U.S. tour set list spoiler

The double-header American tour (dates on the site) kicked off last Saturday, and finds Deep Purple clipping back the set a bit to allow for Alice Cooper (and their crew, and Edgar Winter). They have also dropped some of the new album and the show includes just two numbers from Infinite, one as the first encore. It’s hard to know how much of an issue this is as the tour is more ‘three classic bands’ sort of evening out, but dropping Birds Of Prey is a shame and we hope this gets brought back when they return to Scandinavia and Europe in November. One report says they did rehearse Woman From Tokyo for the US leg but not seen it logged yet. Anyhow here’s the set so far, look away now if you want it to stay a surprise!

Highway Star / Fireball / Strange Kind Of Woman / Contact Lost / Uncommon Man / Lazy / The Surprising / Don Airey Solo / Perfect Strangers / Space Trucking / Smoke On The Water. ENCORE Back To Bedlam / Hush

Thanks to Tim Summers and others. One U.S. site lists the dates along with the exact number of unsold tickets! So we know that as of now there are just 391 left for the show in Atlanta, but 1660 for the mad looking open air Jones Beach Theatre in New York State…

It’s Arte

That German broadcast of Deep Purple’s current tour from Hellfest is finally on line, you can check it out via the link below.  Thanks to Tim Summers for the info. Really well filmed and a pretty decent performance, and great to see Paice back on top form too.

http://www.arte.tv/de/videos/076475-000-A/deep-purple-beim-hellfest-2017

C’mon, let’s go…

If Galaxy Quest is one of your rainy Sunday film treats, you may enjoy the trailer/s for a new 2017 US Sci-fi parody series called The Orville.  You may even recognise one of the Machine Head classics used as the music for the first one!  Thanks to Karl-Heinz Baier for the heads up. Will certainly be waiting for a DVD release (unless of course BBC2 could find a gap in between perpetual repeats of Dad’s Army to squeeze it in?).

A Fire In The Sky

No, not a story about the upcoming Machine Head book of that name, but the title of a new Deep Purple US compilation (though we do wonder where they got the idea!) due in September, most likely to tie in with the band’s tour there.  It’s the first extensive collection for America in a good few years (the Rhino box set being the last biggie I remember), but from the looks of it they’re a bit short on ideas and there isn’t one rare or unissued track across 3CDs (though this does of course mean we can gaze on from afar and leave wallets untroubled.) Two of the discs take the story from 1968 to 1976, but backwards (so track one is off Come Taste, track twenty six is Hush!), the third covers the reunion in 16 tracks. Also backwards.
On top if this there is a stand alone CD set covering the hit singles, half of which are the often weird US radio edits. Plus the immortal Child In Time Part 1. These have just about (it would take me hours to check!) all been curio bonus tracks on reissues and compilations in Europe before. Again, also programmed backwards!
For vinyl lovers they are also putting it out as a SIX album set, which will test the resolve of many collectors; imagine the shipping alone! Not sure about the sleeve, it does kind of remind me of those neat off the wall Warner Brothers mail order compilations they used to offer in the 1970s; I’d probably like it more if they’d used a proper logo. They probably had their orders…  Thanks to Mark Maddock for the info.

South America

Five Deep Purple shows over in South America in December 2017 if you fancy a bit of a pre-Christmas break!  Added to our date list. Argentina, Brazil (three venues) and Chile.  Thanks to Mark Maddock.

Extended play

Deep Purple are releasing Johnny’s Band from Infinite as an audio CD EP in early August.  It’s just the album version (a video has been out for some time) but to tempt collectors comes with a rehearsal jam and three live tracks (two oldies) listed as unreleased, but I’m not sure where from or when.  The cover looks like an old cast-off Gillan band offering!  Thanks to Marcin Zalewski for the notice.

Tracklist: Johnny’s Band (Album Version) / In & Out Jam (Rehearsal Recording) / Strange Kind of Woman / The Mule  / Hell to Pay (All Previously Unreleased)

On TV

UPDATE : Airing July 29th, see details people have posted in the comments below.

The fairly recent Deep Purple set at Hellfest 2017 was filmed and a one hour special will be aired on ARTE sometime this month (July). A few clips were shown already as part of a compilation. Get checking those TV guides! Thanks to Thomas Meyer.

Down Under

Glenn Hughes is doing his own Deep Purple tribute act later this year in Australia, and will do a full set of Purple songs. Dates announced so far are: September 20: State Theatre, Sydney; 24; Concert Hall, Perth; 29: Hamer Hall, Melbourne; October 1: Qpac, Brisbane. The band are fairly familiar to Glenn followers – Jeff Kollman on guitar, Lachy Doley keyboards, Pontus Engborg drums, all of whom have worked with Glenn on tour in the past. Thanks to Lutz Reinert for the news.

Rainbow set

Bit of a set list spoiler here for those who aren’t going to see Rainbow, so don’t go futher down the page if you don’t want to know!

On first glance it’s not that different to the 2016 tour but changes have been made.  Spotlight Kid / I Surrender / Mistreated / Since You Been Gone / Man on the Silver Mountain / Sixteenth Century Greensleeves / Soldier of Fortune / Perfect Strangers / Difficult to Cure / All Night Long / Child in Time / Stargazer / Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll

The set list has been changing too, with Black Night and Still I’m Sad in one show, Perfect Strangers dropped from another, and also the running order later on has been moved about. NOTE : Burn, SOTW and Temple of the King have also been aired at some shows according to Stephen Gillott.  Check out people’s thoughts on the show in the comment section below or add your own.

Gross

This great advert turned up recently, from one of the American music trade papers, bragging about the earnings of Deep Purple’s Perfect Strangers American tour back in 1985.  The tour run from January through to May (with breaks) and generated nearly $7 million in ticket sales, over half a million sold. It was later was recognised as the second biggest grossing tour by anyone in America that year.  And the UK got one show, which happens to be 32 years ago this week!