Deep Purple

Of course I knew that Deep Purple had that song Smoke on the Water. I knew that at an early age - before I knew anything else about the band, in fact. And like Stairway to Heaven with Led Zeppelin, it's a song that is a classic - has crossed over to the mainstream - but it's not the best example of the band's magic.

One of the first CDs in our house was The Deep Purple Singles - the version without Smoke on the Water.

I loved Hush and Black Night, One More Rainy Day and Emmaretta. And I started to buy whatever Deep Purple albums I could find, back in the days of cassette tapes. I started with the classic Mark II lineup, grabbing In Rock, Machine Head and Fireball. And I moved back to Mark I and forward to Mark III, grabbing The Book of Taliesyn and Stormbringer. A favourite was 1984's Mark II reunion, Perfect Strangers.

My brother was blasting Led Zep and The Doors and, though I liked those bands, I was always more into Deep Purple. I was obsessed with Ritchie Blackmore - he sounded so dangerous and angry, but I had listened to and read very endearing and engaging interviews that he had given.

But then - and I'm not sure why, there was no single event - I got sick of listening to Deep Purple. I guess I had just thrashed the music. And I spent more time with Led Zeppelin and The Doors and maybe grunge killed it for me too. Nirvana and Pearl Jam occupied the stereo. David Bowie came into view. I never thought too much about it but Deep Purple pretty much disappeared for me.

And then the band toured New Zealand in 2006. And I started to get a little bit excited about seeing them. Sure it was Don Airey in place of Jon Lord and there was no Blackmore, just Steve Morse's Skeletor grimace. But it was still the banshee wail of Ian Gillan; still the John McVie-meets-Keith Richards look of rock-steady bassist Roger Glover and - my favourite - there would still be the heavy metal be-bop of Ian Paice's percussion.

I was never expecting Deep Purple Mark XVII (or whatever mark they are up to now) to sound exactly like the records. But I was keen to go along to see this band that had made an impression on me all those years ago.

And I thought this version of Purple really delivered. There were a few too many songs from 2005's Rapture of the Deep (though that's not an embarrassing album) but there was still a lot to please the fans of the classic sound. Black Night and Hush were played. The title track from Perfect Strangers was awesome - and they played half of Machine Head/Made in Japan.

Paice still had his chops; Morse did lots of guitar twiddling, Airey does a decent Jon Lord. And Gillan's voice was really quite remarkable - men half his age would struggle with songs like Highway Star.

The other reason I enjoyed the gig was that earlier that day I met and interviewed Ian Gillan on live TV. It was a bit of a fluke, really. I was scheduled to do my regular review spot on Good Morning and I had heard that Gillan would be out there, so I took along my vinyl copy of Machine Head for him to sign (why not?).

Sarah Bradley suggested I join her on the couch to conduct the interview...it was fun. I had met Gillan in the Green Room and he seemed a decent chap, but it was fun to be able to chat to him live on television.

I also interviewed the other Ian from the band over the phone for a drumming magazine. This was a blast because he's long been one of my favourite drummers - and he's a lefty to boot. I also loved his honesty. When I asked him what new music excited him he said:  "what new music has caught my attention inside the last decade? Not much". And was happy leaving it at that.

I thought of all of this because I've just been watching the Blu-ray disc of Deep Purple Live at Montreux - which captures a set similar to the one the Purps played in Wellington (the DVD is also from 2006). It's a great buy - three hours of footage, with interviews and a 60-minute bonus set from London's Hard Rock Café - featuring a few tunes that are not played as part of the main set (including Strange Kind of Woman; another favourite of mine).

Both of the Ians gave me the impression that Deep Purple was as much about the new material as the old hits. But they would never bore fans waiting for the classics, nor begrudge them. They delivered the hits - reinventing them slightly - and working hard to put across a passion and energy for music that younger bands could learn from. Sure Deep Purple will never be as big as Led Zeppelin or The Who - they couldn't fill a stadium in NZ, for example - but they still have their dedicated fan base. And making albums feels like more than just an excuse for them to tour. You can argue the new records are no good (I personally think 2003's Bananas and 2005's Rapture are pretty strong) but at least they are putting some effort into writing and recording.

So, were any of you fans of Deep Purple? Did you manage to see them back in the day? Or did you catch them recently? What are your favourite songs/albums? Did you have one favourite lineup?

Postscript:

I have just been to The Oracle (aka Wikipedia) and found much this:

Gillan added that "there are certain personal issues that I have with Ritchie, which means that I will never speak to him again. Nothing I'm going to discuss publicly, but deeply personal stuff".

This mirrors what happened after my live-to-air interview. Gillan and I continued to chat for a few minutes and he mentioned that he would not forgive Blackmore for something that happened. I filed it away as part of my own private Blackmore file (I am still very curious about that guy) but as I drove away, off the clock, I figured I had missed the golden opportunity. I should have probed. I remember having a quick Google search at the time but finding nothing.

So, are there any Trainspotters out there who can shed some light on this?