Russian Fans Swear Deep Purple is...Deep

Alan Cullison writes a piece about Deep Purple playing in Russia and what these aging rockers mean to the people there.

The crowd of long-haired men and women had been standing outside the Hotel Bashkortostan for hours, shivering against the sleet in their black leather jackets, when a cheer erupted. Through the main door teetered a sleepy man with a gray ponytail, surrounded by broad-shouldered bodyguards with ear-pieces.

It’s Roger Glover, bass player for Deep Purple. All but consigned to the dustbin of rock history in the West, the hard-rockers are a hot ticket in Russia’s hinterlands. For a generation of Russians now settling into the routine of midlife, the familiar chords of “Smoke on the Water” bring back memories of youthful rebellion against Soviet efforts to suppress heavy metal.

“Deep Purple is a higher form of life for us; it is genius, it is inspiration,” said Alexei Kuznetsov, 43 years old, who took a week off from his job at a gas-pipeline company to follow the band along the Volga. “This is like having Lenin alive again.”

Here in Russia’s rust belt, British bands with names like Deep Purple, Whitesnake and Nazareth compete with home-grown talent like Tchaikovsky. Four books about Deep Purple have been published in Russia, and a fifth is in the offing. In October, the band played in 17 cities in Russia and Ukraine.

Read the full article at Fort Wayne Gazette.