Deep Purple Singer Slams Classic Rock Radio

Band Photo: Deep Purple (?)

The following story is courtesy of Michael Senft from The Arizona Republic.

DEEP PURPLE visits the Maricopa County Events Center on Aug. 17, but it isn't a nostalgia tour. The group is wrapping up a two-year tour of 48 countries in support of its 2005 album Rapture Of The Deep. But American fans probably don't know that.

"You have this thing called classic rock radio over here," says singer Ian Gillan in a recent phone call. "It's been a death sentence for all sorts of older bands. They don't play anything of ours other than Smoke on the Water and Highway Star. "

Gillan even addresses the problem with a song on Rapture Of The Deep, called MTV. The song was inspired by a real-life incident in Buffalo, N.Y.

"I heard (Purple bassist) Roger Glover doing a radio interview, trying desperately to talk about a record we did in 2003 called Bananas. I was listening to it and my jaw just dropped, as this deejay ranted on about 1973. She wasn't the slightest bit interested in what he had to say, or anything that had happened in the last 30 years," he says.

Which is a pity. With three albums under its belt and poised to celebrate its 40th anniversary next year, the current lineup of Purple has been on a creative and critical revival for the past decade.

Gillan credits the band's current success to the infusion of new blood - guitar wizard Steve Morse (DIXIE DREGS) replaced longtime Purple axman Richie Blackmore in 1997, and journeyman keyboardist Don Airey joined the group in 2002, replacing the retiring Jon Lord.

"They brought enthusiasm back to the band," says Gillan of his new bandmates. "We went through some pretty dark periods where the family atmosphere wasn't good - really deep troughs. We got out of that when Richie left and Steve joined. But it took us a few years to rediscover the joy of playing again. We were going through the motions just to survive before they joined."

"Steve and Don brought joy back into the band."

Source: BW&BK