Machine Head – UK press advert 1972
Deep Purple Machine Head advert from melody maker, 1972
darker than blue
the rock group Deep Purple
what people are saying
simon robinson on Derek Lawrence simon robinson on Smoke stories simon robinson on Rock in the charts simon robinson on Smoke stories simon robinson on In Rock Hard 
Darker Than Blue RSS- The Thrill Is GoneWilliam Shatner- The Blues For those who recall the very strange hit album (Seeking Major Tom from 2011), with William Shatner dressed as an astronaut on the cover (was he an influence on Whoosh?) the great man has gone and made another one, this time talking the blues. As before the carrot is a decent […]
- TrainspottingMark Besley has joined the DTB trainspotters society with this snap by his wife taken at Trowbridge Station as she whooshed by… (that’s whooshed by as in privatised rail speak for not going very fast!). Meanwhile John McEvoy was checking out the rivals to Sainsbury’s (see post below) and saw that Tesco are price matching […]
- KickstarterGreg Tarlinton has added this to the current batch of DP magazine covers, over in Australia. Steve chats about the recording of the new album and how he used to build guitars! Cover date June 2020. Greg also adds that the magazine web site has a number of DP features dotted around their website if […]
- ToppingSimon spotted Deep Purple in his local Sainbury’s chart rack at number 10, bravely doing battle with a cheapo Doris Day Collection at number 9! Meantime, David Browne – who has sort of slipped into the role of charting the rise and rise of Whoosh for us (and future historians!) – says the list of […]
- Staggers pronounces.“DEEP PURPLE have reached a stage of mastership that is unprecedented in the history of rock music. No doubt, this is a legendary album and will once be counted among the classics of rock music…” KNAC Rock Radio website review. While back in the UK: “How depressing that in their seventies Deep Purple are much, […]
- A – boardThis is the in-store poster for the album, or in this case outside the store on an a-board in Tampere in Finland. One assumes it vanished soon after! Roger Glover has confirmed that IG got the title idea from the sublime comedy show Fawlty Towers, specifically Basil’s line where he is musing on the shortness […]
- GillanswiftI appreciate the UK has been rapidly losing it’s status as the European music centre for some time (my most played albums this last couple of years have been Norwegian and German, so I can hardly gripe) but it’s nice to get a reminder of the old days with a headline like this on the […]
- Martin Birch. RIP.Or should I say Martin Birchtree, Enginearole, as he was memorably credited on one Machine Head tape reel… 1970 was a cracking year to be let loose in the record shops, seeing how far my pocket money would go. I bought Deep Purple In Rock of course (Engineer on Hard Lovin’ Man? Martin Birch) but […]
- Number 5Somebody found a cache of low numbers in HMV Stoke on Friday, and snagged number 5 of their limited edition vinyl release of the album for Mark Maddock! There is also a clear vinyl edition knocking about but we have not been able to confirm a blue pressing heard about in North America, so send […]
- Who needs NMEs?The NME played out it’s last few years as a freebie given away in shops and the like, and the music press as we grew up with (and devoured) in the 70s and 80s has now disappeared. The NME was finally sold off to some gents in Singapore – they clearly couldn’t afford a football […]
- The Thrill Is Gone
July 16, 2012 at 1:14 am |
I will agree that they are still a very good band, as whenever they come around I always go and see them. They were here in Ontario Canada back in April, and it was a very good show. Having said that you simply cannot argue with the strength of the band in the seventies during their heyday. Two things come to mind, one is the obvious, and that is the fact that Gillan cannot sing as he did then (pretty easy to understand that) and for me, the softer sound of the keyboards and the much different style of Steve Morse’s playing. Even during the reunion shows, there was not that “grinding” raw sound that is well documented in live recordings of the 68-76 era. Blackmore’s sound had a very distinctive minor sound that meshed perfectly with Jon’s beast. That was the Purple sound that I fell in love with. To me, those were the best days.
August 17, 2014 at 5:37 pm |
You betcha. The band ROCKED back in the day. Sadly Ritchie is no longer interested, Jon is gone, and Ian’s voice has changed so dramatically it’s tough to get interested enough to go out and see ’em when they come around. Saw them in Maple leaf Gardens for the Perfect Strangers tour in the early eighties and then in Boston after moving to the States, but never without Ritchie. Steve Morse is a great player and as good as you can expect for a replacement but you’re right Dave it’s just not the same. If they could get a big re-union with Blackmore and maybe even Coverdale and Hughes all together with Gillan, Glover and Paice I’d be there though. Just wouldn’t be able to stay away from that much of my best Rock memories. A tribute to Jon Lord show?
They wouldn’t even have to come close by… I’d travel for that one!
April 9, 2012 at 9:54 pm |
Sorry, but as a young fan (23), I’m fed up with all those nostalgic comments about the ‘good old times’. If you think, that ‘old time’ was better, it happens not because that the time is ‘bad’ now, but because you were younger then. You’re missing not the ‘old time’, but your own young mind and body.
So, please, the older fans, if you don’t like it, just give up the band and let Deep Purple be ours – young fans’ band.
I’ve seen them live in 2009, 2010, 2011 (going to the 2012 show again) and I think they ARE fabulous and fantastic live.
I adore the ’72 DVD, the band plays like furious dinosaurs on full fire, volcano! But personally for me nothing can be compared to the LIVE experience that I witnessed in the last three years.
OK, I’m not saying that DP is either better or worse now than it was in ’72. I’m not even comparing those shows, because notwithstanding the so called ‘time’ and ‘age’, they do always have their IDENTITY as an astonishing and volcanic LIVE band. I love them simply because of this identity that they never loose.
So, the word ‘was’ is not compatible speaking of this amazing band. Deep Purple ‘was’ Deep Purple? No way! Come on! Deep Purple IS Deep Purple!
March 30, 2012 at 4:10 pm |
Those where the days when Deep Purple WAS Deep Purple.
I wish I could go back in time. At that time they where superior to all the rest. Forget Sabbath and Zeppelin.
I hope that also YOU were around at that time. For us, it will never be the same. They are still good, but this was on an other planet.
If you don’t know what I’m talking about, then look for the KB-Hallen live-DVD. Black and white it is, but so much power and energy compared to the newer DVDs.
Ok, I might be an old fool. But I like it.
Happy Easter!
April 5, 2012 at 11:08 am |
Well yes I was around at the time, and they must have done something exceptional to keep me interested all these years. And I know exactly what you mean about the 1972 video (or DVD). I remember leaving the viewing room shaking after seeing that when we first found the tapes back in the 80s. And I’m not even a Deep Purple fan, as Ritchie will happily tell you!