A Word” (a personal favourite) might soon figure on most requested tracks on stations and charts across the world.
  • While the musicians continue to live up to their reputations and Ian Gillan’s Jesus Christ Superstar voice continues to flower like nurtured wine, newest member Don Airey does a commendable job in fitting into the shoes of legendary organ player Jon Lord.
  • Lord left the band last year to pursue a career in classical music. Purple fans will be looking forward to that one, especially after his roaring work in the Concerto series at the Royal Albert Hall.
  • – Soumik Sen
• A band that has lost its shine and is searching for itself
  • From Italian daily La Repubblica
  • Vote: *****
  • The problem with Deep Purple is that they keep evoking the Mk II ghost (early 70s) and the quest for that long lost time makes them look more pathetic than their talent deserves. Morse and Lord [sic] are tonic, the rhythm section is ‘the good old days’, while Gillan, poor soul, does what he can.
    But the compositive shine doesn’t exist anymore. Haunted, an intense and choral ballad, is the only exception to the routine.
  • Flavio Brighenti
• https://web.archive.org/web/20040205143948/https://www.themusicindex.com/rockahead/reviews/dpurple6.htm
  • DEEP PURPLE
  • Bananas
  • Thames/EMI 7243501049-2-8
  • Bananas is the first Deep Purple studio album in five years. In that time the band have performed the Concerto For Group and Orchestra and played countless live gigs all over the world. The band has also seen founder and keyboardist Jon Lord leave the band to be replaced by Don Airey. So what is the album like?
  • Well I actually found Bananas to be a very instant album, which grabs you from the opening notes of House Of Pain. The sound is still very much Deep Purple which means that Don Airey has fitted in almost seamlessly and not only that he has contributed to the song writing which also bodes well for the future. The old adage being that the band that writes and play together stays together right?
  • The sound is still very much Deep Purple which means that Don Airey has fitted in almost seamlessly and not only that he has contributed to the song writing which also bodes well for the future. The old adage being that the band that writes and play together stays together right?
  • The real question here is just how much of this album will make it into the live set? Well, already the band have been playing Haunted on selected dates for a while and now that the album is out I would hope and expect that a few more might make the live show like the aforementioned House Of Pain and Sun Goes Down with possibly the bluesy sounding Silver Tongue thrown in for good measure. The real test of this album will really be how much of this album makes the set and also stays in the set for a while longer than the tracks from the album Abandon. The fact is that many critics will no doubt savage this album and be reaching for their thesaurus in order to find some adjective that adequately sums up their derision. All good and well if the album was a real clunker but the fact is Bananas is a solid piece of work and the musicianship is of course up to the usual high standard. Hell even Gillan’s voice is holding up incredibly well and his performance on this album is probably the best performance since the Mark 2 line up reformed in the mid eighties.
  • As for the material for me at least the only filler on the album is Razzle Dazzle, which at the very least could have been saved for a bonus track or something like an extra track on a single. It just doesn’t come up to standard when placed next to excellent material like Walk On and Haunted. In fact it is those two tracks that are my favourite tracks on the album and in fact these two tracks are in my opinion better than anything on Abandon which was a pretty well received album in itself.
  • Other tracks of note are I Got Your Number and Never A Word which ably display both sides of the coin and in terms of song are miles apart and yet still retain that distinctive Deep Purple stamp.
  • In summing up Bananas should please long time Deep Purple fans who are expecting certain things from the band. Rest assured all the elements that go to make a Deep Purple album are all in evidence here. There are however subtle shifts in feel and song style that show the band are capable of moving forward which will please the fans who would like Deep Purple to be a little more adventurous. Bananas however will also frustrate the critics who will be dismayed to find that there is life in the old dog yet and Deep Purple look set certainly on the evidence presented on Bananas to be keen on sticking around for a few years yet. I for one am extremely pleased with that.
  • Highly recommended.

Merch, Etc.

• Advertisement
• Original vinyl version
• Guitar Magazine
• Haunted single
• Roger’s dollar bill autograph
• Tour programme
• Bananas vibrator

Thanks To Our Foundation Level Patrons:

• £3.50 “Deep Purple NY” Tier
  • Lord Longford
• The £3 “The Aromatic Feed” Tier
  • Simon Ford
  • Richard Breese
• The $3.33 Half Way to Evil Tier
  • Stephen Sharpe
  • Duncan Leask
• $3 “Nobody’s Perfect” Tier
  • Peter Gardow
  • Ian Desrosiers
  • Mark Roback
  • Stuart McCord
  • Flight of the Rat Bat Blue Light
  • Øyvind Fjeldbu –
  • Runar Simonsen –
  • JJ Stannard
  • Ruinous Inadequacies
  • John Miceli
  • Michael Boyette
  • Corey Morrissette
• The $1.71 “I Want My Own Tier” Tier
  • Rich “Yngwie” Shailor
• The 10 kr “” Tier
  • Carsten Lau
• $1 Made Up Name Tier
  • The “I Got Your Plumber” Leaky Mausoleum
  • Stephen Sommerville The Concerto 1999 Fanatic
  • Hank the Tank
  • Private Eyes
  • Ashen Lionel
  • Blackmore’s Tights
  • Steve “Down to Earth” Koeller
  • Zwopper The Electric Alchemist
  • Anders Engstrom
  • Ashely { Still I hear, “Burn” } Rose

For Further Information:

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bananas_(Deep_Purple_album)
• https://www.discogs.com/release/1936038-Deep-Purple-Bananas
• https://www.allmusic.com/album/bananas-mw0000318751
• https://www.thehighwaystar.com/specials/bananas/
• https://sverigesradio.se/avsnitt/roger-glover-att-baka-ar-lite-som-att-skriva-musik
• https://www.thehighwaystar.com/news/2017/11/22/baking-banana-bread-with-roger/
• https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/deep-purple-ian-gillan-favourite-songs-beatles-beach-boys/
• The Deep Purple Podcast – Bonus Episode #7 – Don Airey Interview
• http://www.deep-purple.net/tree/mk7.htm
• https://web.archive.org/web/20030819130936/http://www.deep-purple.net/mk7news/mk8news.htm
• http://www.deep-purple.net/review-files/bananas/album.htm
• http://www.deep-purple.net/review-files/bananas/album2.htm
• http://www.deep-purple.net/review-files/bananas/album3.htm
• https://trinkelbonker.wordpress.com/2020/03/02/michael-bradford-interview-2003-deep-purple-the-making-of-bananas/
• https://www.45worlds.com/cdalbum/cd/724359104928
• https://www.thehighwaystar.com/specials/bananas/ig-metro.html

Extra Thanks To:

• Jeff Breis for supplying photos of his amazing collection!

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.